Estimated reading time 2 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Your performance isn’t just about hitting your notes. It’s also about performing with precision: so that your vowels are powerful and resonant, and your consonants are clean and crisp. This in turn will impact your ability to add emotion to your performance. Keep reading How to Sing Powerful Vowels and Consonants to learn more.
This article uses musical terms. For definitions, see the Glossary at the end of the post.
How to Sing Powerful Vowels and Consonants #1: The Heart of Your Vocal Tone
Vowels are the foundation of your vocal tone:
- They’re what you use to produce a powerful, resonant, sustained note.
- In addition, vowels and tuning are two sides of the same coin. You adjust your vowels to enhance your tuning, but you can also tune up your harmonies to enhance your vocal tone (i.e., your vowels).
- Therefore, you’ll sound more powerful the better your tuning and vocal tone is.
You have three main types of vowels:
- You produce the first type by changing your tongue position and jaw height.
- Similarly, you produce the second type by changing the shape of your lips.
- Diphthongs simply blend the first two types together.
Also, you need to make sure to produce your vocal tone with a high soft pallet:
- The soft pallet is the soft, fleshy area at the back of the roof of your mouth.
- As you sing, you should have an open, but relaxed space at the back of your throat.
- This will make everything sound better.
Finally, to get a good vocal tone you need to “sing into the mask”:
For more information:
- Performing Schwa Vowels
- Performing Tongue Vowels
- Performing Lips Vowels
- Perform in Tune with Vowels
- How to Produce R-Controlled Vowels in English
- An Easy How to Guide for Producing Diphthongs in English
- Is There a Difference in Difficulty for Producing Specific Vowels?
- Please Explain Vowel Modification to Me Like I’m a 5 Year Old
How to Sing Powerful Vowels and Consonants #2: The Skill of Intelligibility
Consonants give your lyrics definition and clarity:
- If you don’t pay attention to consonants, your lyrics can become unintelligible.
- This makes it harder on your listeners, because they’ll have to struggle to understand what you’re singing.
- In addition, some consonants can create problems in the recording studio.
For example, you need to be careful when you’re recording songs with words with plosives (e.g., p and b) and sibilants (e.g., s, z, ch, sh, and j):
- P and B can create pops when you record, necessitating good mic technique.
- Namely, you need to project your air stream parallel across the front of the mic instead of directly into the mic. That technique avoids the popping sounds.
- Likewise, S, Z, Sh, etc. can create hissing sounds, which you can remove using a device called a de-esser.
For more information on producing consonants:
How to Sing Powerful Vowels and Consonants #3: The Power in Your Singing
You won’t be able to produce powerful, resonant notes without a supported tone:
- The thoracic diaphragm is the big muscle below your lungs, as it expands, it pushes your belly out.
- Therefore, when you take a breath, you need to expand your lungs from your tummy instead of from your shoulders.
- This is why people say that you need to “sing from the gut,” because your power comes from your diaphragm.
For more information:
Final Thoughts
Takeaway points:
- Vowels are the foundation of your vocal tone.
- However, consonants add clarity to your lyrics.
- If you want to perform with power, you must sing from the diaphragm.
Have fun performing!
Related Posts:
- Performing Major and Minor Harmonies in Tune
- Ear Training Exercises for Harmonizing in Tune
- 10 Elements that Impact Performing in Tune
© 2025 Geoffrey Keith
Glossary
How to Graduate from Color Coded Music Notes: Part 1
Has your student been playing color coded music notes and is ready to graduate? Have you wondered how to get to your student to play a color free score? The "How to Graduate from Color Coded Music Notes" series will show you how. Read more to understand contour lines and how to use them as the first step toward moving on from the colors. Estimated reading time 5 minutes.
Read More
Sight Singing with Rhythmic Syllables
Do you wish you could read rhythm better? “Sight Singing with Rhythmic Syllables” looks at rhythm. Also, we have sung so far in the keys of C, Db, D, Eb, E, F, Gb, and G major. In today’s singing lesson you will learn the keys of Ab, A, Bb, and B. Once again, the more keys you know, the better your reading will become. Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Read More
How to Extract a Melody from Your Lyrics
Do you have lyrics but need a melody? Starting with the text’s rhythm helps you create the melody you need. Read more to learn how to extract a melody from your lyrics. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Read More
Harmony and Melody Tune Differently
Have you ever felt embarrassed because someone said you sang or played out of tune? Does harmonizing seem like a puzzle you can’t solve? Knowledge is power. I will show you how harmony and melody tune differently, and how it impacts singing and playing in tune. Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Read More