Singing in English
  • Palestrina
    Posts: 364
    Does anybody know where I can find a good guide to singing in English? I'd like the guide to show how to apply the 9 English vowel sounds to any English text. The 'sound' I am looking for at the end of it all is 'English' English as opposed to 'American' English.

    It occurred to me a while ago that Church musicians will often teach their choirs how to sing in Latin correctly, but assume that the choir knows how to sing in English, which is not always the case.
  • Jscola30
    Posts: 116
    Diction for Singers by Joan Wall is good for any language, and includes IPA.
  • IanWIanW
    Posts: 756
    Fascinating. Not all of us in EnglandAndWales naturally sing "English" English, either. Maybe, If we're talking about liturgical rather than historically informed performance, it's best to carry the use of the vernacular to its logical conclusion, and use the English appropriate to the place - modified as appropriate by the employment of good 'singing' vowels.
  • Palestrina
    Posts: 364
    Does anyone know of any internet guides that I can use? I feel comfortable teaching choirs to sing in Latin, but not English... I'd really like to know all the rules for adapting English vowels to good choral vowel sounds (I've picked bits and pieces up along the way, but I can't say that I have a set of principles that I can use in any situation) e.g. the "i" in "Shine" is really sung as an "ah" vowel, with the "i" only added at the very end, before passing to the "n".
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