Most singers that I meet are predominantly
concerned about one thing, how do I sing in tune?
Well I've got some really easy exercises
that you can practice that will help you
to tune your ear, and tune your voice
in three easy steps.
Let's check them out.
- [Female Roadie] Sound check!
Check one, check two!
(drum riff)
(applause)
Hi, my name's Dr. Dan,
and I'm a contemporary singing voice specialist.
welcome to Voice Essentials where we
develop your voice, and improve your sound.
Now if you're crawling YouTube in search
of expert advice, and practical tips on how to sing
then I'd like to think you've found it.
Each week I post new videos,
that have been purposefully designed
to help you get the most out of your voice.
Because I believe, every voice deserves to be heard.
Yours included.
So, if learning to sing is your thing,
then I invite you to subscribe,
and join our ever growing community
of passionate singers, from across the globe.
Who just like you, want to raise their voice in song.
And today we're talking about singing in tune.
Now I think every singer deep down
wants to nail their notes.
None of us wants to be heard as out of tune.
Now this being said, it is important
to reconcile with ourselves
that we are biological instruments.
And, therefore, our voices are imperfect by design.
It's not a bad thing to strive for excellence,
but perfect notes, 100% of the time
is a biological impossibility.
So, as we talk through this topic
over the next few minutes.
I want you to approach the subject
with the good sense of pragmatism.
Let's improve our accuracy rates,
but let' do it understanding that singing
is not, and never has been about perfect notes.
Great singing is about communication,
always has been, and always will be.
- [Female Roadie] Sound check.
(applause)
(drum riff)
(applause)
Okay, placing communication on the shelf for the moment.
Let's get down to it.
Learning to sing in tune is two-fold.
Firstly, at the most fundamental level
singing in tune is about being able to reproduce
a single pitch, accurately.
Now most people, who love to sing
have a reasonably good sense of pitch.
That is most people can hear a single note,
and then replicate that note
with their voice, with relative accuracy.
A voice that is singing out of tune,
will either sing sharp, or flat.
That is either higher, or lower than the desired pitch.
Let's give that a go now.
I want you to listen to a note,
and then I want you to sing that note, using an R vowel.
Hold the note until you hear me play
the same note a second time.
The aim is to replicate the same note as the piano.
And then have the piano, either confirm,
or deny the voice's accuracy.
We'll do it over three different pitches,
starting on C, middle C,
then F four, and then A five.
And guys, you can simply sing it down an octave
if that's a little bit more comfortable for you.
So, here we go.
Playing the C.
(piano C note)
And now you sing it.
(piano C note)
And the note's confirmed.
The F.
(piano F note)
Wait.
Sing.
(piano F note)
Confirming the note.
And the A.
(piano A note)
How did you go?
Were you able to maintain the correct pitch?
Let's now try the same thing, on an E vowel.
Starting on the C.
(piano C note)
Sing the note.
And.
(piano C note)
Confirmed.
(piano F note)
The F.
And sing.
(piano F note)
Good.
And (piano A note)
the A.
Sing.
(piano A note)
Now how was that?
Did you experience any difference
between the R vowel, and the E vowel?
Some of you may have found
the E vowel easier on the higher note.
So, that's because the shape of your vocal tract
influences your sense of pitch.
And your ability to maintain the correct note.
And now I encourage you to go back in the video.
And try it using a variety of vowels,
over a wider range of notes.
Some will be harder than others.
So workshop the more challenging shapes
for you as an individual.
Now, as we continue, it's also worth noting
that in this video we are only
exercising your aural development vocally.
This is, of course, the first place
you should start, when it comes down to singing in tune.
But your voice's capacity to maintain
good tuning also can be influenced
by your breathe management, and your vocal tract shaping.
Things we'll get to in future videos.
But for now, on with the lesson.
- [Female Roadie] Sound check.
(applause)
(drum riff)
(applause)
It's generally the movement between individual pitches
that creates the biggest challenge.
This is called intonation.
Accurate intonation, for the human voice,
can be difficult, because the vocal folds
have to make micro adjustments in their length.
And their oscillatory patterns.
In order to achieve the change in pitch.
And with the song, the task of accurate intonation
becomes even more complex for the voice,
because the vocal folds are having
to quickly move, between a collection of differing notes,
over an extended period of time.
That are in turn being post mixed by the vocal tract,
according to vowel, consonant, timbre, and dynamics.
So, let's break all that down.
