Here's a ChoralNet resource on this topic.

There appear to be lots of voice pitch-matching software programs out there -- some of which look to be free. Perhaps someone knows of one and point you to it...? (As I understand the way they work, the singer attempts to match a pitch being generated by the computer, and the software gives visual feedback RE being flat, sharp, or accurate.)

 

If the singer you refer to would be willing to work with such a program, it certainly couldn't hurt ... at least for "awareness training."

 

Now that I think about it, there might even be a little hand-held device which does this, too.

 

Help, anyone?

Hi, Debbie.

 

Both Tom and Bill have good suggestions, but they assume that your problem child can actually HEAR that she's not matching pitch. Is this true?

 

Constant flatting can be a function of poor vocal habits, no question, and it's important to get all the muscles that aren't needed relaxed but to engage all the muscles that ARE needed for breath support. You already know all that.

 

But it can also be an ear problem, if the singer believes she is matching pitch when she is not, and that's a much more difficult problem to deal with. It can range from simply raising her awareness of the problem so she actually LISTENS to what she's producing, and compares it with what she SHOULD be producing, to an inate lack of the ability to hear pitches correctly. And this unfortunate kind of pitch-blindness CAN exist, just as can rhythmic-blindness or other unexpected kinds of failure to do what most musicians take for granted. The only real fix for something like that--if indeed any fix is possible--is to go back to the learning routines that the individual should have gone through as a child, and try to help her through them as an adult. Good Kodály training can help with this, of course.

 

As to pitch-matching software, be aware that the electronic tones that come out of computers are often not percieved as actual musical tones. It's a learned ability, like a taste for coffee or scotch! My late wife ran into that when she took a one-year fillin job teaching a college "sightlinging" course. A number of the students (who were music majors!) couldn't relate to the boops and beeps from the computer, and she quickly decided to bag the computer-aided instruction they had been using and ordered Kodály materials, which have the advantage of using real music instead of made-up exercises (and yes, that makes a difference!) and of being organized in a progressive fashion.  (She also discovered that the previous teacher had never played intervals with both notes simultaneously, so the students had never learned the "flavors" of intervals heard in isolation.)

 

All the best to you and to your friend,

 

John

 

 

Thank you Tom, Bill, and John.  John asked a great question.  It is pretty apparent that my charge does not realize she/he is not matching pitches.  My charge actually thinks she/he sings quite well.  She/he usually also sings full barrel, which only seems to make matters worse.  I'm quite certain there has been no formal teaching.  I am hoping to raise the awareness of what is actually being produced & help. 

 

I believe one of two things will happen, we will be successful in helping or this person will realize the issue and rethink things realistically.  I'm hoping for the first with all my heart. 

 

I'll find something to show the actual pitch being made and try the Kodaly as well. 

 

I'm very thankful for any input & suggestions.

 

Debbie

 Hi Debbie, 

I've been faced several times with a similar problem. It never turned out to be a problem of not hearing pitch well. The women all heard the pitch just fine. When they matched their voices to the pitch, however, they produced a voice so lacking in overtones that it appeared to be, exactly as you say, about a quarter of a tone flat. In one case it was a very good singer, who became lazy in her middle range. Moving her to first soprano meant she had to be energetic, which solved her problem. In other cases I worked privately with the person to improve voice production. One Asian woman was only able to let go of her straight tone after many months, so it is not always easy. I always approached the problem by talking about the different voices any one person can use and, without criticizing their way of singing, pointed out that we needed her to use a slightly different voice to blend with our group. We experimented with voices that were rounder, more flexible, allowed some vibrato, warmer, had a different colour,etc, then chose a voice that fit better with the choir. No loss of face, but problem solved. 

 

 Another thing you can try is changing where the person stands in the group. Some voice combinations will complement and relieve the flat sound, whereas others will accentuate it. When you change the seating arrangement, ask the singers to all sing softly enough to hear the voices next to them. Very often people do not realize that a choir is not just about singing out but also about blending together and listening to each other. It is worth spending a rehearsal working out in which order your singers should stand to give you optimal results. You may be surprised at how different the group sounds when you move people around. 

 

I'm sure you will be successful with one approach or the other so that you can keep your singer. Good luck. 

