How to sing in tune

Disclaimer: The following article contains my thoughts and opinions. This is not to be construed as medical advice or the only way to think about these concepts. There are as many ways to teach voice as there are voice teachers, and all of them are valid. 

Interested in beginner singing lessons? If so, one of your key concerns may be learning how to sing in tune. You may even be worried that if you can’t naturally sing in tune, there’s nothing you can do about it. This is not true!

In my Fort Wayne voice lessons and virtual voice lessons, I have helped many students with this specific issue. Confusion about how to sing in tune can be one of the most emotionally difficult issues for singers, but with the right routine, you can learn how to sing in tune. It’s been my privilege to watch students go from having no idea how to match a pitch to accurately singing a song. Here’s how they learned how to sing in tune—and how you can as well.

Why It’s Hard to Sing in Tune

​Why do so many people have to learn how to sing in tune? While it’s true that some singers know how to sing in tune naturally, many others can’t quite figure it out. That’s because the physical process of singing in tune is pretty complicated.
There are quite a few things that have to happen in order to accurately sing a pitch. Here’s the basic process of how to sing in tune:

1. Hear a note
2. Correctly mentally process that note
3. Figure out how to emit that specific pitch with your voice
4. Correctly coordinate your breath, onset, and other factors to accurately reproduce the note.

Yikes! If you can’t naturally figure out how to sing in tune, I hope this makes you feel a bit better. As students in my Fort Wayne voice lessons quickly learn, this is a complex process that involves multiple steps. That’s why, to learn how to sing in tune, you have to keep this muti-step approach in mind. ​

How to Sing In Tune:
​Important Intermediary Skills

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Before you try to sing accurately along with your favorite tunes, there are a few skills you’ll want to work on. Here are the ones that often come up first in my Fort Wayne voice lessons.

Hearing the Note
This step has nothing to do with your hearing and everything to do with concentration. Your first step is to really focus on listening to the pitch you are trying to match. Try to imagine it in your mind before you attempt to sing it. If you’re in beginning singing lessons or practicing this on your own for the first time,, do this one note at a time at first rather than with an entire song.

Learning to Navigate Your Voice
For many singers, singing out of tune isn’t a result of not being able to hear a note; it’s a result of not knowing how to vocally reproduce the note. That’s why a big part of learning how to sing in tune is actually just learning how to sing well.

To help with this, as you practice matching pitches, pay attention to patterns. If you have trouble singing in your head voice in tune, for example, you’ll need to practice singing in your head voice in general before you can try to match pitches in the top of your range.

On that note, students of my virtual voice lessons and Fort Wayne voice lessons quickly learn that it’s easiest to sing pitches that are within their comfortable range. When you’re learning how to sing in tune, stick only to notes that are easy for you to sing. Don’t try to match extremely high or low notes at first. That’s why practicing your pitch accuracy by trying to wail out Ariana Grande or Let It Go isn’t a great idea.
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Figure Out If You’re Flat or Sharp
When you do sing a note incorrectly, use it as an opportunity to figure out in which direction you’re off and by how much. Are you too high (sharp) or too low (flat)? Are you just a half step off, or are you a larger interval off? You can use tools to help with this at first, as you’ll see below. Gradually, as your musical ear improves, you’ll instantly be able to tell if you’re flat or sharp and be able to correct it. 

How to Sing in Tune:
​Practicing Pitch Accuracy

We’re lucky to live in a digital age when virtual voice lessons and other virtual tools are available to help us learn. For beginning singing lessons focusing on pitch, I suggest leveraging these tools along with more conventional methods to improve your ability to sing in tune. Here’s what I recommend:

1. Karaoke Apps
Many karaoke apps now let you see exactly when you’re accurate and when you’re not. Not only is this fun; it’s an invaluable tool for helping you learn if you’re flat or sharp as you sing. For the most success, choose music that is within your comfortable range (if it feels like you’re screaming, it might be best to pick something else). Some apps also allow you to change the key of a song if it’s too high or low; don’t be afraid to tweak keys for a more comfortable—and accurate—singing experience.

2. Pitch Matching Exercises
This isn’t as fun as karaoke apps, but a few minutes a day of pitch matching exercises can work wonders on your ability to sing in tune! For this exercise, you’ll need a keyboard (physical or digital) and a tuner app. Simply play a note in your comfortable range while looking at your tuner. Listen, then sing the note on an “ooh” vowel. Were you able to sing the note accuracy? If you were off, were you flat or sharp, and by how much? Repeat the note until you’re able to sing it correctly, sliding up or down to correct your pitch if necessary.

When you’re able to sing one note accurately most of the time, try two-note sequences. Work your way up to three or four notes at a time.

3. Choral Singing
Choral singing is amazing for practicing pitch accuracy because you’re surrounded by other singers who can help you stay in tune. Whether it’s a community theatre chorus, volunteer choir, or your church chorus, consider joining to sharpen your skills. 

​​How to Sing in Tune:
Tips for Success

As you work toward learning how to sing in tune, keep these three tips in mind.

1.Consistency
Pitch accuracy doesn’t happen overnight. Much like exercise, this is something you’ll need to do on a daily (and I do mean daily!) basis for at least three weeks to see results. You don’t have to practice for hours on end, though. I often tell students in my Fort Wayne voice lessons that even a few minutes in the morning and a few in the evening of concentrated practice will do the trick. Quality over quantity definitely applies here.

2.Gamification
Practice is more fun if it doesn’t feel like practice. That’s why the karaoke app is such an important tool. This also applies to your other practice as well. Can you challenge yourself by trying to figure out where your pitch accuracy veers off when you’re singing along to your favorite song in the car? Can you make a game out of the pitch accuracy exercise by seeing how many notes you can remember in a row? Make it fun, and you’ll be more likely to stick to it.

3.Patience
Any beginner singing lessons teacher will tell you that it takes time to improve. Try not to get frustrated with yourself if you don’t see results from your virtual voice lessons right away. Instead, focus on having as much fun as possible while you consistently practice, and recognize that even baby steps (like being able to hear when you’re out of tune and by how much) are a form of improvement.

Learn How to Sing in Tune
​with Fort Wayne Voice Lessons

Need a better explanation of something I mentioned in this article? Ready to sign up for Fort Wayne voice lessons or virtual voice lessons? Please feel free to reach out to me. I’d love to hear from you and help you learn how to sing in tune once and for all! ​