Can you teach pitch to a child if they struggle with it?

[macaroni]

My son who is eight and a half loves singing and is very upset because he has been told by a singing master that his pitch is completely off even though he has a "voice" and passed the audition in the first place. I can't afford lessons but I was wondering if I can access something free or very cheap for him to get his interest up again.

[Yak]

There's Camberwell choir school on Saturday mornings, one pound a session. And there are loads of resources on the sing up website (including backing tracks, notes and words etc) if he wants to do some practice at home. It's linked to national curriculum key stages, I think.

I don't believe anyone (or maybe only a very very few people) are completely tone deaf. I think a lot is to do with confidence.... keeping it fun by incorporating music into daily routines - like singing together in the car, etc - might be worth a go?

[Otta]

Cheap keyboard. He can play notes and practice pitching them. You'll soon know if he is tone deaf or not.

If someone is tone deaf, you can't really teach it.

[Saffron]

If he has a 'voice', it seems unlikely that he's tone deaf. I know that pitch can be improved with practice. The diaphragm and larynx are the 'instruments' of the voice. You need to practice them like you practice any musical instrument. And, you need to exercise them like you do any muscle. He's still very young, and I think it's possible to improve his pitch with time. Also, as suggested above, his pitch might actually be fine, but it's being undermined by nerves. His singing master sounds like a right miserable old bat, btw. What a mean and unhelpful thing to tell an 8 yo that his pitch is completely off. There are much better ways of delivering constructive criticism on singing. I think someone should tell his singing master that his manners are completely off!

[Otta]

Agreed! Lots of singing teachers are bitter, failed divas. And the fact this one calls themself a singing master, suggests they are one of the above.

[jollybaby]

Thirded. My mum has never got over being told she was tone deaf by her choir mistress. She now won't even join in with carols.

[swannieboy]

Sorry - just to interject here - "tone deafness" is an absolute myth. Otta, anyone (save perhaps the profoundly deaf) can be taught to pitch. I'm working with a gentleman (in fact, the chap who is printing my Hummy Mummies cards) who has never ever sung, always been told that he's tone deaf - and he is definitely not! It's just a matter of teaching someone to listen and use the vocal muscles properly. It's a bit like driving a car - anyone who has ever tried to teach someone to use the accelerator SLOWLY will know that it takes a while to get used to the miniscule movements that are needed. I've been working with people who "can't sing" for over 25 years and have a 100% success rate.

Bring him along to me in Brockley some time and I'll show him what needs to be done (no charge). PM me for details if you're interested.

I'm disgusted at the "singing master". Sounds like something of a jumped-up idiot. I thought we'd eradicated that sort of music teacher, but clearly not. :X

[swannieboy]

Incidentally, what often happens, particularly with male choir directors or singing "masters" is that obviously, being men, their voices are much deeper. Inexperienced singers often can't make the octave transposition that is needed, as unless your son has large amounts of testosterone, his voice won't have broken yet. He's probably trying to pitch the notes at exactly the same pitch as the Master of Singing, rather than transposing up the octave, and he can't get low enough, so it sounds like he can't pitch. Very common.

Also, sometimes people find it hard to sing a pitch played on an instrument, rather than one which is sung. Lots of people can't pitch a note played on the piano, but can if you sing it to them. This just takes a bit of patience and practise.

[Otta]

Tone Deafness is not a myth.

I am sure lots of people are called tone deaf, who aren't, and just need some work, and I am sure this lad probably isn't.

But tone deafness is not a myth. Look up amusia.

[swannieboy]

My apologies. I know about amusia, it's just very rare. I meant to go back and qualify my statement with "apart from a very small selection of the population", but forgot, due to being so cross about the terrible singing master.

Wikipedia reckons about 4% of the population have amusia. My experience would say that it's far less than that - every person that I have worked with has been able to pitch at the end of our session. Not necessarily easily - sometimes it takes a few weeks of work.

[EmilyE]

If he were truly tone deaf, you would expect his speech to sound odd, as he wouldn't make the normal inflections and 'sing' of speech.

I have come across lots of people who believe they are tone deaf, and aren't. Definitely about practice, first in the hearing, and then in getting your voice to obey what you want it to do.

So, in short, it can be learnt. Good luck. Hope he's not too upset by an extremely tactless teacher.

[KBN]

One thing my singing teacher used to do with people who were not confident about pitch was to ask them to sing any note, and then find it for them on the piano. Once they saw over and over that whatever note or short tune they chose, it could be played back to them on an instrument, it have real confidence, and can make singing fun again.

I'd also say try not to make a big deal of it i.e. try not to obviously start a lot of measures in response to his teacher's comment, or it might just increase his anxiety, but maybe to incorporate singing into everyday life more in subtle ways e.g. singing along to radio, or in bath, or along to christmas carols (good time of year!).

Singing is such a joy, and for life, and I'm really surprised that someone who calls himself a singing master would undermine someone's confidence at such a young age.