Refining your articulation and vowel formation with Heidi Vass

TWI Refining Your Articulation and Vowel Formation Concepts

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Two Week Intensive on refining your articulation and vowel formation. In the next two weeks, you will be asked to read, watch, practice and post! One of the best features of the two week intensive is your ability to get actionable feedback! As you are working your way through the course, take advantage of the interactive features of the TWI, by posting videos of yourself and asking questions in the forum. I am happy to respond with written and sometimes even filmed advice that is specific to YOU! There will also be an opportunity to hop on a ZOOM session with me on July 1st at 11am PST. I will be there to answer any questions you may have about the assignments and your vocal music journey, in general.

 

DAY 1: Introduction

Goal: Define and understand the terms, anatomy and process.  

Watch: TWI: Introduction

 

Read: TWI: Refining Your Articulation and Vowel Formation Concepts

 

Day 2: Clarifying Vowel Sounds

Watch: TWI: Clarifying Vowel Sounds

 

 

IPA Italian Vowel Chart:

 

Curwen Hand Signs for Solfege (as mentioned in the video)

Practice:

Work on your formation for the [a] vowel.

Vocalize 1: 5-note pentatonic scale (1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1) on the [a] vowel.

Record yourself singing the vocalize and check your work.

Post your recording to this forum for feedback!

BONUS: practice curwen hand signs for solfege

 

Day 3: The Closed Tongue Position [i] vowel

Watch: TWI: a-i

Practice:

Work on your formation for the [i] vowel.

Vocalize 1: 5-note pentatonic scale (1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1) on the [i] vowel.

Vocalize 2:  Double 5-note pentatonic scale (1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1) on the [i] vowel first, then on the [a] vowel

        note: you can take a breath between vowels or challenge yourself to do the entire thing in one breath.

                  To make the exercise more challenging slow it down.

Vocalize 3: 1-2-3-2-1 with an [a-i] vowel switch on each pitch

        note: concentrate on keeping the vowels pure and distinct from one another.

Record yourself singing the vocalizes and check your work.

Post your recording to this forum for personalized feedback!

 

Day 4: PRACTICE

Take time today to review the shifts between the [a] and the [i] vowel.

Sing the exercises from day 3 and add the following:

Vocalize 4: Sing each vowel on a sustained tone in your middle voice (choose a pitch that is comfortable)

Alternate between the [a] and [i] vowels on your sustained notes.

Record yourself

Listen back and see if you maintained the same vowel.

TIP! as you are singing your sustained tone, rethink the vowel over and over again - mentally restating the vowel as you "hold" "grow", "engage," "develop..." the note.

 

Day 5: The Intermediary Vowel [e]

Watch: TWI: The Intermediary Vowel

 

Practice:

Review vocalizes 1-4

Move the tongue through the [i-e-a], [a-e-i] positions.

Vocalize 5: Sing the descending pentatonic scale (5-4-3-2-1) three times singing through the [i], then [e], then[a] positions. 

note: if you are an advanced singer, you can multi-task with this exercise and add a challenge for the breath by including appoggio work (keep the rib cage out the whole time and only release through the abs for the breaths in between the vowels). We will cover this in the live ZOOM session.

Day 6: Practice

Take time today to review the shifts between the [a], [e] and [i] vowels.

Sing Vocalizes 1-5

Record yourself singing the vocalizes and check your work.

Post your recording to this forum for personalized feedback!

 

Day 7: The Lip Vowels

Watch: TWI: Lip Vowels

 

Practice:

Move the Lips through the [u- o- Ɔ], [Ɔ -o- u] positions.

Vocalize 6: Sing the descending pentatonic scale (5-4-3-2-1) three times singing through the [u], then [o], then [Ɔ] positions. 

Vocalize 7: Octave leaps (1-8-1) [u-Ɔ-u]

Experiment with the closed-open-closed lip and tongue vowel movements

 

Day 8: Practice

Take time today to review the shifts between the tongue [i,e,a] and lip [u- o- Ɔ] vowels.

Sing Vocalizes 1-7

Record yourself singing the vocalizes and check your work.

Post your recording to this forum for personalized feedback!

 

Day 9: Mixing Vowels

Watch: TWI: Mixing Vowels

Practice:

Review vocalizes 1-7

Vocalize 8: sing the following pattern 1-3, 2-4, 3-5, 4-2, 1 on [i-  e-  a- o-  u]

TIP! As with the Basic Vowel Switches, this exercise works best in the middle-range.

