Questions for Carolyn
How do I choose a song that will work for me and my voice?

First, choose a song that you like to listen to. I know that seems simplistic but if you don't really like the song in the first place you may not want to do the work that it takes to learn it and sell it to an audience.

Second, consider whether or not it is appropriate to your gender. Believe it or not, many songs can cross over or be made to do so and not suffer in their message. However, some just don't do well and make the performer look silly.

Third, examine the range of skills needed to perform the song well.
Consider the "range" of notes. How high and low does the melody go? Does this range fit within your vocal range and ability? Can the pitch be changed enough to make the melody fit within your range and not result in the backup sounding strange? If there are only one or two notes that fall outside your range and the song style will allow a "talk through" of these notes, then it may still be a viable choice.
Rhythmically is the song within your capability? Are you able to handle any complicated rhythms in the phrasing or any quirky entrances and the way they happen to fall on the syllables of the words? Are you able to keep up with the song and sing in the right places? Being behind the words or ahead of the melody is extremely annoying for an audience to have to listen to.
Regarding the intervals between notes - are you able to handle the changes in pitch or are you continually missing notes? Are there any key changes that will make a tangible problem in performance?
Are there any "dead" spots in the song? Meaning, are there any instrumentals (areas where you don't sing) that are just too long and drawn out that you can't fill with some sort of stage business or dancing or audience participation? For that matter, are you looking for a song that will allow you to do some stage business or dancing and must have some instrumental in it?

Fourth, be absolutely sure what the song is about and how YOU want to get it across. If you are unclear as to what the song has to say, how in the world can you convey anything about it to your audience? Not only know and understand what the composer was trying to get across but be honest to yourself about what the song means to YOU. What you want to get across to the audience is your interpretation of the composer's work otherwise, you will simply be an imitator trying to mimic some other singer's feelings or trying to guess at what some composer was trying to say. If you have no feeling about the song that is truly from inside YOU, don't waste your time trying to fake it. . .the audience will know.

How can I improve my ability to sing on pitch?

Singing " on pitch" (ie. hitting the note exactly) is based primarily on how you HEAR it. If you are not HEARING it properly you cannot SING it properly. One simple way to test yourself as to what you hear in each ear is to record yourself doing this little exercise.
Close one ear with your finger, play a pitch and then sing it. Repeat the process closing the other ear.
Listen to the tape of yourself doing this exercise with both ears open and see if you can hear a difference between the two attempts. If you hear no difference and the pitch is true, then you probably don't have any imbalance between the ears. If you do hear a difference between the two pitches, determine which one was on pitch and which one was not. Try doing this exercise a few more times and see if the disparity remains the same or changes. If it remains the same then there is an imbalance between the ears and you need to determine which ear is hearing true and which one isn't. Then you need to listen and find out whether the one that isn't hearing in true pitch is causing you to sing sharp (too high) or flat (too low). Once you have determined what the problem is there are exercises that can be done to bring the ears into balance.

If you do this little exercise a number of times but the problem seems to "change ears" then you probably just don't match pitches well and need practice at it. That means leaving both ears open and practicing long tones. Play a note and sing it on "loo" and really "work" the tone you create to get it to where it matches perfectly with the tone you are playing. If you can use an instrument that sustains the pitch, keyboard sampling a flute or clarinet, violin or organ, it will be easier to sing a tone and match it.

Keep those questions coming in, they keep me on my toes! You can email me : Melohawk@aol.com, snail mail me at C. Hawks, 530 E. Main, El Cajon, CA or leave a message on my studio phone: 619-442-1880