Although choirs perform in many languages, English and Latin are the two languages sung by almost every choir. English, because it is the spoken language in America, and Latin, because of the vast number of motets and masses in our choral heritage. Since there is insufficient room to discuss all languages choirs may encounter, these two were chosen because of their obvious importance to the many choral conductors in English speaking countries and (Latin) to conductors in all countries.

There are so many details to the study of English diction that one chapter cannot possibly cover the subject. It deserves an entire book by itself and several are suggested at the end of this chapter. The purpose of this chapter shall be to call attention to the principles of good diction and make suggestions that can improve choral diction.

It should be mentioned at the outset that the union of text and music often results in an artistic environment in which music has the distinct advantage. Authors of prose or poetry are usually not enthusiastic about the results of their words being set to music because the music occupies the foreground and the text the background. Words, when sung, can sometimes be difficult to understand. When words are lengthened by extension of vowel sounds, necessary for singing but unnecessary and probably undesirable in text declamation, considerable audience concentration is required to link the fragments of words and phrases together. The length of time occupied by one vowel sound may be so long that the sense of the entire word is lost before the vowel's place in the text stream is defined by the next sound, either a consonant or a new vowel sound. When the text is unfamiliar to the audience it is very helpful to print the text in the program or in an insert. Every text should be carefully enunciated, but to expect even a carefully enunciated text to be always understood is simply not realistic for every occasion. Choral polyphony of any period is only one example when a text will be difficult to understand. Familiarity with the text allows the listener to appreciate the manner in which the composer has set the words. There is certainly merit in allowing the listener an opportunity to become familiar with a new text at a concert before hearing the setting.

Choirs are almost always involved in communicating a text to an audience. Intelligibility of text will come through consonants that are short and clean, and through correctly formed vowels that are uniformly pronounced throughout the choir. Although there are some exercises aimed directly at diction it is rarely necessary to work in that manner. A choir director is always working on diction no matter what other purpose may also be in his mind. For instance, when a director is working on tone, he is dealing with vowels. His choir will not develop a satisfying tone or sing in tune until they are singing the same vowel sound. So, no matter what the concern, diction is always part of it. The key to good tone, good intonation, and good blend lies in a single, unified vowel sound. In the course of this chapter, several techniques will be suggested that will help a choral director achieve the best possible diction with his choir.

Singing diction should be nonregional; it should not reveal the native state of the performers. It may take a major effort on the part of the choir director to convince the singers that the sounds they make in everyday speech will be undesirable when elongated in a choral work. To "sing as we speak" would only be a correct instruction if we all spoke the same way and if we all spoke the English language correctly. The facts are that we all do not speak the language the same way (note the differences in pronunciation between the southern area, the southwestern area, the midwestern area, the northern midwest and the northeastern area). There are still further subtle differences within each of these areas. The director must also impress upon the singers the difference between sustaining a sound on pitch and quickly passing over it in normal conversation.

Figure 1 lists the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) for single vowel sounds, diphthongs, triphthongs, and consonants. For the purposes of our discussion, single vowel sounds are those that have only one vowel sound for the duration of the word or syllable. Diphthongs are defined here as two consecutive vowel sounds, and triphthongs as three consecutive vowel sounds. Learn to use the IPA symbols and be able to apply them to choral texts. This is the best possible way to ensure consistent and correct pronunciation. Anything less than a concerted and disciplined approach will result in erratic diction.

