I must be tone deaf or something...

[Cysma]

I recently tried singing, and even on Easy difficulty, if I didn't fail out, I would barely get even 70%. I do my best impression of the vocal track, but the needle always seems to be above where it should be. So I try to sing in a deeper voice, but that doesn't help either. Try as I might, I just can't seem to match the tone I want to. Does anyone else have trouble with this?

[ShocKzz]

Just try to watch the notes instead of singing the words...just experiment with your voice to see where it is on the register...

I can do medium pretty well...but hard is like impossible for me...and im in choir!

[ReverseEngineer]

you're probably overcompensating when you say you're singing "in a deeper voice." You're probably only off a half-step or so. Of course, I haven't tried out the game's singing mode, but I remember when I was in choir in high school (bring on the insults! I dare you!), it was commonplace that folks would be sharp when singing.

[Cysma]

I think I realized it when I tell someone about a song, and they don't know or remember it, so I try to sing or hum part of it, only to realize that I'm way off key.

[BiffJustice]

No problems here. What I'd suggest is to start by humming into mic instead of actually singing the words and see if that helps. Once you find the tone then start singing.

It is also possible that its your mic itself that's the problem. If I use the one that comes with Rock Band I can 90%+ the majority of songs on Expert, but if I use my XBox headset, I'm 75% on medium. Some just recognize what your voice is doing better than others.

Also, play with the mic sensitivity. Turn it up if you're far from the TV and singing softly, or turn it down if you're standing to close to other background noise.

Finally, get someone who you're sure isn't tone deaf to try singing and see how they do.

No way of knowing if you're tone deaf or not on a forum, but try these things and see if any of them help. :)

[Cysma]

Let's see, I think we're about 6 or 7 feet away from our TV, give or take.

I had my step-sister and a male friend of hers perform the same song on at least medium, but it might have been higher. They both got 100%. But then again, both of them were in choir, and the song was a song they liked...

I guess I could upload a sound byte of myself attempting to sing somehow. I don't know what other people think, but when I hear myself sing, I think I sound way off.

Come to think of it, what IS the difference between the difficulty levels for the singer? It's not like they can add more notes like they do for instruments. Is the judging system stricter on higher difficulties? Kinda like...
Easy = Paula
Medium = Randy
Hard = Simon
Expert = ???

[ReverseEngineer]

I don't know anything about the singing in Rock Band, but I remember that listening to yourself is bad practice when singing.

[Gryffindor]

Come to think of it, what IS the difference between the difficulty levels for the singer? It's not like they can add more notes like they do for instruments. Is the judging system stricter on higher difficulties? Kinda like...
Easy = Paula
Medium = Randy
Hard = Simon
Expert = ???

The line gets thinner requiring you to be more on pitch. The circle also fills up faster on the lower difficulties (in other words, you don't have to hold notes to the full length to get an "Awesome").

[KiltieLad]

I have a hard time with singing, too.

At first I got booed off the stage all the time on Easy.
Then I plugged headphones into my reciever so that I could hear the singer better and I was able to pass easy that way, and improved quite a bit (I think) doing that.

I got stuck on medium. I couldn't sing a SINGLE song.

But when they released that patch, it helped a lot. Now I can sing on medium, too. If your system isn't hooked up to the internet hook it up and get the patch.

[vandalizemenow00]

try singing in a falsetto (higher pitch) than u normally would. For some reason the game likes it better when i sing like that than in my normal voice (which is between baratone and bass). Dont try to belt it out. Singing softly is a trick I learned.

[Sgt Pepper]

I can pass some songs on Expert (by the skin of me teeth sometimes, but pass nonetheless) and the thing that helps me get past quite a few songs is to throw my voice into a really deep pitch (that's how I beat Foreplay/Longtime, go figure) or falsetto. Apparently, I'm able to control my voice better when I completely screw it up, so it may help you. It'll sound none too pretty around your friends, but it might get you through.

[Daytman]

Wear a helmet!

Nah, just kidding, just go crazy with your voice until you get on it. Practice, practice, practice.

[trg007]

Also, try not to use any vibrato in your voice for long held notes because the meter won't fill up as quickly. For those notes, you want the arrow to stay steady and not move up/down. Just humming instead of singing the actual words, as others have suggested, can make it easier to keep a steady pitch.

[LesPaul5391]

I'm with ya... Beat the expert drums tour, one song away from beating expert guitar tour, and yet I'm stuck in the first few tiers on medium vocals.

[Daytman]

I'm stuck on tier 3 expert vocals. My voice has been messed up for 3 weeks after taking on the thrash pack...