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The Shaping of Vowels

Lesson 5/71 | Study Time: 5 Min
The Shaping of Vowels

The Shaping of Vowels

The following photos demonstrate basically the way your mouth should look when singing the five common vowel sounds. If you follow these guidelines you will achieve the purest sound with each vowel. Try practicing your vowels in front of a mirror to ensure that you develop the habit of using the correct mouth shapes.

EE

As in "Meet": Do not allow your mouth to spread sideways, as this will produce extra tension. Your tongue should be resting comfortably on the back of your bottom teeth, but will arch slightly forward.

AY

As in "Gate": This vowel is sometimes pronounced as a diphthong, because the vowel starts with one sound and ends with another (EH-EE). Keep the tongue resting on the bottom of the mouth and the jaw relaxed.

AH

As in the expression "Ah": Try not to force this vowel. The sound should come from low in your throat. This is an excellent vowel to for practicing scales and exercises, as it allows for a very open relaxed pathway and doesn’t put tension on the larynx.

OH

As in "Coat": Allow the jaw to drop naturally and keep the mouth relaxed and in a similar position to the AH vowel. The lips should move forward and the inside of the mouth should feel open.

OO

As in "Room": The lips should form an oval shape. Once again, the jaw should be relaxed and the tongue should sit comfortably on the bottom of the mouth.

Peter Gelling

Peter Gelling

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Class Sessions

1- Everyone Can Sing 2- GLOSSARY OF MUSICAL TERMS 3- Performing in Public 4- Transposing 5- The Triplet 6- The Tie 7- Sharps (<span class="symbolA">#</span>) and Flats (<span class="symbolA">b</span>) 8- Sounds Used in Singing 9- The Major Scale 10- Voice Types and Ranges 11- Understanding Music 12- INTRODUCTION 13- Vowels 14- Octave Displacement 15- The Chromatic Scale 16- Syncopation 17- How to Find Your Voice Range 18- Swing Rhythms 19- Harmony and Chords 20- How to Read Music 21- Matching Pitches and Rhythms 22- Overcoming Nerves 23- Vocal Range 24- Interpretation and Improvisation 25- How Chords Relate to Scales 26- The Lead-in 27- Diphthongs 28- Eye Contact 29- Intervals 30- Sol-fa Syllables 31- The Keyboard 32- When to Breathe 33- Timbre 34- First and Second Endings 35- Matching Pitches 36- Keys 37- A Word About Pitch 38- Arpeggios 39- Stage Presence and Stage Craft 40- The Shaping of Vowels 41- Chord Progressions 42- The Octave 43- Rests 44- Developing Your Own Style 45- Relative Minor Keys 46- The Ultimate Melodic Instrument 47- Consonants 48- Microphones 49- The Importance of Timing 50- Dynamics 51- How We Sing 52- Breathing 53- Microphones for Performing Live 54- Slurs 55- Phrasing and Expression 56- Microphone Technique 57- Posture 58- Learning to Sing 59- Studio Microphones 60- Moving Between Registers 61- Vibrato 62- Pre-Hearing Notes 63- Warming Up 64- Common Problems 65- Looking After Your Voice 66- Approach to Practice 67- Registers 68- Working With a Teacher 69- Listening 70- Breath Control 71- Recording Yourself

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