How to Correct Your Pitch on Stage

Your voice pitch can waver depending on how nervous you are.

When you are performing on stage, it can be very difficult to keep your voice pitch even and smooth. Several reasons explain why your voice pitch can sound perfect in rehearsal and then suddenly veer off-key when performing for an audience. Luckily, once you come to recognize these problems, fixing them and correcting your voice pitch while on stage should not be a problem.

Instructions

1. Get control of your nerves. Whether you're ridden with anxiety or overly excited, nerves (that well-known adrenaline surge, or "fight or flight" response) will likely affect your vocal pitch. Before getting out on stage or in front of an audience, take some deep breaths and try to calm down. Make sure your posture is upright.

2. 

   Practice singing on stage with a live band. This instrumental accompaniment will help you to find the correct pitch. Also, the amplification will allow you to hear how you will sound to yourself, which helps you even out your pitch.

3. Do not sing louder in an effort to hit the right notes. To accommodate the background noise of a band or audience, never over sing. Remember: you won't be able to hear yourself the same way you do in rehearsal. That's okay. The audience can hear you just fine. Singing louder will throw off your pitch.

4. 

   Practice. Pitch is all about the muscles you use when you sing and "muscle memory" for a particular song. Don't sing from your throat but from your lower abdomen, using the muscles of your diaphragm. The more you practice, the stronger those muscles will be and the steadier your voice pitch when you are on stage. Before going on stage, prepare by doing vocal exercises, breathing exercises, and ear training with the accompaniment of a piano or keyboard.

References

• "People" magazine: Your Audio Guide to Idol -- 'Pitchy' Explained

Resources

• Exercises for Singers.