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What does " pitchy" mean ?


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Old 14-10-2013, 13:03
squeekycheeks
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Ive heard the judges using this quite a bit eg " It was a little pitchy in parts "


Is it another meaning for as " flat as a fart " ?




Just wondering ......
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Old 14-10-2013, 13:04
spiidey
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Ive heard the judges using this quite a bit eg " It was a little pitchy in parts "


Is it another meaning for as " flat as a fart " ?




Just wondering ......
Basically, out of tune.
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Old 14-10-2013, 13:07
squeekycheeks
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Ah right,thank you
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Old 14-10-2013, 13:09
shelleyj89
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It's the go-to comment when they don't really have anything to say.
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Old 14-10-2013, 13:25
Menk
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Basically, out of tune.
A phrase often misunderstood on these boards and practically impossible to describe with words alone. Many have tried, but only those who already understand what it means understand the description!
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Old 14-10-2013, 13:26
earldbest
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It's a buzzword. It means you're not hitting the notes perfectly and they're willing to notice it.
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Old 14-10-2013, 13:27
jammoon1
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A polite way of saying out of tune.
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Old 14-10-2013, 13:28
Fizix
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A phrase often misunderstood on these boards and practically impossible to describe with words alone. Many have tried, but only those who already understand what it means understand the description!
This is partly true, I would say misused but still based on something. It tends to be used when a singers voice is strained, they are flat, out of tune or are hitting the wrong notes/key/etc.

It's just used, rightly or wrongly as a catch all for technical issues with the singers delivery.
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Old 14-10-2013, 13:34
neorich
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Basically, out of tune.
Basically, it seems to have become a catch all comment for out of tune.

Maybe, it's because the judges, themselves, don't know whether the singer is sharp, or flat..of course, at times, within a song, they can be both, so I suppose "pitchy," covers all the bases..

However, "sharp," singing, is often described as "flat."

In my experience, singing sharp, is much more common than flat and often happens when a singer is pushing too hard, often due to nerves, or overexcitement, especially in the lower register, which results in the pitch being forced up, hence making it sharp..

Rich.x
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Old 14-10-2013, 13:38
Menk
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This is partly true, I would say misused but still based on something. It tends to be used when a singers voice is strained, they are flat, out of tune or are hitting the wrong notes/key/etc.

It's just used, rightly or wrongly as a catch all for technical issues with the singers delivery.
When Gary or Nicole use the term 'pitchy' I think they are using it in the right sense (ie, out of tune).
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Old 14-10-2013, 13:42
neorich
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When Gary or Nicole use the term 'pitchy' I think they are using it in the right sense (ie, out of tune).
The first person I ever heard use the expression was Danni Minogue..at which point I think Cowell, Mr Sensitive himself, said something like "well, you should know!"

What a guy!

Rich.
x
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Old 14-10-2013, 13:46
Fizix
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When Gary or Nicole use the term 'pitchy' I think they are using it in the right sense (ie, out of tune).
Maybe, I'm not sure, I don't actually pay that much attention to the judges comments because half of the time they don't match what you've just seen/heard.

I was talking about people on DS really.
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Old 14-10-2013, 13:54
neorich
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Maybe, I'm not sure, I don't actually pay that much attention to the judges comments because half of the time they don't match what you've just seen
I think you're being very generous..

I'd say most of the time.

Rich.
x
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Old 14-10-2013, 13:57
Fizix
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I think you're being very generous..

I'd say most of the time.

Rich.
x
hehe, quite.
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Old 14-10-2013, 15:39
Nissl
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Maybe, I'm not sure, I don't actually pay that much attention to the judges comments because half of the time they don't match what you've just seen/heard.

I was talking about people on DS really.
Honestly I thought that when they went negative this weekend they fairly accurate.

But then there are all the acts whose very similar shortcomings they ignored.
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Old 14-10-2013, 17:12
Treewatcher
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I think they robbed the term from American Idol because we don't actually use it in the UK. It's come over via Nicole and the other American gal they had a couple of years back.
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Old 14-10-2013, 17:25
The1Kuda
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Where you place (pitch) a note, and the notes after that. If placed all over the place, it becomes pitchy
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Old 14-10-2013, 20:03
lightblues
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A better expression then Carrie's. 'under the note'
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Old 14-10-2013, 20:32
fireemblemcraze
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I think they robbed the term from American Idol because we don't actually use it in the UK. It's come over via Nicole and the other American gal they had a couple of years back.
Not really - it's a well-known term in music...

And yeah it's hard to get to grips with whether someone sings flat or sharp so it's often easier just to say they were pitchy.
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Old 14-10-2013, 20:40
topdog2006
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Not really - it's a well-known term in music...

And yeah it's hard to get to grips with whether someone sings flat or sharp so it's often easier just to say they were pitchy.
I wouldn't say it's really a widely used term in music though- I've been a musician for a long time and I've never had anyone use it- we tend to say it was "sharp" or "flat". Pitchy is a bit vague.
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Old 14-10-2013, 20:51
The1Kuda
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I think they robbed the term from American Idol because we don't actually use it in the UK. It's come over via the American gal they had a couple of years back.
She's called Kelly Rowland. lol
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Old 14-10-2013, 21:27
ChloeBobbyLexi
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Ive heard the judges using this quite a bit eg " It was a little pitchy in parts "


Is it another meaning for as " flat as a fart " ?




Just wondering ......
I find it ironic they accused Melanie McCabe of being Note Perfect like it was a fault, now they are looking for that.. weird old world we live in hey?
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Old 15-10-2013, 08:44
Singy Thingy
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Pitchy is slang for when someone is either flat or sharp(slightly higher or lower/above/under the intended note or notes) or attempts a poorly executed or sloppy run(run, like pitchy , is a slang term, a run is a melismatic passage ) . In any of these cases, if the vocal melody clashes with the rest of the track/is "out of tune", then it can correctly be described as pitchy.

It is possible to purposely sing or bend a note or two "off" key and not be pitchy. This is not recommended for singers who don't have a high standard of musicianship, perfect or at least very trained relative pitch, excellent control, or all of the above, however. The operative word is purposely.

The "judges" likely use such terms because it is faster and easier than using technical terms then going into long explanations that most viewers (and probably more than a few contestants!) either don't understand or don't care about.
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Old 15-10-2013, 08:51
mimik1uk
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watch almost all of the performances from week one's live show and that will tell you what "pitchy" means
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Old 15-10-2013, 19:11
Boselecta
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Something to say in order to pass oneself off as an expert or credible judge.
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