Naturally, these singers will then try to compensate by flattening a bit, the note being sung. The singer will then hear the result as being true to pitch, possibly unaware that the rest of the world is cringing!
This effect seems to happen for a pretty consistent number of people in the general population I'm sure somebody has real numbers on this , and clearly not all people seem to be affected by it. I have found that for many of the affected singers, the problem is nearly hopeless to correct. I have also known of a few people who overcame the problem with steady practice while using headphones and listening to themselves in the studio mix.
There's a standard piece of advice that a lot of choir directors give: "Make your ascending intervals big and your descending intervals small.
My answer based on 22 years of experience with choirs, different singers in bands that it is much more common that people are slightly flat than sharp. I have only experienced one singer who was noticable sharp. That was a female soprano singing classic pop and rock songs in keys that made most of her notes sit in the chest and lower mid register. She was seldom ever singing notes at her second passaggio. All other leadsingers have struggled to stay on pitch and would be slightly flat at hte end of a gig or a 2 hour rehersal.
I have done a lot of research,, looking at old interviews dealing with pitch and asking professional opera singers about this issue. Less vocal fatigue and less flat singing. It might just be that the phrase "a little flat" is much better known. My mother, who has no musical training, says this often but never anything else.
She has normally picked up some imperfection in the performance but not necessarily flatness. For example, she once described my son's piano playing as flat. If he was playing flat then it would the tuner's fault rather than his. In fact, he had played a couple of wrong notes. Terminology is often misused by those unfamiliar with the field.
As a mathematician, I often cringe at the misuse of "exponential". Similarly, physicists have to tolerate lots of misuse of "quantum". Musicians need to tolerate misuse of "flat" in the same way. My theory would be that if you can't master the song your vochal chords and all that won't achieve the desired note and be a little down, most likely you wont overshoot the note because 1: Your body will try to hit the note on the spot; 2: Your body may not handle the strain very well of a higher note.
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Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Why do people say "you are a little flat" and never "you are are a little sharp"? Ask Question. Asked 10 years, 5 months ago. Active 3 years, 7 months ago.
Viewed 29k times. Is there a tendency to sing flat when singing out of tune? At the end of the a capella portion, you can test the last note you actually sang with the note you should have sung from the piano. I was told that listeners are more likely to notice flatness than sharpness, so observer bias could be another explanation.
A note can never be flat in itself. It can only be flat compared to some other note perhaps one being played as accompaniment, or perhaps one sung before or after. In which case, surely one could just as well say that that other note is sharp. I would say it has to do with breath support - sing weak, sing flat. So your second explanation would not be rational. The reason you correctly noted that more people sing flat than sharp is because singing is like flexing a muscle.
And just like when you flex your bicep for too long, those muscles get tired. By doing specific exercises designed to develop a mix in your voice , your vocal cords will be trained to vibrate at the ideal speed, in the ideal coordination, and with the ideal resonant blend… for each and every note you sing. It takes time. The right exercises. So embrace your vocal workouts , my friend.
Because they are the pathway to better pitch and to many other things you want—more range, power, stamina… you name it! And if all of those science-y details went a bit over your head trust me—I can relate… science was never my thing!
And your bestie of all besties—pharyngeal resonance because it will help MIX those two resonators together throughout your range so that you can…. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Don't subscribe All Replies to my comments Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting. We will get there! This makes so much sense! I have experience students being able to sing the notes as they hear them on the piano correctly but then go pitchy when singing songs.
I can see now how it has to do with the placement of the resonance. Great article. This sums up the journey I have been on. Pitch has certainly been an issue and oh so painful to hear and not know how to fix. The pharyngeal is becoming a welcome friend. This is fascinating information. I have been singing as far back as I can remember, but the whole science behind how it happens, no matter how easily for some people, amazes me every time I read about it. What a complex creation we are!
It means you are informed, intelligent, and using your mind critically. It is a sorry world when you feel you need to apologize or joke about that. Subscribe to our email list to receive regular updates and tips for singing on your worship team, plus get instant access to the free video and download! By Charmaine Brown July 4, So how does this relate to your voice, and more importantly, to you being able to sing on pitch?
And it shows up big-time in contemporary worship songs.
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