Stephen

Can Vocal Software Cure Everyone Who Sings Off Pitch?

Everyone sings off pitch though people have varying degrees of admission to this problem.  Some professional singers who have been earning their bread and butter by singing on stage for years assume they need not deal with such a basic issue as intonation.  There are those who are simply happy to sing in a community choir, know they can carry a tune at least decently, and do not think to carefully about pitch.  There are those who simply do not sing because they know they cannot match pitch.  But the truth is that all of these singers and also singers of every level in between sings off pitch, ranging from “painful” to a little “oops” here and there.  The difference between these two depends on merely how far off pitch one sings, and for how long they remain off the target pitch.

The good news is that it is now easy to find and solve your individual intonation problems with voice singing software.  The first problem is that many singers do not realize they have pitch issues.  This is because your voice is different inside your head than it sounds to those around you.  The acoustics of a hall or studio can change the way you hear yourself.  Also various factors within your body can affect your ability to match pitch on any given day–i.e. whether or not you are healthy, what you have eaten recently, if you are tired, etc.  So the bottom line is that unless you have an objective measuring device provided by voice software for singing, you cannot know whether you are singing on or off pitch.

 

Pitch software has been developed that one can easily and inexpensively download onto a personal computer equipped with a microphone (either one built into the computer itself, or a simple external microphone like a webcam).  One such highly recommended vocal software program is called PitchPerfect.  This singing software program provides simple exercises, played on a piano that the user sings back into the microphone.  As the vocalist sings, the voice software program creates a graph on the screen of his voice pitch against the desired vocal pitch.  Thus the vocal software allows the singer to actually see his mistake, and make corrections instantly.  Users of this vocal software program report improvements in their pitch matching abilities within the first ten minutes.  If you are curious, there is a demonstration of PitchPerfect vocal software on the website.

Upon using this pitch sing software, professional singers will discover that they too have intonation problems that can be dealt with.  Community choristers will be able to use singing software to target their pitch problems.  Most importantly, all singers everywhere, including those closet vocalists who thought they could not carry a tune in a bucket, will find that with just a little practice with voice software (about ten minutes a day) they can cure these problems.

 

Vocal software is a valuable tool for diagnosing and fixing pitch problems.  Anyone who wishes to sing well, whether at an amateur or professional level, should invest in such pitch software.

ONLINE SINGING SOFTWARE A GREAT TOOL FOR YOUNG SERIOUS SINGERS

One of the most common problems plaguing young singers is intonation; that is, the singing off pitch.  Voice teachers often remain from comments on pitch because they, like you, would rather spend valuable lesson time working on technique and repertoire; they may also assume that pitch is such a fundamental issue that with time it will take care of itself.  Friends who hear your pitch problems want to be polite, and knowing that they are not experts anyway they will not say anything.  Besides this, it has been proven that singers themselves–even well-schooled professional performers–cannot always tell whether or not they are on pitch.  It follows with this vacuum of feedback that a young singer may not even realize she has pitch problems.  This poses a big problem.  First off, how can you fix a problem you do not know you have?  Secondly, if you are investing energy in singing (voice lessons, choir, theater, etc.) you obviously want to do it well–especially if you are on stage in front of others; singing on pitch is imperative.

The solution, my friend, is to take matters into your own hands.  You need an objective measuring device like vocal pitch software to tell you when you are singing off pitch, and to help you fix the problem.  The easiest tool to access and use is online singing software like the program PitchPerfect.  This vocal pitch software is a great tool because it allows you to actually see your own voice which, as you know, is a rare treat for singers.  With online singing software you can look at and analyze your vibrato, pinpoint certain areas of your range that give you intonation trouble, and watch how your breath control affects your pitch.  The online singing software creates a real-time graph of your voice while you sing, making it easy to correct yourself instantly.  You may disappointed when first working with online singing software to see how far off pitch you are, but after only ten minutes of practice with singing pitch software you will be able match pitch much better.  Using online singing software on a daily basis for ten minutes at a time will nearly eliminate all of your pitch problems.

