Matching Pitch

A frequent question I get asked by music teachers involves helping students match pitch. For example,

“I have a student who struggles with matching his voice to a note. The way I teach playing by ear is to first start with singing the note we hear, and then finding that on the piano. This is impossible if he can’t find the note in his head to sing! He’s essentially tone deaf when it comes to singing... but very musical when playing piano.”

First, it’s important that we do not tell any student that they are tone deaf. Tone deafness is very rare – so rare that it’s not even worth considering. As music teachers, our attitude and philosophy should be that essentially, no one is tone deaf. Everyone can match pitch. And the solution for most students who struggle is very simple:

1.   Have the student sing a note and then you (the teacher) match the student’s pitch (vocally or on the piano).

2.   Once a pitch is established, then, move the student chromatically up one pitch (half step or semitone) and have them follow by singing the new pitch. Encourage sliding up to the new note. Use gestures to assist with this as necessary. Sing with them. Then move down one pitch (half step or semitone). Repeat, and/or start on a new note (that the student sings). Do this a lot until the student is successful; the student is now matching pitch.

3.   Ongoing practice and mastery. Increase the number of semitones, or half steps, ascending and descending. Have the student slide up and down with you, singing the chromatic pitches (scale). A short distance at first, and then a greater distance.

4.   When mastered, change the exercise to a major scale. Have the student sing a pitch and then match their pitch. Once a pitch is established, consider that the tonic, and then move the student up (slowly at first) through the major scale. Singing on solfege or numbers can be useful (Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do, or, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8). Then move backward down the scale.

5.   The student will begin to match pitch more and more successfully. Slowly add other patterns when mastery is achieved at each level, such as triads, minor scales, melodies, etc.

Other notes:

Be sure the student is supporting and singing with energy, not in the fry, which can make it harder to match pitch.

Sometimes students hear overtones and thus sing a note that is an interval above the target note. It takes work to train the ear, but with persistence and practice it will come.