<p>For all the Vocal Coaches of the world what is the common reason for Pitch issues with voice students? I've never experienced pitch issues in all my career as a singer, but as I was recording myself yesterday I seemed to be having issues of either maintaining pitch on sustained notes or just reaching pitch on the lower notes.</p>
<p>I'm COMPLETELY freaking out because I've never recorded myself and feel like I am totally tone deaf. HELP!</p>
<p>Are you sure it isn't the recording device that you used? They are not always accurate. Also, remember that pitch issues are magnified by recordings. Live auditions will often sound better. On the other hand, recordings (exactly because they are so pitch-sensitive) can be helpful to you in picking out problem spots to fix.</p>
<p>Almost everyone is horrified when they first hear themselves - it is completely expected. What does your voice teacher think? You need an objective opinion. Once you get used to recording yourself, you will find it to be necessary. Once my D got a digital recorder, she records every voice lesson and records herself rehearsing. It is a great help.</p>
<p>Recording yourself is relatively easy compared with the painful process of listening to the recording afterwards. </p>
<p>I am a singer, not a vocal coach or voice teacher, so you will indeed want to speak with a professional. Perhaps Lorelei will chime in. Pitch problems may be mostly mental, mostly physical or a combination of both. I have them myself and they are worst when I am tired and nervous or excited. I find I do best when I simply relax and sing without consciously worrying about pitch - the body knows what to do as long as I don't try to overthink the situation. You need to find out what is causing the problem in your own case, and it is very hard for someone to do a diagnosis without working with you in person. </p>
<p>When listening to the recordings, there are some specific things you will want to consider. Do pitch problems happen mostly on long notes at the ends of phrases when you are working without much breath left, or also on long notes at the start of a phrase when you feel you have plenty of breath to work with? Does it help if you sing the sustained note either louder or softer? Sustaining pitch on a long note can be harder when singing either very loudly or very softly. Does the problem go away if you are being accompanied by a piano, or when you sing with others who have either perfect pitch or very good relative pitch? The answers to these questions can help you and your coach or teacher figure out what you need to work on.</p>
<p>Sharping the low notes makes me wonder whether you are singing a lower part than you should. If you are not reaching those notes because of vocal fatigue, this is an important thing to talk over with your voice teacher. Sometimes directors of choruses will ask a singer to sing outside their optimal range if they have a shortage of voices on that part. This can be especially hard on a young voice and you may need to advocate for yourself or get your voice teacher to advocate for you if this is happening. On very low notes, it takes longer than it does with higher notes to determine the center of the pitch, so it could also be an ear training issue rather than a range or tessitura issue. Good luck.</p>
<p>Intonation problems can be caused by any of several factors. There may be a neurological perception problem, i.e. the pitch is not accurately perceived and/or replicated. Generally one thinks the pitch, and then produces it. Maintaining it is a matter of sustaining the breath phonation co-ordination, and using a vowel resonance which allows the pitch to be perceived accurately. A very frequent problem happens when the registration balance is inappropriate, either in the passaggio as an issue of co-ordinated balance or at extremes of range and/or volume. Your teacher is best qualified to help you sort it out. </p>
<p>If it is an issue of the lowest notes, possibly you are too tense to relax into the tone, and breath flow is inappropriate. We all have our limits of range. Specifically, young male voices tend to have access to lower pitches initially after the voice change than they ultimately can functionally manage. </p>
<p>For sustained pitches, you could utilize the piano to monitor how well you maintain the pitch, articulating the piano key repeatedly as you sustain the note....see if you can hear when it goes off, and what you are losing, i.e. support, energy, etc. </p>
<p>Good luck to you and your teacher in exploring this issue.</p>
<p>Then again, you could just have had an off day as countless singers at the Met experience frequently!</p>