From: Karen Mercedes
To: VOCALIST <vocalist>
Subject: Re: ooo vowel
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

On Fri, 4 Feb 2000 Mirage864-at-aol.com wrote:

> Everytime I do a staccatto ooo vowel, i throw in an "H" so it sounds more
> like "hooo" which sort of unfocuses the sound. And it winds up on my throat
> more often. But i can't stop doing it! Does anyone else have this
> experience, or a remedyto this?


Do you do this with any other vowel sounds (staccato)? If not, you should
probably do a careful analysis of where your tongue is when you sing "oo".
The "oo" tongue position is not that far from the "ee" tongue position, so
you might want to work on some exercises where you do the transition from
"ee" to "oo" and back again (not staccato until you can really get the
transition down smoothly).

You should also analyse how you do the staccato onset for the vowels where
you don't insert the little "h". Where do you feel the onset being
supported from. If the answer is any area of the anatomy above the navel,
you've got a problem, and you need to be supporting your onsets lower. If
the answer is "below the navel", you need to determine whether you're
supporting your "oo" staccato onsets from above the navel for some reason,
and concentrate on shifting the support lower.

Finally, make sure you're not over-puckering or otherwise tensing the lips
on "oo". The idea is to have a relaxed but closed mouth with slight
roundness, but mainly create the "oo" using the upper lip, not by pushing
out upper and lower lips. Imagine a flutist's lips - the singer's "oo"
should be closer to that image than "kissy lips".

I think if you get the tongue and lips in the right position, and get your
support from the right place, you'll find your staccato "oo" onsets lose
the little "h" aspirations.


Karen Mercedes
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tho' none hear Beside the singer.
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