What counts as singing it right?

These are real practice takes, scored note-by-note by our new listener. Each dot is one note of the song. Flip a switch to decide what the score forgives — and watch what it does to real singing.

Forgive the keyThey sang the whole song higher or lower than the track — judge them in their own key. Forgive timing slipsNotes that land a little early or late (up to ~0.4 s) still count. Forgive nearly-right notesWithin two piano keys of the right pitch is close enough. Forgive wrong notesThey clearly sang a note in the right place — count the attempt. Off to start: we don’t think wrong notes should count.

Now trust your ears

Three more takes of Amazing Grace — this time with the tape. All three singers sang nearly every note; how well is the only thing separating them. Play them top to bottom: the gap between the scores is a gap you can hear, no training required. The switches above apply here too.