And simply workshop our intonation
over a three note scale.
The three note scale, also called a major triad,
provides us with the melody of three notes
sung over the range of a fifth.
It contains the root, (piano)
the third, (piano)
(piano) and the fifth.
This major triad requires the voice
to adjust for the change in pitch.
Let's sing through a few triads together.
We'll start with an A major,
and then chromatically, work up,
until we reach an octave.
Each time we sing through an individual scale
listen for the accuracy, of the second,
and third note in particular.
Also, do your best to avoid creating
any tension as you go.
A tight voice is an inaccurate voice.
So, do your best to keep everything nice, and free.
To help manage your tension,
make sure you are standing up for this activity.
I'll be sitting because I will be playing the piano.
But I want you to really manage any sense
of growing tension as you stand.
So, here we go, starting on A.
(piano)
A major.
So here are the notes.
(piano)
Sing it with me.
♪ R, R, R, R, R ♪
(piano)
Good. (piano)
♪ R, R, R, R, R ♪
(piano)
By yourself. (piano)
And just with the chords.
(piano) This time.
Yes.
(piano)
One more.
Here are the notes.
(piano)
How you'd do?
How many of you struggled to maintain
accuracy as we traveled higher?
That's okay, it will take some practice
over the next few months to improve
your hit to miss ratio.
If you're looking for something to assist your progress
my exercise CD, specifically exercise three
will provide you with the triad notes.
So, that you can sing along.
The download link is in the notes section below.
(applause)
- [Female Roadie] Sound check.
(applause)
(drum riff)
(applause)
Okay, so we work shopped a single pitch,
and we practiced our intonation across a major triad.
Let's now put this into practice by singing a song.
We're gonna sing a song you almost certainly know.
Row, row, row your boat.
This little nursery rhyme will exercise
your intonation over the range of an octave.
That is, the top note is an octave higher
than the starting note.
So, let's start this in A major.
(piano)
Again, guys you can sing this down the octave
if that's more comfortable for you.
Now to really challenge the accuracy
of your intonation, I'm just going
to play the starting chord, A major.
We'll then sing the tune,
and I'll then play the chord again,
on the final note of the melody.
The aim here is to make sure
we arrive back on the starting note of A.
When we've done it, once through.
We'll then shift, or transpose the melody up a semi-tone.
And repeat the exercise.
And we'll go a couple of steps up.
And then we'll come back down a couple of steps.
And remember, the aim is to maintain the accuracy
of your intonation, so that you
arrive back where you started.
So, here goes.
(piano)
♪ Row, row, row ♪
♪ Your boat ♪
♪ Gently down the stream ♪
♪ Merrily, merrily, merrily ♪
♪ Life is but a dream ♪
(piano)
Well done.
And here's B flat.
(piano)
♪ Row, row, ♪
(inaudible)
(piano)
Good.
(piano)
♪ Row, row ♪
(inaudible)
(piano)
Good, how are going?
Back down.
(piano)
♪ Row, row ♪
(inaudible)
(piano)
And back to the original key of A major.
(piano)
♪ Row, row, row ♪
(inaudible)
(piano)
Good. How did you go?
If your voice wandered away
from the correct notes, that's okay.
This just means that you have some practice to do,
on developing your intonation.
So, rewind this video, and give it another try.
If you didn't find this activity difficult,
then I challenge you to try it
with one of your favorite pop tunes.
Google the key of the tune,
play the opening chord, and sing the verse
in the same way we sang the nursery rhyme.
Again, the aim is to maintain the correct pitch,
at the end of the verse.
Once you've mastered the verse,
try including the chorus.
And once you've nailed the verse, chorus,
apply the test to the whole song.
I'm interested to hear how you go
with the three steps we've just outlined.
So, leave your comments below.
My main here at Voice Essentials is to develop
your voice, and improve your sounds.
So, I'm super keen to get your feedback
on the effectiveness of the exercises,
and hopefully, how they're helping to improve
your pitch, and intonation.
And if this is your first time here at Voice Essentials,
I hope you've enjoyed the video.
If you've loved this vid
then please give it a thumbs up,
and if you'd like to see more where this came from.
Then I'd love for you to subscribe.
And join our ever growing community
of passionate singers from across the globe.
Who just like you, want to raise their voice in song.
But for now, I'll sign off,
as I do in every Voice Essentials video,
I'm Dr. Dan, sing well!
(cheering) (applause)
(applause)