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CONCEPTS OF DICTION |
5S01 |
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Wilcox endorses the use of vocalises embodying "all phonetic vowel primes," a type of sol-fa drill "It is logical to utilize these primes (vowels) in vocal exercises ... as a foundation for good diction/' he says* [666]
VOWEL TECHNIQUES
Importance of the ah vowel According to Webster, in the formation of a vowel chamber in the vocal tract, there is always a "place of constriction made by a more or less close approximation of some part of the tongue [front or back] to the hard or soft palate." Webster also distinguishes between front vowels and back vowels, claiming that in the formation of back vowels, the root of the tongue is elevated or bunched up by partial retraction of the entire tongue, while in front vowels the front of the tongue is elevated. This distinction between front and back vowels is not commonly accepted by vocalists but there is wide agreement that the varying conformations of the vowel tract do strongly influence the vowel sound. Thus the vowel passageway in the vocal tract may vary from the extremely open and free condition for the vowel ah to the relatively constricted condition for the vowel ee. [Aikin 4]
The ah vowel is often called the "open-throat" vowel. (W) Aikin describes the position for the ah vowel as that which is most favorable to voice production. "The whole passage is open and expanded to the fuHest extent convenient . . . and from it others [vowels] are differentiated." [Op. cit.] Russell takes exception to this viewpoint in his report and analysis of innumerable "x-ray photographs of the tongue and vocal organ positions" of Madame Bori and many other outstanding opera and concert stars. His claim is that experimental investigations dearly indicate that whenever "even the best of the singers [pronounces] a dear and unmistakable" ah vowel, the back of the tongue always swells out into the back of the throat near the epiglottis, producing a very small opening or passageway in this part of the throat. [479]
In all, 26 opinions were gathered on this subject, most of them agreeing with Aikin's viewpoint that the practice of ah vowels is a basic technique favorable to the cultivation of the singing voice. The ah vowel has an additional advantage in that it is also a characteristic sound in Spanish, German, Italian and other European languages. <4It is with some slight variations the usual sound of the letter a in most other Ian* guages." (W) Acoustical analysis of the ah vowel reveals that its essential quality is to intensify the phonated larynx sound, "without exerting any considerable modification of its harmonic composition." [Curry 1x4 P- 58] |
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