Pitching Tips and FAQ
(Frequently Asked Questions)
Here in this section on pitching, I lay out many pitching tips that answer the FAQ (frequently asked questions) regarding how to sing in tune, to pitch correctly, as well as what exercises we singers can do to improve on our pitching skills.
For those who wish to check out other singing tips and FAQ, do click on this link provided now. Feel free to also send in your questions about singing by using the ‘Contact Us’ Form that is provided for you on my website.
Ok, here are the various pitching tips and related FAQ for your reference:
Question ONE:
I think I am tone deaf. Can I be saved?
‘Your Personal Singing Guide’ says:
A lot of students of singing think that they are tone deaf, just because they sing off-key sometimes or feel that they sing terribly.
In actual fact, it is quite rare to find a truly tone deaf person (almost equivalent to the chance of striking the lottery!), if we were to use the strictest definition of the term.
A tone deaf person would be someone who cannot hear ANY difference between tones, and sings TOTALLY in a monotonous and flat way, with little variation in key or pitch. But, as we all know, not many people really and truly sing in this way. The ones we usually hear are those who sing off-key sometimes or most of the time, but are still able to have variation in key and pitch when they sing.
If you were truly tone deaf, as defined above, I do not think that there can be much that can be done to improve your singing, and most pitching tips that I could provide would be quite useless to you.
However, if you were only tone deficient as most people are, there are many ear training exercises that would allow you to be able to improve on your listening ability, and to know whether you are singing too high or too low. Try the ‘humming’ exercise that allows you to hear your pitches more internally, so that you develop a better sense of hearing.
You can also try some of the basic pitching exercises and pitching tips provided to see if they can help you to improve on your pitching ability, and also improve on your listening skills as you practice these exercises diligently.
Question TWO:
Why do I keep going off-key? Worse still, I think that I am in the correct key…
‘Your Personal Singing Guide’ says:
Don’t fret! it is probably due to the fact that you are unable to hear yourself properly, or you do not know how to pitch those notes accurately. Doing the ear training and pitching exercises as advocated in the above FAQ would suffice to help you to improve.
Here’s a pitching tip for you: Try some vocal exercises for singing, to train your ability to use your voice at different pitches, and this will help you to be able to reach for the notes that may have been out of your reach, resulting in your singing off-key sometimes.
Question THREE:
Why do I keep missing the pitch for high notes? I am fine when singing the low notes.
‘Your Personal Singing Guide’ says:
It is good news that you sing fine when singing the low notes! It means that you are more comfortable in the low part of your vocal range, or that you have a voice that suits the lower range of notes.
In order to be able to hit the high notes, you have to first be familiar with the placement of these high notes, and how to pitch them accurately and easily. One simple pitching tip is for you to try to ‘hum’ these notes first, or you can also do the ‘lip trill’ exercise that helps us to be able to reach for our high notes more easily and stress-free. However, it is important that you follow the guidelines provided for you on the relevant webpage, because it is vital that you do these exercises correctly in order to achieve the desired effects.
This also means that you are able to hear yourself fine, and you should be able to sing accurately once you have found your high range. Or, perhaps you can consider singing the song in a slightly lower key, if those high notes are truly out of your range.
Question FOUR:
How can we improve on our pitching in general? I just want to be able to sing more in tune.
‘Your Personal Singing Guide’ says:
You can improve on your listening, your pitching when you sing, as well as your familiarity with the various pitches and how to adjust your voice to hit the correct pitches.
Listening is important because you need to be able to hear what you are singing, and to know whenever you go off-key. Constantly reviewing your singing through audio or video recordings would be a good idea for self-improvement.
Next, improving on your pitching for singing can be done by following the pitching tips provided on this website, and doing the basic pitching exercises advocated above, or by trying out some of the basic vocal exercises on this website, so that you are more familiar with your voice, and also develop a stronger singing voice so that you can tackle most pitches well.
Lastly, you would need to know how to sing higher or lower as and when necessary, and this is called pitch adjustment. Most singers would be very aware of this and would have to do this when they are singing, because sometimes the pitches that we sing may come out slightly flat, and we need to adjust them to the correct pitch as quickly as we can.
Question FIVE:
I always seem to sing in a different key for the songs that I sing, but it somehow seems to be in sync, and sometimes even sounds like I am singing harmony parts for the song. How do I get myself to sing in the correct key?
‘Your Personal Singing Guide’ says:
Well, it seems like you are not tone deaf, just that you are unsure of how to adjust your overall pitch to match the pitch required in a song. I say this because you are able to follow the ups and downs in the song, and even sound like you are singing harmony, and this means that overall, your pitch movements are correct, but they are just on a different level than that of the song’s.
Here’s a pitching tip for you: Try improving on this by making sure that your starting key is correct. Getting off on the right note is vital for you to be able to hit the right key in the song. Practice more on this by trying out the movable doh listening exercise provided on my website, and you should improve on your listening in this aspect.
You can also try to do some humming exercises to improve on your internal hearing, and also to let you start off accurately on the correct note, and also to know how to produce that note correctly. This should help you to get your key right when you sing.
One other pitching tip for you is to lower or raise the key of the song using a karaoke machine or an audio software, and try to sing the song in the new key. If you were previously singing too high for the song, you would need to raise the key of the song to match what you are singing. Vice versa if you were singing too low for the song.
Do also have some friends or loved ones when you are singing, and get them to tell you if you are singing too high or too low. You would then be able to gauge whether you need to sing lower or higher in pitch, and can work to improve on your pitching in the correct direction.
Alright, I hope that these pitching tips have been useful and helpful to you, and do send me more questions by using our Contact Us page and let me know what are your queries or topics that you wish to clarify.
You can also check out some good vocal training guidebooks and CDs by clicking on the link provided. Hope that they will be useful to you!
Keep singing, and keep me updated on your progress! ;-p
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