Hello, singers! Do you have trouble staying on pitch while singing? Lots of people do, they go sharp or flat, or they warble on notes and it can be very embarrassing when singing in front of other people!

That’s why I’m writing this article. This is part one of a two-part article series on learning to sing with perfect pitch! This article will detail a few quick-fix techniques to use when singing that can help to improve your pitch and make you stop going off key instantly, as soon as you start using them. The second article will talk about how you can actually re-train your voice so that off key singing stops happening completely! Who doesn’t want to learn about that?!

So here we go. First of all, what is pitch? In the context of singing, pitch is the word we use to define how high or low our voices are in comparison to a note. When you sing “off pitch” or “off key” it is to say that you are aiming to sing a certain note, but you end up missing it and singing too high or too low instead. This is called going off key. Singing higher than what you were aiming for is called “going sharp” and singing lower than what you were aiming for is called “going flat”. There are different reasons for why your voice does these two things, and we’ll discuss those in the next article. For now, here are the two quick-fix techniques that can give you some immediate improvement.

The first technique is called audiating. It’s a little complicated and it’s more of a psychological technique than anything else, but it does work; I use it all the time. Audiating is the act of “hearing” the note you are about to sing in your head an instant before you sing it. It helps to prepare your mind for what you need to make your voice do. So while you’re singing, “play” the note you need to hit next in your head right before you sing it to prepare yourself… hear it in your head quickly and then go for it! This technique works best when used sparingly, for specific notes you have trouble with. It would be difficult to use this technique for the entire song you’re singing, so pick the best times to use it with notes that are particularly difficult for you.

This is relative to another little trick you can do, which is to listen to your pitches while singing. Simply by paying closer attention to the notes you’re singing will help you to stay on key and not go out as often. So listen to yourself; and this way you can correct a pitch problem as soon as you hear yourself doing it.

The second technique consists of two physical actions you can do while singing to help you stay on pitch. The first is to simply open your mouth wider and longer when you sing. Shape your words more- you’d be surprised at how opening your mouth wider can have an effect on how the notes come out. To see what I mean, look at yourself in the mirror while you’re singing. You’re probably only opening your mouth a little because maybe you think you look silly opening it wider.

Now watch a live performance of a singer… look at how wide they have to open their mouths to get the sound to come out nicely. Look at Adam Lambert; for example. He opens his mouth wide and his notes always come out beautifully. Now look at yourself again and practice opening up wider. Listen to the difference it makes!

The second is to lift your face up while you sing. This helps especially for singing high notes without going flat. All you need to do is lift your eyebrows and cheeks up while singing and smile a little bit, (not in an un-natural way, just a little) like you have a surprised look on your face. Do this while opening your mouth wider at the same time and you’ll enjoy some immediate improvement from your pitch troubles.

Next up! In the second article in this series, you’ll learn exactly what scales and exercises are best to practice to train your voice to naturally stay on key… and identify some reasons for why you go off in the first place. Understanding what your voice is doing while it’s going off key is crucial to being able to stop it from happening! Stay tuned for more great information from Sing Like A Pro!