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Here we are starting a brand new year. That means we will be making resolutions and I hope practicing the new vocal techniques will be one of them. We have covered a lot of information this passed year and yet we still have a lot more to share with you, so let's get started on 2003.

In the last two articles we have talked about most of the vowels but there are four more we want to add to those. The first one is the "Short O" sound. We want to sing it as "AH," such as the word "lost", we would sing it "L-ah-st." When you hold on the word "lost" you would hold on the "AH" sound and sing the "st" as you come off the word. One more example is the word "for," to modify it you would sing "f-ah-r." You can not sing "f-or." When you do it will bring the tongue and the soft palate together and we know that we can't do that when we sing.

The next sound is the "Long U." To change this sound we want to use "oo" instead. For instants the word "you" is sung "y-oo". Singing the letter "U" closes everything down, again. Another example is the word "true." We want to sing "tr-oo." I know it sounds strange to say the word but when we sing it the audience will hear the word "true." Remember this is for pitch purposes and when you are talking the word pitch is not envolved. Diction is what will make the difference to your audience.

Let's talk about a sound now that you will find often in songs that we sing and that is the "Short U or UH" sound. This will be changed to "AH." Like the word "Jesus", we want to sing "Je-z-ah-z. Remember we want to change "s" to the "z" sound so that we take the "hiss" out of the word. And the "UH" becomes "AH." This keeps the jaw from jutting forward, that we don't want to do. Try another word like "but," change it to "b-ah-t." The "ah" keeps the mouth open and the placement in the same area. We don't want to move the placement around once we have it in the right area.

The last sound we want to cover is "OW" (ah-oo). You don't want to close the mouth until you are coming off of the word. Think of it like a clock and sing the sound all the way around from 12:00 to 12:00. Don't stop singing at 6:00, but continue all the way around and be sure to keep the mouth in the same position as when you start and that will keep the placement in the same area. And example would be the word "sound". Sing it "s-ah-nd", be sure to put the letter "N" and "D" together just as you are coming off of the word. The second example of this is the word "how". Sing "h-ah-w", leaving the "W" sound as you close the word off and start to go to the next word in the phrase.

I know that it takes a lot of thought and practice to change to the correct modifications. But it will make your singing so effortless that it will be worth it. This will keep it out of the throat and will stop that throat
pain and fatigue that you have been experiencing.

Next month we will cover some of the consonants that must be modified. We will also modify a verse of a song for you so that you can see how it all comes togther. May God richly bless you this next year. Until next month, keep singing His praises!

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