How to Sing in Tune

So you want to know how to sing in tune? That’s great because sometimes, even the best singers in the world get this wrong. It can happen, especially when they are playing around and trying to do something different. In this post you’ll learn what singing in tune really is, get some exercises about how to sing in tune, and learn your range so that you’ll give yourself the best chance of success when it comes to singing. I hope you enjoy.

Are you Tone Deaf?

Before we even start discussing about how to sing in tune, we must first establish that you are not tone deaf.

Is this person tone deaf? You would assume so. But the truth is that he almost definitely wasn’t. To really be tone deaf you have to basically hear different sounds as if they are exactly the same. And since he didn’t, he probably isn’t tone deaf.

In fact, tone deafness affects less than 5% of the world so if you are, then you’re special! But if you are reading this then I’m sure you are not tone deaf.

What Exactly is a Musical Note?

To understand a little about musical notes, it’s important to have some understanding of what they are. Essentially, musical notes are just frequencies. Every single note has its own frequency, for example A4 is 440HZ C4 (middle C) is 261.6 Hz. When in fact, C0 is 16.35 Hz and B8 is 7902.13 Hz.

The reason why this is so is because all sound travels in waves and depending on how fast the waves are moving determines high low or high the note is.

In fact, everything in the world has a note and sound attached to it. The world is said to vibrate at 432 Hz. Whether this is true or not is something way beyond the realms or learning how to sing in tune. (But in case you wanted to know, the answer is no.)

More than this, armed with this knowledge we can actually understand how singers can break glass. Everything has a frequency and if you bounce back exactly the same frequency sound loud enough then you can break it.

How to Check If You Are Tone Deaf

The easiest way to check if you are tone deaf is to use your ears. Go to this site http://tonedeaftest.com/ and there is a simple test that you can take there to see if you are actually tone deaf. Basically, there are around 30 questions and each of them plays two sounds for you. All you have to do is decide whether the two sounds are the same or different. As well as this, there are questions about whether a note is going up or down, and whether the second note played is higher or lower.

I really recommend this because it is so simple and easy. It takes just a few minutes to complete and is accurate.

If you pass the test, then let’s get started on learning and ensuring that you sing in tune.

Why Do Professional Singers Sometimes Sing off Key?

Before I actually answer the question, a short history lesson:

In the past if we look at some of the different tuning forks available from way back when, we actually find something very interesting. There wasn’t really a fixed tuning for A to be 440 Hz. This standard only came in later. The range was actually between about 400 and 460 Hz.

What this means without being too technical is that the music in our terms could have actually been written out of tune! These differences are slight but can explain something very interesting. Singing on or off key isn’t always the case. They are just singing on something else.

Whilst this doesn’t change the fact that they singers can and do sometimes sing off key, this does add an area of ambiguity to the discussion and allows wiggle room to say that I actually didn’t sing off key.

Be that as it may, you will still find singers singing out of tune. There are a number of reasons for this and I’ll go through two of the main ones.

They are Experimenting

Each note is part of a sequence of notes that goes together to form a chord. For example, the C (major) chord is composed of the notes C, E, and G. If I’m singing on that chord and choose a specific note to sing, a harmony could be singing a different note on that scale. For example, if I’m singing a C and then someone else sings an E then we are harmonizing together, and it will sound nice. However, if I’m singing a different chord, for example a G(major) chord which has the notes G, B, and D, then the C doesn’t belong there. This will sound out of tune.

When a singer is trying out different harmonies, they are bound to make mistakes. After all, nobody is perfect. Sometimes they think that they have it down pat but in fact don’t. This is where mistakes happen.

They are Part of the Band

In a band there are usually a bunch of different parts. Each of them does something else and they all come together to make a beautiful arrangement. The voice is generally a part on its own. What this means often is that the singer has to sing the music by themselves and isn’t singing along with any of the instruments. They have to sing their tune alone but with the rest of the band. It is a tightrope of sorts and therefore there can be some mishaps along the way.

The Real Takeaway

More than anything though, if professionals can sing off key, so can you. It’s all part of growing into the singer you can be. Don’t worry that you won’t always be correct. That’s fine. Just keep growing and trying and you will get there in the end!

Learn How to Sing in Tune with These Exercises

Enough with the theory though, it’s time to actually give you some guidance on how to sing in tune.

The first thing I want you to do is to warm up. The reason for this is because you want to give yourself the best chance of success and that is only possible if you are warmed up.

Warmed Up? Let’s go

Listening to Yourself

1. Go this this website https://www.onlinepianist.com/virtual-piano and you should be able to see a piano keyboard. Press a note that you feel you can hit and sing it.
2. Play the note, pause, then sing the note that you have just heard.
3. Play the same note again and see if you have actually hit that note.

Did you manage to hit and sing that note in your view? I hope so. If you have done so then just keep practicing.

The next thing I want you to do is to record what you have done.

This is probably the most important step.

I’m sure you have heard singers who think they can sing but as soon as they open their mouths it’s clear that this isn’t the case. What you need to do is to get a voice recorder and listen to yourself. This can be on your phone or any other device. Just make sure that you listen to yourself with a discerning ear. You are allowed to mess up so keep trying.

Aim for the Note

1. Listen to the following:

2. Listen a second time and this time try to hit each note straight on without sliding up or down to it.

3. Record yourself with it and see how you’ve done.

In this exercise what you have to do is to aim for the note you have to sing. Many people slide up or down to get the note that they are actually trying to hit. What you have to do it have that note in mind before singing it and then hit it. This is imperative if you want to sing in tune. Whilst you may get to the correct note in the end, if you haven’t got there right at the beginning then it won’t sound good.

Whilst there is a case to be made for sliding, that’s a technique used later on. Let’s get the basics right and then add extra things like vibrato, tone, and power later on in the piece.

Again here, it’s important that you record yourself and listen to it again and again.

What Else Can You Do to Sing in Tune?

There are some good apps that you can use to help improve your singing in tune.

The one I recommend is called Sing Sharp and you can get hold of it here https://www.singsharpapp.com/.

What I love about this app is that it gives you instant feedback and you can keep on practising. You don’t even need to purchase the full app. The free version is good enough for sure.

If you prefer something on your desktop, I would say that you can get hold of Earmaster https://www.earmaster.com/ as it is a complete program that will really help you develop not just your ability to sing in tune but also your music prowess in general.

Singing Within Your Range – Giving Yourself the Best Chance

It’s important that you give yourself the best chance of success. What this means in this situation is that you have to know how high and how low you can comfortably sing. Whilst you can work on improving your range, you also have to know what your normal range, your tessitura is.

The reason why this is important is because these notes will be the easiest for you to sing. Once you have got those completely correct, then you will be able to move onto the next ones and eventually you will be able to sing everything exactly the way you want to.

Just Keep Trying

Learning how to sing in tune can be hard. However, the more you work at it, the better you will become. I hope you have enjoyed this post and look forward to hearing and seeing your comments below. Till next time!