Emily F. OB 10

Emily F. OB 10: This is where it gets tricky! Singing requires words, which can be messy and complicated in songs. Having properly aligned vowels keeps technique good, and consonants, when not entangling, can aid as well. Being able to sing all the combinations of vowels and consonants in an unentangled way is where skill comes in. Phonemes should be "free, independent actions," which will give better articulation and sound. The lips and tongue determine what our vowels will be. Oren Brown says that vowels must be modified when singing different pitches. Stephen Smith disagrees. I wonder what's right? Vocal articulation requires: "relaxation of the extrinsic laryngeal muscles, free coordination of the articulators, and a firm connection with the breath."
Key concept: Vowels and consonants should be unentangled for free, healthy singing.
Key terms: vowel formant, diphthongs, vowel modification
Making connections: The big thing about this chapter that stands out to me is that each action needs to be isolated as much as possible. When I start thinking about singing songs, I feel like everything from my teeth down through my larynx is just a big, unmovable blob of effort. The word "entangled" is such a great one to describe how I feel a lot of times. If I could sing everything on one vowel I feel like it would be pretty easy, but as soon as words are applied it gets mighty entangled. I understand how to produce the different vowel and consonant sounds required in singing, I just need to be able to do it more gracefully. I need to be able to identify and use the only the specific articulators needed for each sound.