If you are serious about singing, you should invest in this PitchPerfect vocal pitch software.  As you know, singing on pitch is imperative to a good performance and as you have seen, you cannot rely on your own ears to tell when you are incorrect.  Nor can you always rely on friends and teachers to let you know.  When you begin using voice pitch software, you will probably be surprised to discover what your own unique pitch issues are and wonder why no one has told you before.  But you will be happy to see how quickly you improve with very little practice on singing pitch software.  You understand how important accurate pitch is, and no doubt you would rather spend lesson time working on repertoire and technique than pitch matching.  So do yourself a favor.  Clean up the problem on your own with the help of online singing software.

VOCAL PITCH SOFTWARE: PULLING CLOSET SINGERS OUT OF THE CLOSET

Many people do not want to sing in public because they are too shy or believe they lack talent.  But, as the adage goes, “if you can talk, you can sing!”  Singing is a natural instinct in humans.  Just listen to children: they are constantly humming while they work or play, sometimes mumbling words to their favorite song, sometimes just playing with their voices.  This instinct becomes stifled when people learn that they “cannot sing”–probably after an embarrassing episode brought on by singing a wrong note in elementary school choir.

The biggest issue confronting people who think they do not like singing is the fear of singing a wrong note, or of singing off pitch.  They’ve heard enough people sing out of tune that they do not want to offend any ears and so they politely remain silent.  But here is a little secret: everyone sings off pitch.  Even professional singers.  In a recent study, singers were asked to sing and record a phrase.  Immediately after singing, they assigned themselves a pitch accuracy score.  Later, they listened to the recording of themselves singing the phrase and assigned a second score.  Interestingly, the first scores had no correlation to their actual intonation while their second scores were all exactly correct.  This is because the human voice sounds different inside your own head than outside.  In addition, various physical factors like health and diet will affect voice pitch from day to day.  Therefore no one’s ears can be trusted to judge their own voice–even those of a well-respected vocalist.

 

So the good news is that you are not alone.  But there is even better news:  you can cure pitch problems with vocal pitch software in the comfort and privacy of your own home–no need to make embarrassing mistakes in front of teachers, friends, musical colleagues, or an audience.  Try using the voice pitch software program PitchPerfect.  The PitchPerfect online singing software is available on the internet for a low price.  Step-by-step guides and demonstrations make the singing pitch software very easy to use.  In essence, when the singer vocalizes into a microphone (the one built into your computer or webcam–nothing fancy or expensive) the vocal pitch software creates a graph of the voice against the desired pitch.  Because the vocal pitch software allows you to see your voice (a rare luxury for singers), it is easy to make pitch corrections on the spot.  You will see improvements in your pitch matching ability after only ten minutes of using the vocal pitch software, and with consistent daily use you can nearly eliminate your intonation problems completely.

Once you, the closet singer, practice and perfect your ability to sing on pitch with vocal pitch software, you will be able to sing out with confidence and even have fun singing!  You will probably discover that you do indeed have some talent.  So invest in PitchPerfect online singing software and gain the confidence to share your voice at home with family, in church, at public events, or even join a community choir and maybe audition for a solo!  Reconnect with your childhood instincts and sing out with the help of voice pitch software.

VOICE PITCH SOFTWARE A POPULAR NEW TOOL

A new tool is becoming popular for singers everywhere: voice pitch software. Vocal pitch software programs, like the well-respected PitchPerfect, are available online.  Online singing software is easy to download, inexpensive, and very easy to use.  And, singing pitch software requires only about ten minutes a day to improve your intonation.  So what exactly is it?  With the PitchPerfect voice pitch software, the vocal pitch software will play a single pitch or a simple scale which the user sings back into a microphone (either the one built into their computer, or a simple external mic like the one on a webcam–no extra fancy and expensive equipment necessary).  The online singing software creates a graph of the singer’s voice against the desired pitch.  Singing pitch software allows the singer can then see if they are sharp or flat, and easily make adjustments.  They can also observe the movement of their vibrato with voice pitch software.

