Ty Ford wrote:

In Article , "Michael McInnis"
wrote:
Lots of vocalists with good pitch sing flat when using headphones.

The standard fix....one ear on, one ear off (headphones that is).

Regards,

MM

Michael McInnis Productions
www.mm-pro.com

Thanks Michael,

I was wondering if the phenomenon was that headphones always cause flatting.
Does anyone know if headphones may also cause sharping?

And what's that about anyway? Too much level in the headphones might cause
the tympanic membrane to be pushed slightly out of shape? Would that make
the singer's voice appear higher in pitch than it really is?

Singers are fascinating. I've been fortunate to have worked with some very
accomplished, talented singers and their teachers who come from varied
pedagogies. The explanation I got is that singers have individual registers
(those parts of their anatomies which detect or interpret pitch!) and some are
blinded by headphones. Classically trained belcanto tenors, for instance, use
much of their body, even the feet, when singing. I can offer another tool that
sometimes helps. When singers are having a problem with pitch perception I
will strip the mix in their cans down to two elements, tempo and pitch. Some
singers will hear the bass better than a piano so for them I will leave a bit
of the drums and the bass. Others will relate to the guitar, whatever. One
fairly constant thing is that most IME have trouble singing with a full, high
volume mix. Oh, and I've seen singers go both sharp and flat on phones.

FWIW

Cheers,

TB
--
All tribal myths are true, for a given value of "true"