Have you ever had to pause in the middle of a rehearsal because one of your singers is out of tune?
Do you get frustrated when, no matter how many times you practice blending exercises and focus on listening to one another, there is still a voice which sticks out - slightly sharp or flat, and seemingly oblivious?
Have you wondered why your choir doesn't attract more singers, when so many people tell you that they wish they could sing like you do?
Basic vocal pitch control is a fundamental part of being a good singer. In fact it's generally required to start considering yourself a singer at all!
Many people never even get started with singing because they were told (possibly even as a child) that they were "out of tune" or "couldn't sing". Those people will never show up to a choir practice again. Others do bravely go along to a local choir - and happily sing alone, slightly out of tune, not realising the singers around them are wincing slightly with each mis-tuned note.
These things are not simple to fix. But if we want more choirs, bigger choirs, and more musically adept choirs, these problems must be addressed.
Although I don't work as a choir director myself, through my work at Easy Ear Training I have spoken with hundreds of musicians - singers and instrumentalists - who have faced these fundamental issues of pitching.
Some know quite clearly:
"I have trouble singing in tune"
Others just feel vague barriers to singing:
"I don't have a good voice"
"I'm not a natural singer".
The more we heard these kinds of comments, the more determined I became to do something about it. First, we developed the Tone Deaf Test to show people that they weren't as "tone deaf" as they feared they were, and that their ears were just fine. And then it was time to tackle the vocal side...
We've spent the last six months developing a new interactive app called SingTrue, which helps people move from "I can't sing!" to being a capable, confident singer. It focuses on pitch, both in terms of listening skills and vocal control.
Because it's an app, beginners can try it out in the privacy and comfort of their own home, getting to grips with their voice without feeling embarrassed or nervous to sing in front of other people.
The app was designed in consultation with a number of experts in music education, including George Bevan who recently wrote about the app on his Music@Monkton blog. We then spent a full month testing it with a group of users to make sure it was easy and fun to use, and really achieves what it sets out to.
Although it starts from the fundamentals, SingTrue isn't just for beginners. It teaches advanced level pitch accuracy and the solfa system for note recognition and sight-singing. We're also working on some new modules to be added soon which teach harmonic awareness and harmony singing.
Because we want to make as many new singers as possible, the app will be free to download, with the more advanced exercises available for sale within the app.
SingTrue launches this Tuesday, 21st October. You can learn more about the app and see a video of it in action at http://singtrue.co
We're also offering free copies of the complete app to all ChoirPlace members. If you're interested, you can request your free SingTrue app here.
I'm really excited to launch the app this Tuesday! I hope it might prove useful to many ChoirPlace members, bring some new singers to your choirs... and maybe even prevent a few of those painful pitch problems in future rehearsals!