Why is the popularity of online singing software growing?  After all, voice pitch software sounds like a great tool, but can’t singers just hear themselves make pitch mistakes when they vocalize?  Well, no.  The truth is that everyone sings off pitch.  Yes, everyone: amateur and professional singers, community choir participants, shower recitalists, you name it.  The professional singer will retort “of course I sing on pitch–I have been doing this for years!” while the amateur chorister will say “but I’m just doing this for fun; does it really matter how accurate my pitch is?”  Two facts: 1.  If people are listening to you, pitch matters–even if you are singing in a group or an informal setting; how many times have you winced when an amateur at the karaoke bar continued to fall short of or just overshoot the notes in his favorite song?  2.  Even well established singers cannot always tell when they are singing on or off pitch.  The voice is different inside one’s head than the way people outside hear it.

 

Scientists have even conducted experiments to prove this, in which professional vocalists sing a phrase and then  score their pitch accuracy.  They then listen to a recording of their voices and give a second pitch accuracy score.  While they all gave correct scores to their recordings, no one gave a correct score immediately after singing.  So, even a professional needs an objective external measuring device, like voice pitch software, to tell them when they are singing off pitch.

Singing pitch software is a useful tool for all singers, ranging from the just-for-fun vocalist to the professional performer.  Vocal pitch software is a small financial and time investment to make for a program that can bring such great results.  Just think: work with PitchPerfect voice pitch software consistently for ten minutes a day, and you can nearly eliminate your pitch problems.  Amateurs will enjoy working on their singing in the privacy of their own home, without having to make mistakes in front of a teacher–or worse–an audience.  More serious singers will find that they need to make many fewer pitch corrections in their recordings.

In short, voice pitch software is popular because although everyone sings off pitch, anyone who is willing to put in a little time can learn to sing on pitch consistently.  And everyone, whether amateur or professional, wants  to spare listeners the pain of pitchy singing.

DO YOU SING ON PITCH? FIND OUT WITH SINGING PITCH SOFTWARE

Do you sing on pitch?  Yes, I am asking you: the professional opera singer, the church or community chorister, the karaoke star, the shower recitalists, the mother who sings a lullaby to her child at night–everyone!  Are you sure you sing on pitch?  How do you really know?  The truth is that your voice, resonating around inside your skull, sounds different to you than it does to those around you and therefore you cannot really know whether or not you sing on pitch unless you have an objective external measuring device like singing pitch software.  Don’t believe it?  Experiments with professional vocal performers have proven this fact.  “But surely,” you say, “my friends would tell me if I sang horribly off pitch!”  The discomfort you cause others with an incorrect pitch depends simply on how long you remain off pitch and how far away from the desired pitch you stray.  So, if you correct yourself quickly when you make a pitch error your friends may barely notice and decide it is not worth mentioning.  Or if your pitch problems are more noticeable, your friends may think “but he enjoys singing so much, I don’t want to ruin it for him by telling him he can’t sing on pitch!”

And now you are wondering, “what is this objective external measuring device singing pitch software of which you speak?  Sounds complicated and probably expensive.”  Not so!  You can find and download online singing software easily and for a minimal cost.  Vocal pitch software programs require only your computer and a microphone (the one built into your computer or webcam is just fine; no need for any extra special or costly equipment).  One highly recommended voice pitch software program is PitchPerfect, which creates a graph of your voice against the desired pitch when you sing into the microphone.  You may be discouraged when you first work with the singing pitch software to find that you do not sing pitches nearly as accurately as you thought you did, either falling flat or rising sharp.  But don’t worry: since you can see your voice on the vocal pitch software graph, corrections are easy to make and even after only ten minutes of working with the online singing software you will begin to get a feeling for how to control your voice and sing pitch correctly.  Continue this practice with singing pitch software every day, and you will nearly eliminate your intonation problems altogether.

Since everybody does sing off pitch, this singing pitch software is appropriate for all singers.  Those who vocalize only at home with their families, those who participate in church or community choirs and theater activities, and yes–even those professional singers who make a living by singing on stage.  You know you cannot rely solely on your own ears, or on your friends, so give PitchPerfect voice pitch software a try.  You can easily diagnose and fix your individual pitch problems with online singing software, and then sing anywhere you like with the confidence that you are singing the right notes.

