when is out of tune ok?How should I control my voice while rapping?How to overcome “flooded” sound when singing?Is Sideshow Bob out of tune when performing Englishman?My throat hurts when I singDo capable harmony singers sing in just intonation or tempered tuning?vocal software for singing in tune50 years old , haven't sung a note in my life, butDo out of tune singers hear that they're off?How do singers know when they really can sing a tune?Passaggi, fach and volume

Is there any reason not to eat food that's been dropped on the surface of the moon?

Modulo 2 binary long division in European notation

Minimal reference content

How to prove that the query oracle is unitary?

How to be diplomatic in refusing to write code that breaches the privacy of our users

Why did Kant, Hegel, and Adorno leave some words and phrases in the Greek alphabet?

There is only s̶i̶x̶t̶y one place he can be

What's the purpose of "true" in bash "if sudo true; then"

Modify casing of marked letters

How was Earth single-handedly capable of creating 3 of the 4 gods of chaos?

Is there a measurement for the vocal speed of a song?

Is the destination of a commercial flight important for the pilot?

At which point does a character regain all their Hit Dice?

What defines a dissertation?

Why Were Madagascar and New Zealand Discovered So Late?

How to verify if g is a generator for p?

how to analyze "是其于主也至忠矣"

What to do with wrong results in talks?

Where in the Bible does the greeting ("Dominus Vobiscum") used at Mass come from?

Hostile work environment after whistle-blowing on coworker and our boss. What do I do?

Is there a good way to store credentials outside of a password manager?

Efficiently merge handle parallel feature branches in SFDX

Trouble understanding overseas colleagues

Personal Teleportation as a Weapon



when is out of tune ok?


How should I control my voice while rapping?How to overcome “flooded” sound when singing?Is Sideshow Bob out of tune when performing Englishman?My throat hurts when I singDo capable harmony singers sing in just intonation or tempered tuning?vocal software for singing in tune50 years old , haven't sung a note in my life, butDo out of tune singers hear that they're off?How do singers know when they really can sing a tune?Passaggi, fach and volume













2















We have a song we're recording and parts are sung fairly loud and end out of tune. We found that there are 2-3 words that somehow were fitting better and more natural when as they were recorded and just don't fit as well when not in tune.



In one case, we have one that somehow 'flows' better in the song when it's halfway between two half steps.



That brings 2 questions:



  • Does it make sense to stay out of tune, quite a lot in some cases, just because it's more pleasing to the ear?

  • Is it possible that we just got used to how it sounds that way, and other renditions just don't seem as good?









share|improve this question






















  • I can’t see any reason to do anything that is less pleasing to the ear, unless you’re trying to annoy people watching a horror movie or something.

    – Todd Wilcox
    4 hours ago











  • In & out of tune can depend on the musical style. A Blues 3rd & 7th isn't anywhere a piano can hit, but a singer can. Also, sliding to a note sometimes works better than hitting it dead-on, but again only in context.

    – Tetsujin
    4 hours ago











  • There is the notion that repetition legitimizes. When you’re out of tune once, it’s a mistake. If you do it again in the same spot in the same way, maybe you meant to do it. It’s subjective and sometimes out-of-tune is just out-of-tune, but it can be used as expression, too.

    – trw
    3 hours ago











  • @ToddWilcox What's pleasing to someone's ear might not be pleasing to another's ear. When you want to please others, you can either trust your own ear, ask others to listen, or try to find out if there is some general theory about it that might help.

    – JiK
    9 mins ago















2















We have a song we're recording and parts are sung fairly loud and end out of tune. We found that there are 2-3 words that somehow were fitting better and more natural when as they were recorded and just don't fit as well when not in tune.



In one case, we have one that somehow 'flows' better in the song when it's halfway between two half steps.



That brings 2 questions:



  • Does it make sense to stay out of tune, quite a lot in some cases, just because it's more pleasing to the ear?

  • Is it possible that we just got used to how it sounds that way, and other renditions just don't seem as good?









share|improve this question






















  • I can’t see any reason to do anything that is less pleasing to the ear, unless you’re trying to annoy people watching a horror movie or something.

    – Todd Wilcox
    4 hours ago











  • In & out of tune can depend on the musical style. A Blues 3rd & 7th isn't anywhere a piano can hit, but a singer can. Also, sliding to a note sometimes works better than hitting it dead-on, but again only in context.

