Life as we know it is pretty weird right now!
Many professions have been hit hard with the pandemic and other natural disasters. The arts have certainly taken a hit and many think the music world (among other things) may never be the same.
To that end, I’ve launched a series of videos designed to help singers keep their skills sharp and to teach beginners how to sing, since we can’t and shouldn’t be meeting in person to make music, especially to sing!
One of the first exercises I’ve posted is called the vowel tune-up. I’ve posted a link here below to this two-part exercise.
For those that may not be able to watch the video or prefer text format, here is a breakdown:
Vowel Tune-up
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Cycle through the vowels on a pitch in the middle part of your voice. I suggest an a-major chord to start. It’s usually comfortable for most any voice type. Make the movement between vowels as legato as possible. Do any feel more efficient than another? If so, which?
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Each vowel has specific strengths and weaknesses, the trick is to equalize the vowels so they all borrow the strong traits from one another.
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Now take the vowel that feels best whatever that may be, it may change on any given day.
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Take that one that feels efficient and ask why, let’s say it’s “E”
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What about the E feels good? Perhaps it feels bright, focused or resonant. Let’s see if we can transfer some of that to the other vowels.
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Blend E, A, and Ah together, but leave o and u out of the mix for a moment. So cycle through E-A-Ah-A-E. For those not familiar with IPA, just pronounce these vowels as you’d read them normally However, if you are familiar with IPA , this might be notated as follows: i-ɛ-a.
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There are a few unifying things we can do to help strengthen each vowel.
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We need the brightness of the E to blend to the others, especially the “Ah.”
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We need the Space and loft of the Ah to blend to the E and hopefully the A will fall somewhere in the middle and still maintain the “ping” or projection, but also the fullness of the “Ah”
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A few things to remember as we move through these first three vowels.
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The jaw should be hanging down and back, not down and forward or straight down, flexed in place etc. this will give you a greater chance of eliminating tongue and jaw tension
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That leads us to the tongue, where should it be through all of this?
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Touching the back of the bottom teeth
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The sides of the tongue can and should make contact with upper molars for the E and the A vowel, but not for Ah. The tongue contact points move slightly farther back as the vowel gets darker, the tongue should come very close to making contact for Ah, but not actually connect with the upper molars.
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How far forward should the tongue be for E? As far forward as you can put it. Think of a very steep slide or ski jump. The tip of the tongue still touches the back of the bottom teeth, but the “incline” of the downward slope is severe for E, a little less severe for a, and slight for Ah.
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Try to speak E, A and Ah without singing for a minute. Can you articulate E in the most closed position, then get the same clarity, ease and release with the jaw released down and back? That’s the spot you’re looking for.
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Now lastly, for O and U. For me these are basically versions of Ah with some slight rounding in the tongue and lips. How do you know if you’re doing it right, other than it sounds like those actual vowels? Feel for tension in the lips. If they are tense, it’s no good, that will negatively influence production by adding tensions and unintentional modification of other muscle processes. Don’t be afraid to really let the lips protrude, that’s what the lips are for, they are articulators. When you don’t use them or when you tense them, they just make life harder.
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Now lastly, let’s zoom back out to the full group of vowels with these things in mind.
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Do the vowels feel more lined up? Easier to sing? Not as big of a difference in the way they sound and the way they feel when you sing them?
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This is not only an excellent way to warm up, but to have your body tell you what needs to be calibrated before you sing each day. The vowels that feel harder to produce, or stick as you cycle through all the vowels, are probably those that need an adjustment.
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