Matching Pitch with Humming and Vowels
In Lesson 1, you began tuning your ear and voice to match pitch. Now we’re layering on complexity. We’ll start with humming again—a familiar tool from Lesson 1—as a stable and controlled way to ease into this next step. Humming provides both pitch focus and tactile feedback through lip vibration.
From there, we shift to an open vowel like “ah” and a closed vowel like “ee.” These bring us closer to real-world singing. Most of the time when we sing, we’re producing vowels—they carry the sound and sustain the pitch, while consonants interrupt or articulate it. Training vowels helps build consistency and resonance for actual music-making.
You don’t need perfect accuracy yet. Focus on noticing when you’re close, adjusting gently, and holding the pitch with steadiness.
Exercise: Humming to Vowels
- Listen to a single pitch:
- Hum the note gently. If it doesn’t match, slide your pitch up or down to find the match.
- Once you can hum the pitch, open to an “ah” vowel.
- Then move to an “ee” vowel, keeping the pitch steady throughout.
- Hold each vowel for 3–5 seconds.
Most if not all singers feel vibration at the lips during humming—that’s a defining feature. Some may also notice resonance in the cheeks or sinuses (the “masque” area). These sensations can reinforce pitch awareness, but they vary from person to person.
Use the embedded audio players below to practice with real pitches. These provide consistent references even if you don’t have an instrument handy.
Check Yourself:
- Can you slide to the pitch and then hold it without drift?
- Can you move from “ee” to “ah” without losing the pitch?
- Is the tone steady and clear on each vowel?
Takeaway:
By practicing humming and transitioning to open vowels, you’re building foundational skills for accurate pitch matching. These are the tools that make real-world singing—with lyrics and melodies—possible. Keep practicing with the embedded audio players, and listen for both pitch and steadiness.
Lesson Audio Files:
- Women & Children:
- Men:
What to Expect:
This lesson is short by design. It builds on Lesson 1 without introducing new theory, just a new vocal configuration. You may want to revisit it across a few short sessions, especially if you struggle to keep the pitch steady as you move between vowels. But once you’re about 80% consistent, move on.
Even experienced singers can struggle with vowel tuning—especially in high or low parts of their range. Don’t overthink this, but do give yourself time to internalize it.
Next Up: Solfege: Imagine being able to hear a tune and sing it back—not by guessing, but by understanding how each note fits. That skill isn’t magic. It’s solfege.—a system for naming and internalizing pitch relationships. If you’ve built stability here, you’ll be ready to take that next step.