A beat is not something that should have to be watched and copied, and pitch is not something that should have to be matched. Rather, a sense of beat and a sense of pitch should come from within—from a sense of meter and a sense of tonality—the generators of rhythmic and tuneful singing.
Singers not yet tuneful or rhythmic are not tone deaf, un-rhythmic, nor without talent. They simply have not yet emerged from “music babble,” a necessary part of the process of developing and delivering a secure sense of both tonality and meter. A steady diet of hearing and interacting with a variety of tonalities and meters will do the most to prime the musical mind, body and voice to make sense of pitch relationships—a sense of tonality, and to make sense of beat relationships—a sense of meter.
Tuneful or rhythmic singers are not necessarily more developed than those who may not yet be tuneful or rhythmic. Tuneful or rhythmic singing is often generated from imitation rather than from a sense of tonality or a sense of meter. Children are great imitators, and can learn to convincingly recite poems in a foreign language, complete with expressive nuances, yet not understand the language. Many can do the same rhythmically, tonally, or both. Words to songs often lead the way rhythmically and tonally, much like a GPS system leads the way without ever activating the driver’s sense of direction.
A singer who is fairly tuneful, may not be nearly so strong rhythmically, or vice versa. Generally, the weaker skills, whether tonal or rhythm, will piggyback on the stronger, masking the weakness. We can be easily deceived by voices that appear to be skilled. A tuneful, rich voice quality is often heralded and placed where it can influence the sound of other voices. Yet a wonderful sound without a sense of tonality will simply lead others to sing out of tune. A rich voice quality can also disguise poor rhythm skills, leading other voices to diminish rhythmic accuracy, or rush or slow the tempo. Maintaining a tempo and singing rhythms precisely are part of the process of developing a strong sense of meter. Singing tunefully and singing in-tune are part of the process of developing a strong sense of tonality.
Untrained tuneful or rhythmic singers may, of course, have fine music potential, but without a background that develops a sense of tonality and a sense of meter, they will not be able to fully develop that music potential. Those with high capacity for tonal development may not have such capacity for rhythm development, and vice versa. It is essential that we provide a “sound environment,” rich in tonality and meter, for all of our students at all levels of development.
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