From: Margaret Harrison
To: VOCALIST <vocalist>
Subject: Re: TECHNIQUE: singing "ah"
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

Jessica wrote:

< When I sing certain vowels, my sound is way darker than it should be. For instance, when
I sing "ah", it is more "aw" like I am swallowing the sound, making it darker, perhaps
with an undesirable affected operatic sound and less "ah" like a pleasurable expression.
>>

You've gotten and will get some good technical suggestions. One thing that has helped me
with my vowels is learning how to hear the different ways a vowel can sound in speech, and
being able to imitate it. For example, today I was channel surfing (on this
post-blizzard, government-closed day) and had fun listening to an Italian news broadcast
on one of the channels. I didn't understand much, but I enjoyed listening to the sound of
the Italian vowels, which are so great for singing. Their "A" vowel is so bright and
forward-sounding and forward - so much different from the way we Americans say "A" when we
speak. I find if I can hear the differences between the different "A"s, I can sing the
difference more successfully.

This is a long-winded way of saying that perhaps getting the sound of that sort of
"accent" into your head, and trying to imitate the "accent" when you sing, could be
successful if the technical ideas don't work for you. I'm a voice student who can tend to
overcompensate the wrong way when thinking about a technical thing, so I often have more
success when I go for a beneficial, yet concrete, effect like, "make my A sound like the
Italian news broadcast or Pavarotti", rather than thinking "raise the palate". Once I've
found the right vowel and learned how it feels in my voice, it's much easier to correct in
my singing when my teacher brings the problem to my attention (yes, I still slip into my
"bad" American language habits, even after all these years).

Peggy

--
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
"Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
mailto:peggyh-at-ix.netcom.com