36 SINGING AND COMMUNICATING IN ENGLISH

A Word of Caution

The backing of the tongue in no way refers to pulling the tongue backward and bunching
it in the throat. It refers to the forward arching of the tongue that, in relation to the soft
palate, is slightly further in "back" of the hard palate. In any case, the tongue should al-
ways be felt in contact with the lower front teeth.

Tips for Vocal Ease

In general, when singing in the upper register or the passaggio, try shifting the vowel up
toward the next closed vowel on the vowel chart for more vocal comfort.
For difficulty in the passaggio with:

Substitutions Examples
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try [e] for "man" —> sing m[e]n

try [e] without second vowel for "heaven" —> sing h[e]ven
in diphthong
for "body" —> sing b[o]dy
for "exalted" —>sing exh[o]lted

For [i] and [i], try using the umlauted or mixed vowels from French or German.

[i] try [yj for "dream" -»sing dr[y]m

[i] try [Y] for "hill" —> sing h[v]ll

A Word of Caution

If a vowel is modified or substituted for greater vocal ease, it must be done in such a way
that the vowel change is not discernible to the listener. The listener needs to hear real
vowel sounds and should not have to struggle with a text sung in "singerese." Use the
modifications only in the passaggio or the extreme ranges of the registers. In the middle
range, always use precise and correct vowels.
More suggestions for these vowel modifications can be found in the chapters for the
specific vowel sounds.
Copyright 2008. Oxford University Press.

Eliminating Glottal Attacks

Before we speak or sing these vowels, let's discuss the way they should be initiated for
optimal vocal health. The initiation of a vowel is called an attack or an onset. In other

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 CHAPTER THREE Introduction to Vowels 37

words, the attack or onset is the way in which the vowel is started in your throat and
mouth.

RULE AH vowels should be initiated with breath pulses or breath lifts, rather
than by glottal attacks.

When glottal attacks occur, the breath below the opening of the vocal folds does not es-
cape evenly because of tension at the vocal folds. Most English speakers initiate all words
beginning with a vowel with a glottal attack. To isolate the feeling of the tension of the
glottal attack, bring the vocal folds together as though beginning to cough. Habitual use
of harsh glottal attacks may lead to severe vocal problems. In singing, the glottal attack
should be used rarely and purposefully with great caution.
In order to give stress to key words that begin with vowel sounds, breath lifts may be
used to effectively separate the stressed word from the word that precedes it. A breath lift
requires a tuck in at the diaphragm that results in the release of a small jet of air helping
to initiate the separated vowel. One way to easily find the sensation of the breath lift is to
insert the [h] consonant before initial vowels. For example, "earth" would be sounded as
"h-earth."
Of course, starting vowels with a breathy [h] sound is not the ultimate goal. But we do
want to initiate vowels with the sensation of the release of breath that accompanies the
beginning of phonation. For now, however, we need to insert the [h] in order to break the
ingrained habit of harsh glottal attacks.

RULE Break the legato line and use a breath lift only when a primary stressed
word begins with a vowel. Do not break the legato line with a breath lift on un-
stressed words, such as prepositions, conjunctions or pronouns that begin with a
vowel.

EXAMPLES Break: My [']only hope Her languid ['jeyes

Connect: Getting —> and spending we lay waste —> our powers

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