    – Tetsujin
    4 hours ago











  • There is the notion that repetition legitimizes. When you’re out of tune once, it’s a mistake. If you do it again in the same spot in the same way, maybe you meant to do it. It’s subjective and sometimes out-of-tune is just out-of-tune, but it can be used as expression, too.

    – trw
    3 hours ago











  • @ToddWilcox What's pleasing to someone's ear might not be pleasing to another's ear. When you want to please others, you can either trust your own ear, ask others to listen, or try to find out if there is some general theory about it that might help.

    – JiK
    9 mins ago













2












2








2








We have a song we're recording and parts are sung fairly loud and end out of tune. We found that there are 2-3 words that somehow were fitting better and more natural when as they were recorded and just don't fit as well when not in tune.



In one case, we have one that somehow 'flows' better in the song when it's halfway between two half steps.



That brings 2 questions:



  • Does it make sense to stay out of tune, quite a lot in some cases, just because it's more pleasing to the ear?

  • Is it possible that we just got used to how it sounds that way, and other renditions just don't seem as good?









share|improve this question














We have a song we're recording and parts are sung fairly loud and end out of tune. We found that there are 2-3 words that somehow were fitting better and more natural when as they were recorded and just don't fit as well when not in tune.



In one case, we have one that somehow 'flows' better in the song when it's halfway between two half steps.



That brings 2 questions:



  • Does it make sense to stay out of tune, quite a lot in some cases, just because it's more pleasing to the ear?

  • Is it possible that we just got used to how it sounds that way, and other renditions just don't seem as good?






voice






share|improve this question













share|improve this question











share|improve this question




share|improve this question










asked 4 hours ago









ThomasThomas

23818




23818












  • I can’t see any reason to do anything that is less pleasing to the ear, unless you’re trying to annoy people watching a horror movie or something.

    – Todd Wilcox
    4 hours ago











  • In & out of tune can depend on the musical style. A Blues 3rd & 7th isn't anywhere a piano can hit, but a singer can. Also, sliding to a note sometimes works better than hitting it dead-on, but again only in context.

    – Tetsujin
    4 hours ago











  • There is the notion that repetition legitimizes. When you’re out of tune once, it’s a mistake. If you do it again in the same spot in the same way, maybe you meant to do it. It’s subjective and sometimes out-of-tune is just out-of-tune, but it can be used as expression, too.

    – trw
    3 hours ago











  • @ToddWilcox What's pleasing to someone's ear might not be pleasing to another's ear. When you want to please others, you can either trust your own ear, ask others to listen, or try to find out if there is some general theory about it that might help.

    – JiK
    9 mins ago

















  • I can’t see any reason to do anything that is less pleasing to the ear, unless you’re trying to annoy people watching a horror movie or something.

    – Todd Wilcox
    4 hours ago











  • In & out of tune can depend on the musical style. A Blues 3rd & 7th isn't anywhere a piano can hit, but a singer can. Also, sliding to a note sometimes works better than hitting it dead-on, but again only in context.

    – Tetsujin
    4 hours ago











  • There is the notion that repetition legitimizes. When you’re out of tune once, it’s a mistake. If you do it again in the same spot in the same way, maybe you meant to do it. It’s subjective and sometimes out-of-tune is just out-of-tune, but it can be used as expression, too.

    – trw
    3 hours ago











  • @ToddWilcox What's pleasing to someone's ear might not be pleasing to another's ear. When you want to please others, you can either trust your own ear, ask others to listen, or try to find out if there is some general theory about it that might help.

    – JiK
    9 mins ago
















I can’t see any reason to do anything that is less pleasing to the ear, unless you’re trying to annoy people watching a horror movie or something.

– Todd Wilcox
4 hours ago





I can’t see any reason to do anything that is less pleasing to the ear, unless you’re trying to annoy people watching a horror movie or something.

– Todd Wilcox
4 hours ago













In & out of tune can depend on the musical style. A Blues 3rd & 7th isn't anywhere a piano can hit, but a singer can. Also, sliding to a note sometimes works better than hitting it dead-on, but again only in context.

– Tetsujin
4 hours ago





In & out of tune can depend on the musical style. A Blues 3rd & 7th isn't anywhere a piano can hit, but a singer can. Also, sliding to a note sometimes works better than hitting it dead-on, but again only in context.

– Tetsujin
4 hours ago













There is the notion that repetition legitimizes. When you’re out of tune once, it’s a mistake. If you do it again in the same spot in the same way, maybe you meant to do it. It’s subjective and sometimes out-of-tune is just out-of-tune, but it can be used as expression, too.

