Singing and Communicating in English : A Singer's Guide to English Diction

Foreword by Renee Fleming v CHAPTER 1. Introduction to Diction 3 Diction: What Is It? 3 Why Do Native English Speakers Need English Diction Study? 3 What Is the Ultimate Goal of English Lyric Diction Study? 4 Why Is This Goal Often Not Realized? 4 Expectations of the English-Speaking Audience 5 What Is Neutral English? 6 References for English Pronunciation 7 Approach to English Diction Study 8 Introduction to the International Phonetic Alphabet 9 How to Use This Book 10 The International Phonetic Alphabet for American English 11 Exercises 14 CHAPTER 2. Communicating the Thought 17 Communication through Appropriate Stress 17 Syllabic Stress within Words 18 Stress/Sense within the English Phrase 20 The Hierarchy of Stress 21 Stress versus Interpretation 25 The Division of Syllables 26 Exercises 27 CHAPTER 3. Introduction to Vowels 31 Preparation for Vowel Production 31 The Vowel Chart 35 Eliminating Glottal Attacks 36 Exercise Drills for Glottal Attack Elimination 38 Easy Onset Exercises 38 CHAPTER 4. The Fronting Vowels 43 [i] Production 43 Exercises 45 [I] Production 47 Exercises 49 [epsilon] Production 50 Exercises 52 [ Production 53 Exercises 55 Review of Front Vowels 55 [a] Production 56 Exercises 57 CHAPTER 5. The Backing Vowels 59 [u]/[ju] Production 59 Exercises 61 [ ] Production 63 Exercises 64 [o] Production 65 [ ] Production 66 Exercises 69 [ ] Production 70 CHAPTER 6. The Mixed Vowels 71 [Λ]/[ ] Production 7 Exercises 74 [ ]/[ ] Production 75 Exercises 77 CHAPTER 7. Diphthongs 79 [aI] Production 81 Drill 83 Exercises 83 [ei] Production 84 Exercises 85 [ i] Production 86 Exercises 87 [o ] Production 89 Exercises 90 [a ] Production 91 Exercises 92 The R-Colored Diphthongs 93 Exercises 94 Triphthongs 96 Exercises 97 CHAPTER 8. The Three Semi-Vowel Glides 99 Vowels or Consonants? 99 [w] Production 102 [j] Production 103 [ ] Production 105 Drill for Alleviating Trilled R's 108 Exercises 109 CHAPTER 9. Introduction to Consonants 113 The English Consonants 115 Exercises 117 CHAPTER 10. The Plosives 119 [b]/[p] Production 120 Exercises 122 [d]/[t] Production 123 Practice Drill 125 Exercises 126 [g]/[k] Production 126 Exercises 130 Implosions 131 [d3]/[tintegral] Production 133 Exercises 134 Save Breath for Shadow Vowels 135 Exercises 138 CHAPTER 11. The Fricatives 141 Merges: The Legato Builder 141 [v]/[f] Production 143 Exercises 145 [z]/[s] Production 146 Drills for Overcoming Lisping S and Z 148 Expressive Doublings of the Fricatives 149 Exercises 151 [3]/[integral] Production 154 Exercises 155 [ ]/[θ] Production 157 Exercises 159 [h]/[ ] Production 160 Exercises 164 CHAPTER 12. The Nasal Consonants Plus the Lyrical L 167 [m] Production 167 Drill 168 [n] Production 169 Drill 170 [η] Production 171 Drill 172 Drill 174 Exercises 177 Sing through and Resonate the Nasal Consonants 179 [l]Production 179 Drill 181 Exercises 182 CHAPTER 13. The Owner's Manual: Connecting the Dots 185 The Legato Connection: Connect It Up! 185 Implosions and Merges 187 Exercises 190 Expressive Doublings: Get It Off the Printed Page! 192 Pulsing the Phrase 202 Exercises 203 CHAPTER 14. Singing in the British Dialect: "The Rain in Spain" 207 International Phonetic Alphabet for British Received Pronunciation 208 IPA Drill 211 British Received versus American Standard 214 Rules for British Received Pronunciation 215 Exercises 216 [ ] Production 217 Exercises 218 [o ] versus [ ] 219 Exercises 220 The Reduced R Colourings 221 Exercises 222 Shall We D-ah-nce? 223 Exercises 226 Usage of the "Liquid U" in Historic versus Modern RP 228 Unstressed Words and Syllables 229 Stress Patterns 229 Trilled and Flipped R's 231 Exercise 234 Articulating the Letter T in RP 236 Exercises 237 CHAPTER 15. The Mid-Atlantic Dialect 241 The Default Dialect 241 [a] 242 The Mid-Atlantic Dialect Overview 243 Repertoire Suggestions for Mid-Atlantic Pronunciation 244 Rules for Mid-Atlantic Pronunciation 245 Exercises 246 [a] Production 247 Exercise Drills 248 Exercises 250 Afterword: The Finesse Factor 255 A Final Cautionary Note 255 A Word about Interdependence 256 Strive for the Third Dimension 256 APPENDIX 1. The International Phonetic Alphabet for English 259 APPENDIX 2. Three-Dialect Overview 263 APPENDIX 3. Regional Dialects Found in Vocal Repertoire 265 Glossary 291 Music Publishers Guide 305 Selected Bibliography and Resources 309 Index of Song Texts 315 General Index 319