Is singing on pitch enough?

Exactly what it says in the title. Is a singer good when they're merely in-pitch, or do they also need a particularly pleasing voice? Or are those two things the same?

The reason I ask is because I see all these comments on videos (or have conversations with someone) and they'll say "so-and-so can't sing," but when I listen to the performance they were talking about, the person sounds mostly on pitch. I wonder if I'm very forgiving of other singers' mistakes (I'm not that forgiving about my own mistakes), or if I really can't tell when someone is off-key, or if it's just the person is on-pitch but has a rough voice.

The other reason this concerns me is because I sing. If I can't tell when someone else is off-pitch, how can I tell when I'm off-pitch? I think I can tell (unless I'm wrong about it), I can play songs by ear, so I must have at least an ear for music, and I've had other music people back me up on it. Also, I've had singing teachers tell me I wasn't off-pitch except for when I didn't relax, but it's like I can't take their word for it.

To address your first question, people who say "so-and-so can't sing" are usually talking out of their ass; most singers, can, funnily enough, sing, it's just that like almost everything in music, vocal timbre is a highly subjective quality. That said, I don't think singers can get away with JUST hitting the right pitches without even putting any effort into their singing - they've got to be able to convey some kind of emotion in the process.

if the tone comes from the diaphragm its signing no matter what you think, if it comes from the throat, its not technically singing.

True. Furthermore, I'd argue that straight "in-tune-ness" is actually sometimes unnecessary if one is properly able to capture a given mood or otherwise match style and timbre well. Take early Public Image Ltd, for example.

Pitch is not all that matters. Tone, color, breath control, timing, rhythm, and emotion also contribute to whether a person can be considered to sing well or not.

There are sooooo many things that matter besides pitch it's not even funny- Maddy summed it up pretty well. Most people who can't sing well can, at least to an extent, sing on pitch.

Pitch is definitely not everything. I'm pretty good about staying in pitch and harmonizing, but I'm still a terrible singer because I have incredibly limited range and have never managed to learn tto breathe properly. But I just sing my own songs at coffeehouses so I don't worry too much about it.

Also, as other people have said, sometimes it's not necessary to be in pitch to sing 'well' (using a relative term here). Take this atrocious half-cover of 'Float On' from American Idol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMtYjdNn9XQ

All of them are singing correctly, but it feels so out of place compared to Isaac Brock's frantic vocal delivery on the original.

edited 9th Nov '11 8:48:18 PM by Dekunobo

I'd say hitting the right notes at the right time (staying on pitch, keeping rhythm, etc) might be the most important thing, but it's not the only important thing. It lets you be an okay singer, but not necessarily a good one.

Emotion or attitude is the second most important thing - I've been told by experienced musicians that you can do whatever you want on stage, as long as you look like you know what you're doing.

edited 11th Nov '11 5:09:21 PM by czhang

No, you can sing on pitch and still be grating or just dull to listen to.

Hmm...so the worst case scenario you can have while singing on-pitch that you end up sounding like a robot, but sound flat and with no vibrato?

I take it you were refering to Autotune there.

A kazoo and a violin can both be played on pitch. But the difference between them is comparable to the difference between some individual human singing voices.

I can never tell when someone's "singing out-of-pitch". That's leveled at a fair amount of bands I love since they all have the Perishing Alt-Rock Voice but I can never tell. Whenever someone says their singing is off-key, I'm like "really? huh"

edited 13th Apr '12 12:45:57 PM by Trillhouse

I remember reading a review of Ever Forthright's debut album that derided Chris Barretto's vocals for being out of key. I think they may have been confused by the odd tonality of his vocal melodies on the album (as in this song), which if anything require unusually strong pitch control because the note/interval choices are so unconventional. Point being, once again, that people who criticize vocalists are often talking out of their ass. I can't think of many singers I truly dislike (the only example that ever comes to mind is Jim Gillette from Nitro, the bastard).

edited 13th Apr '12 12:35:00 PM by AsTheAnointed

I think (and this is coming from someone with some classical training) that it's at least as important for the vocals to fit with the music as it is for them to be on pitch. Take Jimi Hendrix for example, from a technical standpoint his vocal ability was often questionable, but it went with the music perfectly.

Being on pitch is the basic building block to being a good singer. There's a lot more to it.

edited 13th Apr '12 3:24:22 PM by Exelixi

Exactly. Even Bob Dylan was consistantly able to sing in tune, and few would call him a good singer.