Some people believe that singers can either hit the right note or they can't. That's why many choirs audition before you can join.
But like any physical skill — playing the violin or scoring goals, for example — it's something that can be learnt.
For some strange reason, many people think that singers are born and not made. You can either either sing or you can't.
Unlike, for example, playing the violin or serving overhand in tennis or juggling three balls. People understand that, to be good at those things, you'll need to practice. A lot.
It's the same with singing, especially when it comes to singing a note accurately. There are many, many tiny muscles involved in using your voice to create a sound at a specific pitch. It needs a great deal of practice to be able to coordinate them all in order to sing a note at a specific pitch.
It's such a complex process that it's amazing that humans can sing at all!
When we first start our singing journey, we will find that we won't be able to match the pitch of a note with 100% accuracy. We will often be slightly below the pitch (flat) or above it (sharp).
But given time and feedback (from others and our own ears), we will steadily get better. We may not be accurate all the time, but we will be able to notice when we're off and do something about it.
We all know singers in our choir who can't hit the right notes. Some appear to pitch at random, others will be consistently flat, whilst others will be consistently sharp.
Most of these singers will get better over time, but a few won't. Why might
that be? Here are four possible reasons, plus suggested solutions.
1. hearing problems
As we get older we all begin to lose some hearing. Many of us soldier on for a long time before we admit this to ourselves, or investigate hearing aids. It could be that we're not hearing the other singers accurately or mis-hearing the starting notes when they're given out. We're also not getting accurate feedback from our ears when we sing. Both these factors can affect whether we hit the right note or not.
SOLUTION: If you have a 'good' ear, make sure that's the one facing the
rest of the singers. If you think you might have a hearing problem,
get your hearing tested (it's free). Make sure you stand in a place that has
the least noise, i.e. not next to the heating or ventilation system! Put
yourself in the middle of rows rather than at the ends. Let your choir
or workshop leader know that you have a hearing difficulty.
2. fear of losing self
For some people, when they hit the note spot on, they feel like they've disappeared into the sound. They have lost their sense of self because their voice has blended so well into what's going on around them. That can be scary, so the person will sing slightly out of tune in order to hear themselves again.
SOLUTION: Time is a great healer. As you spend more time with the same
singers, you will begin to feel safer. Also, as you begin to experience more and
more what it feels like to be part of a whole, you will get used to it. When
you 'disappear', you might also try other ways to check in with yourself as
you sing: look down at yourself, tap yourself on the arm, look around the room
to understand your place within it, stop singing momentarily and just listen
before joining in again.
3. unfamiliar with harmonies
When I first started singing in harmony, I often found that I wasn't sure if I was singing the correct note because the harmony I was singing seemed to fit in so well with all the other notes. I suddenly worried that I might be singing the tune instead of my harmony part! I would then sometimes go off as I struggled to figure out which bit I was supposed to be singing. As I became more familiar with harmony singing, I felt more comfortable and confident that I was singing the right note.
SOLUTION: Start off by singing the tune before you venture onto harmony parts. When you are singing a harmony and start to worry that you've slipped onto the tune by mistake, stop singing for a moment, listen to the tune, then the harmony, then slip back in.
4. dragged along by others
It might be that you can hit the right note most of the time. But if others in your section have a tendency to sing flat or sharp, it's very easy to be dragged along by them. After all, you don't want to be the only one sticking out.
SOLUTION: There's not much you can do as an individual singer. It's up
to your choir leader to notice that one whole section is singing flat or
sharp, and then introduce some vocal training to help.
5. perfect pitch
This is a very, very rare situation, but it might be that you have perfect pitch, without even realising it. It's amazing that some of us can predict the note of our phone ringing, or doorbell, or TV theme tune, just before it starts. Choirs, especially when singing a cappella, can slip slightly in their tuning. When all singers slip at the same time, it's not too much of a problem. But if one singer has perfect pitch and sticks closely to the notes that were correct at the start, when everyone else has slipped. it will sound like they are singing out of tune.
SOLUTION: The singer with perfect pitch is not the one that needs to
change! The choir needs to work on how to stop a song from slipping. The
perfect pitch singer can be a great help here as they can help to keep the
song anchored correctly.
other posts
You might find these older posts of interest too.
How do I know if I'm singing in tune?
Singing out of tune isn't always a bad thing
Putting the hours in - are singers born or made?
Help! How to deal with choir members who sing out of tune?
Are you a singer with hearing loss? Steps you can take to make life easier in your choir
Why being 'pitchy' can be in the ear of the beholder
How do you know if you're singing the right thing?
Chris Rowbury
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