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) (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)