VOICE SOFTWARE RECOMMENDED FOR THE AMATEUR SINGER

Many people are afraid to sing in front of others, whether singing hymns at church, “Happy Birthday” at a family gathering, or the national anthem at the ballpark–let alone up on stage in front of audience as either a soloist or even as a choir member.  There are a number of possible reasons for this: shyness, not liking the sound of your own voice, but the most common is a fear of singing the right note.  No one wants to be that person who sings out loud and clear, joyfully rejoicing, but unfortunately–much to the dismay of those around him–unable to sing on pitch.  So some think it better not to sing at all than to cause such discomfort to poor surrounding fools.

But the truth of the matter is, you are not alone.  Everyone sings off pitch.  Yes, everyone–even well-established professional singers.  Sometimes it is not too noticeable, because how “painful” the tonal offense is depends on how far and for how long a singer remains off pitch.  Studies have even proven that singer’s cannot tell when they are off pitch while they are singing–they need an objective external measuring device like voice software  for singing to let them know.  This is because the sound of the voice is different inside one’s own head than it is outside your head.  There are also various physical factors that can affect pitch on a daily basis such as health and diet.

However, there is a solution, so be of good cheer!  You can cure your intonation problems easily and inexpensively, in the comfort and privacy of your own home by using pitch software.  There are several voice software programs available online, including the popular PitchPerfect voice singing software program, that are easy to download and user friendly even for the inexperienced beginner.  PitchPerfect vocal software requires no special equipment, just your computer and a microphone (either the one built into your machine, or a simple external mic like the one in a webcam).  When you sing into the microphone, PitchPerfect voice software creates a graph of your voice against the desired pitch.  Being able to see your voice in this way with pitch software makes it very easy to correct yourself.  You may expect to see yourself fall quite flat or rise too sharp when first working with voice software, but after as little as ten minutes you will begin to get a feeling for how to control your voice and match pitch more effectively.  Continue this practice daily with voice software, and you will soon be able to sing on pitch with confidence anywhere you go.

Don’t let singing in public intimidate you.  With a little vocal software practice, anyone can learn to sing on pitch.  You just might need a little extra help, which you can give yourself by using pitch software.  So test some voice sing software, and sing out (on pitch) in church or a Happy Birthday chorus!  Once you gain even more confidence in yourself with singing software, you may find you enjoy singing enough to join a community choir, or even venture down to the local karaoke bar for a night of fun.  Pitch software is a worthwhile investment.

HOW TO FIX SINGING ON/OFF PITCH BY LEARNING TO SIGHT-READ

Instrumentalists like to make fun of singers for their lack of musicianship: they often have trouble counting, have trouble finding the correct voice pitch, cannot tell when they are singing on/off pitch, learn their parts on the fly by ear, and many do not even know how to read music!  Nor do they spend nearly as many hours working in the practice room as their fellow instrumentalists.  Singers wish to refute these insults as unfounded stereotypes, but unfortunately the accusations are indeed based on fact.  So, singers must take responsibility if they wish instrumentalists to take them seriously as musicians!

The first and easiest step to take on this front is training the ears and learning how to sight-read.  Why?  To counter the rumor that singers cannot read music and are often singing off pitch.  Learning to sight-read accurately will also disperse counting problems, and ear-training will help singers to more accurately pull their singing pitches out of nothing or difficult harmonies, as the case may be, to start singing on pitch.  What instrumentalists do not understand is that while they may simply hit a key to play a note, the singer can hit one note as easily as dozens of others (which may or may not even be considered pitches in Western music), and he has no mechanism like a key to ensure he will choose the right one to be singing on pitch.  Further more, the singer’s ear cannot always be trusted because the sound outside his head is different than what he hears inside, and the acoustics of different spaces can also confuse the sound and encourage singing off pitch.  Fine-tuning the ear will help singers avoid pitchy performances.

