The archive contains posts about tuning instruments and vocals.
Are you frustrated that your guitar or synth chords sound out of tune? Do you want to sing in tune? Many of the following posts deal with how to retune guitars and synths so they sound better. Other posts deal with singing or playing in tune.
However, the tuning posts do not stop at the simple question of how to tune a guitar or a synth. They also look at the deeper questions of what does it mean to be in tune and how to tune better.
When musicians tune instruments, they bring the instruments’ notes into agreement with a cultural standard. The standard remains different for fixed pitch instruments, such as the piano, than for flexible pitch instruments, such as the voice.
In Western culture, equal temperament remains the standard for fixed pitch instruments. It allows the instrument to have a manageable number of notes. Also, all twelve scales remain usable.
However, the chords sound barely in tune. Therefore, many of the posts in the archive talk about how to tune instruments using Supplemented Equal Temperament (SET). SET is an enhanced version of equal temperament. Thus, chords sound better in SET than in equal temperament.
Flexible pitch instruments, such as the voice, violin, brass, and woodwind families, have the ability to adjust their pitch as they play. Consequently, many of the archive posts deal with vocal intonation. (Though any flexible pitch instrumentalist will benefit from the ear training.)
To help them achieve this, the singing posts have specially tuned sing-along songs that train vocalists to sing melodies and harmonies accurately.
© 2021 Geoffrey Keith
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Do you wish you could read rhythm better? “Sight Singing with Rhythmic Syllables” looks at rhythm. Also, we have sung so far in the keys of C, Db, D, Eb, E, F, Gb, and G major. In today’s singing lesson you will learn the keys of Ab, A, Bb, and B. Once again, the more keys you know, the better your reading will become. Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Sight Singing with Rhythmic Syllables Read More »
Don’t you think kids need to develop harmonizing skills too? Yes! Does “Harmony Singing Examples for Children” have to be limited to children only? No! However, children especially need good harmonic sound models to train their ears to hear how well-tuned harmony should sound. The post’s sound tracks contain specially tuned sing-along songs that balance harmonic and melodic tuning. Thus, they help develop a cappella level intonation. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
Harmony Singing Examples for Children Read More »
Want to be able to sight sing melodies? Shape notes makes reading sheet music easier. The post also talks about breathing and phrase structure, and explores the keys of E, F, Gb, and G for both scales and songs. Read more for your shape note singing lesson. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Shape Note Singing Lesson Read More »
Want to be able to sing like your favorite vocal group? Today we will get to the heart of our ear training exercises. Singing with the sing-along sound tracks fosters a cappella level vocal tuning. Also, the post talks about vocal air flow. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Ear Training Exercises for Harmonizing in Tune Read More »
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Do you want to learn how to sight sing music? Today’s post continues to look at sight singing with solfege using shape notes. The more keys you practice in, the better your sight singing with solfege will become. We also discuss singing with power. Read more to learn how to sight sing with solfege. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Sight Singing with Solfege Read More »
Do you want to learn how to harmonize in tune? We will discuss getting a strong vocal tone as we continue to harmonize with sing-along songs. Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Harmonize with Sing-Along Songs Read More »
Have you always wanted to sight sing music, but found it too hard? Shape notes can help. Also, last post centered on singing melodies with a specially tuned synth-organ sound. Namely, we focused on harmonic tuning. This week we will look at the same melodies, but from the angle of melodic tuning. Most of the examples have sing-along sound tracks, but the last example is a shape note sight singing quiz. Read more to experience shape note sight singing success. Estimated reading time 6 minutes.
Shape Note Sight Singing Success Read More »
Feel embarrassed about singing out of tune? “Singing Exercises with Harmony’s” sing-along song tracks makes it easy to learn how to harmonize. The post also talks about what to listen for when harmonizing.
Singing Exercises with Harmony Read More »
Are you passionate about singing? Do you have a hard time singing or playing in tune? Learn the 10 Elements that Impact Singing in Tune. Estimated reading time 14 minutes.
10 Elements that Impact Singing in Tune Read More »
Tired of having your guitar or synth sound out of tune? “Intonation and Supplemented Equal Temperament” shows how to make them sound amazing! Estimated reading time 12 minutes.
Intonation and Supplemented Equal Temperament Read More »