Finding the key in the lesson

Have the student sing along with the recording and listen for the strain. Click the PitchShed icon and move the key a semitone at a time, in the direction that eases it, until the highest note they care about sits comfortably. It takes a minute, and the student hears the result straight away.

Give the student a number

Tell them the shift, for example “−3”, or write it in their notebook. A student with PitchShed on their own computer can set the same number at home and practice in the right key, without needing to know what that key is called.

Slow it for the hard bars

For a student working on a difficult passage, loop the bars with Set A and Set B and set the speed to a gentler tempo. The pitch does not change, so the student learns the real notes. Raise the speed together in small steps.

Your own preparation

A teacher who prepares several songs a day can have the settings saved for each video on their computer, so on lesson day one click on the icon brings back the key, speed and loop. One license works on up to three browsers or machines, for instance a studio computer and a laptop.

A limit to know

PitchShed changes the whole recording and does not isolate the singer. For sing-along work, use the karaoke or instrumental version of the song.

For instrument students too

Transposing is not only for singers. A student whose instrument is easier in one key, such as a young clarinet or recorder player, can play along with a recording shifted to a key their fingers know, and move to the original key as they improve.