In this episode, Grace delves into the intricacies of vowel alterations in singing, explaining their importance in achieving better pitch, resonance, and vocal health. She goes through the 12 vowels in the English dialect, practical ways to use them and how they resonate in different areas of the mouth. The conversation also includes an analysis of Whitney Houston’s vowel manipulation, how she gravitates each vowel towards the ‘neutral vowels’ for more powerful and fluid singing.

Takeaways

• Vowels are your steering wheel for tone and placement.
• The right vowel alterations can help relieve vocal strain and improve resonance
• Avoid dipthongs - sing into the widest part of every vowel
• Vowels are formed more by the tongue and less by the face and mouth than you think
• Different pitches resonate better with specific vowels.
• Closed vowels need to open and wide vowels need to round off as you go higher.
• Whitney Houston’s vowels keep the airflow as consistent as possible

Chapters

00:00 The Importance of Vowel Sounds in Singing

00:43 Two Big Adjustments You Can Make Right Now

07:11 The 12 Vowels and Where They Resonate

13:26 Analysing Whitney Houston's Vowels

19:19 Vowel Modification Exercises and Experiments

23:30 Outro

Mentions/ Resources:

The diagram of vowels within the mouth from Heart of Florida Chorus (now singwithhof.com) -

https://www.heartoffloridachorus.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Craft.Singing-Better-Vowels.pdf

The 12 vowel sounds in the English dialect:

‘Ee’ as in ‘Pete’

‘Ih’ as in ‘Jim’

‘Ay’ as in ‘Dave’

‘Eh’ as in ‘Ted’

‘Aah’ as in ‘Dan’

Ah’ as in ‘Father’

‘Uh’ as in ‘Bud’

‘Er’ as in ‘Word’

‘Aww’ as in ‘ Aww look at that puppy’

‘Oh’ as in ‘Joe’

‘Ouhh’ as in ‘Woody’

‘Oo’ as in ‘Shoe’

Tricia Leines - Youtube Series ‘Perfect Vowels’ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR0uR6OzjcfZFlFUjLgBGtofu8lidaPUu

Vowel Modification Cheat Sheet: - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N73mYP-qQKbmHRguPAx4rZGDJYj48CPq/view?usp=sharing

About the Host

Grace is a seasoned singer-pianist, vocal coach and composer. Over the past decade she has dedicated her life to music and creativity, performing aboard luxury cruise ships across the world and composing for theatre and short films. Her original compositions have been recognised by festivals such as the Paris Film Awards and Only the Best International Film Awards. She strives now to determine how to cultivate authentic expression in music and the importance of it for mental health and human connection.

Contact Method

gracehancockmusic@gmail.com

www.gracehancockmusic.com

Instagram: @gracehancockmusic

Facebook: @gracehancockmusician

#singing #vowels #vocaltechnique #resonance #pitch #tension #WhitneyHouston #vocalexercises #singingtips #vocalrange