Resources for Teaching and Learning
DICTION
James F. Daugherty
The University of Kansas
From a musical / artistic perspective:
CHORAL MUSIC
HAS TEXT
From a musical / artistic perspective:
CHORAL MUSIC
HAS TEXT
Question: Why, then, are many
philosophies of music
education today based
exclusively on models of
absolute music, i.e., “music
alone?”
From an acoustical / scientific perspective:
CHORAL MUSIC
HAS TEXT
IS
Articulatory maneuvers produce
UNITS OF SOUND:
phonemes
allophones
vowels
consonants
words
phrases
“Good diction is
the keystone in
producing
distinctive vocal
and choral sound.
Without good
diction there is
little prospect for
other choral
virtues such as
blend of voices,
sectional unity,
variety in tone
quality or color,
proper use of
resonation and
even good
intonation.”
--Lloyd Pfautsch,
English Diction for
Singers (1971), p 3.
“If a song is sung
with poor diction
(faulty articulation of
vowels and
consonants), much
more than the literary
meaning is lost; the
quality of the singing
voice is also
impaired, resulting in
a musical loss”
--Charles Lindsley,
Fundamentals of
Singing, p 62
The articulatory capacity of the human voice most distinguishes it from other
wind instruments.
Resonance
Articulation
Phonation
Respiration
In its contributions to the human singing voice, articulation can sometimes be
more important even than phonation (e.g., voiceless consonants) and
resonance (e.g., articulators can block or open certain resonators)
Some intuitively define singing as prolonged speech
Fred Waring: “Sing all the beauty of all of the sounds of all of the syllables of all of
the words.” Robert Shaw: “Don’t sing words. Sing all of the sounds of the words.”
The final premise of our choral art…is that vocal (choral) music has
words to communicate--as well as pitches, rhythms, and colors--and
that it is possible most of the time to project them through and over
instrumental collaboration. We do this by concentrating not upon
the words themselves, but upon the irreducible, individual, and
succession of sounds which form these words, and we try to allot to
each of these sounds its precise moment of musical time. We amy
take our personal inspiration from the text, but when it comes to the
transmission of that text, it’s work gloves, overalls, and sweat.
Robert Shaw
FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
Pence (1994) found that choral teachers surveyed
were neither trained for, nor comfortable in,
teaching diction.
We spend a lot of time on pitches and rhythms, and
we tend to believe that systematic sight-singing
instruction is a means to musical literacy.
Yet, we rarely consider systematically equipping our
students with articulatory/phonetic tools for vocal
literacy, despite the centrality of diction for choral
sound and its demonstrated role in vocal/choral pitch
and rhythm.
In choral singing, this essential role of diction or
articulation becomes more complex because of
the CHORUSING EFFECT:
Many voices and their reflections create a quasirandom sound of such complexity that the
normal mechanisms of auditory localization and
fusion are disrupted. Instability of F0 produces
flutter.
CHORAL SOUND:
has properties of both complex tones and
very narrow-band noise
its sonic character is that of a sum of sounds that
are similar, yet not phase coherent
spectral beat (using LTAS) in the region of
500-700 Hz
SPL of choral sound has large, random short-term
variations due to beats
Scientific studies of human singing find that people
phonate and articulate differently in choirs than they
do as soloists, i.e., solo singing and choral singing are
two distinct modes of vocal production.
Beyond a certain point, one cannot work with an
ensemble of voices as one would work with a single
voice in a studio.
Simply put, choruses have to “chorus.” Matters
such as perceived blend and balance become
important. In chorusing, moreover, the whole is
more than the sum of its parts.
Put another way, chorusing vowels and chorusing
consonants play somewhat different roles than
solo vowels and solo consonants. Most
importantly in this respect, they have to be
perceived as being in some sense “unified.”
It is this complex, perceived “unity” that determines
both choral tone quality and some aspects of choral
intonation.
Intonation Issues Related to Diction
Vowels themselves have intrinsic pitch: for example, all else
being equal, high front vowels are generally produced with a
higher Fo than low vowels.
front vowels (like “ee” and “ih”) tend to raise the pitch (Fo)
the “ah” vowel tends to lower the pitch (Fo)
“u” (oo) has a relatively low number of harmonics
and is perceived to drop in pitch the louder it gets,
and to sharp in the presence soft reference tones
translation: even given the same frequency at phonation,
the pitch of some vowels will naturally sound flatter or
sharper than the pitch of some other vowels.
Certain combinations of
vowels are particularly
potent pitch/frequency
benders:
for example, “ee” to “eh”
(as in Kyrie Eleison) can
carry a change in Fo of
almost 35 cents
cent (a unit of frequency ratio
that represents pitch
deviation); one cent = 1/100
of a half step; 35 cents =
about a fifth of step flat or
sharp
Solo singers typically can check their vowel tuning by a stable
reference, e.g., a piano or an orchestra.
A cappella choral singers (and to some extent all choral
singers) have as a reference only fellow singers, who are
fighting against the same vowel intonation tendencies.
