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How to sing in tune: see whether you are sharp or flat, note by note
The quickest way to learn to sing in tune is to see your pitch while you sing it. PitchCraft draws your voice on a piano-roll graph next to the target note and measures the gap in cents, so you know whether you landed sharp, flat or on pitch, and by how much. After each take it tells you which way you tend to drift. It is free and runs in your browser.
Why you cannot always hear it yourself
You hear your own voice partly through the bones of your skull, which changes its sound and makes small pitch errors hard to notice while you are producing them. Recording yourself helps, but it comes after the fact. A live graph closes the loop: you adjust while the note is still sounding, and the correction becomes a habit.
Three exercises that fix intonation
Start simple and keep the graph in view:
- Held notes. Sing one note against the reference tone and keep your line flat on top of it. Watch what the pitch does at the start of the note and as you run out of breath.
- Slow scales. Use the major scale exercise at a slow tempo; the line should step cleanly from row to row without sliding in from below.
- Sirens and target tones. Slide between two notes and land exactly; the Sing to chords exercises add a target tone at every chord change.
Reading the report: a sharp or flat bias
The report after every take gives an intonation accuracy percentage and, more useful, your bias: whether your misses were mostly above or mostly below the note. A consistent flat bias usually means the note is approached from underneath or breath support fades on long notes; a sharp bias often comes with pushing. Knowing the direction tells you what to try next.
Practise with real songs
Scales are the gym; songs are the game. Upload a song and let PitchCraft separate it into stems. Mute the original vocal, loop the phrase you are working on and sing it over the real instruments; the original singer's line stays on the graph as your target, and the lyrics scroll in time. You can transpose the song into your range first so the phrase is actually singable for you.
How long it takes
Most people see their curve straighten within a few sessions once they can watch it. Making that stick without the graph takes longer and comes from short, regular practice rather than long occasional sessions. Pro keeps the history of every take so you can see the accuracy percentage move over weeks.
Frequently asked questions
What do sharp and flat mean?
Sharp means higher than the intended note, flat means lower. Both are measured in cents: there are 100 cents in a semitone, and a difference of a few cents is normal even for good singers.
How close to the note do I need to be?
Being within a small part of a semitone sounds in tune to most listeners; a whole semitone is clearly a wrong note. The graph shows the gap in cents so you can judge it, and the report averages it over the take.
I was told I am tone deaf. Can I still learn?
Very likely yes. True amusia, the inability to perceive pitch differences, is rare. Most people who sing off key can hear that something is wrong but lack the feedback to fix it; a live graph provides exactly that feedback.
Does PitchCraft fix my pitch automatically?
No. It shows your pitch and lets you hear your recording against the reference, but it never alters your voice. That is the point: the correction has to come from you.
Is it free?
Yes. Live pitch detection, exercises, recording and the report are free with no account. Song separation has a free allowance of 3 songs per 7 days; more needs Pro or credits.