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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Have you gotten down sight singing major melodies, but want to be able to sing minor melodies? You have come to the right place. Read more to learn about singing shape note solfege minor melodies. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Do you want to capture the sound of 70s rock guitar? Amp settings, effects, pickups, and strings all play a role in crafting your guitar sound. Nevertheless, the tuning you choose remains an important factor in your guitar sound that you might have overlooked. You will also learn the song “Brown Sugar.” Read more to learn how to sound like a rock star with open G tuning. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Have you gotten basic sight singing down, but want to expand beyond seven notes? Look no further. In this post you will sing both sharp and flat solfege notes with an emphasis on the flats. Read more to understand singing shape note solfege flats. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Have you ever felt embarrassed because someone said you sang or played out of tune? Does harmonizing seem like a puzzle you can’t solve? Knowledge is power. I will show you how harmony and melody tune differently, and how it impacts singing and playing in tune. Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Do you have basic sight singing down, but want more than seven notes? “Sight Singing Chromatic Shape Notes” shows you how to sing sharps. In the last shape note post, we sang the first half of the chorus from “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” In this post, we will sing the second half of the chorus. However, we will need to learn how to sing sharp notes to do this. Read more to learn about sight singing chromatic shape notes. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Have you had a hard time getting the sound of your favorite rock guitarist? Have you ever felt frustrated that the guitar sounds out of tune? In the post, “Tune Like a Rock Star,” we talked about how Keith Richards tunes his guitar without holding down any frets. Today, you will play an 80s rock guitar style that works well with this special open tuning. Read more to learn how to play like a rock star with open G tuning. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Do you struggle with singing accurate rhythm? This post expands your rhythmic flexibility, which makes singing melodies more fun. Click to learn how to sing with the Kodály rhythmic syllables. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
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.
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.
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.