Before any of these vowels can be correctly pronounced, they must be correctly identified. This is a problem for many directors since it is apparent that some choirs make a directed and unified effort toward a wrong pronunciation of some words. One example of this is the word sing ǀ ʂɪŋ ǀ. It is often heard pronounced as ǀ siŋ ǀ, which is incorrect. There are many choral directors who ask their students to modify ǀ sɪŋ ǀ toward ǀ siŋ ǀ, and even ask them to use an ǀ i ǀ sound on occasion. The knowledgeable director may ask his choir to sing with a brighter ǀ ɪ ǀ sound but does not actually want the sound of ǀ i ǀ. It is the director who misapplies or overdoes the technique of brightening the vowel whose choir sounds strange on the concert stage. Good diction should not sound strange. When good concert diction is achieved, an audience should recognize it as refined English. Certainly no one would expect gutteral or dialectal speech on the stage. 2

Figure 5.1. International Phonetic Alphabet Symbol (IPA)

Figure 5.2. International Phonetic Alphabet Symbol Continued

Figure 4 applies the IPA symbols to the single vowel sounds and lists several examples of these vowels in use. Practice speaking the sound of the words and writing them with the proper IPA symbol. This will help establish a consistent approach to diction that will have a lasting and positive effect on the sound of the choir.

Two possible symbols have been purposely omitted, ǀ ɒ ǀ, a short o sound and ǀ a ǀ an intermediate sound between ǀ æ ǀ and ǀ ɑ ǀ. The first ǀ ɒ ǀ is generally not used in the United States. The words to which it is applied, hot, top, etc., are usually pronounced as ǀ hat ǀ, ǀ tap ǀ. This pronunciation is more practical and consistent with our usage. The latter ǀ a ǀ is also not practical since we do not usually make the sound between ǀ æ ǀ and ǀ ɑ ǀ. All of the words to which this symbol is applied may be pronounced either ǀ æ ǀ and ǀ ɑ ǀ.

Figure 5 lists diphthongs with their IPA symbols. In all cases but one, the first vowel sound is the one that should receive the emphasis.

In order for the word to be correctly pronounced and ultimately understood, the first part of the diphthong must be held as long as possible during the duration of the note. The second vowel sound should be placed at the very end of the note. The transition to the second sound should be a smooth glide and should never be abrupt.

This principle, as illustrated in figure 3, may be applied to other words. This is only a metrical illustration and does not intend that the second part of the diphthong should take on rhythmic significance. It is important that the vowel be formed deep in the mouth, and that this deep vowel be maintained until the very last moment.

Figure 5.3. 

Figure 5.4. Single Vowel Sounds

Figure 5.5. 

The exception to this is the | ɪʊ | diphthong, which is marked with an asterisk in Figure 5. In this instance the first vowel sound is quickly sounded and the second vowel sound is elongated.

1. In some instances of avant-garde literature the composer does not attempt to communicate a text. There are also pieces of traditional music in which the choir may communicate the sense of the text rather than a literal transmission of it.

2. There are some obvious moments when choirs should use a dialect—spirituals, some folksongs, etc.

There are special requirements that are peculiar to each particular vowel sound. All of the vowels, however, share some of the same requirements for good production. These are:

1. A relaxed jaw

2. A relaxed tongue

3. Proper room in the mouth

These three conditions, upon which good vowel formation depends, are those that are most frequently absent, in combination, from choral performances. Any choral director that has served as an adjudicator will attest to the common failure of singers (both solo and choral) to drop the jaw and open the throat. These are important enough to be dealt with individually.

A tense jaw will prevent any singer from making a consistently pleasant tone. Young singers find it difficult to solve this problem without help. There are several reasons for this. The first is that everyday or conversational speech does not require one to provide much room in the mouth. Most Americans, young and old, move the jaw only slightly when they talk. Young people then, when asked to drop the jaw, open the mouth only a fraction of the amount actually needed to produce a good singing tone. They feel certain, because the mouth is open approximately twice as much as for normal speech, that their mouth must be gaping wide. A director must show the students that the room needed for really good singing is more than they initially assume. Young people are also self-conscious about opening their mouths too far, thinking that it will make them look funny or appear silly. Of course, this is ridiculous because people expect a singer to open his mouth when performing. The same people do not think it ridiculous when a violinist tucks the instrument under his chin, placing his head in an awkward position. Neither will they consider a singer ridiculous who opens his mouth the proper amount to sing.