 

Day 10: Practice

Find a piece in Italian that you want to work on for the application

Take time today to review the shifts between the tongue [i,e,a] and lip [u- o- Ɔ] vowels.

Sing Vocalizes 1-8

Record yourself singing the vocalizes and check your work.

Post your recording to this forum for personalized feedback!

 

Day 11: ZOOM CHECK IN!!

Hop into the zoom call at 11amPST to go through a live demonstration and group diction workout. Be prepared with any questions you may have!

Topic: TWI: Refining your articulation and vowel formation with Heidi Vass Check-In Time: Jul 1, 2024 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89709667959

Meeting ID: 897 0966 7959

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Meeting ID: 897 0966 7959

Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kzbICWNf5

 

Day 12: Application

Watch: TWI: Application

 

P

Practice:

1. Choose a piece of music in Italian.

2. Write in the IPA for the vowels

3. sing vowel-to-vowel on each phrase (omitting the consonants)

 

Day 13: Record and Post

Record a sample of your technical work on your application piece (like "Amarilli" in the application video)

Post it to the forum

Compliment your colleagues on the wonderful work they are doing in this course!!

 

Day 14: Tips for Training

Watch: TWI: Tips for Training

 

In our last day of this challenge, learn how vowels and vowel-consonant combinations can help you define your resonance space and train your intonation.

 

Congratulations on completing this Two Week Intensive. I hope you have enjoyed the process and learned about the formation and importance of pure vowels. As always, if you have any questions or are looking for direct feedback on your work, do not hesitate to post questions or videos and in the practice diary or general questions of the forum. I am always here to help and encourage you on your musical journey. Happy Singing!

- Heidi 

113 replies

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    • JohnEric_Robinson
    • 10 mths ago
    • Reported - view

    Day 4!

    Here are some longer versions on [a] and [i]: 

     

    sustained:

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/183xdX7ehYLC9A4E5Vjt-q6h_5tNP4SHO/view?usp=sharing

     

    scalar:

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YQBxHzfwC_u81UEz3st1ZebEd_tXV4JN/view?usp=sharing

     

    mesa di voce (to switch things up a bit):

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AMts9RYzGVgGxy23iPNHRvNZ-_dnjgy-/view?usp=sharing

     

    I sense my control is shaky, particularly on the mesa di voce. I've been singing a lot of sustained notes for a few days now, and they feel like they are developing more continuity and longer duration, little by little.

     

    I'd appreciate your feedback, Heidi, as well as any from others taking the TWI.

    Thank you!

      • JohnEric_Robinson
      • 10 mths ago
      • Reported - view

       

      And one more, inspired by Margaret: solfege with signs!

      https://drive.google.com/file/d/15qEYpLC_LCqnJUh7YlBXD6NmE7mJriWC/view?usp=sharing

      • margaret_gottlieb
      • 9 mths ago
      • Reported - view

       

      Feedback on the mesa di voce exercise 

       

      [a] - I thought you had a nice onset. I noticed that right on your  second half of the mesa di voce your [a] kind of morphed into an [Uh] sound   before turning back into an [a] 

       

      [ i ] during the onset exercise where you repeated the [ i ] there were a few of them in the middle which sounded like [e]  and I had to look back to your description to check on which vowel you were working on.  This happens to me a lot too . What I do is try to listen to myself less, and make sure I am really hearing (audiating ) a pure i vowel over and over. 

       

      Awesome job and thanks for sharing! I am going to start working on my videos as well. 

      • Coffee-drinking soprano, trainer of voices and tonebase voice content lead
      • Heidi_Vass
      • 9 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Very interesting that the [a] in the "fa" gets a bit dark and leans toward the bottom end of the pitch. The "la" keeps a brighter and more clean vowel (and therefore pitch). See if you can brighten up that "fa" slightly, so the vowel is more in line with what you are getting on the "la"

      • Coffee-drinking soprano, trainer of voices and tonebase voice content lead
      • Heidi_Vass
      • 9 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      two things  I think could take you to the next level here:

      1. Make sure you are using that breath support under the work you are doing with the diction (engage the core muscles and really work to control the exhale and thereby the tone with those LOWER abdominal muscles). You can start by lip trilling the phrase or sustained note that you plan to sing on with your chosen vowel. That will turn on that breath system BEFORE you jump in with the vowel work.

