What does singing out of tune exactly means ? I can't understand. Please help.
 

I ve read that singing out of tune means singing the wrong notes or singing in wrong pitch. Means that you should according to original song's notes or your relative pitch should be correct. Here two questions arise in my mind :
1. Can you tell if someone is singing out of tune if you never listened the original song or you dont have the sheet music of that song, since you don't know the notes of song, how can u tell if a person is singing out of tune ?

2. Many singers while singing cover songs of other singers, sing the completely different notes. Are they singing out of tune . For example: Many singers (Chriss Cornell, David Crook, Atif Aslam etc.) sung the Billie Jean of Micheal Jackon and changed the notes.

So what does singing out of tune exactly means

I can't go into depth about these answers, because I have no knowledge of music theory, but I can superficially respond.

1) Yes.

2) No.

@pedestrian, Please explain. Even if you have little knowledge about music. Explain a little bit.

I would like to, but it's difficult for me to articulate how I know something is incorrect instinctively, but I would say that most people with a basic interest in music can identify the difference between a change in key and a sharp or flat note by ear.

1.) Well, you can't tell if their singing out of tune. If you've never heard the song, how could you possibly compare it pitch wise? It could sound completely out of tune and strange to our ears, but it could very well be what the original song sounds likes. We could assume that it could be out of tune, but we'd never be certain unless we heard the original.

2.)It really depends.

The key of a cover will depend on whatever the covering artist wants, but the spacing between each note is still equal to the spacing of the notes in the original key of the song in order for it to be in tune. So while it's different notes, the relations between those notes are the same. So it's not out of tune (provided that the instruments are also playing in the same key, or it's just the singer by themselves).

But say you there were a group of you singing the same song. Even if the relative spacing between notes are correct, if you're singing in a different key from everyone else, it's going to be out of tune.

I hope any of that made sense.

Here's an experiment. This is a song that I don't believe either of you have heard. Please humour me, and tell me (content asides), if this sounds correct to you.



I would have picked a better example, but this is the first I thought of and I don't want to trawl through bad youtube covers all night.

Thanks for the Reply

One thing, I can't understand the meaning of "Spacing between Notes" and "Relation between notes". Since. I am beginner and I don't much about music. Please explain in non-technical wording.

It's probably as much about musicality and the ability to convey in tones which express the music. That man just sounds like an amateur going through the motions. Most popular music certainly isn't about to be daring in it's harmonic inventions anyway. Not that that has to be a bad thing, it's just how it is and what the audience expects.

I think I was thinking more on the lines of just someone who was singing by themselves randomly. Which is stupid, because that generally wouldn't happen anyways.

But I'm comparing his singing from what I hear coming from the other singers and the piano, who are all in tune with each, but not with him, so I can assume he is the one out of tune. If he was singing by himself though I never heard the song, I would never be sure if what he was singing was in or out of tune, simply because there's nothing to compare to.

But yeah, you're probably going to have an instrument or voice backing you up, so that kinda makes my reasoning kinda pointless in that aspect.

Okay, say you start on a note. Musically, the smallest space to the note right next to it is what's called a "half step". So let's say we play one note and go up one half step and play that note.

Now we'll pick another note at random, one different that we played before. We also go a half step and play that note. The two sets of notes we played are made of completely different notes, but we hear them as going up the same amount.

So it's pretty much you apply that concept to two versions of the same song with different keys. As the songs go along at the same time, the notes are different, but as the go to the next note, they go up or down the same amount of steps.