Ask the students to drop the jaw rather than to open the mouth. (This is discussed further in the module Choral Tone.) There are many ways to open the mouth but only one way to drop the jaw. When the jaw is "dropped," the lower jaw will go down and in toward the throat. When the jaw is open comfortably it will be free of tension and will seem to be hanging open. Singers can drop the jaw too far and place tension on the throat but this is unusual. The opposite is more likely to be the case. The face muscles should also be loose and the lips should be relaxed and free of tension. The jaw position will necessarily change when producing the various vowels but it should be kept open as much as each vowel will allow.

The tongue will also change position according to the vowel being produced. As is true with the jaw, the tongue should also be relaxed. Any tension in the tongue and connecting muscles will produce a tight tone and impure vowel sound. In all cases, the tip of the tongue should touch the back of the lower front teeth. All of the vowel sounds can be correctly produced from this position. Do not allow the students to let the tongue "bunch up" or be pulled back into the mouth. If this happens, the tone will become throaty or mushy, because the inside of the mouth as a resonating chamber is greatly altered. The vowels themselves will also be distorted. This will also place more tension on the larynx and cause vocal fatigue.

If excessive attention is called to the role of the tongue, a few students may become too conscious of it and more, rather than less, tension will be the result. The tongue, however, is not a reflexive muscle. It can be consciously controlled by a singer. Most average high school students will not have a tongue-tension problem. It usually occurs in a student who, for some misguided reasons, is striving to produce a "deeper and bigger" tone, not realizing that he is really only diffusing the good qualities of his natural voice. This may come about as a result of poor teaching, but can just as often be caused unwittingly by the student himself, in a naive attempt to emulate a mature singer.

A relaxed jaw does not necessarily ensure that each vowel will have the proper amount of space for its best production, nor is the opposite true. It is necessary to have both and to understand the amount of space needed to adequately produce each vowel.

Figure 5.6. 

The | ɑ | (ah) vowel will need the most space and the | i | (ee) vowel the least. Other vowels will be correctly formed with space somewhere between these two extremes. The formation of the five primary vowel sounds (see fig. 1) are discussed in the following paragraphs.

| ɑ | (ah)

The correct mouth position for the ah vowel is one that will place the jaw in its lowest position. The lips should be relaxed and just slightly away from the teeth, revealing part of the middle upper front teeth. The tongue should be lying in the bottom of the mouth, slightly grooved in the middle, with the tip touching the back of the lower front teeth. The vowel is formed deep in the mouth with the soft palate raised. This vowel is often distorted into an | ʌ | (uh) sound because the jaw is not low enough.

The sounds | æ | as in bad, and | ʌ | as in up, can also be produced with only slight modification of this opening. The tongue will come up slightly on the | æ | vowel but the jaw and lip position should remain the same. A good vowel sound will be obtained if the students shape for | ɑ | and sing | æ |. Instruct them to fill the vertical opening with a horizontal vowel. Some choirs mistakenly attempt to avoid this vowel. This is wrong. In the first place, the vowel cannot be avoided because it occurs too often as a part of our language. Some choral directors pronounce | æ | as | ɑ | in nouns or important words, but not when the vowel occurs in other places in the sentence. This is incorrect. Only pronunciation of the vowel as | æ | will produce a vowel sound that, in relation to others, will be correct and provide consistency in pronunciation.

The | ʌ | (uh) vowel sound is produced from virtually the same jaw, lip, and tongue position as the | ɑ |. There will be a slight movement upward of the middle of the tongue. Do not substitute the | ɑ | sound for that of | ʌ |. The | ʌ | vowel can be artistically produced. Substitution of | ɑ | for | æ | and | ʌ | vowels will only result in affectation.

| ɛɪ| (ay)

The jaw must come up just a little in order to produce this sound. The tongue will also come up slightly, but the tip of the tongue should remain just behind the lower front teeth. The lip position will also be modified somewhat. The corners of the mouth will be extended outward just a little. Of course, this position will be desirable for the pure | ɛ | sound as well as for the diphthong.

| i | (ee)

The | i | vowel requires a further modification forward, bringing the jaw up to its highest position. There will be less space needed in the mouth for the | i | vowel than for any other vowel sound. Too often this space is so small that the sound is very piercing and thin. There should be approximately enough room between the teeth to admit the width of one finger.

