By Jennifer Miller
This article is part of the Awakening the Natural Musician in Your Child series. 1
Many children love to sing. But for others, it is an experience that causes anxiety and frustration. The reason for this is because they do not sing on pitch like their peers. Some children become so frustrated with the experience that they give up. Many of these children are, in fact, not tone-deaf and can be taught how to sing tunefully.
Tone-deafness is generally defined as the inability to distinguish between musical pitches not due to the lack of musical training, education, or hearing impairment. Another name for tone-deafness is “amusia,” or literally, “lack of music”.2 There are two types of amusia, congenital and acquired. Those with amusia acquired due to serious injury or illness have experienced a change in the brain that affects the way in which the ears and brain and voice work together to accurately hear, understand, and sing in tune. Those with true amusia are the people who likely cannot sing in tune or learn to do so. According to Peretz and Hyde, only 4% of the population is actually considered tone-deaf.3 People who are truly tone-deaf often hear symphonies and compare them to banging noises. These people consider sounds and music much more of an annoyance than an expression of beauty. Therefore, singing off–pitch does not necessarily equate with being “tone-deaf”. I maintain that many off-pitch singers, particularly children, can learn to sing better in tune.
In most elementary and middle schools, singing is taught in a group setting. Although singing comes naturally to some children, it may take others more time to sing tunefully. No two voices are the same, and different voices have different needs. So, perhaps for the child who struggles with singing on pitch, individual attention may be the key to helping that child become tuneful.
Matt is nine years old. He likes to sing, but the teacher discovers that he cannot sing on pitch like his peers. The teacher tries to help him find his pitch by playing notes on the piano. Matt becomes frustrated: “Why can’t I do this?” he thinks to himself. The next day, the same thing happens. At some point, Matt may begin to sing softer and softer so that one day, he may simply not sing at all.
Even the most dedicated music teachers often do not have the time to give the necessary individualized attention. As time progresses, embarrassment becomes the operating force that takes over the desire to sing.
An opportunity to work one on one, with a musician skilled in appropriate pitch-matching techniques, a well-qualified teacher of children’s voices, or even a well-informed musical parent can provide children with the tools necessary to improve their pitch accuracy and do so in a way that instills confidence in their own abilities. Working one on one, a teacher can focus on the specific needs of the child helping him or her determine whether he or she is hearing the notes incorrectly (listening), singing them incorrectly (vocal production), or both, taking the child where he or she is, and progressing from there. In a group setting, this is challenging because different voices require different techniques.
W.A. Mathieu is a composer, pianist, teacher, and author of many books about music. In “The Listening Book, ”Matthieu describes his work with “tone-deaf choirs,” as he calls them. He teaches people, who believe they are tone-deaf, how to sing. He stresses the importance of having the teacher match the student’s pitch. Mattieu asserts, “The worst thing the teacher can do is ask a person who thinks she is tone-deaf to match a pitch, especially a pitch struck on an instrument, especially the piano”.4 I endorse these two important techniques, both letting the teacher match the student’s pitch and using the human voice instead of the piano.
As nine year old Matt enters his first one on one meeting with his music teacher, he is uneasy about singing by himself. “Matt, you know how to sing. I am just going to show you a few tricks that will help you sing in tune,” explains the teacher. The teacher proceeds to have him sing a pitch, and then she matches his pitch, as opposed to the other way around. For the first time, Matt is singing on pitch! The teacher then sings extremely high and low notes. She asks Matt to identify which note is lower. He correctly identifies notes when sung far apart, but struggles when the notes are sung close together. Then, after trial and error, he begins to understand. He is being taught the correct way to listen and interpret the notes sung. Subsequent sessions give Matt more opportunities to sing, to judge what he is singing, and then to alter his voice as needed. He begins with being able to match only a few notes, and eventually increases his range. Matt has learned more in a just a few one on one lessons than he was able to learn in a group setting all semester.
Customized interactions like this provide children the individual attention they need, and do so in an environment that is both positive and free from judgment. Children can also receive immediate feedback from a music teacher who gets to know their individual voice. Most importantly, they begin to realize that they are not “tone deaf”. They, too, can learn how to sing in tune with others.
There is hope for many children who desire to sing tunefully. With individualized instruction, children can embark on a journey to find a path to tunefulness and reap the benefits of tuneful singing that could last a lifetime.
FEATURE IMAGE: Members of Lyric Choir during grand rehearsal, the day before their Annual Spring Concert, 2017.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jennifer Miller, an instructor at the Children’s Chorus of Maryland, has over eighteen years teaching vocal music in Baltimore County, MD. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Towson.
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