 

How does one go about learning to sight-read?  Begin learning the relationship of do to all other notes in the major scale.  Do to re, re to do; do to mi, mi to do and so on.  To practice this, you may pick a note on the piano to function as do.  Then play other diatonic notes, listening to them closely, and then sing do.  Then check to see if you sang the correct vocal pitch for do.  Once you are comfortable with this, play do on the piano and try to sing other scale degrees, always checking for singing pitch accuracy afterwards.  If certain relationships are especially challenging for you, practice them more often.

 

To work on ear training during this process, play two vocal pitches, either one or both at a time, with your eyes closed.  If the lower note is do, guess what the top note is and then open your eyes to check.  Also try occasionally guessing what the lower vocal pitch is if the higher note is do.  Once you are comfortable with the relation of all major scale singing pitches to do, follow the same process for all other major scale steps (re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti).  For example, sol to re, re to sol; sol to mi, mi to sol, etc.  Understanding how all the scale degrees relate to one another will give you an intuitive understanding of the music you sing.  Once you have mastered the major scale, try the same process with the minor scale (add me, le, te)–natural, harmonic, and melodic.  Finally, also learn the relationship of all voice pitches, major and minor, to each other, including ra and fi.

You may also wish to learn the modes (this will come fairly easily once you have mastered all the chromatic tones).  For fun, test your sight reading with some atonal material.  This will force you to focus more on intervalic voice pitch relationships than tonal relationships, which will be a different and engaging way of thinking.  Some sight-singers may find it helpful to use the fixed instead of moveable do for this kind of work.

 

As you do these exercises, practice applying them!  Find a sight-reading book, a hymnal, or any simple song book and try to read the melodies without hearing them.  It may be frustrating at first, but if you continue the exercises it will become easier, and maybe even fun!  Practice learning harmony parts as well as top-line melodies.  And again, check the piano afterwards to make sure you are singing on pitch.  When start to get comfortable with tonal relationships, practice sight-reading with a metronome to practice your rhythm as well.  If rhythm is challenging for you, most sight-reading books will also provide rhythmic exercises that you can try clapping against a metronome.  To continue engaging your ears, listen to songs and choral works and try writing them down.  Just focus on single melodies at first, but eventually work up to several part harmony and accompaniment.  You will find this skill invaluable if you enjoy writing music, or if you hear a song that you would like to sing but don’t have music for.  If you practice these skills, you will find that you will be a stronger musician, more able to contribute to the ensembles you work with and more respected by instrumentalists.

CAN SINGING SOFTWARE CURE PROBLEMS YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU HAD?

Most vocalists who sing frequently, whether at home or on stage, in the professional or amateur sphere, will happily tell you, “fortunately, I’ve never had pitch issues.”  However, they are wrong: everybody sings off pitch.  You may wonder how this can be; after all, a singer must hear himself, and whether or not one is off pith must be fairly obvious, right?  Wrong.  The degree of offense of an incorrect pitch depends on how far the singer is from the desired pitch, and for how long they remain off pitch.  So the problem may be very slight and not very noticeable to a singer who sings slightly sharp or flat only briefly and corrects the pitch almost immediately.

But the larger issue is that singers cannot actually hear clearly whether or not they are on pitch.  This fact has been proven in experiments where singers are asked to sing and record a certain phrase.  They evaluate their intonation immediately after singing, and then again after listening to the recording of themselves.  Interestingly, the two reports will often have large discrepancies, and the score given immediately after singing may have no correlation to the actual pitch accuracy.  Yet, the singers can hear perfectly where all the mistakes are when they listen to the recording of themselves.  This phenomena occurs because the sound of one’s voice is different inside the head, due to resonance within the skull, than it is to ears outside.  So, a singer cannot really know whether or not he is on pitch unless he has an objective external measuring device like voice singing software.

