Hello All,
Hopefully by now you’re realizing that though you may understand what it takes to sing the sounds of English and to make them into syllables and the syllables into words and the words into groups of words and the groups of words into meanings - it’s not so easy to apply these understandings. Mostly this has to do with where you are on your vocal technique journey – how much control you have over your voice. The truth is, it takes courage to attempt to sing the sounds of the words when you don’t know if your voice will respond. We singers have a tendency to let our mechanism dictate what vowel we make. But it works better if we don’t let our mechanism be the boss of us! Our larynx, our soft palate, our fauces (look it up) etc. know how to produce an [a] vowel; so why do we constantly try and manipulate all of them to get them to do what they already know how to do? But that’s a bigger discussion for another time.
For now, I want you to watch 3 videos which show two singers in complete control of their vowels. I’ve known them and sung with them my entire career but am still always amazed at how precise they are with their vowels and how much attention they pay to what they’re singing – the words they’re singing. The truth is, their voices are of such beauty that they don’t really need to pay attention to words; and usually people are too busy staring at Nathan to care much about what he’s singing. But they don’t just sing – they communicate. And it’s like a magic trick. They are what they’re singing. There’s no self-consciousness or timidity. There’s just what they’re trying to project. Their sound pours out – their meaning pours out. Think about that the next time you get up to sing in front of people.
First up is Stephen Powell singing ‘There but for you go I’ from Lerner and Loewe’s “Brigadoon” with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (in the tabernacle itself) followed by Nathan Gunn singing ‘Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen’ from Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” in Julie Taymor’s production from the Met. As a bonus I’m having you watch Nathan sing ‘C’est moi’ from Lerner and Loewe’s “Camelot” in a semi-staged production at the New York Philharmonic. He is employing off and on a slight accent to suggest the idea that Lancelot is French but you get the idea.
Enjoy
Stephen – Brigadoon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9oYrch7fRg
Hopefully by now you’re realizing that though you may understand what it takes to sing the sounds of English and to make them into syllables and the syllables into words and the words into groups of words and the groups of words into meanings - it’s not so easy to apply these understandings. Mostly this has to do with where you are on your vocal technique journey – how much control you have over your voice. The truth is, it takes courage to attempt to sing the sounds of the words when you don’t know if your voice will respond. We singers have a tendency to let our mechanism dictate what vowel we make. But it works better if we don’t let our mechanism be the boss of us! Our larynx, our soft palate, our fauces (look it up) etc. know how to produce an [a] vowel; so why do we constantly try and manipulate all of them to get them to do what they already know how to do? But that’s a bigger discussion for another time.
For now, I want you to watch 3 videos which show two singers in complete control of their vowels. I’ve known them and sung with them my entire career but am still always amazed at how precise they are with their vowels and how much attention they pay to what they’re singing – the words they’re singing. The truth is, their voices are of such beauty that they don’t really need to pay attention to words; and usually people are too busy staring at Nathan to care much about what he’s singing. But they don’t just sing – they communicate. And it’s like a magic trick. They are what they’re singing. There’s no self-consciousness or timidity. There’s just what they’re trying to project. Their sound pours out – their meaning pours out. Think about that the next time you get up to sing in front of people.
First up is Stephen Powell singing ‘There but for you go I’ from Lerner and Loewe’s “Brigadoon” with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (in the tabernacle itself) followed by Nathan Gunn singing ‘Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen’ from Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” in Julie Taymor’s production from the Met. As a bonus I’m having you watch Nathan sing ‘C’est moi’ from Lerner and Loewe’s “Camelot” in a semi-staged production at the New York Philharmonic. He is employing off and on a slight accent to suggest the idea that Lancelot is French but you get the idea.
Enjoy
Stephen – Brigadoon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9oYrch7fRg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9oYrch7fRg
Nathan – Papageno
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2NxvM-rIkQ
Nathan – Papageno
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2NxvM-rIkQ
Nathan – Lancelot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBN_nlXbIIc
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