Carol Z

Hello Debbie,

 

You didn't mention if this person sings with vibrato. Speaking as a chorister (not as a conductor), it's my experience that many singers who sing with vibrato "hang" the vibrato on the core pitch, so that all the pitch fluctuation of vibrato is below the correct pitch. The singer might be hearing the correct pitch, and tuning to the correct pitch, and actually singing the correct pitch at the top of the vibrato oscillation, but the effect to the listener is that the entire pitch is flat. This phenomenon will be especially pronounced in a singer with a very wide vibrato, since in that case a very large oscillation will be sounding below the correct pitch.

 

I've written about this in more detail, with some illustrations, here: http://quodlibet-sarah.blogspot.com/ (search "vibrato" at top left, then scroll down to find three entries on "Finding the Right Voice -- Vibrato in the Choral Ensemble."

 

My favorite conductor uses a wonderful, simple exercise to tune his choirs and to raise to exquisite levels our awareness of pitch. He has the basses sing say, a C below middle C; tenors and altos in unison on middle C, and sopranos on the C an octave above, Singing on "nah," we start piano and crescendo through several beats, tuning like mad as we go and taking out the vibrato that can cloud the pitch. When we are perfectly in tune, the overtone at the 12th (from the bass note) will spring into the room like a halo over the choir (most strongly over the bass section). We repeat the exercise a half step higher on "nee," then a half step higher on "naw" (best overtone generator). Then we repeat the entire series. We are asked to raise our hands if and when we hear the overtone; this helps guide those who are not quite sure what's going on! This exercise requires attention, careful singing, and (best of all, I think), abandonment of the solo voice and embracing of the choral voice. It really is remarkable when that overtone shimmers in the room and looks of wonder and delight come over the choristers' faces. This works in our church choir of 35 and in the 175-voice Hartford Chorale. Very, very useful, and very very easy.

 

If your singer does use vibrato, try asking her to sing without it. This might help her identify the real core pitch and might increase her chance of matching pitch.

 

BTW, I'm not opposed to vibrato per se, or to the use of vibrato in choral music. Tasteful vibrato, employed at the right times and in the right manner appropriate to the style of the music, is an important part of every singer's skill set, for choral and solo repertoire.

 

Sarah Hager Johnston BMus MLS

GraceNotes Writing

 

Now that I know the problem is not matching pitch, here are three more ChoralNet resources on related topics.

Hello all,

 

I recorded our group this weekend, in particular to listen more closely to our flat singer.  I'd like to note something very interesting.  She does not sing with much vibrato at all (thank you for mentioning it Sarah), and most of the time she does sing flat.  On the occasion she does hit a note correctly, she will immediately adjust back to being flat!  This is leading me to believe that her natural tendency is to hear everything flat.

 

Now if I play her this recording, she will undoubtedly hear herself moving down in pitch, but, I'm thinking she may not be able to tell she's gone out of tune, flat, with everyone else.  Is this a correct assumption?

 

Any thoughts out there?

 

Debbie

Debbie,

 

Just in case this might be helpful, I saw this software whilst shopping today -- it has the user sing along to words and notes, and indicates on the screen when they are sharp or flat ... or in tune.

 

 

All my best,

 

Tom

 

 

This may be a little bizarre, but this is a method I used on myself to correct this problem.  Consider that there are three basic regions to a pitch: the flat side, the center and the sharp side.  Your singer (like myself) is already adept at occupying the flat side. She needs to learn to hang out on the sharp side.  My personal antidote many years ago was to study how to sing sharp.  Here's how it worked.

 

I would give myself a pitch from the piano and sing a phrase of a simple song with the objective of gradually raising the pitch until I was about a 1/4 tone sharp by the end of the phrase.  Winding up in tune was not good enough; it had to be certifyably sharp.  This method was applied to every phrase of the song and transferred to numerous songs after that.  I practiced this concept for months until I was free to choose where I was placing pitches all along the way.

 

I think that the most important component in tuning skill is acquiring the capacity to adjust the pitch of a note up or down throughout the duration of that note.  In addition some knowledge (or at least strong intuition) of intervals, chords and acoustics helps define the very meaning of "being in tune" since music is inherently contextual.

 

There was a phrase current in the big bad sixties, "Not to decide IS to decide."  this is certainly true with intonation.  If you haven't consciously decided where to place a pitch, it is going to go where ever your unconscious habits decree.