For this reason, every serious singer should invest in some pitch software–regardless of whether you are a full-fledged professional or a young beginner.  There are voice software for singing programs available online, including the highly recommended PitchPerfect vocal software program.  This voice software will create a graph of the user’s voice against the desired pitch so the vocalist can actually see his voice, making it easy to correct problems instantly.  Singers who take lessons and/or perform often will be surprised to learn about their intonation issues once they begin working with vocal software.  Voice software will enable them to pinpoint certain areas of the voice where it is especially difficult to match pitch–in the passagio, or the extreme ends of the range, for example–or certain problematic intervals.  With singing software, singers can also see how their breath control affects the pitch (many will have trouble at the ends of phrases when running out of air).  Vocal software will also show that their pitch matching ability will vary from day to day, depending on factors of the body and the environment; learning about these quirks with voice software will improve your singing.  Vocalists will also be happy to discover how easy it is to fix these problems with as little as ten minutes of practice per day with singing software.

All of these singers understand that the ability to sing on pitch is of fundamental importance; who wants to listen to a beautiful tone if it in the wrong key?  Pitch software can be downloaded easily online for little cost, and singing software requires only about ten minutes a day for solid improvements.  Sing software may be the best investment you can make for your voice.

HOW TO MAINTAIN VOCAL PITCH WHILE SINGING HARMONY

Most singers have no trouble singing on pitch when they are singing solo.  Maintaining accurate vocal pitch may become more difficult when accompaniment is added, but generally accompaniment supports the solo and with a little practice singing on pitch with accompaniment is not too difficult.  However, singing on pitch can becomes much harder when singing a harmonic line, or singing in an ensemble with several part harmony.  Some may believe that they simply do not have an ear to be able to maintain singing pitch in such a setting, but by practicing properly you can become an expert, and you will like find singing in an ensemble very satisfying.

To begin perfecting your harmonic voice pitch skills, first make sure that your own vocal pitch is accurate in your part.  Play a section of your line on the piano, without singing, and listen closely to the pitches.  When you finish playing, slowly play back the line in your head, making sure that you know every note exactly.  You may have to play it a few times on the piano to solidify certain awkward intervals in your mind.  Once you know the line, sing it slowly with the piano, listening to match each vocal pitch.  Then sing the line a capella.  You may want to try this exercise even with vocalise and warm-ups to make sure that your voice pitch is always accurate before you start trying to sing, whether harmonic or not.

 

As another warm-up exercise, practice singing various harmonies against the piano.  Play a harmonic interval; then play just the note you will sing.  Then hold down the second note while you sing the first against it.  Note what it feels like.  Check your  singing pitch exercise, try it with simple consonant intervals: third, fifth, and sixth.  Then add the major second, fourth, and sevenths.  Once you have mastered diatonic periodically to make sure you are holding the correct interval against the piano.  When you first try this voice pitch intervals, add in chromatic singing pitches as well.  You may also want to try moving voice pitch exercises in this way–scales of parallel thirds, for example.  Eventually, you will also want to practice singing different parts of the major, minor, diminished, and augmented triads; practice singing against two other notes instead of just one.  Also practice finding your notes by playing just the other note first, without giving yourself a hint.

 

Another way to develop your accurate vocal pitch harmonic skills is to listen to harmonic music–hymns or other a capella vocal music, or even string quartets–and try to pick out all the individual parts.  The top line vocal pitches will probably be very easy to hear, and the bass singing pitches will not be too difficult either.  Finding the tenor voice pitches and alto lines will take more work.  Once four part harmony becomes easy to decipher, work with six or eight or twelve parts!  Listen to different styles of music that have different kinds of harmony (contrapuntal vs. clean classical vs. jazz); you may want to practice improvising harmonic lines along as you listen.

If your vocal pitch is correct and you are comfortable singing on pitch with the various harmonies, you are ready to try it in a song.  As you are learning your line in a harmonic piece, look at the other line(s) to see how they fit with your line.  Some prefer the approach of “just sing loud enough so you can’t hear the other guys,” but this is not conducive to blend and in the end it will be easier for you if you understand how you are functioning as part of a whole, and you will be able to lend more finesse to your performance.

Singing harmony is different, but it is a skill that can be practiced and provide an enjoyable outlet to be able to sing with others.

