How to sing in tune: matching pitch for beginners

Why notes go sharp or flat

Singing off pitch has a few common causes, and most of them can be fixed:

• Not hearing the target note clearly before you sing it.
• Tension in the jaw, tongue or throat, which pulls notes out of place.
• Running low on breath at the end of a phrase, which often makes notes go flat.
• Pushing for high notes, which can make them go sharp or crack.
• Singing outside your comfortable range. See find your range.

Match a single note

1. Play a note in the middle of your voice on a keyboard or piano app.
2. Listen to it, then hum it quietly while it still sounds.
3. Sing the same note on "oo". If it doesn't match, slide slowly up and down until you hear the two sounds lock together and the wobbly beating between them stops.
4. Play a new note and repeat. Five minutes a day is plenty.

A tuner app that shows which note you are singing gives instant feedback. Use it to check yourself, then try again with your eyes closed so your ears do the work.

Sing the steps of a scale

Once single notes feel steady, play a five-note scale slowly and sing along on "la". Then play only the first note and sing the five notes on your own, and play the last note to check where you landed. If you drift, slow down and sing it with the keyboard again. The same idea works for wider jumps, one at a time.

Record and listen back

Your ears hear your voice differently while you are singing. Record a short phrase on your phone with the reference note or backing track, then listen. Note where you went sharp or flat, practice those few notes slowly, and record again. Comparing recordings a few weeks apart shows real progress. The recording guide covers setting this up.

Am I tone deaf?

Probably not. A true difficulty hearing pitch, called congenital amusia, affects only a small share of people. Far more people sing out of tune because they haven't had much practice matching notes, are nervous, or are singing in a key that doesn't suit them. If you can tell when someone else sings a wrong note, your ear is working, and your voice can learn to follow it.

Holding a part with other singers

Singing a harmony line next to someone singing the melody is harder than singing alone. Learn your part on its own first, until you can sing it without help. Then practice with one other singer, quietly, and listen to both lines at once. In a choir, standing beside a confident singer on your own part helps a lot. See singing for other people for more on choirs.

If you suddenly find it hard to hear pitch, or you notice ringing or muffled hearing, see a doctor or an audiologist. Hearing changes are worth checking early.

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