I think singing in tune is mainly a matter of lots of experience of singing and of learning to pitch match more and more notes.I also think it is about having confidence in yourself and listening to yourself as you sing.

I have reception children singing songs of 2 notes only at first.We start by learning how to stand, breathe etc. I also encourage them to play singing games which use their "thinking voice" (We "sing " the song in our heads.) An example of this would be a song of 2 notes only which is rather like a slow and deliberate version of head, shoulders, knees and toes. We sing the song (without a backing track so they can hear themselves)and then I ask individuals to name parts of the body which we will not sing out loud. Instead we use our thinking voice and then re-enter the song at the correct time.We gradually end up singing more and more of the song with our thinking voice and the children think this is hilarious as we stand in the classroom waving our arms around in silence and then suddenly singing a line together.It is amazing how quickly young children learn to pitch match the 2 notes, keep to the rhythm of the song and re-enter the song at the correct pitch after using their thinking voice.We sing the song very slowly to begin with and gradually speed up as the pitch matching improves. I gradually drop out of singing each song to give the children the chance to hear their own voice and develop confidence in their own ability.

We play lots of singing games, using our voices in different ways (Many of them very silly indeed!).We gradually sing more and more complex songs. I teach the older children the "Doh Ray Me" song because they love it and it is very useful when introducing the idea of harmony (A child sings "Doh" and holds that note and other children match that note and join in. More children are divided into small groups and they add harmonies by singing "Me" and "So. I quite often ask the least confident singers to choose the first note so they can hear others match it. I treat being the first singer as a "reward" for good listening etc. The children love hearing the sound they have created.)

We sing lots throughout the day. Sometimes it is just a couple of lines when I ask them to come and sit on the carpet, or a few lines when we sing about the things we need to remember to pack up at the end of the day. These songs have a limited number of notes and are sometimes very silly, because singing does not have to be a performance all of the time.

I think you should never feel ashamed of your voice. Use it more and more and HAVE FUN, because singing is good for you!Start with simple songs and build up from there.

Don't be put off by others or by the thought of what they might say.Such people are just very rude. Most of them wouldn't dream of having a go at someone for their appearance, so why should they think it is OK to be critical of someone's voice? No-one sings in tune all the time anyway, and if they think they do .....then perhaps they are just not listening to themselves enough!Enjoy!