Singing On (or Off) Pitch!

I don't know how many beautiful voices I listen to, by wave, or CD or tape, which although they possess a gorgeous quality of sound and expression, all of that gets lost because the singer is either consistently under or over the pitch.

I got a note from a reader who told me that she has been singing professionally for 15 years and has always considered herself a good singer. But, she says, that after just a few songs, the rooms she performs in begin to clear out. People actually are walking out on her during her performance. She asked me what could be wrong. Well never having heard her sing, I didn't know how to answer, but I suggested that maybe she's singing flat or sharp, both of which can really ruin a performance. She wrote me back, "YES! THAT'S IT!!". She recognized immediately that this is what was going on. And her band mates had never said a word for fear of hurting her feelings.

Now, there are 2 distinctly different scenarios having to do with singing off pitch.

The first is a question of hearing, where the singer cannot hear the music, either the accompaniment if there is one, or the music inside him/herself, and therefore sings approximately near the note he/she's going for, but not THE note. This mostly occurs when the singer is singing a cappella, which means without a musical accompaniment. This problem with pitch is cured with ear training exercises that re-program the body's muscle memory to literally "remember" where the notes are in the body's internal keyboard. Matching pitch, playing a mouth instrument like a recorder or flute, and consistent practice are very helpful in curing ear difficulties.

The second scenario has to do with breath and support. Simply said, when you don't take in enough air, and you don't support the emission of the sound from your body, you can sing off pitch, and whether or not you sing flat or sharp depends on the resonation placement. No breath and no support tends to make the head voice go sharp, and the full voice go flat.

Either of these scenarios are correctible. So when you send me a wave file of your singing, and I mention that you sang off pitch, once you are done being hurt or offended by my statement, understand that this does not mean you have no talent or that you don't have a beautiful voice. It just means that this is an area that you need to do some considerable work on before your next audition or performance. So "buck up", singers! All is not lost! If you want it badly enough, do the work, and you can have it all!

More on this subject, (from the February, 2005 newsletter).

After two weeks of watching "American Idol", I think I have a handle on why some people without any apparent talent come on and actually think they are good singers. I am especially fascinated by the ones who cannot carry a tune, and could not, even if it had handles! I believe I know what's going on here. Let's see what you think of my theory.

When a pianist wants to learn how to play the piano, he practices a lot, but also listens to piano music to get ideas for how to interpret the music. The same goes for a guitar player. How many young boys, (my own included), spent hours listening to Eddie Van Halen, just to learn his licks?

Well, I believe that when your chosen "instrument" is the voice, you learn your songs by listening to them sung by the artists who sing them on the radio. You sing along with a song whenever it comes on and to you, you may sound great!

Well, what happens when you sing the song in the shower, without the radio, and without any music at all? You sing off key! Why? Because you can't hear the music in the your head. Why is that? Because when you learned the song, you were listening ONLY to the singer, and not to musical accompaniment. And when you sing a cappella, there is nothing to guide you. You didn't "learn" that part. You only learned the words and maybe the melody, but you never learned the Harmony!

It shouldn't amaze us then when singers audition with no accompaniment and think they sounded fine, when they didn't, should it?

Lesson? Well, when you learn a song, listen to the instruments as well as the voice. Spend some time committing the orchestration to your cell memory so that when you are called upon to sing a cappella, you can call it up in your head and stay on key!!