Truth of Pitch in Singing and Being—A Spiritual Experience?

The act of pitching accurately in singing, to me, is almost a spiritual disposition. Why? 

The truth of our being is naked awareness with no adornments. The truth of Pitch is naked, true reproduction of a musical tone, a deferential alignment with an external truth. Being doesn’t need any personal idiosyncrasies to Be Itself. Neither does pitch! 

On the other hand, unlike pure being, which needs no external, or even internal reference, pitch is a truth of skillful accuracy which is referencing an external existential reality. Singing naturally, without adornment, with all affectionate attention to the absolute truth of the note being sung requires nothing but faithfulness to what one is hearing. One’s natural sound and relaxed ease will find the pitch of the note or series of notes. This easy accuracy evokes a transcendent rather than an effortful, purely physical performance. In other words, relaxed but careful attention to pitch prevents tendency to over-singing and produces graceful singing. Here's a poem from my poetry book on the truth of pitch and being.

the note is there, you've heard it you know it, opening to receive it is all you need do

the note wants your voice to hold it, let the soft cavity of your body become softer 

let it open so that the note must fill it 

every corner of this house, this town, this universe 

longs to resonate with the sound  of your surrender to the reality 

that your life and all in it is a gift

Over -singing is the mistaken idea that every note must be given an artificial emphasis which belies the natural ebb and flow of ordinary speech: Si canta come si parla (“one sings as one speaks,” as the Italianate School would say)  is the easiest way to avoid this unnecessary over emphasis. Also, enthusiastic energy without accuracy and control in a singer can produce a mild rejection in the listener—who may not even know why they are feeling something is “off.”

Later, when one has found the primacy of the truth of pitch, one’s own natural idiosyncratic stylistic elements will creep in. However, if those quirky elements come in before pitch has been understood and adhered to, artifice is the result. This imposition of style over accuracy can be to the detriment of pitch and authenticity. It’s true that certain individuals who are profoundly expressive writers/artists—like Bob Dylan or Tom Waits—can get away with extreme stylistic abandon, but most of us are better served by first deferring to the truth of pitch. This is especially true of singers of a sincere nature who perform sincere songs. 

The fact is that everyone has a unique voice to begin with—without the need for any effort whatsoever to be individualistic. The architecture of our instrument, the “voice-box,” the larynx, pharynx, our nasal cavities etc., all conspire to grant a distinctive quality to our sound, without artifice. So the truth of pitch, the melody and rhythmic phrasing of the song can carry our own unique characteristics with almost no effort to insert, impose or contrive. Simply put, less is more! Why? Because it is the unadulterated authenticity of effortlessness that gives real beauty to singing. 

The Gaze is a profound key here in pitch and elsewhere is music