Please Explain Vowel Modification to Me Like I’m a 5 Year Old

“Please explain vowel modification to me like I’m a 5 year old.” Okay, let’s talk about how it works.

Vowel modification has a critical role in sculpting the sound of your voice.

• However, not all vowels will be equal.
• Some vowels possess a strong, open sound, while others have a thinner, closed sound.
• Vowel modification helps you make the most of your voice by adjusting the shape of your lips and the height of your tongue to create a vibrant sound.
• For example, when you go higher in your vocal range, you’ll need to adjust your vowels for maximum resonance.

Many theories exist about how vowel modification works.

• For instance, some voice teachers suggest that you should always shift toward more open vowels.
• However, the key to vowel modification is to realize that all the vowels sit on a continuum.
• So, you’ll need to hear all the subtle variations that lie in between the basic vowels.

In other words, you need to learn to hear more than just the usual short and long vowels.

• Thus, experimenting with your lip shape and tongue height will help you develop the skill to find the best version of each vowel for each note.
• Once you can do this, you’ll hear an immediate difference in your singing.

These posts will teach you the skills you need to sing with a strong tone:

• Singing Schwa Vowels
• Singing Tongue Vowels
• Singing Lip Vowels

Each post breaks down the vowels into basic categories. There you’ll work on singing through the vowel continuum for each category of vowel. In addition, the posts have sing-along soundtracks that help you learn to sing in tune as you practice your vowels.