HOW TO SHAPE YOUR VOWEL SOUNDS WHEN SINGING
When you sing, if your vowel sounds are poor then everything else vocally will just sound mediocre. Articulation is when you sing your vowel sounds clearly and correctly; forming them into a well-crafted sound. It is also true for piano, playing the notes with articulation creates a clean and professional performance. The art of articulation is the formation of clear and distinct sounds, clarity in playing piano or singing successive notes.
Have you every noticed how the British singers always sound so good? It’s the way they shape their vowels and annunciate the sounds in the lyrics. Vowel articulation influences many different elements of an amazing singing voice. Whenever you hold a note, you are sustaining a vowel sound. In order to shape your vowel sounds properly try using a specific tongue shape or arch, keeping the tip of your tongue against your bottom front teeth for all vowel shapes. Also, try singing a song with a British accent and notice the difference in your sound.
When playing piano, articulation has to do with the way you strike a piano key to make the desired sound. For instance, to get the staccato sound you must strike the keys a certain way, or legato which is playing notes smoothly and connected when striking the keys. Dynamics (loudness and softness) is also a part of articulation when playing the piano. It’s the kind of touch used to play the instrument.
It’s important to notice the way you articulate your vowel sounds and words when singing, as well as the articulation when playing the piano. This masterful expression of your performance makes a world of difference in how you sound! Listen to Natalie Rodriguez singing “All of Me” with a smooth and well-rounded vowel sounds.
Joke for the Day:
What do you get if you cross a sweet potato and a jazz musician? A yam session
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