      2. Try to find a smile in the eyes (this is where those resonance concepts start to intersect with vowel production). When you are singing now, you often have what I refer to as " a thinking face." This is creating a downward motion in your forehead and eyes. If you think of incorporating more of a smile in the eyes, it will add a little bit of lift to the front of the face and create an internal signal to do the same. If you do this correctly,  you will notice a shift in the muscles in the "mask." That shift will help create a sensation of "up and forward" in the trajectory of sound, thereby alleviating some of that excess darkness. It will also make it look like you are having more fun when you are singing and not working quite so hard ;)

      • JohnEric_Robinson
      • 9 mths ago
      • Reported - view

       Thank you for the feedback!

      Audiating pure vowels sounds like a great idea.

      I'm going back to using the solfège signs — somehow they help me audiate.

      I'll give it another try. Let me know what you think.

    • margaret_gottlieb
    • 10 mths ago
    • Reported - view

    Hi everyone! Here is my day 3. I thought I had posted day 2 earlier here, but now I am having trouble locating my post. Ok here are my videos. 

     

    DAY 3

      • margaret_gottlieb
      • 10 mths ago
      • Reported - view

       

      • Coffee-drinking soprano, trainer of voices and tonebase voice content lead
      • Heidi_Vass
      • 9 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      This is great! I love the hand signs too! Make sure you are continuing to sing through the end of the phrase (keep your body under your sound past the end of the phrase). A lot of teachers will say "sing to the end of the phrase." I like to think of singing past the end of the phrase and incorporating a "follow through" gesture (like you would have in tennis or basketball). Also, make sure you keep that vowel pure and consistent all the way through the top of your middle range. Excellent work. I love your commitment to being consistent and the additional work of thinking through the solfege (really training your musicianship as you are working the vowel) BRAVA!

    • margaret_gottlieb
    • 10 mths ago
    • Reported - view
      • JohnEric_Robinson
      • 9 mths ago
      • Reported - view

        I like how you hold your jaw to make sure it's not moving — I'm going to try that. I wonder if you might open your jaw more as you go higher? I felt your vowels weren't as open near the end there.

      • margaret_gottlieb
      • 9 mths ago
      • Reported - view

       yeah I was having a bit of a rough time with the higher vowels yesterday. I tend to loose my vowel shape in my mind on the higher and lower areas. I warmed up a bit more today so am going to try to see if that helped. 

      • Coffee-drinking soprano, trainer of voices and tonebase voice content lead
      • Heidi_Vass
      • 9 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Beautiful. I LOVE the gesture and the little crutch work with the hands. Vowel modification and jaw opening are your friends at the extremity of the range. I agree with John-Eric there.. feel free to open the jaw even more when you truly need the space (at the top). You will notice that you simply cannot keep that [i] vowel pure, this is the moment you allow the jaw to release open and drop the pretense of the pure vowel. Excellent work!

    • Sean_Mason
    • 10 mths ago
    • Reported - view

     Here are links to my Day 3 practice. We talk so very much but don't give a thought to how we're forming sounds. It was enlightening to explore the level of control need to execute these simple exercises.

     

    Thanks!

     

    Day 3 Practice [i]

    Day 3 Practice [i][a]

    Day 3 Practice [a][i]

      • JohnEric_Robinson
      • 9 mths ago
      • Reported - view

       Hi, Sean, your [i] sounded clear throughout; your [a] was clearer in the third recording, but less so in the 2nd. To me it sounded closer to a schwa [ǝ]  — maybe some lip involvement?

      • Coffee-drinking soprano, trainer of voices and tonebase voice content lead
      • Heidi_Vass
      • 9 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      I love that you are using a pitch reference the whole time (are you accompanying for yourself on guitar?). Watch out for that [a] vowel.. it does want to morph into an "uh". Keep thinking the word "father." If that does not give you a bright enough concept, you can imitate a Boston accent and think "I Parked the Car in Harvard Yard." If you've never heard that accent, maybe we can see if John-Eric can make us a recording of that .. I think he's close to that area and might be able to do a good Boston accent 😄.