When, in a choral singer’s ear, the sound of the choir as a
whole overbalances the feedback heard from one’s own
voice (as in crowded spacing) a singer is much less able
to modify intrinsic vowel pitch.
To complicate matters further: two differing versions of a
vowel going on simultaneously in a choral ensemble can also
alter the overtones of the fundamental pitch produced by
vibrations of the vocal folds.
QuickTime™ and a
Photo - JPEG decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Translation: Choral singing “in tune” requires more than vocal
folds phonating at on or around a certain frequency as
indicated by notes in a score. It also requires articulation
savvy.
QuickTime™ and a
Photo - JPEG decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
YOUR TURN
So how do we teach the articulation
necessary to sing this canon both beautifully
and in tune?
Four Teaching/Learning Strategies:
1. Que sera, sera
whatever will be, will be
2. Modeling/Rote
Perhaps momentarily quicker, but questionable transfer potential;
teacher-centered, students equipped only to mimic the teacher
Four Teaching/Learning Strategies:
3. English Phonetic Spelling
similar to the Fred Waring tone syllable system
For example: you--bee--lah--teh
Can work more or less successfully for Latin. But not
consistent or accurate for every language
Shteal_lay Nahcht! Hi_lee_gay Nahcht!
Often more than one symbol per sound, cannot always
convey nuance. Still student-passive.
4.
Established 1886, Paris. Revised 1993. Updated 1996.
Major advantage over other systems: one sound, one symbol.
Learn and teach any language.
Empowers students with a useful tool. More useful over time.
Major disadvantage: Need to learn the system first.
(Not unlike solfegge in this respect).
Pan (1995), in a study of an intact eighth grade choir (N=62),
found that:
Both IPA and English Phonetic Spelling were superior to
traditional rote instruction as measured by individual
testing on the correct pronunciation of a Latin motet the
choir had been rehearsing.
Students receiving instruction in IPA performed with
significantly greater accuracy than students receiving
instruction by phonetic spelling in being able to
pronounce previously unstudied Latin texts.
YOUR TURN
hænd ov| ∂oz b√t\ns
ør ju m´lt !
Sung Ecclesiastical Latin is a good starting point for IPA Choral Diction:
It has 5 vowel sounds and only 5 vowel sounds
It has no diphthongs
Repeat: It has (should have) NO diphthongs
Question: Given the absence of recording devices and the
apparent presence of numerous dialects (Austro-German Latin,
Venetian Latin, etc.), who determines how Ecclesiastical Latin
should be sung?
Answer: The Pope
Papal Decree (1903), Pope Pius X required Roman
pronunciation of Latin universally in the Roman
Catholic Church
This diction is codified in The Rev. Michael de
Angelis, C.R.M., The Correct Pronunciation of Latin
According to Roman Usage. Philadelphia: St.
Gregory Guild. Rev. ed. 1937.
5 Latin Vowels
å
´
i
ø
u
5 Latin Vowels
å
´
i
ø
u
ah, as in father
eh, as in met
ee, as in seek
aw, as in bought, saw
oo, as in soon
2 Latin Glides
a glide is an unstressed vowel that proceeds quickly and
smoothly to a following vowel
j
= unstressed
i
ju
w
= unstressed
u
kwi
ju
-
bi
-
la -t´
a - l´ -lu - ja
d´
-ø
ju -bi - lla - t´ d´
-
ø
In terms of developing choral sound, especially in younger or
amateur ensembles:
Start with u: Most bang for the buck
• u is the most physically active of the Latin vowels
• need to round the lips, open the pharynx, release tension
• can incorporate kinesthetic elements in its teaching
• teach distinction between “Pepto-Bismol” u and “free” u
Teach one at a time the 5 Latin vowels and the 2 Latin
glides, along with their IPA symbols
Can begin by incorporating them into daily warm ups
Some strategies:
1. Teach the Jubilate Deo canon; it has them all (except the
w glide), plus it contains the ubiquitous “alleluia”
2. During warm up exercises:
have the IPA symbol(s) already on the board or
wall and point to them in turn, perhaps adding one
each day: both visual and aural reinforcement
u
ø
i
å
´
Strategies, continued:
3. focus on a particular vowel in already familiar
u
exercises, e.g., “I love t sing”
anchor or modify with kinesthetic gestures
4. have on the board a “Pronounce That Word” or
“Pronounce This Phrase” challenge (with the
word or phrase written in IPA), similar to “Name
That Tune”
dIkß\n Iz f√n
ßøn tßæst´:In
raks !
