Am I Singing In Tune? More Complicated Than You Think!

Virtually every singer I have taught or worked with has struggled with singing in tune at some point in their vocal journey. Whether it’s a beginner hobbyist who sings for a local band on the weekends or a seasoned lead vocalist for a professional wedding band, there always comes a time when they would listen to their own voices in recording and exclaim, “Wow! I was out of tune at this one section and didn’t even notice!” This begs the question - what does it mean to sing in tune?

Let’s Get Sciency: Singing in Tune = Singing the Right Frequencies

Sound is made up of waves of oscillating air pressures. How frequently the air pressure oscillates per second, or the frequency of a sound, determines how high or low-pitched a sound is. In other words, the higher the frequency of a sound, the higher the pitch, and vice versa. Therefore, singing in tune for a singer usually means singing the correct frequencies.

With modern technology, we can very easily determine whether the frequency of the sounds you are singing matches with the pitches you are supposed to be singing in a song. You can use software such as Voce Vista and Online Mic Test to track what frequency you are singing. Studies have also experimented on the benefits of training the singing voice using a visual “pitch detector,” suggesting that the combined use of vocal pedagogy teachings and “pitch detectors” while practicing singing may better improve the ability to sing in tune, more than traditional methods.

Okay… So problem solved, right?

Well… Not exactly. While the frequency of a sound is probably the most important contributor to the pitch of the sound, pitch and frequency are inherently different. The pitch of a sound is a listener’s cognitive perception of how high/low a sound is. Meaning, there are other contributors of pitch that change  how we perceive the accuracy of a sound.

How Brightness/Darkness of Sound Affects Pitch Perception

One of the bigger contributors is timbre. Essentially, timbre refers to the quality of sound not pertaining to its fundamental frequency. In singing, this often means how bright or dark a sound is. Studies have shown that a brighter, sharper sound (such as a young contemporary musical theatre singer's voice) is perceived to have a slightly higher pitch than a darker, duller sound (such as a classical choral singer's voice). This tells us that sometimes even though we are singing the right frequency, the timbre of our voice, determined by our vowel, mouth shape, larynx position, and many other factors, may affect our ability to sing in-tune.

2-Step Guide to Singing In Tune

Now that we have a more in-depth understanding of what it means to sing in tune, here is a 2-step guide to examining whether you are singing in tune.

Step 1: Check if you are singing the correct frequencies for the song or exercise

• This can be done with a pitch detector or a tuner

Step 2: If it still sounds a little off even after step 1, check if the brightness/darkness of your sound is contributing to a “perceptual out-of-tuneness”

• Bright sounds are shown to be perceived slightly higher in pitch, while darker tones are show to be perceived slightly lower in pitch
• Singers can try modifying the vowel to add either brightness or darkness to their sound to offset this “perceptual out-of-tuneness”

Although this simple guide helps you understand theoretically how you can sing more in-tune, the way to achieve an in-tune singing voice with healthy vocal technique is often more nuanced. Check out my next article for practical tools to improve your pitch accuracy!

References:

1. Vurma, Allan, Marju Raju, and Annika Kuuda. “Does Timbre Affect Pitch?: Estimations by Musicians and Non-Musicians.” Psychology of Music 39, no. 3 (2011): 291–306. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735610373602.

2. Wilson, Pat, Kerrie Lee, Jean Callaghan, and William Thorpe. “Learning to Sing in Tune: Does Real-Time Visual Feedback Help?” Journal of Interdisciplinary Music Studies 2 (January 1, 2008): 157–72.