I just can´t sing in tune

F_cksia;2819193 Sometimes it´s just a half tone sharp or flat said:
Every non-musical fckhead sings the right melody.[/U]
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the difference is, the fckhead thinks of the whole phrase they are singing not the individual notes; and is not thinking whether they are sharp or flat all the time
What they do have though , is a clear idea of what they`ve heard on the radio even down to the tone or timbre of voice

conclusion: think of the whole phrase and type of voice you are going to sing

nord
 
Listening helps. When you practice, consciously listen to the pitch of the sound you're making and if it's not in tune, adjust. After a while you'll be doing that when you perform without realizing it.
 
I can relate.

Singing in pitch isn't my problem - it's singing a melody line the same everytime. It's like I can't hear how far intervals are from each other when it comes to voice. I play quite a few different instruments all at a pretty good level and I understand voice technique (from choir) and music theory.

For some reason I just cannot sing melody lines unless it is to another singer or CD. If I sing solo I'm not out of tune, it's just that I usually sing a chord tone or hit the interval beside it. I'm not out of tune, it's just that I'm reinventing the melody line, it's like I can't remember the melody line when it comes to singing it.

Can someone please explain about 'singing the phrase?"

thanks.
Andy
 
Westerberg - now there's a strange but terrific singer & superb songwriter.
I like a lot of "off" sounding singers though, Neil Young, Tom Verlain etc etc.
Myself, I'm so bad I'm not allowed to hum in the house. My wife has superb pitch & I have a ball park toss - but to be honest I rarely even get it into the ball park.
I've tried developing my ear - & that's improved quite a bit. My voice, however, remains a thing of rare beauty - as in the rarer it's heard - you beauty!
 
I cheat though. I will record my vocal tracks five or six times then create a phrase by phrase composite from all the tracks of the best performances from each track. I just have to make sure that I do all the tracks in the same session because I'm not very consistent and sometimes my timbre sounds a little different depending on what day it is for whatever reason.

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That is not cheating.......it's your way to make the recorded song sound good. This is a fundumental mistake for me that people make, comparing a recording to a live performance. You should know well enough by now that they are 2 different worlds.

When I record my vocal tracks, I go back and review lots of times if I have to, even if it's a word or a syllable, I just have to have it sounding right for me, even if I have to come back and do it again a day later. In a recording, it's the song that matters, a coming together of different elements. So just don't be scared to do your vocal tracks bit by bit. You can practise singing live later when you rehearse with your band.

oh, yeah, and I will NEVER use Autotune :D
 
try adderall

seriously, its the best thing thats ever been invented for singers. its the most prescribed pill in the country, so you should have little problem locating it. take 10 mg and go to town. made my vocal track fifty times better
 
I reccomend

www.thesingingzone.com/ Per Bristro has a DVD series of voice lessons and he does a great job of explaining why you sing off key. I have struggled with singing my whole life and the "Sing with Freedom" DVD's are the best value for anyone aspiring or for seasoned pro's to get their singing on track fast.
I have found the difficulties in intonation in singing is directly tied to muscular tension. When we try to sing we have to many muscles in our neck, throat, tongue and face engaged. They all want to help make the sound but they just aren't needed. When you let your self sing you only use the muscles you need and sound is produced with little or no effort. The extra muscles used in forced singing puts pressure on the middle and inner ear causing the perception of pitch to be inaccurate. If you yawn you will notice that pitch perception is affected. Once a relaxed, efficient habits are achieved the voice is free to become an instrument of expression and intonation is no longer an issue.
 
F_cksia said:
Wow guys, these are all fabulous replies. Indeed, I never really thought of singing as a ´skill´, just something you could at least somewhat well do from the day you were born. Just because almost every fucker on American Idol, has all kinds of issues but at least got most of the pitch right. Trying to imitate this, I might indeed forget the ´first think, then sound´- thing, just trying to burst out a sound and hope it will land on the right pitch is just not the way to go.

So there I go: practice, practice, practice. Exactly next year I will post a song in the MP3 clinic, beware! ;)
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You need this. It's a pitch matching program. It's really basic, but it works.
 
fatstrat said:
F_cksia, I have the exact same gripe with my vocals. I've just come to terms with the way I sound and have decided to "accept it" and just belt it out any chance I get, regardless of who's watching or listening. I figure, there are famous people getting filthy rich using horrible voices so it's not so bad that I suck.

I cheat though. I will record my vocal tracks five or six times then create a phrase by phrase composite from all the tracks of the best performances from each track. I just have to make sure that I do all the tracks in the same session because I'm not very consistent and sometimes my timbre sounds a little different depending on what day it is for whatever reason.

I don't think my pitch and my ear is *that* bad though: I sometimes select different notes to sing on different takes without realizing until later that I've accidentally created some cool harmonies.

But yeah, singing in key is a bitch. I wish I had started trying to sing years ago, maybe I'd be a lot better now. Oh well, hopefully one day I'll look back and laugh at how I used to suck. Or, at least care less that I still do. ;)



I stumbled upon this just last night. I finally realized that the tracks were too loud in my headphones and I couldn't actually hear myself. After turning down and completely exposing one ear I was actually able to do a single take on a track with no "composite" cheating!

Btw, how many others here do the composite stuff? Just curious.
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These days every studio inthe world does it that way..Its called "comping" and they do it with everthing..not just vox.
 
If you can't sing in tune, you probably never will. It is debatable as to whether an ear can be "trained" to hear pitch perfect. I say no..

That doesn't mean you can't write excellent songs and have someone else sing them. Its funny, some of the best singers can't write a song to save their life. Look at most of the people on the top 20 of American Idol. Most of these folks sing really quite well, but you pop them down in front of a piano or guitar and tell them to write a song, and they are clueless.

Focus on your strengths, I say. Your weakness is someone else's strength, and your strength is someone else's weakness.
 
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