HOW TO DEAL WITH PITCH ISSUES–EVEN IF YOU DON’T THINK YOU HAVE ANY: PITCH SOFTWARE

Many are the accomplished singers who blithely report “fortunately I have never had pitch issues.”  Well, guess what: everybody has pitch issues!  Yes, everybody.  Doesn’t matter if they sing on stage at the Met for a living, or merely hum an occasional aria in the shower when no one else is home.  The truth is, even very good singers cannot tell when they are singing off pitch.  This has been proven in experiments where, for example, professional vocalists (MS and PhD performance majors) are asked to sing a phrase and immediately after state whether or not they sang on pitch.  Later, these singers listen to a recording of themselves singing the phrase and then state whether or not there were pitch problems, and where they occurred.  The two reports differed, however, because while the singers were able to accurately note all intonation issues upon listening to the recording of themselves, they were not successful in catching the problems as they sang; the score given to themselves immediately after singing had no correlation to actual pitch accuracy.

Why can one hear the pitch problems on a recording, but not while they are singing?  It is too late to fix the problem after the recording has been made!  The truth is that it is nearly impossible to gauge pitch matching while singing because sound is different in your head than it is to the ears of those around you.  Also, your pitch accuracy will change day-to-day depending on your own body–whether you are healthy, if you are tired, depending on your diet, etc.  The difference between “oops” and “painful” depends on how long and how far away you are from the target pitch.

 

But the bottom line is that when you sing, you do not want to make any pitch errors, right?  Not even a little “oops.”  But if you cannot hear yourself, how can you fix the problem?  You need an objective measuring device, like voice software, to tell you whether or not you are singing on pitch.  The easiest solution to this is to download some vocal software.  Such pitch software programs are available online for little cost, and prove highly effective.  One well recommended singing software program is called PitchPerfect.  The user sings into a microphone (either the one built into your computer or an inexpensive external microphone like the one included in a webcam), and the voice software will let you know not only if you are sharp or flat, but how far away you are from the desired pitch.  One great advantage of this pitch software program is that it allows you to actually see your voice–a luxury rarely afforded to singers.  In this way pitch software makes it easy to instantly make corrections.  Most users report improvements in their pitch matching abilities within the first ten minutes of using the pitch software.

Because PitchPerfector™ singing software is so inexpensive and easy to use–it only requires about ten minutes a day of practice time for consistent improvement–vocal software is a tool in which every serious singer should invest.  Why subject your audiences to pitch errors when they are so easy to fix?  Remember that your ears cannot be entirely trusted, and an objective measuring device provided by pitch software will give you a means of diagnosing and fixing pitch problems.

 

SINGING PITCH PROBLEM AREAS

Many singers who have been singing all their lives are surprised and frustrated to learn that they have trouble singing on/off pitch.  For some one who has been immersed in a lifetime of song, it seems that accurate voice pitch should come naturally.  But to those of you out there who have unhappily discovered vocal pitch difficulties, fear not!  First of all, you are not alone.  Second of all, singing pitch problems are relatively easy to fix.  Here are several factors to look out when you are diagnosing or evaluating a singing pitch issue.

 

1.  How closely do you listen to yourself?  All to often when singing warm-up exercises or repertoire, singers just breeze quickly through without really listening to the voice pitch.  After all, a scale is easy to sing, and you sing it every day!  Of course you are singing on pitch scales, right?  Wrong.  Just because a song seems easy and you think you know the tune does not mean your singing pitch is accurate.  There are two ways in which you need to listen.  First, play the passage before you sing and listen closely to each voice pitch and the relation of the notes to one another; then “replay” the music in your head before you open your mouth to sing.  Know exactly where each singing pitch will fall.  Second, go ahead and sing the passage, and listen closely to yourself on each vocal pitch.  At first, you will probably notice a few places where you are singing off pitch, but you will begin singing on pitch consistently when you continue to work in this way.

