He sings O Canada in 5 different keys

I heard this comment recently as part of a conversation which had to do with “I know you believe everyone can sing, but really… my boyfriend sings O’ Canada in 5 different keys”.   Have you ever been at a Birthday party, and it begins… “happy birthday to you…” ok that part is fine…. then “happy birthday to you”…. great everything is going well… then the dreaded octave leap to “happy BIRTH-day…. dear Johnny”… egads.. half the group drops out or goes terribly off pitch on the “BIRTH”….

Does this mean all those people are tone deaf? Well think about it.  Most of us, who have not taken voice lessons for years or had singing experience, have a 5 note range.  (even those of us who have taken voice lessons, would probably prefer to sing in a 5 note range… hence why Karaoke bars are full of country singers).  We can all sing 5 notes really well.  Then above and below those 5 notes,  we get a little stressed out.  Now think of all those songs that we have to sing,  ”Happy Birthday”  (one octave), “O Canada” (one octave), the American National anthem… egads, stretches to a 10th…. (an octave is an 8 note range).

So why does that guy sing O Canada or Happy Birthday in 5 keys?  Well, my guess is that he’s trying to fit that one octave song into a 5 note song.  Is that because he is tone deaf or musically moronic? No, it is because he/she has not learned to stretch the voice past that 5 note range…

Of course I have no scientific studies to back up my opinion, just 20 years of experience in the music industry and a fascination with aural perception.   The voice is such a personal thing, if it sounds horrible we do take it personally, so we want to sound good.  We can’t blame it on the instrument if we suck, so of course, it is the one musical skill that we think we are either good or awful at.

Practicing avoidance is the best way to avoid being humiliated by singing in public…. “oh no.. you don’t want to hear ME sing”… “really you don’t”….. but give yourself a break, give it a try, it’s so much fun to sing, and think of what you are missing by not trying.   You can’t expect to be a yogi master at your first yoga class, you can’t expect to be an NHL hockey player your first time on the ice, you can’t expect to be a wine connoisseur if you open one bottle of Baby Duck on New Year’s eve.

To develop refined perceptual skills, whether you are refining your palate for food and wine, your eye for visual acuteness, attention to detail, colour, sensory, or auditory, it takes practice and focus on the task at hand.  With singing, not only do you need to develop your auditory skills to listen more acutely, but also your vocal mechanism to respond to the messages your brain receives when it hears certain chords, pitches etc.  It is no simple task and though for those who have done it since a young age it seems like a natural talent,  there is a great deal of skill, training and focus involved, whether that came from being immersed in a musical culture, or training years as a classical musician.

It’s never too late to start.  In five years you will either be where you are now, or you will have progressed at something new that you decided to learn.   It’s your choice.  Get out and try something new.