Mike and list, I often have my private students and my English diction class experiment with British accents as a way to clarify vowel colors. I myself used to "think British" when singing in the lower part of my range (I'm a mezzo). The general response to this exercise is that students say that the tone/vowel sits higher and more forward.
In French diction I have the students experiment with a "cartoon French accent" a bit like Pepe le Pew or some such. I make them speak to each other or read passages with fish lips and try to "sound French." They soon understand the forwardness of the language and the need for mobility of the lips. It's a good icebreaker if nothing else.
Trying to "sound French" or "sound British" is, in my experience, a very useful tool. It allows the student to identify some of the adjustments they need to make to sing the language well. Cindy Donnell ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
i was experimenting with a fake cockney accent while singing today and noticed (not for the first time) that singing up around F above middle C was easier. snip an application for classical singing would be to use fake accents when singing in foreign languages rather than trying to do it for 'real'.
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