EM7 - Sight Singing Pitch Recognition

[JingleDjango]

I'm new to Ear Master 7. I'm on the Beginner course, at the Melodic Sight-Singing module. I've had the problem of EM7 misinterpreting the pitch of my voice. A sung tone will sometimes be recognized as several half tones above or below. I've never been a singer but I don't think I'm that far off. I'm attaching a screenshot below and I'll link to to the audio of my answer. Do I have something improperly configured?

Thanks.

http://gardensound.ca/hotlinks/EarMaster7/re-do.wav

[Quentin]

Your answer sounds like it's at the correct pitch indeed. This must be a matter of raising or lowering the volume of your mic, or using headphones, as background noise or the software's sound can go into your mic and disrupt the evaluation of your answers.

To make sure your mic is at the correct volume, go tot he HELP menu and click on "Microphone Calibration Tool". Then click on the "Configure" button at the bottom right of the screen. You will then access a page that will help you choosing an appropriate volume for your mic.

[JingleDjango]

Thanks for your reply, Quentin. I should have mentioned that I'm wearing headphones and that the input is ~-18dBFS.

[Quentin]

If you can get the volume closer to 0db but without clipping, that might help. When clicking on "Configure" during the Mic test, you will see a VU meter where an "optimal area" has been marked.

[JingleDjango]

Thank you, Quentin. Increasing the input gain has improved things, generally. I'm still getting some misread pitches but it's less distracting. Another odd behaviour:

In Beginner's Course 6.2 - Pitch Matching the program directs me to match pitch by singing but it only accepts MIDI input. It doesn't seem to be looking for input from the mic at all. I'm getting 'HTTP Error' from the board when I try to add attachments right now, so I'll link to a couple screenshots below:
http://gardensound.ca/hotlinks/EarMaster7/6.2-1.png
http://gardensound.ca/hotlinks/EarMaster7/6.2-2.png
http://gardensound.ca/hotlinks/EarMaster7/ConfigAudio.png

The lesson prompts me to 'sing it back' but EM7 only responds to input from my MIDI keyboard or clicking directly on the on-screen keyboard. I've restarted the application and checked that EM7 is receiving signal from my mic.

OS: macOS 10.12.6
Audio Interface: Focusrite Saffire Pro40

[Quentin]

It is likely that MIDI In is active in the exercise options then, or that "Piano" is selected as "lower interface". Is that the case? To open the exercise options, you can click on the menu icon at the top right of the window. The exercise options apply only to the current exercise type. SO if you activated MIDI In in a Sight-Singing exercise of the General Workshops, it might have activated it for that lesson as well. (which it shouldn't have though, as you are asked specifically to sing in that lesson).

[JingleDjango]

Thanks Quentin. I'm not sure why it was defaulting to Piano for that exercise. MIDI In was checked, but only because I was using a keyboard for earlier exercises. Switching the lower instrument to microphone solved my issue.

[JingleDjango]

EM7 is consistently misinterpreting certain notes still, making it very frustrating to do the singing exercises. I've tried the microphone configuration tool as suggested and my input level is in the Ideal Volume range.

I took a screen recording of the activity and cut it down to the relevant bits (38sec). If you have the time, please take a look and let me know if this is typical behaviour or if you think something funny is going on:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpyLaJpQLrM

It only happens when I sing the note D.

[Quentin]

I see, very peculiar indeed. What happens when you sing La-la-la instead of solfege syllables?

[JingleDjango]

It's definitely more accurate if I sing La rather than Re, though I was hoping to re-enforce the solfège system by singing the syllables. If it's helpful I can make another video comparing La vs Re. I wonder if it's something about the timbre of my voice singing that tone.

It's a shame because I'm really enjoying EM7's beginner course and the way it integrates pitch recognition with dictation, sight-singing, etc. It feels like a better tool for self-improvement than the EM6 course which I got stuck with early on.

[Quentin]

Yes, it could be the harmonics produced by your voice with that particular syllable at that particular pitch. Could you try to sing the notes at a different octave? Is it also causing a problem?

[JingleDjango]

Sometimes I can sing in another octave but my range is limited. There are a couple problem notes that are consistently mis-interpreted so now I ignore the feedback I get and move on.

[Quentin]

How does the recording of your voice sound when you click on "Play my answer". Is it perhaps low or distorted?

[JingleDjango]

No, my input levels are between -18dBFS and 0dbFS and sound undistorted. I confirmed this by simultaneously recording the microphone input to a DAW .

[Quentin]

Even though it sounds perfect in a DAW, it is necessary to also check how it has been recorded by EarMaster by using the "Hear my answer" button. There are other things that can go wrong, like EarMaster not converting the frequency rate correctly or something else.