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From:  "Lloyd W. Hanson" <lloyd.hanson@n...>
"Lloyd W. Hanson" <lloyd.hanson@n...>
Date:  Thu Jun 21, 2001  7:08 pm
Subject:  Re: I need help with singing the [i] vowel


Dear domina_ascenti, Mary Beth, Karen M, and Vocalisters:

domina_ascenti's request for help with singing the /i/ vowel has
brought forward a few ideas that prompt me to comment. As a voice
teacher I have always sought answers within the voice research areas
as I have been able to study them and understand them. Most of voice
teaching is based on trial and error to discover what works for the
individual teacher. When ideas are successful and used by many
teachers many explanations are given for their success but in most
cases these explanations are also empirical in nature and often do
not relate to the basic physical properties of sound transmission,
medical knowledge or, in some cases, simple logic.

Mary Beth wrote:
"Actually /u/ and /i/ are very similarly formed and can help induce vocal fold
thinning and lengthening."

COMMENT: Although this is a common perception I have found little
research to support the idea that the /i/ and /u/ vowels have this
effect on the vocal folds. Perhaps this idea has developed because
these vowels are often used to encourage a clearer, more "on the
point" vocal tone. However this improvement in vocal tone is more
the result of resonance adjustments, not changes in phonation (which
would imply changes in vocal fold structure). One of the most common
errors made by singers and teachers of singing is the idea that
phonation patterns must (or will likely) change as vowels change. In
reality, phonational sound remains basically the same for all vowels;
it is the resonation changes that create the differences in vowel
sounds.

Your comments about the raised larynx causing difficulties in the
second passaggio area is very true. And the /i/ vowel does tend to
encourage a raising of the larynx because of the more forward
position of the tongue necessary for this vowel. But if one keeps in
mind that the sides of the middle tongue will naturally touch the
edges of the upper molars when saying or singing /i/ one will also
become aware that the tongue has left a larger space behind itself in
the pharyngeal area. It is, in fact, the creation of these two
different sized spaces (the small space between the middle/front of
the tongue and the palate, and the large space behind the tongue in
the pharyngeal area) that causes the two resonance peaks necessary
for the /i/ vowel.

The umlaut /i/ vowel is achieved by an /i/ position of the tongue
with a rounding of the lips. In this sense it appears to be a
combination of the /i/ and /u/ vowels but, in reality, it is mostly a
slightly adjusted form of the /i/ vowel and the lip rounding portion
of the /u/ vowel. And it is very helpful in achieving a warmer, yet
intense /i/ vowel.

Keran Mercedes wrote:
"Rule" #5: The only part of the tongue that rises and lowers is the front.
How to determine the "front" (vs. middle or back) of the tongue. Place the
tip of your tongue against your upper front teeth. Flatten the part right
behind the tip against the hard palate. Feel where the hard palate stops
and the dip of the soft palate begins. The "front" of the tongue - and the
only part you should ever consciously move for articulation - is the part
that touches the hard palate and teeth. Of course the rest of the tongue
will "go along for the ride" when you move the front of the tongue - but
when you lift the tongue to create the "i", if you focus on the front only,
you'll be far less likely to raise from the middle or back, which will
create undesirable tension in the root of the tongue that can cause a
"strangulated" sound that translates, in the upper register, as a shrill
sound with few or no overtones.

COMMENT: I find this description most confusing. If, in fact, you
are suggesting that only the front portion of the tongue is used for
the /i/ and /u/ vowels I cannot agree. Your description of how to
determine what is the front of the tongue becomes, for me, a
description of about the first 1/5th of the visible part of my tongue
and that part of the tongue is not what touches my upper rear molars
on the spoken or sung /i/ vowel nor is it the portion of the tongue
that retracts back from the /i/ position when one pronounces the /u/
vowel. Perhaps you are suggesting a manner in which tongue position
can be taught so that the student will not become too concerned with
back of the tongue position which can be a bit confusing because it
is not visible. Care to elaborate?

Tongue positions for sung vowels cannot be excessively different from
tongue position for spoken vowels. Open throat ideas which suggest
that the tongue should always be down in back or "flat" do not give
the singer an opportunity to create the necessary spaces to create
vowel differences. The nature of sound transmission or resonance
does not require that the vocal tract be held in an open tube-like
position. Each vowel requires a different formation of the vocal
tract and the tongue is the primary adjusting agent to make these
formation changes possible. Special concerns for maintaining a given
position of the tongue or the jaw are counterproductive to quality
singing in any style.


  Replies Name/Email Yahoo! ID Date Size
12803 Re: I need help with singing the [i] vowel Domisosing@a...   Thu  6/21/2001   2 KB

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