<p>This is probably a totally pedestrian question for some of you with lots of musical training, but can someone who sings out of tune be trained to sing in tune? I was at a party last night where they had a karaoke machine (Yeah, scary) and heard some kids that are supposed to be good singers i.e drama kids that are into MT and music majors getting competitive - but their intonation was all over the place. It was like some of them had good range and consistent tones and their sustained notes were usually in the ballpark, but their shorter notes in the phrases were all kinds of off. It wasnt even consistent because theyd sometimes be sharp and flat in the same phrase. Another thing I noticed was that some of them sounded pretty good on the belty R&B stuff with all the black gospel runs, but their pitch problems were most glaring when they sang something easy. I know you can work on proper breathing and develop range and someone like me who cant belt her way out of a wet paper bag can supposedly learn to do that, but I had always thought that beneath all that you had to naturally have an instinct that keeps you on pitch. Its like I knew some kids in h/s that were phenomenal singers and I seriously dont think they couldve sang out of tune if they tried and theyd always been that way. One of them was in my drama class. She had perfect pitch and she literally hated going to student recitals and concerts because the intonation would sometimes have her about to crawl up the back of her seat. Im glad she wasnt there last night! LOL So, whats the story on this?</p>
<p>That's a really interesting question! I am one for whom off-pitch singing, even the tiniest bit off, is akin to the scraping of nails on a chalkboard. I have to really watch myself at performances because if someone is off, I occasionally find myself uncontrollably saying "ooh" out loud, as though someone has just pinched me.....not so good.......</p>
<p>I would love to have any professional voice folks out there weigh in on this. Is really good pitch control just something you are born with , i.e., you have a great "ear" AND you can hear yourself? Or is this a problem that can be improved with instruction?</p>
<p>Inquiring minds want to know........</p>
<p>Doesn't the music have to be in the proper key in order for a singer to be able to find the correct pitch? I would think that trying to sing in someone else's key, such as one on a K machine, would cause some pitchiness, regardless of how well one sings...</p>
<p>Well I'm not an expert, but I've been singing in prestigious choral groups for 6+ years and I have a little sister who is practically tone deaf who I worked with on singing for a little while. I think it really depends. I don't have perfect pitch, but I've always had a good ear and when I'm out of tune it's usually a flatting thing and that, I think, has more to do with support than anything. I think why those people were out of tune in the quick notes could have had a lot to do with their breath support, especially if their sustained notes were ok. Probably they geared up for the long notes with extra support but disregarded the shorter ones. For the sharping issue, maybe they heard they were flat and overcompensated? Or maybe they didn't know the notes that well, were nervous, etc. Nerves can definately effect pitch. Pitch can also be improved by really listening. People who aren't gifted with good pitch have to work a lot harder at singing in tune and I think most of them really don't know this so they don't bother. This is where my little sister comes in. I gave her "voice lessons" for a couple of weeks and her main problem was that she didn't listen well and just sang the approximate pitch. When I agonizingly made her repeat every note and phrase until she listened well enough to get it just right, she sounded cute instead of bad. By the end I got her to sing "Tomorow" from Annie in way where you could recognize what she's singing. That being said, if someone's tone deaf, I doubt you could do anything for them. Again, I may be completely wrong, but those are my thoughts on the matter.</p>
<p>This reminds me of a sign one of the music teachers at my school has on his door that says, Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." haha</p>
<p>I think that besides the support, overcompensation and attention issues BroadwayBound88 was talking about, the singers you heard might not be used to singing through a microphone. That can be a different animal because it creates a different acoustical environment than a normal room and some have a hard time adjusting to it even if the monitor mix is good. You were at a college party and I assume beer was involved. That doesnt help either! haha It is interesting that you say the ones doing the R&B songs were more off when they were doing something easy. Sometimes I think that all the melismatic acrobatics some R&B singers use isnt so much a stylistic flourish as it is something they do to avoid having to hold a note on pitch. Notice that alot of them are almost always slightly flat. (Whitney Houston even before she got on drugs) Also remember that some of them have damaged voices to begin with and should not be imitated! <end of="" sermon=""> :)</end></p>
<p>For the real question, Im def not a pro teacher but I think good pitch is something you are born with. There are ear training exercises that can help as long as you arent tone deaf but there is only so much you can do. I know that in my acting voice classes we sing all the time and there are some kids that have been singing their whole lives that never can quite get on pitch. Its like they just cant make their voices do what they hear for some reason and they get upset when they hear a recording of themselves because they thought they were right on. Then there are others that never sang before they started taking classes that are always right in the center of the note as long as they support. They might be limited and have one octave ranges but at least they wont hurt you with their intonation! Some of them have also found that they have really excellent singing voices they should continue to develop LIKE ONE UNNAMED PERSON THAT POSTS HERE (ahem). Sometimes I think those kids are at an advantage because they never have developed the bad habits alot of the long time singers have.</p>
<p>I have many students come to me, (mostly with no singing experience) who can't match pitch. Many of them just need to learn how to listen and need to be exposed to sounds or pitches on a piano. It takes a lot of patience, but I have had people who told me they were tone deaf sing on pitch in a matter of months. </p>
<p>Those who have "perfect pitch" are usually born that way. You can learn to develop "relative pitch".</p>
<p>Sloppy singing/poor support can cause pitch problems. Sometimes it has to do with poor listening skills. Sometimes it is caused by pushing too hard, or issues related to body tension. Mostly it is from trying to sing a pitch in chest voice when you should be transitioning into your "middle" range or head voice, (falsetto in males).</p>
<p>My husband and I teach a pop vocal class. It is interesting to see how many students are unable to learn a song just by auditory means. They have a lot of difficulty learning a song if they don't have the sheet music so that they can read the notes. It is very important to have strong reading skills AS WELL as a good ear. It is good "listening" practice to listen to songs and pick out the harmony parts on your own, especially tunes with 3 part harmony.</p>
<p>Karaoke singing, (especially to pop music) seems to lend itself to sloppy singing. Even though you are having fun you still need to pay attention to what you are doing.</p>
<p>One thing that gets me is when students just pick starting pitches "out of the air" and sing accapella. Most often they aren't even singing in the key the song is written in. PLEASE make sure you are singing in the correct key. Buy a pitch pipe.</p>
<p>I saw this in one of my magazines...do you think it is a rip-off or have you heard anything about it? Supposedly this program teaches those who don't have perfect pitch to get it by hearing "colors" in the music. Has anyone tried it?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.perfectpitch.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.perfectpitch.com/</a></p>
<p>Melsmom-</p>
<p>My husband can do all the things listed on that web page. He insists he has relative pitch. In my opinion this does not train you to have "perfect" pitch. </p>
<p>I don't have perfect pitch either but because I hear pitches on the piano almost everyday for several hours and listen to lots of music on a daily basis I can usually tell you what "pitch" is being sung or played. Your ear really starts to work well if you have a lot of exposure to music daily and you really know how to listen.</p>
<p>With the video age, many people weren't "listening" to music. They were watching it. It will be interesting to see if the amount of MP3 players that are being used will have an affect on people's "listening" skills.</p>