It is with this vowel, particularly, that care should be taken to prevent any tension in the jaw. This is important with all vowels, but the position of the jaw makes it even more important on an | i | vowel. Have the students place their hands on their face to be sure the muscles of the face are not tight and the lips are not drawn tightly against the teeth.

The tongue will be in its highest position, but the tip of the tongue should still remain just behind the lower front teeth. Students will find it helpful to let the edges of the tongue touch the back upper teeth on the | i | vowel. This will aid the singer in maintaining room in the mouth and help prevent a tight jaw.

| oʊ | (oh)

This vowel is more toward the back position (see fig. 4.2) than any of the previous vowels. The lips should be forward, away from the teeth. The jaw will be slightly higher than for the | ɑ | vowel, although it is good to teach the students to leave the jaw in the | ɑ | position and to bring the lips forward and round them.

The tongue will rise only a very small amount. Some students will tend to curl the tip of the tongue back in the mouth when forming this vowel. Again, guard against this by keeping the tip of the tongue touching the lower front teeth.

| u | (oo)

The position of this vowel is at the other extreme from the | i | vowel. It is the most closed and the darkest vowel. The jaw will come up somewhat from the | oʊ | position, but the change should be quite small. The lips will form a smaller, more forward position than the one assumed for the | oʊ | vowel sound.

The back of the tongue will come up slightly, but its movement will probably not be noticed by the singer. If the student is instructed to leave the jaw as close to the | oʊ | position as he can and move the lips forward for the | u | sound, the result will be a deeper vowel with good forward focus.

The | ʊ | (as in full) can be placed into the same position as the | ʊ | vowel. The lips will not be pushed quite as far forward but the position otherwise will be essentially the same.

The human voice is capable of expressing many emotions. The voice can easily express sorrow, anger, surprise, gaiety, etc. It is because the voice has these capabilities that we may modify certain vowels to help create the sound of the emotion we are trying to express. This modification, or coloring of vowels, if carefully done, will expand the expressive capabilities of the choir. A choral ensemble is an instrument of great diversity in the hands of an imaginative choral conductor.

The choral conductor should not be timid about using his musical ear as a guide to the modification of vowel sounds. At the same time, any coloring must be done with taste, and with a concern that all of the choir is doing it together and to the same degree.

Certain modifications are necessary in all voices in the extremes of the ranges. For example, a tenor will produce a tone that is more consistent and a vowel pattern that is more even if he modifies the top tones on an ah vowel toward an aw. Conversely, in the lower range, he will maintain a better sound by brightening the vowels and bringing them forward. The result of the modification in these instances is that the tone of the singer remains more consistent throughout the entire range.

Young voices tend to sing with too much shallowness and brightness in the tone. Modification of the brighter vowels to a darker vowel will actually bring the voices to a desired vowel somewhere in the middle of the tonal color range.

Choirs can also successfully shade a vowel by thinking one vowel while singing another. The same effect can be obtained by implying one vowel while singing another. It is also quite easy to ask a choir to "feed a little oo" into an | i | (ee) vowel to help the depth of the tone.

Often the | i | (ee) vowel, for example, is shallow and piercing. Generally more room in the mouth is needed to give the vowel a deeper sound. In addition, the choir may be instructed to shape more for | u | (oo) and sing | i | (ee). Do not shape quite enough toward | u | (oo) to make the German umlauted | u | sound, however.

When one asks for a darker color one should not confuse this with asking for a darker quality, or what is usually known as throatiness. The vocal p