Singing on perfect pitch?

Sjaak

If I record my voice/exercises I use Melodyne to check how my actually pitch is. Melodyne analyses perfectly what you're singing. Is there a rule of thumb for the degree of deviation which you can call "normal". Let's say I sing a C. Melodyne tells me I am singing for example 20% under C or 39% above C. Just wondering how singers (male/female) think about this question. What can I do to reach perfect pitch? My problem is: I am not "steady" enough yet to hold the note on pitch. Thank you!

Klaus_T

if you want to get better at singing on pitch, there are several factors. you need to be able to HEAR pitch properly, for example. try the free page tonedear.com, and do the intervals exercise (explanation on the page). best to sing the notes as you hear them, this way you establish a connection between hearing and singing. also, if your breath support is not there or unstable, you will most likely have a hard time singing on pitch. "perfect pitch" will be very hard to achieve, but it is probably not necessary, however, 39% is maybe not enough. you might want to practice holding individual notes and check them on melodyne (or another app), and track your progress (i.e. how far off you are). if you do this regularily, you will get better, and the fact that you track it will motivate you to keep going, because you see your progress.

by doing regular scale exercises like Ken's course, you will also improve your pitch in songs, because your throat gets used to doing the intervals, and, as mentioned above, proper support is a big factor here too. also, in the course there is a section for getting better with pitch.

good luck!!!

Sjaak

Thank you Klaus for your reply. I think it really helps me to make progress. I will check your suggested page tone clear.com. I learned a lot from this channel/site. Ken is a great teacher. I am grateful he is sharing his knowledge with us. Thanks again!

Klaus_T

yes, it is a great place for learning how to sing better!

sjonrokz4u

Just wanted to make sure you got that right. Tonedear not toneclear.

Sjaak

Thanks Sjonrokz4u for the correction. I will look for Tonedear and not Toneclear.

Vocality

I have been doing toned ear for about 1 year and made great progress at the start was getting average score 50-60% now around 90% on most intervals. Takes a bit of time to improve, 20 min a day regular pratice is all it takes for good progress and spend too much time your progress will slow down.

Sjaak

Thank you Vocality. I underestimated singing on pitch but recording myself brought me with both my feet on the ground. It's hard work. I know now.

sjonrokz4u

I’ve not really tried tonedear. For you guys that have I understand how it helps you identify pitch. Does it make a difference in your pitch when actually singing songs?

Klaus_T

@sjonrokz4u hard to say if it was the KTVA training or the ear training, but i got better (not perfect though lol, far from it). try it, you will be shocked at how hard it is (if you are anything like me in the beginning)

Sjaak

I agree Klaus. It is really difficult and hard work!

DogMeat

I thought those are "cents" that Melodyne shows and not percents, but the answer is "more practice"

Gutier

Thanks for the tonedear site! looks cool! I once used earmaster soft, but I quit because I couldn't be consistent

Klaus_T

@Gutier consistent with pitch, or with exercising? or both?! if you don't do it at least 5 times a week for 10-20 mins per day, you won't make any progress.

Gutier

Klaus_T said:

@Gutier consistent with pitch, or with exercising? or both?! if you don't do it at least 5 times a week for 10-20 mins per day, you won't make any progress.

with exercising, I lasted a week, between half an hour and an hour a day I practiced ... according to the tonedear website it is better for a short time but frequent, than a long time and without frequency. That's good to understand

mkel

I have been battling with accurate pitch for years, but recently after doing a lot more singing practice in lockdown and the amazing KTVA audio workouts my pitch has improved. The exercises create a ping in my voice that is very bright sounding which seems to help hit accurate pitch. I would also recommend attempting songs acapella, as singing over a backing track can throw your pitch off. If you are singing to a backing track take one ear off the headphones. I find it really helps to hear your own voice.

Vocality

@mikel

Yes agree on a few points there but also when I learn a phrase melody, like to tap the starting note on the keyboard and do occasionally have one ear off the headphones or reduce the backing track volume down to hear your own voice better.

Definitely an area that needs trial and error to find the sweet spots