Can someone who does not naturally have a good ear for music be taught to sing at the professional level?

Question

I'm one of those people who wasn't born with an amazing ear. I don't have perfect pitch, nor was I even born with a good sense of relative pitch. I've been studying voice for over four years now, and although my tonal quality, breath support, and range have improved and increased dramatically since starting, I still greatly struggle with pitch (namely finding harmony, but still occasionally melody).

Is this something that can be taught and I should still continue to work at it, or should I just accept a possible fact that some people were born with good ears and that I am just not one of them?

I'm an aspiring actor who would love to work in musicals, but I know my ear will probably be the one thing that will greatly hinder my progress in finding work. There are other things I also need to work on (always perfecting my craft, no?), but this one is probably the biggest hurdle I'm trying to jump, and I'm wondering if I am ever going to be able to get over it.

Thanks for any help!

Answer 1

Hi Eric,

Most music majors and performers do not have perfect pitch. In one way that may be a blessing. Can you imagine how annoying it must be to people with perfect pitch to hear people singing off key?

I suspect much of your challenge is in feeling like you can't do it. See if you can find a way to relax and enjoy singing somewhere without worrying so much and it may become much easier for you.

I studied music in college and am a pianist but certainly not a natural vocalist. Voice was a required subject. What really helped me then and still helps me now when I do it is to sing with a choir and stand next to someone who is a strong singer.

I can find the pitch by listening to their voice and adjust my own it if is not exactly right. Back when I was in college the person I sang next to would help me with hand signals (up or down) until I got better. Eventually I was able to hear whether I was on pitch or not.

You may find that you sing naturally flat or sharp so just being aware and simply adjusting your "natural" pitch by slightly raising or lowering it may help.

In your voice studies do you do exercises that have you sing intervals (scales, thirds, fourths, octaves, and so on)? Does your instructor play intervals on an instrument (usually a piano) and have you identify them? Both of these types of exercises will help improve your pitch.

If you're not doing those types of exercises, you might benefit from studying with different instructors. You could even take a class at a local community college. This may be called "Sight Singing" or simply Voice. Contact the instructor who teaches the classes, explain what your goal is, and ask if there is an appropriate class for you.

To find a private instructor ask at colleges, research online and read reviews and recommendations, and ask at music stores. They will often know the best instructors in your area.

Local performers often either give or take lessons so if you hear someone whose voice and skills you admire ask them if they teach, have an instructor, or can recommend someone.

Answer 2

There are ways to work on improving your ear. Most musicians don't have perfect pitch, so they learn to have really good relative pitch. Solfege helps... take a solfege class (solfege is a method of sight-singing using the syllables do re mi fa so la si (or ti) do, which helps you remember what pitches sound like because you've assigned an actual syllable to a note rather than just trying to remember the note out of the blue). Most music schools require you to take this. I've found it very helpful in improving my relative pitch. There are also ear-training exercises you can do, work on hearing intervals correctly and being able to name them (you may have already done this so sorry if that sounds too elementary for you), and also singing what you think a note is and then checking it on the piano helps too. Another method that I use for remembering what notes sound like is that I can remember what a C sounds like...so all the rest of the notes can be found intervalically...for example if I remember C (or "do), I can find G or "sol" pretty easily by hearing a 5th.
So... I don't think you should give up, ESPECIALLY if you have been improving. Maybe you just need to work on your ear, specifically, because it sounds like it is holding you back a little from your other knowledge of singing. Good luck!

Answer 3

First of all, a lack of perfect pitch can actually be an asset to someone working in musicals, where songs are often transposed to different keys to accommodate the ranges of the performers. Those with perfect pitch (I have it to a low degree) have a very hard time singing a song in a key other than the one it is written in, since they're looking at the page and their eyes are telling them to make one sound, and their ears are telling them to make a different sound. So, you've actually got an edge there.

Second of all, relative pitch is absolutely something you can improve on over time. I highly recommend taking a sight reading or a music theory class. A major component of both of these types of classes is learning to hear and sing intervals (the space between notes). This is accomplished through much drilling, which will, in time, help you to hear these pitches with greater accuracy and confidence. Good luck!

Answer 4

Many professionals actors and actresses are singers with relative pitch, but can be taught eventually, all I can say is practice practice practice!

Answer 5

Dare to be different, man...
Dare to be yourself...
I Dare you to Sing what you feel, how you feel...
Sing like noone is listening...

Thats how you Sing!

Answer 6

Practice, practice, practice; it can be done with time and enough effort.