Tone deaf? Try Target Practice

Someone asked me this week if I had any suggestions for training people who are considered "tone deaf". First we need to agree on a definition of what "tone deaf" is. I like this one from Webster's Dictionary-

"...relatively insensitive to differences in musical pitch."

Other names for chronic pitch problems are: "being pitchy", "not being able to sing in tune", and "not able to carry a tune in a bucket". These are varying degrees of "tone deafness", with different sets of limitations.

• A session singer who is consistently 1/4 step sharp or flat can be considered too tone deaf to hire.

In this case, serious professional training should be sought out. The problem is usually one of breath control and/or a tight throat. This singer does hear the pitch but can't fine-tune their aim, hence the small but professionally limiting degree of tone-deafness. Pitch accuracy, for a session singer, has to be surgically precise, and pitch problems can short cut a studio vocal career.

• A singer who can sing very well in tune in one key but can't find the melody if you change the key has a greater degree of tone deafness, and is prone to embarrassing themselves by singing a song in a completely different key than the band is playing. I've heard major stars do this. Really.

This singer needs to become aware of their pitch problems. Someone needs to speak up for their sake, because tone-deafness is limiting their options. They will always have to have a band that knows their limitations, will have to be very careful singing "on the spot" with strange players and will need to avoid singing acapella, when they may change pitch in the middle of the song (how many times have you heard someone do this with the Star Spangled Banner?!) Again, the solution is some serious target practice with someone who knows whether they are on pitch or not. This singer may also need help not straining or tightening their throats, as well as using good breath support, control and posture habits.

• A beginning singer whose pitch-matching ability is akin to "pin the tail on the donkey" is considered someone who can't sing in tune. Or in short... who can't sing, period.
  

This singer will need to understand that it is indeed possible for a beginner to learn to sing in tune, but that it will take consistent practice over a period of time to educate the ear-brain-voice connections.

As a vocal coach I have successfully trained people who were "tone deaf"- even with some hearing loss and breathing limitations - to sing in tune! Unless there is true organic (physical) damage to the ear which eliminates the ability to process sound signals, anyone can learn to sing. Being tone deaf is what I would call a "lack of aural education". Somehow you missed a natural training of your hearing abilities to distinguish differences in pitch.

The question is-- are you are willing to dig in and do some consistent target practice? Simply play a note on a keyboard, guitar, or listen to a note sung by someone else, and try to match it. At first you will need to have someone present (a vocal coach would be great) to tell you if you are right. If you are wrong tell they need to be able to tell you you that you are too high (sharp) or too low (flat) so you know which way you need to go. Then move up to target practice with patterns of several notes in a row, then notes in strange intervals, etc. Practice daily if possible because the more you practice, the faster you will improve your ability to hear and "sing in tune" or "on pitch".

You also need to be able to apply good breath support and control, to keep your throat open and flexible, to know how to listen well to pitch in music tracks, and to eliminate subtle sources of inappropriate tension, in order to sing the most accurately.

For more help, here are some articles I've written on pitch problems:
Pitch Problems In The Recording Studio - 7 Solutions
Do You Have Pitch Problems As A Singer? 10 Solutions

For information on my vocal training classes and products, comment or reply to this post or contact me through my website.

Anyone else have experience with tone deafness? What helped? What didn't?

Pitch Problems: Tips To Fix Them

Pitch problems can be frustrating... especially subtle ones that are not quite a half-step off. Here are my thoughts on the matter.

I often find pitch issues to be directly related to physical tension. This unnecessary tension can act like someone tugging on the arm of a person playing a fretless instrument. There would be no way to hit the notes perfectly in tune with that kind of outside interference. I've had a lot of fun double-teaming a few of my students with Ethan Kind, who guest-posted on the Alexander Technique previously on this blog.

Another source of inaccurate pitch is physical tightness in your throat channel when you sing. Your throat should open in three directions... up (soft palate and nasal membrane), down (jaw and tongue positions) and back (head balanced, tension-free, on tailbone instead of in front).

Problem-causing physical tension can originate from what I like to call "tense thinking"... psychological anxiety, causing physical guarding, collapsing the "scaffolding" from which the voice works most accurately. Here's where my post on the vocal magic of intention and expectation could help you.

Pitch problems can also stem from wrong vocal technique habits, such as powering your voice from too high in the body. Move your feeling of where power comes from lower... at the pelvic floor... (squeeze your butt for power, not your neck, chest or shoulders) and get taller, lengthening your spine when you sing instead of compressing it and make sure your head is not forward.

An action that can help get pitch right is to make sure you've warmed your voice up throughout your whole range. When the muscles controlling your head and chest voice are equally strong, aiming at pitch becomes much easier. Important: don't just do vocal exercises... find out how to do them CORRECTLY!

Another positive action is to focus your listening to an acoustic instrument in the track or band, instead of swimmy things or low instruments whose overtones tend not to be accurate and will through your pitch off.

To summarize, here are 6 big tips to help increase your pitch accuracy:

1. POSTURE... stand or sit tall and confidently, head balanced on tailbone.
2. WARM UP... your voice correctly throughout your whole range, mixing it.
3. LISTEN ...to the music, especially acoustic instruments such as piano and guitar.
   
4. DON'T LISTEN... to swimmy instruments or bass to get your pitch center.
   
5. AIM ...at the pitch... intend to hit a specific note.
6. CONFIDENCE... expect to hit it!
7. PRACTICE PERFECTLY... don't allow yourself to be content with pitchiness. Practice hitting the note you're aiming for, instead of allowing yourself to sing "pitchy". You'll train your ear to be much more accurate when you practice accuracy.
   

Let me know this works for you... and anything else you'd like to add!
To book a pitch fixing lesson in person or by phone, contact me here.