– trw
3 hours ago





There is the notion that repetition legitimizes. When you’re out of tune once, it’s a mistake. If you do it again in the same spot in the same way, maybe you meant to do it. It’s subjective and sometimes out-of-tune is just out-of-tune, but it can be used as expression, too.

– trw
3 hours ago













@ToddWilcox What's pleasing to someone's ear might not be pleasing to another's ear. When you want to please others, you can either trust your own ear, ask others to listen, or try to find out if there is some general theory about it that might help.

– JiK
9 mins ago





@ToddWilcox What's pleasing to someone's ear might not be pleasing to another's ear. When you want to please others, you can either trust your own ear, ask others to listen, or try to find out if there is some general theory about it that might help.

– JiK
9 mins ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















4














Technically vibrato is going in and out of "tune."



But that is controlled, and I think that is the key to approaching the question.



If it's deliberate, creating some intended effect, it seems like a valid musical choice.



All kinds of slides, half-sung notes, etc. are used by singers and add life to a performance. By comparison when I hear a very "clean" performance of a song that it well known with a "messy" performance, it's the messy performance that is more expressive.



There is another specific case to keep in mind and that is the blues derived singing of a minor third over a major chord. Ex. singing an F natural over a D major chord which containers the F# major third. By one standard that is horribly out of tune. By another standard - a bluesy standard - it's a gritty, dirty sound that is desirable.



Your "out of tune" stuff may be working according to a different aesthetic standard than something like... Taylor Swift, etc.



A funny anecdote: recently I went to a high school musical. The male lead sang out of tune the whole night! I mean clearly out of tune. At first it was strange. I kept thinking "how did this guy get the part?" After a while I didn't care and - in a strange way - it made the character endearing. He sang with such feeling (but out of tune) and in the end he brought home the part. (No, it wasn't my kid.)






share|improve this answer
































    1















    When is out of tune ok?




    Most of the time. You could write a whole book on all the situations in which 'out of tune' is the norm - from the individual harmonics of stringed instruments, to temperaments of scales, to chorus pedals, to blue notes, to 'unpitched' percussion instruments and spoken passages of indeterminate pitch.... as well as not hitting an exact note for expressive purposes.




    Does it make sense to stay out of tune, quite a lot in some cases, just because it's more pleasing to the ear?




    Yes.




    Is it possible that we just got used to how it sounds that way, and other renditions just don't seem as good?




    Yes. at the end of the day, this is an artistic choice - you should trust your own artistic judgement, but why not also ask opinions of others who are familiar with the style of music?






    share|improve this answer






















      Your Answer








      StackExchange.ready(function()
      var channelOptions =
      tags: "".split(" "),
      id: "240"
      ;
      initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

      StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
      // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
      if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
      StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
      createEditor();
      );

      else
      createEditor();

      );

      function createEditor()
      StackExchange.prepareEditor(
      heartbeatType: 'answer',
      autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
      convertImagesToLinks: false,
      noModals: true,
      showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
      reputationToPostImages: null,
      bindNavPrevention: true,
      postfix: "",
      imageUploader:
      brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
      contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
      allowUrls: true
      ,
      noCode: true, onDemand: true,
      discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
      ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
      );



      );













      draft saved

      draft discarded


















      StackExchange.ready(
      function ()
      StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmusic.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f81985%2fwhen-is-out-of-tune-ok%23new-answer', 'question_page');

      );

      Post as a guest















      Required, but never shown

























      2 Answers
      2






      active

      oldest

      votes








      2 Answers
      2






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes









      4














      Technically vibrato is going in and out of "tune."



      But that is controlled, and I think that is the key to approaching the question.



      If it's deliberate, creating some intended effect, it seems like a valid musical choice.



      All kinds of slides, half-sung notes, etc. are used by singers and add life to a performance. By comparison when I hear a very "clean" performance of a song that it well known with a "messy" performance, it's the messy performance that is more expressive.



      There is another specific case to keep in mind and that is the blues derived singing of a minor third over a major chord. Ex. singing an F natural over a D major chord which containers the F# major third. By one standard that is horribly out of tune. By another standard - a bluesy standard - it's a gritty, dirty sound that is desirable.



      Your "out of tune" stuff may be working according to a different aesthetic standard than something like... Taylor Swift, etc.



