singer sings consistently sharp - fix?

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pure.fusion

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Hi all,
I'm having fun in the studio with my niece who is in town. I got her to sing a song because she sings very well and I'm amazed to discover that she is singing 40c sharp throughout the whole song! A blanket pitch shift of 40c flatter and she's spot on in tune.

Looking for help here: is there anything I can do (or get her to do) to help this problem? Is it a common problem for new singers?

I assume it's to do with levels in her earphones?

Cheers,
FM
 
Detune the backing track -40 cents when you record :)

How is she monitoring herself? Is she wearing both headphones with both the backing track and her vocals in the headphones?
 
pure.fusion said:
Hi all,
I'm having fun in the studio with my niece who is in town. I got her to sing a song because she sings very well and I'm amazed to discover that she is singing 40c sharp throughout the whole song! A blanket pitch shift of 40c flatter and she's spot on in tune.

Looking for help here: is there anything I can do (or get her to do) to help this problem? Is it a common problem for new singers?

I assume it's to do with levels in her earphones?

Cheers,
FM
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40 cents? That's pushin a quarter step sharp! Did you use the wrong terminology because I'd have a hard time saying someone sings very well if they consistantly sing 40c sharp.
That's a lot.
 
I used to have this problem. I would be totally in tune with myself, but sharp to the rest of the band. If you solo'd my vocals, you'd think I was perfect. :D

I found that, for myself, the problem had to do with what I was hearing. If I couldn't hear my monitors, I'd sing sharp all the way through. Also, bass tended to throw me off. I often still hear a low "E" as an "F", for example, if it's not a defined enough sound.

What I would suggest, based on my experience, is to make sure she's loud in her cans, and roll off a little bass to help hear the chords that the guitar (or piano, etc...) is playing.
 
RAMI said:
Which doesn't mean she should be wearing very bright colored bra's. :eek:
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hey! My niece remember! :facepalm: LOL

Thanks for your replies.

Yes Lt Bob, it is *that* sharp, which I'm really surprised about. Consistency is freaky. Terminology? If I understand that 100c makes up one semitone (ie a full jump to the next available note in our western temperament) then she is 40% on the way to signing consistently in a semitone higher than the song.

guitarplayr82, she's monitoring herself with one headphone in her right ear and the other free for her own acoustic feedback. She did this at my advice (right or wrong). When I sing, I know I can't sing in tune using both ears with headphones and removing one fixes the problem for me. (An interesting anomaly I wish I knew the physics background to, but that's another thread (and pissing competition of megaminds here at home recording)).

Just to qualify her, she will sing perfectly in tune with herself (Excellent relative pitch) and when not using headphones will sing perfectly in tune with music. So, what's the problem?

Good idea RAMI, I'll make sure all of the tone producing instruments are well present in the mix.

FM
 
If she sings sharp, try lowering the mic. Folks typically sing flatter when looking down, and they sing sharp when looking upward.
 
It may be a listening and practice problem.
Is she aware of singing like this ? If so, what is she doing about it ?
 
pure.fusion said:
If I understand that 100c makes up one semitone (ie a full jump to the next available note in our western temperament) then she is 40% on the way to signing consistently in a semitone higher than the song.
Click to expand...
yep ..... that's correct ....... so in guitar talk that would mean she's singing almost a quarter step sharp ........ and yes , it does seem freaky that she's that consistent with it.
 
How loud were the headphones? Sometimes they can be so loud that the singer is actually hearing the music a little sharp and sings accordingly. (although this happens more with in-ears than headphones)
 
I find singers need to relax singing in the studio, tensing up makes the vox chords tighten. They dont have to push their voice so much as in a live situation.
 
An anecdote first, then a question...

A whole lot of people who first started singing in the period between 1965 and the early 80's sing a little bit sharp. Back in those days a lot of people learned to sing by singing along with the radio. Problem was, we were running our turntables at 46-47 RPM's so we could squeeze in an extra record every hour. So, songs on the radio were a little bit sharp, and if you learned to sing along with the radio, you sang a little bit sharp.

So, the question would be...is your niece singing along so a source that could be out of tune?
 
Even if the songs you learn to sing to are a little sharp on the radio, when you are presented with the correct starting note, most singers naturally adjust, exactly the same way you'd adjust to a key change, you know, if a song in G was transposed to F# or F.
 
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