Lloyd wrote:
> Italian singers use all of these forms of the AH vowel but only one
> of them is the correct AH vowel for Italian and that is the [a]. If
> these forms of AH are used well they create the effect of a
> continuous singing line and the singers register changes are almost
> unnoticeable. The changes in vowels they use are also not noticeable
> but when analyzed from recordings the differences are evident. In
> other words, they create the effect of singing only the [a] vowel but
> this effect is created by the uses of many variations on that same
> vowel.
>
> The effect of the singing tone is paramount. Vowel distortion that
> is evident and clearly distorted is, of course, not acceptable. And
> there are singing techniques that encourage almost a single vowel
> approach to all singing tone. Clearly this is not acceptable any
> more than a singing technique the emphasizes consonants at the
> expense of quality singing tone.
You mentioned something that I think is very important to this discussion.
As a native speaker of Portuguese, a Romance language, and being from São
Paulo, a city with an italianated accent, as an English teacher, AND having
Italian origins, I can tell you for sure: we don't notice that difference!
Our ears can't notice, unless extremely well trained, those slight
variations in vowels. Therefore, for us, all those AHs you referred to are
nothing but one single AH! As well as we don't notice, unless, again,
trained to distinguish that, EE as in sEEk from I as in sIck, AE as in bAd
from E as in bed, OO as in fOOd from U as in pUt. But English speakers and
some others who speak non-Romance languages CAN!
As research shoes, that is due to how our brains develop by being exposed
solely to our native languages, which do not have the same complex vowel
system English has, for example. Japanese and Chinese people can't tell the
difference between an R and an L sound, but we, Westerners, can, so that
does not allow us to pronounce an R when an L is expected, or the opposite.
That brings up some very good points here: what language are you singing in
and who are you singing to?
Robin wrote:
"And if anyone can tell me how to get her to remember the sound of the "i"
in "sit", I'll be eternally
grateful. . ."
I have the same problem with my English students. Brains 'lose' part of
their abilities to distinguish new sound differences after about 5 years of
age, but if you do the same kind of training you do to develop tone-deaf
students you can help her a lot. I recommend this book: "Manual of American
English Pronunciation", by Practor and ? ( I left it on the bus! ) as the
best one to explain the pronunciation of American English.
BTW, going back to the technological issue, I think those writing softwares
that recognize dictation may help students as a biofeedback tool, since
those slight differences in vowels would force them to pronounce correctly
to have the correct spelling. That is the same for those who sing in a
foreign language: MAYBE, if you get the national version in the language you
want to sing in, it may help you to develop your pronunciation.
Bye,
Caio Rossi
|
