Singing flat? Who told you that? Did you discover it yourself? Or, did someone else tell you? If it’s the latter then we need to fix this as soon as possible. Don’t worry it’s easier than you think it is.
The best way to stop singing flat is to improve your technique and ear. Technique can cause you to sing flat even if your ear is up to par by not allowing you to sing properly. Your ear may not be strong enough because you may not have put enough time into realizing how to internalize sounds. Fixing these two issues with basic music theory will prevent you from singing flat.
Before you begin I would just like to say that it’s alright not to be good at these things when you’re starting out. No one should expect you to either. It’s not a matter of talent, it’s a matter of putting in the time to do things and I’m going to guide you on how to get better.
Technique
You have to realize that as a singer whenever you are trying to sing, you’re employing a technique in order to get a sound out of your vocal cords.
In the way of singing, you use your vocal cords in a certain way to create a sound and that is indeed your technique.
Improper technique can not only make you go flat but also create a bad habit.
Imagine you’re running and the way that you’re landing on your feet after every stride is hurting your feet, how long can you sustain it? Not very long. You may decide to change your shoes and it may alleviate the problem but it will not solve the problem.
The same can be applied to singing. If you’re not able to sing on the pitch then something may be wrong and the first thing that you ought to keep in check is your technique.
Why?
The reason for that is simple, as described technique is how you make a sound and if this stage is wrong then going beyond this when the underlying problem is not solved will not result in anything good.
Never Learn a Bad Technique
The idea of picking up the wrong technique is only made possible in two scenarios.
First, you taught yourself how to sing.
Second, someone taught you how to do it.
In both scenarios, the problem is still there.
Double Correction
The issue with learning the wrong technique is simple.
If you learn a wrong technique, you will first have to come to the realization of it and then pursue to correct it. It requires much more effort to do this.
In this case, it is truly better that you try to prevent it in the first place. The more cost and time-effective way is through online courses. The importance of which is written very plainly and strongly in this article here.
If you’d like to browse through the various courses that I believe are the way to go in learning how to sing then this is the page right here.
Knowledge
Knowledge is something that I believe that every musician or anyone who is pursuing any creative field ought to have about their own field.
Now if you’re a singer you’re a musician who ought to know music theory and ear training.
That means knowing the difference between certain sounds and being able to tell what they are (the relationship the sounds have with each other) is quite important.
Do you know what a major third is?
Can you sing it?
Having that kind of knowledge is quite important. Beyond that, you need to have knowledge about singing as well. Specific things.
Because things like music theory and being able to discern intervals is a common thing every musician ought to understand.
Why It’s Important
It’s important because the act of music is eventually sharing it with other people. If the guitarist isn’t knowledgeable and can’t play guitar as well as the next person in the band, everyone else suffers.
So, you need to play your role as it is and the way that you’re able to fulfill that duty is by being good at what you do and being knowledgeable about it.
Develop Your Ear
The other half of singing on pitch is going to be having a developed ear.
The reason I talked so much about knowledge is that the ability for you to understand the nuances in music through the ear depends on your understanding of how it works.
Music theory is the understanding and then having a developed ear is the practical understanding of it. The reason that you might’ve understood why you’re singing flat is probably because of this.
Because you can hear yourself not being able to do it.
Developing your ear will definitely help you to bridge the difference between your ability to hear that you’re not able to sing on pitch to being able to do it properly.
If however you’re told by someone else that you can’t sing on pitch and you couldn’t tell the difference, it’s time to put in the time to develop your ear.
A lot of it has to do with the internalization of the sounds. You may be able to hear it but within your mind’s ear, you can’t tell the nuances apart. That’s what needs to be worked on.
So, the two things that determine whether or not you can sing on pitch are technique and having a developed ear.
You now know the importance of each and now are equipped with the right knowledge to tackle them with confidence.
What a Developed Ear Can Do
Having a developed will not just prevent you from singing flat but also help you perceive music on a different level.
It can help you hear things better.
Arrangements and harmonies will start to set themselves apart.
Eventually, it will help you become a better composer as well. You’re only as good of a musician as your ear. No other skill will ever come close to ear training.
Pitch Matching
The most effective exercise after basic ear training to improve your ability to sing on pitch is going to be pitch matching.
What you need to do is you need to take a note that is within your singing range and try to match your pitch with it. This will allow you to develop a sense of how far or close you are to that sound.
This exercise acts like training wheels, you will either hit the note on point or you won’t and you will need to keep on doing it until you just and I hate to say it, feel it.
Eventually, as you get better at it, you will take these training wheels of an exercise off and you will come out the other end with a better sense of ear and being able to sing on pitch.
Why This Exercise Is Effective
The reason this exercise helps out so much is that it allows you to match what you’re hearing and trying to copy with what you’re internalizing and singing.
One of the major things non-singers are asked when they’re first trying to perform ear training exercises is through singing.
Why?
Because singing helps tremendously with the internalization of sounds. So when you become good at it, pitch matching exercises will be a breeze and you’d have covered a huge gap between your ability to sing on pitch.
The same I found this true when I was in college as well. The students who had singing as their major were typically much faster than their non-singing counterparts.
So I have full faith that you’ll be able to make the most out of it and be able to replicate the pitch of the note that you’re trying to copy.
Practice Scales
The next logical thing to practice when you’ve grasped pitch matching is your ability to practice scales.
Scales are notes that are put in a sequence. So instead of matching the pitch with just a single note, you will be training to match the pitch with a sequence of notes and try to internalize that sound.
Yes, one small thing after another. You will add to this and eventually start to get better at more complex things one bit at a time.
Listen and Copy Melodies
The next thing after pitch matching and singing scales is going to be singing and copying melodies.
You may think you’ve always been able to do it but to do it with skill and craft is a different game altogether.
You’re taking everything that you now can employ your newfound skills to the whole catalog of singing. You can and should try to match your pitch to your favorite songs!
Don’t forget about using the correct technique which you can very easily learn from online courses.
The way this skill can take you really far is because now that you’re employing the correct technique and matching your pitch to not just copy other people’s melodies but also to compose your own.
Keep on Practicing
I believe that practice has an end goal.
This article started by asking a simple question. How do we stop singing flat?
You must’ve realized that I took quite a long road to explain everything and even the process and how it progresses through its path. The reason for that is simple.
It’s because you need to look at things from a perspective that will best help you achieve your goals. The best way that I thought was fit to answer your question was to give you a sense of how singing comes together as a whole.
You start with learning the correct technique and then work your ear up to matching pitches so that you may be able to do whatever you may want to with it.
I have written another article in which I talk about how singing for just 30 minutes a day helps you out a lot. Do plan to give it a read.
Now, you can use this as a roadmap to better yourself but I would highly encourage you to look at singing from the perspective of how you want it to serve you.
Most people and even musicians don’t think about it from a critical thinking stance. We are at the end of the day artists. We feel more than we think and while that may be true, I do believe there is a place for critical thinking in this domain in which we pursue music through practice.