Cant sight sing to save my life..

[D08scl]

Hello… I’ve done lots of a ear training over the years (notably not sight singing). I always manage to do well at the exercises but have never managed to incorporate the training into my piano playing (i.e. I can hear intervals till the cows come home, but it all seems to disappear when I start playing?) i’m doing the beginners course on EarMaster for iPad and I’m sailing through most of it quite easily because I’ve done lots of it before… However the sight singing just goes over my head… I get there eventually but more by trial and error than anything else… I can hear the tonic and I could sing individual intervals but I can’t just sing the notes off of the written page one after the other … Any ideas please? Should I just press on with what I’m doing? Many thanks

[Quentin]

Hi,

Thank you for sharing your experience here. Since you are a pianist, a possible method could be to sit by your piano and play the melodies as you sing them. That way, you will link them to something you know well (the keys of your piano), and that will help you memorize their sound. It will probably not be easy at first, but singing tones as you play them is a great ear training exercise. I remember seeing a video of a guitarist called Christophe Godin. That guy plays amazingly well and he's always goofing around when performing. On that video, he's improvising complex melodies while singing every single note he plays. That guy must have a very sharp ear!

[D08scl]

Thanks for the suggestion, I will try that… I remember my piano teacher saying to me “you must sing“. It’s something I don’t do. I sing ALL the time, but NEVER when I’m playing on the piano.
Many thanks

[Quentin]

I hope it will help you. I am also trying to do it as much as possible, but sometimes it's hard to break old habits

[D08scl]

Hi Quentin,
Just to let you know, I took your advice about sitting at the piano while I do the sight singing exercises and I must say that playing along has helped me a lot… I wouldn’t say I’m there, but at least I’ve got off the ground with it!
At the moment, I appear to be able to hit the root, seventh, fourth and fifth quite well, but the second, third and sixth all give me trouble..
Right now, I am repeating exercise 21.9 on a daily basis until hopefully I feel more comfortable with it!
Many thanks for your replies
Steve

[Quentin]

Hi Steve,

Great! I am glad it helped

[D08scl]

Hi Quentin,
I’ve successfully completed the beginners course… As I stated previously, I was very concerned about my ability to sight sing, but I got through the very last test on the course mastery module with 85% first time, so I think I’ve come a long way with it! (Thanks for your help).
My question is, where should I go from here? The general workshops seem to duplicate a lot of what I’ve already done.. should I go onto the jazz workshops? Also, do these workshops need to be done in order or can they be done “as hoc”, ( ie. as you see fit?)

Many thanks
Steve

[Quentin]

Wow, great, congratulations!!

The workshops are for specialized training, in order to perfect your skills in various activities. There is no particular order, but we do suggest this:

1. Interval Comparison and Rhythm imitation activities are a starting point.
2. After having completed a number of lessons in those activities, you could also include the Interval identification, Melody imitation and Rhythmic Sight-Reading.
3.Later on, you could also include Chord Identification, Scale Identification and Rhythmic Dictation.
4.Finally, include the remaining activities to your training routines.

[D08scl]

Hello, I’m working my way through the “general workshops” and I am on the “interval singing” workshop. I have a problem. I can’t hold the note on pitch long enough for earmaster to recognise it correctly. Also I appear to have a natural quiver in my voice which causes it to jump between notes a semitone apart . Are there any modifications I can make so that earmaster will be a little more “forgiving” in its judgement?
Many thanks
Steve

PS. I know the note I’m trying to sing is the right one because I’ve gone through the process of checking it on the piano first… Thank you

[Quentin]

Hello,

The accuracy of the pitch recognition algorithm depends a lot on the input volume at which you mic has been set.

There is a mic test step before the exercise begins, did you pass it with your current set up? To check if your mic volume is at a good level, click on the "Nothing Happening?" button at the bottom right corner of the mic test screen. You will then see a volume meter with an "Ideal level" area. Try to adjust your mic volume so that the meter stays within the ideal range when you are singing into your mic.