      A funny anecdote: recently I went to a high school musical. The male lead sang out of tune the whole night! I mean clearly out of tune. At first it was strange. I kept thinking "how did this guy get the part?" After a while I didn't care and - in a strange way - it made the character endearing. He sang with such feeling (but out of tune) and in the end he brought home the part. (No, it wasn't my kid.)






      share|improve this answer





























        4














        Technically vibrato is going in and out of "tune."



        But that is controlled, and I think that is the key to approaching the question.



        If it's deliberate, creating some intended effect, it seems like a valid musical choice.



        All kinds of slides, half-sung notes, etc. are used by singers and add life to a performance. By comparison when I hear a very "clean" performance of a song that it well known with a "messy" performance, it's the messy performance that is more expressive.



        There is another specific case to keep in mind and that is the blues derived singing of a minor third over a major chord. Ex. singing an F natural over a D major chord which containers the F# major third. By one standard that is horribly out of tune. By another standard - a bluesy standard - it's a gritty, dirty sound that is desirable.



        Your "out of tune" stuff may be working according to a different aesthetic standard than something like... Taylor Swift, etc.



        A funny anecdote: recently I went to a high school musical. The male lead sang out of tune the whole night! I mean clearly out of tune. At first it was strange. I kept thinking "how did this guy get the part?" After a while I didn't care and - in a strange way - it made the character endearing. He sang with such feeling (but out of tune) and in the end he brought home the part. (No, it wasn't my kid.)






        share|improve this answer



























          4












          4








          4







          Technically vibrato is going in and out of "tune."



          But that is controlled, and I think that is the key to approaching the question.



          If it's deliberate, creating some intended effect, it seems like a valid musical choice.



          All kinds of slides, half-sung notes, etc. are used by singers and add life to a performance. By comparison when I hear a very "clean" performance of a song that it well known with a "messy" performance, it's the messy performance that is more expressive.



          There is another specific case to keep in mind and that is the blues derived singing of a minor third over a major chord. Ex. singing an F natural over a D major chord which containers the F# major third. By one standard that is horribly out of tune. By another standard - a bluesy standard - it's a gritty, dirty sound that is desirable.



          Your "out of tune" stuff may be working according to a different aesthetic standard than something like... Taylor Swift, etc.



          A funny anecdote: recently I went to a high school musical. The male lead sang out of tune the whole night! I mean clearly out of tune. At first it was strange. I kept thinking "how did this guy get the part?" After a while I didn't care and - in a strange way - it made the character endearing. He sang with such feeling (but out of tune) and in the end he brought home the part. (No, it wasn't my kid.)






          share|improve this answer















          Technically vibrato is going in and out of "tune."



          But that is controlled, and I think that is the key to approaching the question.



          If it's deliberate, creating some intended effect, it seems like a valid musical choice.



          All kinds of slides, half-sung notes, etc. are used by singers and add life to a performance. By comparison when I hear a very "clean" performance of a song that it well known with a "messy" performance, it's the messy performance that is more expressive.



          There is another specific case to keep in mind and that is the blues derived singing of a minor third over a major chord. Ex. singing an F natural over a D major chord which containers the F# major third. By one standard that is horribly out of tune. By another standard - a bluesy standard - it's a gritty, dirty sound that is desirable.



          Your "out of tune" stuff may be working according to a different aesthetic standard than something like... Taylor Swift, etc.



          A funny anecdote: recently I went to a high school musical. The male lead sang out of tune the whole night! I mean clearly out of tune. At first it was strange. I kept thinking "how did this guy get the part?" After a while I didn't care and - in a strange way - it made the character endearing. He sang with such feeling (but out of tune) and in the end he brought home the part. (No, it wasn't my kid.)







          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited 3 hours ago

























          answered 3 hours ago









          Michael CurtisMichael Curtis

          10.4k638




          10.4k638





















              1















              When is out of tune ok?




              Most of the time. You could write a whole book on all the situations in which 'out of tune' is the norm - from the individual harmonics of stringed instruments, to temperaments of scales, to chorus pedals, to blue notes, to 'unpitched' percussion instruments and spoken passages of indeterminate pitch.... as well as not hitting an exact note for expressive purposes.




              Does it make sense to stay out of tune, quite a lot in some cases, just because it's more pleasing to the ear?




              Yes.




              Is it possible that we just got used to how it sounds that way, and other renditions just don't seem as good?




              Yes. at the end of the day, this is an artistic choice - you should trust your own artistic judgement, but why not also ask opinions of others who are familiar with the style of music?






              share|improve this answer



























                1















                When is out of tune ok?




