Top vocal coach Line Hilton discusses the dos and don’ts of talking about pitch inaccuracy with a singer.

BAST’s Line Hilton has a pet peeve: “I object to the fact that if someone isn’t singing in tune, they are automatically labelled tone deaf.

“The other word I dislike is ‘pitchy’. Describing a singer as pitchy doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t explain if the singer is sharp or flat or if the problem is technical, perceptual or physiological. It’s not helpful.”

All singers – even the most accomplished professionals – will struggle with pitch at some point.

“It’s no different to an athlete doing an action millions of times and sometimes being inaccurate,” Line says.

“For some reason, in our culture, we assume any form of pitch inaccuracy is the sign of a bad singer.”

She also pushes back on the notion that pitch accuracy is solely down to a biological lottery.

“Some people do seem to have a more musical ear than others, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn it.”

Tone deafness

From a clinical perspective, tone deafness is a term used to describe a person who cannot make sense of musical sounds such as melody, rhythm or tune.

Also called amusia, tone deafness affects just 4% of the population. If someone enjoys music and singing enough to seek out lessons, it’s probably unlikely they have amusia.

Causes of pitch inaccuracy

If a singer struggles with pitch, it’s time for some detective work to identify the underlying cause of the problem, which will fall into one of three categories.

Technical: A singer might recognise when they sound flat or sharp but need more technical expertise to make the necessary adjustments to address the issue. The problem could be that the larynx position is too high (resulting in flatness), or the singer is pushing out too much air (resulting in sharpness).

Perceptual: Instead of using that dreaded phrase ‘tone deaf’, Line prefers to talk about pitch disorientation. “A student may not have any experience singing along in tune and being corrected when they don’t sing in tune. Or that person may not have had someone explain that the note they’re singing is higher than the note they’re accompanying. We need to orientate that person into singing accurately.”

The singer may also be performing in a space where they can’t hear themselves and hence struggle with pitch accuracy.

Physiological: Hearing problems can impact pitch perception. Swollen vocal folds and fatigue can also be problematic.

Discussing pitch with students

From a teaching perspective, clumsy language can impact a singer’s confidence and do more harm than good.

Don’t say 

“You’re tone deaf.”

“You’re pitchy.”

Do say

“Did you notice the pitch went flat/sharp here?”

“That pitch is inaccurate: let’s figure out what the cause is.”

Learn more

For great advice about exercises to help a student improve their pitch perception, listen to episode 140 of the Singing Teachers Talk podcast.