Although there are people who are lucky to be born with a natural ear for pitches, melodies, and music, some people have a hard time to sing in tune.
Of course, as a singer, you would want to hit all the notes. You don’t want to sing above it (sharp) or sing below it (flat).
Singing in tune is, for the most part, controlled or regulated by two factors. That is the hearing ability and breath support. If you are having a difficult time matching pitches, don’t worry. Why? Well, it’s because you can still develop or enhance your pitch recognition.
So, to put it briefly, to match pitches, you need to work on your breathing and hearing abilities. And the pitch problems should amend themselves automatically. However, both factors take some time to master. But with regular practice and augmented self-awareness, you may become, sooner or later, a pitch-perfect singer.
Amplifying Your Sense of Hearing
To develop your aural awareness, try matching pitches on a guitar, piano, or a digital tuner. The capability to hear, identify, and match pitches with your voice is a pivotal ear training ability. Although some people are blessed with a natural ear, others are not. And for those who don’t have a natural ear, they can learn to improve their pitch recognition.
Moving on, you also need to choose a target note. A target note is a note that you intend to match in pitch. For the most part, you can select any musical note within your range. Or you could begin by matching the lowest “C” in your range. As you go on through the vocal exercise, keep on picking random notes that fall within our range and try to match their pitch.
Furthermore, you can try singing major scales to develop your aural awareness. A scale is a musical exercise that goes down or goes up in a fixed pattern. Major scales are, by far, the most familiar and predictable. If you sing scales, focus or aim your attention on learning a particular technique, like vibrato, prevailing over a specific problem, such as pitchiness, or expanding your vocal range.
Lastly, you can also sing major arpeggios. Like scales, arpeggios are also musical exercises. However, rather than going up and going down from pitch to pitch, arpeggios move up and down in intervening time. Doing this vocal exercise will not only enhance your pitch but will improve your capability to move from one pitch to another as you sing.
Amending Your Pitch
Now, to correct your pitch, you need to stand in the proper singing posture. If you are having a hard time singing in tune, your stance might be the reason for this. When you stand in the appropriate singing posture, you’ll have a trouble-free time matching the right pitch and regulating your voice.
To stand in the right posture, you need to ensure that you distribute your weight equally on your feet. Sustain a minimal bend in your knees, put your hands at your sides, and keep your shoulders back and down.
To correct a sharp pitch, relax your muscles. Sing with minimal force, work on your breathing control, and remain focused. On the other hand, to correct a flat pitch, improve your breathing support. Keep your chin parallel to the ground, smile, monitor your voice, and get enough sleep.
An effective way to fix your pitch is to record yourself singing, and listen to it. Be wary of notes that don’t match the pitch so that you can amend them next time.
Practice Audiation
To practice audiation, choose a song that’s familiar to you. Don’t sing along with it, instead visualize and think about the melody in your head. The capability to hear a song in your head with singing along with it is called audiation.
Or you can sing the song out loud. As you sing, keep the melody, pitch of each note, and intervals between the notes in your mind. On the other hand, you can sing every other line of a song while thinking about the rest. Lastly, you can choose to sing only particular words of a song while keeping the rest in mind.
Takeaway
All in all, if you are having a hard time singing in tune, don’t fret. There are ways for you to take in so that you can improve matching pitches. You can opt to do this on your own or with the help of a vocal coach. If you prefer the latter, try finding some vocal studio in your area to start improving your voice.
