05/17/2021 11:49 AM
Sight-Singing is the act of singing a brand new piece of music for the first time, usually with the music notation in front of you. It's a skill that takes a lot of practice, but can be incredibly helpful for classical singers, musical theater singers, and choral singers, who read from sheet music often.
These apps all use your phone microphone to test your ability to sing pitches. Some of easier exercises will play the pitch for you first and ask you to match the pitch, while some of the more advanced exercises will expect you to read the music or the interval and predict what the next pitch will be.
Though most of these apps are dedicated to sight singing, they also will help test your intonation (how well you're singing in tune). When you're using these apps, keep in mind that because of the nature of the voice (and vocal vibrato) it may not be possible for you to sing each note to the exact frequency of the pitch. Fortunately, each one of the apps allows a small margin of error, so don't stress too much if your notes are slightly off or tend to waiver up and down slightly as you sing.
NOTES AHOY
Notes Ahoy by Accelerando LLC is a fun app using a game setting to practice singing notes, intervals, and solfege syllables. Users can select a vocal type (children, high female, low female, high male, etc.) or choose a custom practice.
The free version of the app allows practice on notes names (C, D, E, etc), solfege syllables (do, re, mi), intervals.
The game is set up with note names that are falling slowly from the top of the screen. Each note name will disappear when you sing the note. The goal is to eliminate all of the falling notes before they hit the ground. I found it fairly easy to play the game, though you must be sure to sing the pitch loud enough and hold it for 1/3 of a second for the game to register the note. Students who have trouble singing on pitch might find this game a little more difficult than some of the others.
The app is a great way to practice singing pitches and intervals by ear and developing your relative pitch. The app does not, however, include notes on a music staff so it will not help with reading music. (Music notation is also listed as a selection in the "custom practice" section, but the option is not selectable, even after upgrading. Perhaps this is a feature that is still being developed?)
Certain features are not available in the free version of the app, though unlocking the features is a one-time payment of $2.99, which is pretty reasonable.
What It Covers: Notes (by letter names), solfege syllables, intervals, music notation
Who It's For: Great for singers who want to focus on pitch
PERFECT EAR
Perfect Ear -Ear Trainer by Crazy Ootka Software AB is an app dedicated to learning ear training and music theory, but several of the app features make it a great app for singers to practice sight singing and pitch as well.
The "Notes Singing Trainer" in the Drills section of the app is a great way for singers to practice matching pitch. The "Absolute Pitch" trainer is much more difficult, but can be good practice for those who want to practice or learn perfect pitch.
The exercises for "Rhythm Tapping" and "Interval Singing" help singers identify rhythms and sing intervals. The app also includes many music theory and ear training exercises which will help your understanding of music theory and notation.
Though most of the exercises in the app are free, some of the more advanced ones do require an upgrade.
What It Covers: Ear training music theory, singing notes and intervals, and tapping rhythms.
Who It's For: Anyone looking for an all-inclusive app covering ear training, theory, and sight singing
SINGING MASTER
Singing Master - Learn To Sing is a great app with many feature, though the app has some odd quirks and bugs. In the app, the sections are all labelled "unpurchased," which I found a little confusing, since there is no obvious way to upgrade and all of the features appear to be fully functional in the free version.
It also seems like the app developers may not be fully fluent in English, as some of the language used in the menus are a bit odd. There are also certain items in the menu that cause the app to crash.
Despite these quirks, the app has many incredibly helpful features, including singing notes, intervals, outlining triads and 7th chords, singing rhythms and melodies. Every example is notated and most sections include a "follow" section where you simply repeat the note or interval that is played for you.
This app would be great for experienced singers and classical musicians who are interested in sight singing notated music.
What It Covers: Notes, intervals, outlined chords, rhythms, and melodies, all with notated music.
Who It's For: Great for practicing music reading
SOLFEGE
Singalong Solfège by Yasuhiro Sekine is the perfect app for classical singers who want to practice sight singing with solfege. I can see this app being incredibly helpful for choral singers who want to get better at sight singing in their choir.
The exercises in the app consist of short passages of music with a piano accompaniment and a voice track. It includes a few customization features, such as turning on and off the singer and the piano accompaniment and slowing down the track to practice.
I love that this app comes with a piano accompaniment the passages are actually melodic, as opposed to exercises. Singers can practice the same exercises over and over again to become more familiar with the melody.
The app doesn't include any explanation or instruction, so it wouldn't be ideal for beginners. This is the only app on the list that doesn't include a microphone setting and doesn't provide feedback on your accuracy, which may be a negative for some users. I think for more experienced classical musicians who are somewhat familiar with solfege, that won't be a huge issue.
What It Covers: Notes, intervals, outlined chords, rhythms, and melodies, all with notated music.
Who It's For: Classical and choral singers
ELLA - SIGHT SINGING
Ella - Sight Singing by Hirsh Group LLC is the most beginner-friendly app for sight singing with music notation. The app includes very thorough approach to learning all aspects of music reading. The app is made up of short exercises that use your phone microphone to test your pitch. The exercises are arranged in a sequence in order of difficulty, though there is an option to try out different exercises based on what "category" they fall into.
The app starts out with just a few basic notes, but it does include simple rhythmic values as well. Each level adds on additional notes and rhythmic values until the most advanced exercises, which include notated nursery rhyme melodies.
What It Covers: Music reading and sight singing (including rhythm).
Who It's For: All singers, especially those who want to read music
The best way to improve your sight singing and your pitch is to take private voice lessons with an experienced teacher. Sign up for lessons at NOLA School of Music today!