Pitching exercises help a singer find the perfect height and depth of his or her voice. This trains the singer to sing the right music notes at the right place. Pitching is important as it makes the singer’s musical notes flow along with the music without sounding too harsh, sharp or flat. Most pitch exercises focus on training the singer to listen to the music and establish the notes, chords and intermissions therein, and later repeating the music by singing back.
Pitching exercises require an instrument tuned to the right pitch.
This could be a guitar, a violin or a Piano. Ideally, one should play note ‘C’ on either the piano or guitar and listen to its sound carefully, and then try playing it while singing along. If the voice sounds flat or high, then the singer is singing off-pitch. When pitching well, the singer will notice that the instrument and his or her voice gel together.
Pitching exercises are also referred to as ear training.
This is because the person doing the exercises listens to the notes first and then tries to sing within that note range. The human voice is capable of singing fixed sounds ranging between two piano notes with just a slight difference between them. However, it is only through proper pitching that such sounds can be realized and put into proper use.
To sing a note in the recognized form, one should repeat the pitching exercises until he or she succeeds in singing on-pitch. After mastering the note ‘C’- which is usually the easiest to sing along- play the notes C, E and G and listen to them carefully. These notes make up the chord ‘C’. By identifying, where the note ‘E’ lies within the chord, the singer can repeat the pitching exercises by singing along that single note until he or she has mastered it.
Further pitching exercises would include randomizing the musical notes on the piano such as D, E, F, G and trying to sing along isolated individual notes. Once the singer can sing along individual notes without being swayed by other notes in the music combination, then the voice has responded well to the pitching exercises. While doing the pitching exercises, it is advisable that singers train in the ranges that their voices are comfortable singing. Pitching in voice ranges that do not fit ones tone results in momentary success, which rubs off easily.
Perfect pitch is attained through constant exercise.
Depending on one’s abilities, the exercise can take several hours to several weeks. Pitching courses are available in various music schools specifically geared to train singers on how to recognize the different musical tones by ear and then sing along. The right pitching is most important for people interested not only in singing but also in playing particular musical instruments. It is an essential technique valuable for all instrumentalists.
