Before you start singing the lip vowels exercise, we’ll discuss how the lip vowels work. Click the link for a chart with audio samples of the vowels.
Click each audio sample on the right side of the chart. From top to bottom you get: oo (boon), oo (took – slightly to the left on the chart), o (go), o (domine), aw (calm), ah (father).
Begin by performing the lip vowel oo. Slowly shift from the oo sound to an o sound by changing the shape your lips.
You make the oo sound by rounding your lips as if you have a Hershey’s Kiss in the hole made by the oo vowel. The shape of the vowel o will be similar to oo, but more open. In other words, the hole made by the o vowel will be bigger than oo.
Slowly transition between oo and o so that you can hear all the “vowel” sounds between oo and o. However, try to finish shifting from oo to o before the note changes in measure three. When you stop on the o vowel, shoot for the version of o that works best with the harmony. You’ll know when you’ve hit it when you get a strong tone. Also, don’t change your pitch as you sing the first two bars, just change the vowel.
Now try shifting between oo and aw. Your lips will be even more open for aw than it was for o. Finally, do this drill for all the vowels on the right side of the chart.
Mobile users: for best results reading the example, tilt your screen 90o to the right.