      One other thought.. are you practicing this sitting at the guitar or are you standing and getting a solid singers' breath? If you are sitting and playing, I have some tips there. If you are standing in a neutral position, remember to focus on the basics of your breath - drop it into your lower abs, engage the core muscles all the way through the end of your phrase and really lean into that lower body engagement to support the entire phrase.
       

      • Coffee-drinking soprano, trainer of voices and tonebase voice content lead
      • Heidi_Vass
      • 9 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      One other thought.. the hardest things to do in singing are usually the simplest sounding. With a basic held note, you have nothing to hide behind - no melismas or consonants and no real direction in the phrase. You have to live with the simplicity and challenge of trying to keep your mind and body focusing on ONE thing. In modern times, that is just now how we humans function. Taking the time to really stay in the moment of what you are creating (even if it's as basic as singing an [a] vowel) takes a serious level of concentration and commitment. So much of singing is that.. analyzing and trying to recreate micro-movements. If all you learned from this TWI is to develop an appreciation for the discipline and mental clarity it takes to really train your voice, you have gone further than many undergraduates who make it through the conservatory. Bravo!

      • JohnEric_Robinson
      • 9 mths ago
      • Reported - view

       I would love to hear your advice for singing from a sitting position, or from any position other than standing: I just sang in the men's chorus for "La Fille du Régiment" — the male lead sang while kneeling, head bowed nearly to the floor, and the female lead sang while lying down (and while running around, dancing, doing choreography!); and in art song recitals I see people singing while sitting in a chair, while gesturing, while acting, in addition to while standing. 

      • Sean_Mason
      • 9 mths ago
      • Reported - view

       I am familiar with the Boston accent, clever idea, I'll keep that in mind.

      Yes, I am sitting with the guitar. I play classical style so sitting with my left knee up a bit is my usual position. Honestly standing up didn't occur to me until you mentioned it. What a difference that makes! That said I expect to be singing a great deal from a sitting posture, if there is any guidance you can give I would appreciate it.

      • Sean_Mason
      • 9 mths ago
      • Reported - view

       I definitely will take away from this intensive an appreciation of the focused required for quality singing. Thank you for you encouragement. 

      • Coffee-drinking soprano, trainer of voices and tonebase voice content lead
      • Heidi_Vass
      • 9 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Yes! So often when we train singers we spend all of our time working on the abdominal breath through the front body. When you're playing a guitar, your access to the lower abs is somewhat restricted. I always advise my guitarists to cultivate that back breath. One way to practice this is to fold your upper body over your lower body (you can do this seated or standing) and place your hands on the area near your lower lumbar spine. Breathe into your hands and feel the diaphragmatic breath open up through the back body. That will help you immediately find the mechanic for that breath. Note: do not sing in this position, as your larynx will most likely be too crunched to phonate freely. When you return to standing (or sitting and playing), try to replicate that mechanic on your inhalations. Then sing as you normally would :)

      • Coffee-drinking soprano, trainer of voices and tonebase voice content lead
      • Heidi_Vass
      • 9 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      As singers, we always have to remember that unless we are singing in a choir, we rarely have the luxury of standing in a supported neutral position (I always advocate practicing in this position), so we want to cultivate the entire process for the breath (using our back body as well as the front and even utilizing the sides). Feel free to play with the exercise that I gave Sean to help explore that as you are working on your vocal technique.

    • JohnEric_Robinson
    • 9 mths ago
    • Reported - view

    Day 5!

     

    [i], [e], [a] (and [ε]):

     

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MtbJhQ3BERSPix4JY5J7D0FQWfVLv2Ok/view?usp=sharing

     

    — John-Eric

      • Coffee-drinking soprano, trainer of voices and tonebase voice content lead
      • Heidi_Vass
      • 9 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Wow! Excellent breath control and incorporation of vibrato!! That [a] vowel is getting so much cleaner in just a few days!

      • JohnEric_Robinson
      • 9 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Thank you!

    • margaret_gottlieb
    • 9 mths ago
    • Reported - view

    DAY 4 Vocalise 

    Just seeing the previous days' comments as I record this video. 

    Here are the things I am going to add extra attention to: 

    -Singing through until past the end of the phrase

    -Pure vowels at the top. 

    Today I decided for consistency's sake to try to stay true to doing the exercise in the middle of my range. I decided to practice from D4 to D5. 

     

    I am sitting down for this- Because it made me be able to reach the keyboard notes better. I was getting a bit distracted searching for the same one each time. 

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