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Views from the Choir Loft

How to Help Children Match Pitch (part II)

Keven Smith · December 7, 2020

HIS ARTICLE IS THE second installment in my three-part series (for now) on helping children match pitch. In my last article, I explained why I believe singing in head tone is a prerequisite for children to match pitch.

Now, I explained six months ago that in their first classes with me at age 4, kids learn that the most important skill of a musician is listening. I haven’t changed my stance. But I think of it this way: a child can’t show the fruits of careful listening if they’re misusing the voice. A child who is listening intently but using their voice wrong will, in my experience, always struggle to match pitch. I’ll see in their eyes that they’re entirely focused on the task at hand, but they’ll keep missing the note.

There are a few things you can do to remove obstacles to their success. I’ll cover two of them in this article.

Tip: Make everyone sing alone

When kids struggle to match pitch, there are sometimes personality issues going on. I’m not necessarily implying a lousy attitude. It could be a simple lack of confidence, extreme shyness, or the fact that Mom signed them up against their will.

For these and other reasons, I have children sing alone in each of my classes. This approach may sound aggressive or even harsh. Indeed, in the first few classes of a school year, I do encounter some reluctance. After a while, it goes away.

Don’t make a big deal out of it; matter-of-factly ask, “Who would like to try singing this alone?” Then, beginning with the volunteers, work your way around the room, and ask each child to sing a single note or simple note pattern. If children resist, use your judgment. Perhaps let them off the hook at the first couple of classes but say, “Well, I’m sure you’ll want to try next week.” I’ve found that the reticent kids warm up after a while due to positive peer pressure.

There are at least three benefits to singling everyone out. First, it’s the best way for you to evaluate each student individually. In a class of 20 kids, it can be hard to identify which two or three are singing those off-key notes.

Second, it lets the children know that each of them has a contribution to make to the class (and eventually, the choir). The message is clear: there’s no coasting along and hiding behind the other voices. If you’re here, you should be contributing to the group sound!

And third, it forces them to listen to themselves—not just the overall group sound. I’ve met adults who say, “I can’t sing alone, but I can get it if enough other people are singing.” Ah, but what if you have a choir loft full of such reticent musicians? Nobody will sing the Kyrie! We’ve got to raise the bar by encouraging our young students to sing out, alone, and not to be afraid of making a mistake.

Now, going around the room and giving everyone a chance to sing alone won’t instantly “fix” the non-matchers. But I have another trick that can do just that in some cases.

Tip: Sing in their range and timbre

If you’re a male teacher, consider demonstrating in your falsetto or asking an advanced student to demonstrate for the class.

This one is like magic for those challenging cases who simply can’t seem to match pitch. While most of my students will hear me sing a note in my octave and instinctively sing it back in their own (higher) octave, the non-matchers will sing back a different note entirely. But when I repeat the note or pattern in my falsetto, the non-matchers will match almost every time.

Here, as always, be sure to remember that the little student sitting in front of you isn’t just a voice; she’s a soul. So when I have to give a “second chance” note in my falsetto, and they sing it back correctly, I try to deflect any embarrassment. I’ll say, “Some people’s ears are just like that; it helps them to hear me sing it in my ‘other’ voice!”

My falsetto frankly isn’t very good most days (I’ve heard that, paradoxically, basses tend to have a more robust falsetto than tenors like me). So I’ve thought about putting my more advanced students to work demonstrating note patterns for their peers. They’ll provide a valuable service and stay more engaged as I go around the room.

A teacher’s timbre matters—and there’s research to back this up. In a 1990 study, children matched pitch best when the model was a child’s voice. The next best option was a woman’s voice. You can guess who finished last.

Of course, I don’t mean to let the female teachers off the hook entirely. Do be sure you’re modeling well. You may be an operatic soprano, but think back to how you sounded as a child. Make every effort to demonstrate in a voice that’s light and sweet.

Don’t Give Up on the Droners

Give these tips a try, and don’t forget to encourage your young students to stay in head voice. If these methods are new to you, I think you’ll be surprised by how much they can help, and how quickly. I’m grateful to have stumbled upon so many useful tips during my career. I’ll have more to share on matching pitch in my next article.
Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Catholic Youth Choirs, music classes, musical training, vocal pedagogy, vocal training Last Updated: December 14, 2020

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Keven Smith

About Keven Smith

Keven Smith, music director at St. Stephen the First Martyr, lives in Sacramento with his wife and five musical children.—(Read full biography).

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Can You Spare 33 Seconds?

Here’s an audio excerpt (33 seconds) of a setting for Kyrie VIII which was recorded live last Sunday at our parish in Los Angeles. The setting (“Missa de Angelis”) is by composer Richard Rice, and you can download the free PDF if you click here and scroll to the bottom. I think Richard’s composition is marvelous. I missed a few notes on the organ, but I’ll get them right next time.

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5 April 2021 • When Girls Sing

Covid restrictions here in California are still extremely severe—switching “two weeks to flatten the curve” into “two years to flatten the curve.” Since 2020, we’ve had police breaking into our church to check if everyone is wearing a mask…even when only 5-6 people are present! But we were allowed to have a small percentage of our singers back on Easter Sunday, and here is their live recording of the ancient Catholic hymn for Eastertide: Ad Cenam Agni Providi. The girls were so very excited to sing again—you can hear it in their voices!

—Jeff Ostrowski
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“E.S.” in North Dakota writes: “I just wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU for all the hard work you have put—and continue to put—into your wonderful website. In the past two years, my parish has moved from a little house basement into a brand new church and gone from a few families receiving Low Masses twice a month to several families (and many individuals) receiving Mass every Sunday, two Saturdays a month, and every Holy Day. Our priest has been incorporating more and more High Masses and various ceremonies into our lives, which has made my job as a huge newbie choir master very trying and complicated. CCWatershed has been an invaluable resource in helping me get on my feet and know what to do!!! Thank you more than I can express! May God bless you abundantly and assist you in your work and daily lives!”

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“The Church has always kept, and wishes still to maintain everywhere, the language of her Liturgy; and, before the sad and violent changes of the 16th century, this eloquent and effective symbol of unity of faith and communion of the faithful was, as you know, cherished in England not less than elsewhere. But this has never been regarded by the Holy See as incompatible with the use of popular hymns in the language of each country.”

— Pope Leo XIII (1898)

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