                Most of the time. You could write a whole book on all the situations in which 'out of tune' is the norm - from the individual harmonics of stringed instruments, to temperaments of scales, to chorus pedals, to blue notes, to 'unpitched' percussion instruments and spoken passages of indeterminate pitch.... as well as not hitting an exact note for expressive purposes.




                Does it make sense to stay out of tune, quite a lot in some cases, just because it's more pleasing to the ear?




                Yes.




                Is it possible that we just got used to how it sounds that way, and other renditions just don't seem as good?




                Yes. at the end of the day, this is an artistic choice - you should trust your own artistic judgement, but why not also ask opinions of others who are familiar with the style of music?






                share|improve this answer

























                  1












                  1








                  1








                  When is out of tune ok?




                  Most of the time. You could write a whole book on all the situations in which 'out of tune' is the norm - from the individual harmonics of stringed instruments, to temperaments of scales, to chorus pedals, to blue notes, to 'unpitched' percussion instruments and spoken passages of indeterminate pitch.... as well as not hitting an exact note for expressive purposes.




                  Does it make sense to stay out of tune, quite a lot in some cases, just because it's more pleasing to the ear?




                  Yes.




                  Is it possible that we just got used to how it sounds that way, and other renditions just don't seem as good?




                  Yes. at the end of the day, this is an artistic choice - you should trust your own artistic judgement, but why not also ask opinions of others who are familiar with the style of music?






                  share|improve this answer














                  When is out of tune ok?




                  Most of the time. You could write a whole book on all the situations in which 'out of tune' is the norm - from the individual harmonics of stringed instruments, to temperaments of scales, to chorus pedals, to blue notes, to 'unpitched' percussion instruments and spoken passages of indeterminate pitch.... as well as not hitting an exact note for expressive purposes.




                  Does it make sense to stay out of tune, quite a lot in some cases, just because it's more pleasing to the ear?




                  Yes.




                  Is it possible that we just got used to how it sounds that way, and other renditions just don't seem as good?




                  Yes. at the end of the day, this is an artistic choice - you should trust your own artistic judgement, but why not also ask opinions of others who are familiar with the style of music?







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered 1 hour ago









                  topo mortotopo morto

                  26.6k246105




                  26.6k246105



























                      draft saved

                      draft discarded
















































                      Thanks for contributing an answer to Music: Practice & Theory Stack Exchange!


                      • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                      But avoid


                      • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                      • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.

                      To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




                      draft saved


                      draft discarded














                      StackExchange.ready(
                      function ()
                      StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmusic.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f81985%2fwhen-is-out-of-tune-ok%23new-answer', 'question_page');

                      );

                      Post as a guest















                      Required, but never shown





















































                      Required, but never shown














                      Required, but never shown












                      Required, but never shown







                      Required, but never shown

































                      Required, but never shown














                      Required, but never shown












                      Required, but never shown







                      Required, but never shown







                      Popular posts from this blog

                      Reverse int within the 32-bit signed integer range: [−2^31, 2^31 − 1]Combining two 32-bit integers into one 64-bit integerDetermine if an int is within rangeLossy packing 32 bit integer to 16 bitComputing the square root of a 64-bit integerKeeping integer addition within boundsSafe multiplication of two 64-bit signed integersLeetcode 10: Regular Expression MatchingSigned integer-to-ascii x86_64 assembler macroReverse the digits of an Integer“Add two numbers given in reverse order from a linked list”

                      Category:Fedor von Bock Media in category "Fedor von Bock"Navigation menuUpload mediaISNI: 0000 0000 5511 3417VIAF ID: 24712551GND ID: 119294796Library of Congress authority ID: n96068363BnF ID: 12534305fSUDOC authorities ID: 034604189Open Library ID: OL338253ANKCR AUT ID: jn19990000869National Library of Israel ID: 000514068National Thesaurus for Author Names ID: 341574317ReasonatorScholiaStatistics

                      Kiel Indholdsfortegnelse Historie | Transport og færgeforbindelser | Sejlsport og anden sport | Kultur | Kendte personer fra Kiel | Noter | Litteratur | Eksterne henvisninger | Navigationsmenuwww.kiel.de54°19′31″N 10°8′26″Ø / 54.32528°N 10.14056°Ø / 54.32528; 10.14056Oberbürgermeister Dr. Ulf Kämpferwww.statistik-nord.deDen danske Stats StatistikKiels hjemmesiderrrWorldCat312794080n790547494030481-4