A Great Way To Train For Intonation

Great singing is more than just singing all the right notes in tune. Still, subpar intonation becomes a huge distraction, taking away from the message of the song and the overall performance. Being able to move accurately from note to note is essential for good singing. Today’s exercise is part of a series of vocal exercises I like to call the Growing # Exercise. This exercise will benefit you greatly if your intonation (pitch accuracy) is not solid. Even if you have good pitch, it is highly recommended to keep working on this dimension of singing.

Here’s the exercise pattern (based off the Major Scale):

1   121 12321 1234321 123454321
12345654321 1234567654321 123456787654321

The pitches are represented by the #s. Vocalize the pitches ascending the scale one number at a time and then descending. If you are having difficulty, break it down and just do a small portion of the exercise in one session. Accuracy is key! 🙂

Suggested Tools:

– Two (2) recording devices
– A keyboard or keyboard app
– A guitar tuner or guitar tuner app

If your intonation is strong, you can either do the exercise below as is, or on your own without a guide (Step 4). If you currently have challenges with intonation, find a friend who has strong intonation to record the exercise. Make sure it’s recorded at a slow to medium tempo, and pause after each individual part of the exercise. Like this: 1 (pause)   121 (pause)   12321 (pause) … This will give you a strong guide to follow.

With practice you’ll eventually be able to do the exercise all on your own.

1: Listen and Audiate: Actively listen to one part of the recorded exercise at a time while audiating (vocalizing/singing mentally AS you listen to the recording).

2: Audiate while Singing: Now turn on the second recording device to capture your training with this exercise so you can listen later. Simultaneously audiate the pitches as you sing them. It does take awareness, yet it’s exactly what you want to train your mind to do. Your mind will want to switch its attention to your real voice the moment you start vocalizing and completely ignore your inner-voice. Resist this urge, and work on staying focused on your mind’s voice, while you vocalize.

3: Sing and Play: Now go to the keyboard and sing and play the same portion of the exercise. The keyboard is a great visual layout of the voice. You can see half steps and whole steps as you sing them. (Whole steps have a key between them whereas half steps do not). When singing half steps, the voice moves a shorter distance. It’s good to practice hearing the difference. Half steps sound like the “Jaws Theme” and whole steps sound like the first few notes of “Happy Birthday”.

In our pattern below, all the pitches are whole steps apart except for the half steps of 3 and 4; 7 and 8.

1   121 12321 1234321 12345321
12345654321 1234567654321 123456787654321

(This pattern is easy to see using all the white notes, starting on C.)

4: Sing: Finally sing completely on your own. Trust your ear! Check your accuracy by singing into a guitar tuner or guitar tuner app.

5: Repeat the above steps until you’ve gotten through the entire pattern, ascending and descending.

Great work! Keep at it. Your newly developed skills will shine through in your singing!

AUTHOR: ANITA G. HOUSER