Strategies, continued:
5. use various IPA symbols for sightsinging or
rehearsing off text
6. download the IPA fonts and replace selected text
with IPA symbols
7. occasional worksheets or online modules
8. gradually begin to use some IPA in memos and
handouts
YOUR TURN
More IPA Symbols
• \ = neutral unaccented schwa
• √ = neutral accented uh, “up”
• U = open as in “put,” “book”
• † = unvoiced th as in “think”
• æ = forward vowel, as in “cat”
• ˜ = voiced, nasal consonant,
• åU = diphthong, as in “cow”
• I = open as in “it,” “him”
• hw = unvoiced glide, as in
as in sing
“what”
∂ = voiced th as in “those”
• diphthong is dIf †ø˜
nå:U Iz ∂\ m√n† √v m´:I˜
hw´n m´ri lædz år pl´:I˜
nå:U
pl´: - I˜ få lå lå
lå lå lå
Iz
∂\ m√n† √v m´ - I˜ hw´n m´ -ri lædz år
Altered to fit the context of a particular ensemble:
nå:U
pl´‘ - (I˜) få lå lå
lå lå lå
Iz
∂√ m√n∂ åv m´‘-(I˜) hw´n m´ -ri læ-dzår
Altered to fit the context of a particular ensemble:
nå:U
pl´‘ - (I˜) få lå lå
lå lå lå
Iz
∂√ m√n∂ åv m´‘-(I˜) hw´n m´’-ri læ-dzår
YOUR TURN
Still More IPA Symbols
• e = high vowel as in “chaotic”
• ç = voiceless, forward ch
somewhat as in “hue”
• x = voiceless, back ch
somewhat as in a sharply
whispered “ah”
• ø = close mixed vowel, ö
• y = close mixed vowel, ü
• o = closed o, as in “open”
Ein
Feste
Burg
ist
unser
Gott
Unz\r
gøt:t
å:In f´st´ bUrk
Ist
ein
Wehr
und
waffen
å:In gut´
ver
Unt
våf:f\n
der
bö- se
gute
al-te
Feind
der ål-t´ bø-z´ få:Int
mit
Ernst
er’s
jetzt
meint
mIt ´rnst ers j´t:st må:Int
gross
macht
gros:s måxt
sein
grausam
und
viel
Unt
fil
List
lIst
Rüstung
zå:In grå:Uzåm rystU˜
auf
Erd
ist
å:Uf ert
Ist
nicht
nIçt
seins
ist
Ist
gleichen
zå:Ins glå:Iç\n
å:In f´st´ bUrk Ist Unz\r gøt:t
å:In gut´ ver
Unt
våf:f\n
der ål - t´ bø - z´ få:Int
mIt ´rnst ers j´t:st må:Int
gros:s måxt Unt fil lIst
zå:In grå:Uzåm rystU˜
Ist
å:Uf ert Ist nIçt zå:Ins glå:Iç\n
å:In
der
f´ - st´ bUrk Ist Un - z\r gøt:t å:In gu-t´ ver
ål t´
zå:In grå:Uzåm
Unt våf:
- f\n
bø - z´ få:Int mIt ´rnst ers j´t:st må:Int gros:s måxt Unt fil lIst
ry - stU˜
Ist
å:Uf ert
Ist nIçt zå:Ins
glå:I
-
ç \n
YOUR TURN
Even More IPA Symbols
• Ω = voiced consonant, as in
“azure”
•
•
•
•
´~ = nasalized ´
å~ = nasalized å
o~ = nasalized o
ß = fricative consonant sh, as
in
“ocean” and “sugar”
il est ne le
divin
Enfant
i l´ ne l\ di-v´~ å~
-få~
Jouez
hautbois
resonnez
Ωu-we o-bwa
il est ne le
divin
musettez
reso~ne
my-z´-t\
Enfant
i l´ ne l\ di-v´~ å~
-få~
Chantons tous son avenement
ßå~to~
tus
so~ nå~-vå~~-n\-må~~
i
l´
ne l\ di - v´~
ne my - z´ - t\
i l´
tus so~ na - vå~ -n\ -må~
å~ - få~
Ωu -we o - bwa res
ne l\ di - v´~ å~
- få~
ßå~
Recommended Web Sites
Listed on your handout
Be sure to note:
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~rogers/fonts.html
download the IPA fonts for your word processing program for
free..there is a set for Mac’s and a set for PC’s
Recommended Books
KU SUMMER GRADUATE COURSE
CHORAL DICTION (3 credit hours)
June 7 - 25, three weeks, 9am-Noon M-F
for details: http://www.ku.edu/~memt
moving the articulators causes shape, size, and length of
vocal tract to change
these changes allow the vocal tract to act as a filter on the
sound produced by the vibrating vocal folds
this sound source filtering, which includes the variable
resonating frequencies of the vocal tract, determines the
particular quality of a sound, i.e. which vowel is sounded
different vowels are caused by different articulatory filtering
for example, natural resonance frequencies of the vocal tract
modify the signal generated in the vocal folds to …..
1. Shteal_lay Nahcht! Hi_lee_gay Nahcht!
Ah_lays shlayft; ine_sahm wahcht
Noor dahs trou_tay hi_lee_gay Paar.
Hole_dare Knahb' eem low_kig_ten Haar,
|: Shlah_fay in him_lish_air Roo! :|
1. Stille Nacht! Heil'ge Nacht!
Alles schläft; einsam wacht
Nur das traute heilige Paar.
Holder Knab' im lockigten Haar,
|: Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh! :|