Garn!

Just finished hosting the Practical Phonetics course for Vocal Process at RADA.

I found it fascinating. I have not studied phonetics before, but am already familiar with the type of analysis and practical application that occurs when using phonetics (the symbols) and phonology (the practice).

As a confirmed patter-song singer, I am used to reeling off strings of words very quickly. When you are singing fast patter (and what other kind is there?) you soon realise that overworking the consonants, or punching every word for "audibility" actually decreases understandability. So you learn where the obstructions (consonants) are made, and make them clearly and with minimum effort. It means you can actually sing faster and work less hard. I call that a result!

I base my own diction on precision of movement of the articulators. Strangely enough, I looked to ventriloquists for my inspiration, as they have to make very clear vowels and consonants inside the oral cavity without showing it outside. Try it!

Anyway, it was a really interesting day for me, and I'm hooked on the diacritics! They are the little additional marks that add flavour to the basic phoneme. They are like oral spices, adding dialectic piquancy to the meal.

In fact I keep copies of the vowel and consonant charts pinned up on our studio walls. We have standard British and American vowels and consonants, and both Gillyanne and I find it invaluable for deciphering sung words. Particularly, it has to be said, precisely what each vowel should be in a diphthong.

It was quite a shock a few years ago when I discovered that in Standard British the diphthong in "say" was not the vowels in "set, see" but "set, sip". Taking the diphthong to the full ee vowel would make you sound too Welsh (or cod Italian), whereas the sip vowel, although weirder to do at first, make you sound more relaxed and real.

And following on from the fairly contentious thought in the previous blog, here's another.

I don't believe that British classical singers sing in British English (standard British). I believe they sing in Italian English - and I wish they wouldn't. Once you start listening out for it, it can be intensely annoying to hear Italian ee vowels when they should be British ih vowels. "I know that my Reedeemer leaveth". It's written as liveth. Shame he couldn't stay.
"Where there's a weal, there's a way"?
And especially for Christmas, "Jeengle baylz" and "Tha farst noalle"

Still, each to his own...

PS The title of this blog comes from the opening scene in My Fair Lady

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