Chapter Summary: I liked the analogy of legato technique to a telephone line with birds on it and how that is like a steady stream of tone with consonants that give the words definition. We learned to speak through imitation as children but as singers we need to learn how to speak professionally. This means to use all the pure vowels, dipthongs, and consonants clearly and effectively with a minimum of muscular involvement for both speech and singing. Consonants used for singing, stage acting, and public speaking need to be exaggerated in order for the text to be understood (what point is there in singing text at all if it's not understood!?) Good articulation depends on free, spontaneous formation of the different shapes so as to not interfere with vowel color or disrupt the flow. When done properly consonants actually give energy to the vowel and the text and can make an otherwise mediocre performance a great one. Oren even uses a phrase that I like to use which is "spit out your consonants". I loved Oren's advice that if you will keep thinking the vowel you want to sing but allow the articulation positions to relax into more space for higher tones we hear the vowel you are thinking.
Key Concept: Be understood when you sing!
Key Terms: voiced/unvoiced consonants
open/closed vowels
cognates
stop/fricative
Making Connections: Diction is especially important for me in the choral and musical theater worlds. I believe that it's a little bit more exaggerated at times then in solo singing, since the more voices you have in a choir or ensemble the more impossible it is to be understood. I've been told and have read contrasting things as far as diction goes but I firmly believe that there are healthy ways to exaggerate (without over-exaggerating) diction so as to be understood clearly and crisply, whether in choral music or on the stage. It is important to me what Oren said in the previous chapter about never being louder than is beautiful (pushing) and I think it relates to diction as well.
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