In a message dated 10/16/2000 11:39:10 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
Marthea@a... writes:
Marthea@a... writes:
<< I think John brings up a good point. How many voice teachers work on speech
in a private lesson? And if so, what do you work on? I've found the most
strange vowels sounds coming from my young students, which is definitely
related to their speech. I'll say sing "ah" and they sing "uh." I repeat
it correctly again and again and all I get is "uh." I know you have to hear
the sound in your brain before you can sing it. I'm not sure how to get
some of them to hear it!! Ideas? >>
I do sometimes work on speech in lessons. If someone is really having
trouble understanding the concept of connecting sounds in singing, I'll have
them speak the line as if they were singing. I then point out to them how
very different what they did is from the way they normally produce words in
speech. If a student has a particularly closed production in speech, I work
with them on opening up their speaking voice and supporting it as they would
in singing.
Fixing the ah vowel when the student sings uh is actually fairly simple.
The difference between uh and ah is simply a matter of tongue position. If
they will drop the tongue in the back of their throat, producing more space
between the tongue and the roof of the mouth, ah will follow. Getting the
student to remember to do that consistently is more difficult. :-) This is
a problem that I run into frequently, and I often use the analogy of going to
the doctor for a throat exam, since doctors ask you to say ah because it is
the most open vowel and gives the best view of the throat. You need to
accompany this with some way to make sure that the student, in dropping the
tongue, doesn't produce excessive tension in their tongue.
Lee Morgan
Mezzo soprano
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