2.  Singers know that good breath support is important, but did you know that it affects your singing pitch?  If you do not release enough air, there is a good chance you will find yourself singing off pitch.  If you are not in control as you run out of breath, you will also find yourself singing off pitch.  So the trick is A) to learn to take in a full breath, using your maximum lung capacity; B) learn to control the breath, letting it out evenly as you sing especially when coming to the end of your air supply.  Ask your teacher for some breath exercises, and practice them daily to improve your vocal pitch.  Another factor that can affect voice pitch is extra tension in the body, which does not facilitate free movement of the voice.  Stretching before you sing and breathing well to keep the body relaxed while you sing should minimize this singing pitch problem.

 

3.  Vibrato can affect vocal pitch either positively or negatively.  If one sings without vibrato the tone often sounds flat.  However, if one’s vibrato is too wide, the singing pitch sometimes cannot be discerned.  Different styles of music require different uses of vibrato.  For example, early music requires a straight tone with occasional vibrato as an ornament while classical/romantic music requires even vibrato throughout.  Work with your teacher to even your vibrato and use it appropriately for optimal singing pitch accuracy.

 

4.  Difficult parts of your range, including the extreme high and low ends and the passagio can cause particular singing pitch issues.  The best way to improve these areas is to work slowly through them frequently, always listening closely.  Be sure to warm these areas of your voice up well before you sing.

Singing pitch can be a problem for many vocalists, but knowing where the problems are makes them easy to fix.

HOW TO IMPROVE VOICE PITCH

How much attention do you give to your singing pitch when you practice?  Most voice students assume they have the basic skill of singing on pitch since they can easily maintain a tune.  However, most young singers are singing off pitch more frequently than they realize.  When rehearsing repertoire it easy to accidentally fall just short of or slightly overshoot a voice pitch unknowingly.  Sometimes a student will hit a vocal pitch incorrectly, but fix it quickly.  If the singer is only singing off pitch infrequently and not for too long, than the problem is not too offensive for the average listener.  After all, no one is perfect, right?  But it is possible to eliminate voice pitch problems entirely and consistently sing on pitch to create a cleaner sound when you sing.

How does one go about improving voice pitch?  First you need to know whether you are singing on pitch or singing off pitch.  To do this, sit and practice at the piano.  Play a simple scalar exercise (maybe do-re-mi-fa-sol-fa-mi-re-do or do-re-mi-re-do), or even a single pitch.  Just listen first.  Then sing along as you play.  Move from note to note slowly (hold each tone for at least four slow beats) and really listen to your voice pitch.  Can you feel your voice in tune with the piano?  As you listen closely, you will probably notice that you are not exactly singing on pitch at first.  It is likely that when you hit the note you are a little off before you make the subtle adjustment and settle into singing on pitch.  Try the exercise again, and concentrate on each voice pitch before you open your mouth to sing.  When you start consistently matching the singing pitch right away, try the exercise a little faster.  Keep listening closely and carefully to yourself–it is easier to blur the vocal pitch when you are moving your voice quickly.  But even in quick passages like runs and melismas, the individual singing pitches must be accurate; even one questionable voice pitch in a run can make the whole passage sound sloppy.

 

Try these vocal pitch exercises through your whole vocal range.  You will probably find that there are certain areas where you are more or less likely to be singing on/off pitch.  The passagio (where the voice shifts from chest to head voice) can prove especially difficult to control; this is also true of the extreme high and low ends of the range.  Spend extra time working on these areas so that your vocal pitch is even throughout your voice.

Once you have practiced matching voice pitch in exercises, take time to go slowly through your repertoire to make sure you are singing on pitch in your songs.  Doing so may point out certain intervals that are difficult for singing on pitch, especially odd diminished or augmented intervals.  You may also find difficult chromatic passages that are hard to be singing on pitch.  Be sure to work through these passages very slowly–not even in rhythm–to ensure that each voice pitch is in tune.  Speed it up slowly, still listening carefully, until you are at tempo.

 

Knowledge of singing on/off pitch is crucial for any singer.  Make sure that you put in sufficient time to perfect this skill.

Sing On Pitch

Articles & News