Improving Choral Tuning Through Ear Training
Intonation is one of the building blocks of a choir, and bad intonation drives me crazy. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our choirs never sang out-of-tune? It is possible! Below I will cover tips for improving intonation through simple exercises to develop and improve your choir’s “inner ear.” These exercises can be used with singers of all ages.
My approach to music education is to teach skills and not just songs. I believe that every singer should not only experience and perform music, but learn the skills to be an independent, thinking musician. My philosophy is to teach them to do more, so that I do less. With these exercises we are essentially training the singer’s brain to be sensitive to pitch—and the voice will follow the brain.
Audiation: Hearing with the Mind’s Ear
Mental imagery, or visualization, is a quasi-perceptual experience. It resembles perceptual experience, but occurs without external stimuli—“seeing in the mind’s eye.” This is a skill we all have. Moreover, we can train this part of our mind with practice. For example, take a look at this image and try to memorize as many details as possible.
Now close your eyes and try to recall that image in your mind. You probably can recall certain details, but I bet the mental image is fuzzy, lacking clarity.
Now open your eyes and take another look. Try to notice different details so that you can sharpen your mental image.
Close your eyes once more and see if that image has more detail. I bet your brain can reconstruct a better representation of the photo. With practice, you should be able to recall more and more of the image.
Singers can use a similar technique to “hear in their head.” Music educator Edwin Gordon says, “Audiation takes place when one hears and comprehends music for which the sound no longer or may have never been present.” If your singers can clarify and sharpen their mental hearing, intonation will naturally improve. Hearing in your head is something we all already do. With practice it is possible to learn to control and even create a mental sound image.
What are the benefits of focusing on auditory imagery?
First, the problem with the piano. When we rely on the piano to teach our singers their parts and keep them in the right key, we miss an opportunity to train the brain. Instead of learning notes by hearing them played on the piano, singers should be able to hear the note first in their mind’s ear and then confirm that with the piano. Try not to have your accompanist play the singers’ pitches, but play only the piano part. This is hard at first, but worth the investment. Remember: If it’s easy, we’re not growing.
Audiation improves sight-reading and intonation. If your choir can hear the pitches inside their heads, they will become sensitive to pitch. The more skilled the singers are at hearing pitches, the better they will be at producing them—correctly, confidently, and in-tune.
Studies have shown that mental practice activates the same region of the brain as physical practice. This means that singing with the mind is just as valuable as singing with the voice. When your singers hear clearly what they want to sing before engaging the voice, they will sing with more confidence—no more of those wobbly entrances where everyone is waiting for someone else to sing first!
Getting Started
Getting started is easy! First, you will need a sight reading system to use as a reference for all of the mental work. At the Boston Children’s Chorus (BCC) we use the Kodály method as a basis and incorporate the Curwen hand signs. However, due to our specific circumstances, we do not strictly adhere to the Kodály method. We use the moveable “Do” system with “La”-based minor at first and then transition to “Do”-based minor as the singers acquire more skill. But other systems will work as well. (For more on how to get started read this post)
Creating the sensation with a simple song
Next you will need to make your students aware of their ability to “hear” in their head:
- Have them sing aloud a simple tune that they all know, like “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”
- Sing the first section and then stop.
- Ask the singers to go back to the beginning, but this time have them sing it only in their head.
- As you conduct them through the silent exercise, you can check their progress by stopping on any note, and asking them to sing that note out loud.
This is a practical exercise which be can used throughout rehearsal—more on that in a moment.
Warm-Ups
Warm-ups are a perfect time to have your singers develop their skills. I like to use these four easy exercises during warm-ups to train the ear (and brain): Silent Solfege, Finding Keys, Scales, and Sight Reading.
Silent Solfege
Using the Curwen hand-signs (and our own expanded chromatic additions), we have the singers alternate between singing out loud and singing in their heads using solfege. For example, tackling a tricky interval like a tri-tone or a minor seventh can be made easier by singing one note, audiating the intermediate steps, and singing the other note.
As the singers get more advanced at this exercise, you can stretch them by seeing how many silent notes you can go through while all landing on the correct pitch at the end.
Finding Keys
You can take the silent solfege activity a step further and have the singers find specific keys using a reference pitch. Give the singers a pitch using either the piano or a tuning fork (more on tuning forks below), and have them find another note, chord or key. For example, you could give your singers an A, and have them find their starting notes in a song in C major. This task requires more familiar knowledge of music theory, intervals, and the staff, but it’s worth it.
At BCC we have been able to have performances in which the singers perform several a cappella songs in different keys without getting reference pitches from the piano. If one song ends on an A minor chord, and the next one starts in E major, I simply sign do to fa for the singers, and then use my other hand to indicate the key change—that fa is now do. The choir then changes keys in complete silence—it’s like magic!
Scales and rounds
Finally, I use scales and rounds for more challenging exercises, once they are comfortable with the more basic material. Scales are a wonderful way to work on multiple skills at once.
- Have the singers sing a scale, both ascending and descending.
- Repeat the scale, and leave out one of the notes (for example fa). The singers need to sing the missing note in their head. It is not good enough to simply skip the note as no brain training would take place.
- Have the singers sing the scale in canon by section, starting a third apart.
- Finally, have them sing the scale in canon silently, in their heads. Stop at any moment in the canon and have the singers sing those pitches out loud. This will ensure that they are all engaged in mental practice.
Sight Singing
Additionally, you can incorporate this same method into your sight singing practice. Any song that the singers are learning, or any sight-reading exercise, can be practiced silently, stopping on any note to check that everyone is on the right pitch.
In Rehearsal
After building skill in warm-ups, you can apply what the singers have learned in rehearsals. Have your singers use their audiation skills to actively listen during rehearsal. When their section is not rehearsing they can practice their part in their head. This keeps everyone involved in the process. Also ask them to hear the other part while they are singing. their own This will lead to improved intonation and awareness.
As I mentioned above, you can have the singers rehearse a song only with their mind’s voice. Simply conduct the piece with the choir actively singing only inside their head. When finished, ask your students what they heard, and you will be amazed at how much more your singers hear when they aren’t singing.
Tuning Forks
More Advanced Exercises
There are several advanced exercises that will help the singers become more proficient. The object is for the singers to “hear with their eyes” (hear music when they read sheet music) and “see with their ears” (imagine sheet music when they hear notes).
- Play or sing a pitch and have your singers imagine a note a step higher. For example, play a C on the piano.
- Have them see it on the staff. I will ask the singers to see a D on the staff, hear the D, and then sing it.
- Expand to larger intervals.
Other ideas for advanced exercises:
- Play chords and clusters and have your singers deconstruct the collection of pitches in their heads.
- Melodic and harmonic dictation is a great way for your singers to advance and apply their skills. If you practice all of the exercises above, dictation should be relatively easy.
It’s a Teachable Skill!
One of the most important asset any musician can have is a “good ear.” But we often assume that the ear develops on its own. By using focused exercises to develop the “mind’s ear” and the “mind’s voice,” your singers will improve their intonation, sight-read more fluently, learn music faster, and retain more from every rehearsal.
Do you have any fun exercises that train the brain and ear? Share and leave a comment below.