CREATE A BETTER SOUND

When you sing, vowel sounds carry the sound much longer and are at the heart of singing. As the pitch rises, or gets louder, the way a singer forms a vowel will affect the ease, sound, and stability of a singer’s voice.

That is why vowel modification is an important vocal technique for every singer. It does not mean changing the words or making them sound unclear. It means constructing small adjustments to the vowel sound. This will help the voice to function more freely.

Why Should You Modify Vowels?

A vowel sound may not feel comfortable at every pitch. As a singer moves higher, the vocal tract will try to adapt. The articulators: tongue, mouth, vocal cords and soft palate create the shape of the sound. If you try to maintain the same vowel shape while singing higher, the sound can become tight and sound bad.

The open vowel sound feels easy in the middle voice, but as you go higher the pitch will become difficult to maintain. A small adjustment in the vowel sound will help singers maintain a balanced and pleasant sound. Your goal is to let the vowel sound adapt as you move through your range.

It’s About Balance

When a singer uses good vowel modification it is subtle. You don’t want your audience to hear a dramatic change from one vowel to another. The change should be smoothly connected and sound natural. A vocalist can slightly narrow, round, open, or reshape a vowel sound depending on where they are in their vocal register.

The adjustments will help:

• Resonance
• Tension
• Pitch control
• Singing comfort
• Breath control

Head Voice Notes Often Need Adjusting

Vowel modification is highly important when singing higher notes. Many singers need to subtly adjust the vowel sound to sound good. This is how vocalists can sing those high notes effortlessly. This is how to use better vocal coordination.

Vowel Family

It’s helpful to think of vowel modification in terms of vowel families. Instead of suddenly changing a vowel sound into another, imagine slowly adjusting the vowel toward a similar sound that allows your voice to execute the note comfortably.

For example, a vocalist can somewhat alter the vowel shape of from “ah,” to “eh,” or “ee” as the pitch goes higher. By doing this, the singer can keep the sound connected while the vocal tract can adapt to the change in pitch.

Final Thoughts

Vowel modification is a singing technique that will give a singer greater vocal freedom. This technique helps the voice to adjust as pitch, move through registers, and create volume when vocal demands change. When executed properly improves resonance, reduces tension, and makes a challenging note feel easy to execute. Using this technique helps a singer find balance, comfort and expression.