By Joanna Cazden

Maybe you've heard this old joke: How do you know when there's a singer at the door? He can't find the key, and he doesn't know when to come in.

Yeah, right. Very funny. Normally, I would strap on my Xena outfit and set out to defend the honor of Clan Vocalista against such dastardly expressions of disdain! But it fries my hide as much as anyone's when a singer dares to blare out notes from a different planet than what the rest of the band is playing. Who cares if opera legend Maria Callas was able to seduce her audiences into not caring that she was off pitch? It doesn't work on me.

Singing in tune is a fundamental part of getting a clean, professional sound. But it isn't always easy. The voice is the ultimate "fretless" instrument; it has no built-in pitch reference. This freedom allows singers to bend, shape, and ornament notes in subtle and stunning ways. However, it also contributes to the stereotype that singers are not real musicians because we are so susceptible to being out of tune.

Fortunately, there are some proven techniques that can rescue us from danger. The human brain is conveniently wired with direct links between one's voice and one's hearing. If you listen carefully enough to what the other instruments are playing and hold a strong mental image of the sound you want to produce, there's a pretty good chance that your voice will follow.

Target Practice
The most reliable, time-tested way to ensure that each note you sing starts exactly on the right pitch is to imagine the note you're going to sing before you sing it. In archery, as every Amazon knows, the archer learns to focus on the target rather than on the path of the arrow. So identify a cue note in the instrumental parts for each of your entrances, and listen to it with a clear and receptive mental focus. Hear the target pitch internally, and then trust your voice to hit it.

You can practice this at home with a keyboard, pitch pipe, or electronic tuner. Start by matching single notes in the middle of your range. At first, record yourself or ask another musician to give you feedback on whether you tend to be sharp, flat, or generally wobbly. Each vowel puts your voice box in a slightly different position, so use a variety of syllables.

Next, play an arpeggiated interval, and match both notes. Or play one note and imagine, then sing, a different note in the scale. After a while, you'll find the mental "Zone" in which your voice and your ear are linked, and you'll be able to start any song on the correct pitch.

Be sure to judge your accuracy from the actual onset of the note rather than guessing and then trying to fix the pitch in midstream. Many singers slide or scoop into notes, starting each phrase on a lower (sometimes indeterminate) pitch and then correcting it. They might end up in the right place, but they didn't start there, and the result is a lazy, imprecise sound.

Of course, there are some situations in which singers choose to slide into a note. Blues, crooning, and traditional country styles often deliberately use this effect as an ornament. Just be sure you have enough skill not to slide most of the time.

Endurance Training
Once you've learned to begin notes on pitch, the next challenge is to stay there. As you might have already discovered, if you push the voice too hard, you're likely to go sharp; if the breath support drops, you're apt to go flat. So don't sing louder or longer phrases than you can control.

Just as an army must plan its resupply routes, so singers must plan ahead to support each phrase to the end. When learning a new song, your first scouting mission should be to look for good places to breathe--Xena doesn't face her destiny unprepared, and neither should you. Even a dramatic, long note at the end of a phrase needn't leave you gasping or your audience cringing from your pitch problems. Just find a strategic spot before the climax to grab an extra breath, and practice that phrasing as you master the song.

Of course, performing live raises the stakes for any pitch-conscious warrior. There might not be adequate monitors, and the demands of fronting a band bring about many distractions. In addition, there's the peril of getting pumped with adrenaline, which fragments the concentration and tends to tighten up the vocal muscles, increasing the risk of singing sharp.

Once again, focus and careful listening are your best defenses. Choose one instrument that's easiest for you to hear in the mix--keyboard, rhythm guitar, or bass--and let that player know he or she is your anchor. Go over your entrances and trouble spots with that player until you can find reliable cues no matter what the rest of the band is doing. Many singers also cup a hand behind one ear, which makes it easier to monitor themselves.

Tribal Unity
Whether harmony vocals are a major part of your band's image or just an occasional spice, tuning them precisely is a worthwhile investment of rehearsal time. However, singers cannot tune to what they cannot hear. As my high school choral director used to say, "If you can't hear yourself, you're singing too softly. If you can't hear the people around you, you're too loud."

There are many choral training methods to help singing groups stay in tune. For example, go through harmony sections slowly and without words, using the syllable "doot." This turns any harmonic line into a series of short, separated chords and makes the pitch easier to hear and correct.

One unusual rehearsal technique is to position singers back-to-back instead of facing each other. This formation requires sharp listening and can pay off in a tighter group sound. When you find a training maneuver that works, include it in your regular warm-up or sound-check routine.

Speaking of sound checks, this often-rushed activity can make or break your pitch accuracy during the gig. Get together with the bandmates you need to tune to, and make sure you can hear each other acoustically, in the monitors, or from the P.A. Above all, if you get lost and feel unsure of your pitch, avoid the panicky impulse to sing louder; instead, sing at a moderate level and listen carefully. If you increase your own volume, the pitch you drown out might be the cue you need to sound your best.

If you're still having trouble after you try these suggestions, look for an ear-training class at a local college. In addition, private voice lessons can help correct individual weaknesses. Just don't let your concern for pitch become so intense that you lose your enjoyment of the music; when learning to trust your ears and voice to work together, anxiety will just get in the way.

This is but one small chapter in the epic quest for that legendary Zone where precision and passion synchronize, where vibratos are perfectly parallel, where even drummers sing in tune, and where Amazons can take a joke.

Reprinted from Electronic Musician's Jam supplement, June 1998

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