goes - guiding them to sing the melody and the lyrics that we are singing . In this situation it ’ s actually helpful to sing less perfectly . Less like a performer . With our singing , we want to communicate to Jack and Jill congregant that you don ’ t need any special talent ; you don ’ t need to be a great singer to do this .
Our slightly pitchy , less-than-perfect voices can say , “ Look ! We ’ re not great singers . If I can do this , you can too !” That authenticity and humility will warmly invite the vocal participation of a congregation way more than a slick , pitch perfect vocal performance that screams , “ Listen to me !”
We work to be the best version of ourselves that we can be . Sure , we don ’ t want tragic , distracting , way-off , out-of-tune singing from our vocalists . But we will need to work with what we ’ ve got and make the best of it .
But how much “ pitchiness ” is too much ? At what point does the authenticity of slightlyout vocals become Sonically Soupy and a distraction ? And what can be done to bring the pitch of all our vocalists within the acceptable range ?
When working with singers with pitch issues , often the tendency is to simply soldier on . Grin and bear it . Turn them down , or even turn them off . “ Okay , they ’ re singing is a bit off , but at least they ’ re willing to grab a mic and sing !”
But I don ’ t think that ’ s the right approach . Leading our congregation to worship God through songs is too important for that . The team rehearsal culture should not only allow , but encourage people to speak up : To lovingly , kindly but clearly raise issues to show where we can improve - including problems with pitch from a vocalist . By definition , this is the role of the MD ( Music Director ), but others - especially those with more competence , experience , and a better “ ear ” - should also be willing and encouraged to identify areas for us to work on .
If a singer ’ s pitchiness adds so much Sonic Soup that their voice in the mix will make it more difficult for the congregation to sing along , then I , the Musical Director , will need to take steps to fix that . And I am not talking about kicking the offending singer out of the band ! There are steps that we can take - changes to make - that can hugely improve our vocalists ’ pitch , often immediately .
But before digging too deeply into the things I do to help reduce - even solve - vocal pitch problems , we need to be aware that a vocalist who is singing sharp and / or flat is probably totally unaware of it . Singing out of tune is often an area of unconscious incompetence - they don ’ t know what they don ’ t know . It might only be the Musical Director , or another singer or band member that is able to hear the incorrect tuning in real time . The pitchy singer themselves is possibly too absorbed with other things to notice .
If a singer is off key , it ’ s easy to assume that they just can ’ t sing on key . But I have found that that ’ s not usually the case at all . They actually can , but they ’ re not right now . There are several main reasons why a vocalist is not pitching correctly enough to be a guide to our congregation . To sing in key , there are three things that need to happen :
1 . The singer ’ s ear needs to be trained enough to be able to differentiate between a note that ’ s on key and one that ’ s not . That ’ s called “ ear training ” and is best done away from the band / rehearsal setting .
2 . The singer needs to be able to hear their own voice and the pitch of the accompanying instruments ( and other voices ) so they can pitch their voice correctly . Having the proper balance between the two is essential . A singer should not be hearing too little of their own voice , but nor should they be hearing their own voice too much .
3 . With an even moderately trained ear and good monitor levels to be able to hear , the singer will also need to be able to control their voice anatomically to bring each note into correct pitch .
In the space of a single rehearsal , there ’ s not a lot I can do about the first and the third items on that list . All singers are growing , learning in those areas . We ’ ve all got room to improve . It takes time , practice , and effort to improve our ear for hearing what ’ s in and what ’ s out of tune and to improve our ability to control our voice .
But there ’ s plenty I can do about the second item - helping singers be able to hear their own voice in the most inspiring and optimal relationship with the other sounds being produced by our band . In fact , I have found that making improvements in this area can immediately turn a pitchy singer into a supervaluable congregation-guiding singer . I believe that a very high proportion of poorly pitched notes from singers are due to problems with how they are listening and how they are hearing , rather than not knowing a bad note when they hear it , or from an inability to control their voice .
That ’ s what I am super excited to describe for you in next month ’ s article . Be sure to check that out !
Grant Norsworthy founder of MoreThanMusicMentor . com