The Importance of Vowels in Singing

February 7, 2023

If you’ve been taking singing lessons for a while, you’ve probably practiced several silly warm-up exercises. You know, the ones where you’re making funny faces and sounds, saying nonsensical phrases, and so on. All of these exercises have one common goal: to prepare the voice and help you learn to keep your mouth and throat open. Read on as Seal Beach instructor Carl B. explains why vowels are important for this very reason…

Think about the last time you heard someone sing. What stands out the most to you? If you’re like most people, it’s the singer’s voice and the lyrics. But what makes a voice sound good or bad?

Vowels play a huge role in determining how your voice sounds when you sing.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at vowels and why they’re so important for singers. Stay tuned!

How Do You Say Vowels in Singing?

There are five important singing vowel sounds:

I (eye)
E (eee)
A (ay)
O (oh)
U (oooo)

Once you learn how to pronounce vowels when singing like this, you’ll be a much better singer. Remember, these are unique vowels that are arranged not in alphabetical order but sound order, from the front of your mouth to the back, near your throat, you will become a better singer. Not sure where to start? You may want to work with a singing coach who can help you develop the skills you need.

Learn more about how you can benefit from singing lessons by watching the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM9TQRoZJdw

Why Are Vowels Important in Singing?

A few years ago I coined a phrase that clarifies the importance of focusing on the vowels while singing. It is: “A song is a series of songs called vowels.”

Each vowel should be perfectly formed, sung as beautifully as if it were a song unto itself, and sustained as long as the song allows, regardless of genre.

The international singing vowels are ah, eh, ee, oh and oo. These are the vowels sung in Italian, and also in Hawaiian. I have read arguments that there are actually 7 vowels in Italian, and I leave that discussion to others for now. Other languages also have additional vowels, for example in English we also have uh, ih and aa.

The reason that we focus on vowels while singing is that vowels are the most open and also the most beautiful sounds we can make with our voice. Because vowels are the most open sounds, the audience hears them best, and so hears the beauty of your sound, your personality, and the emotion in your song.

Rather than use the term “resonance area,” I use a more descriptive term, “echo chamber,” because the throat is the echo chamber we use to enhance the sound of our voice. As mentioned in my previous article, we create an echo chamber in our throat by implementing the beginning of a yawn.

In doing this, each perfectly-formed vowel creates its own particular echo chamber areas. If a vowel is not perfectly formed, we lose some of that vowel’s particular echo chamber areas, and thus reduce the beauty of the sound and the emotion.

How to Shape Vowels When Singing

Many singers do not realize how well their vowels are or are not being formed. Even very good singers can lose focus on their vowels and think they are forming perfect vowels when they are not.

Here are some tips to help you improve your vowel formation while you are singing – and be sure to check out this singing vowels chart, too.

Listen to a Recording

The reason most people say “That’s not me!” The first time you hear yourself on an answering machine or other recording is that we don’t hear ourselves primarily through our ears, as others hear us.

Instead, we hear ourselves primarily through the vibration of our jaw bone. The only way to truly hear yourself as others hear you is to listen to yourself in a recording.

My advice? Listen to yourself singing. Record yourself, then play it back. This is one of the best ways to identify whether you’re having trouble forming your vowels.

Singing on the Vowel

To sing beautifully, you should do about 99% of your singing on the vowel. It can be difficult to sing constants quickly to make it understandable but the key is to put the consonant before the beat. Pay close attention to consonants like w, r, and s, and focus most of your attention on just singing on the vowel instead.

Pure Vowels Singing

Vowels are pure when the articulators remain in one place while you are singing the vowels. If you are singing choral or classical music, this is important, but it’s also important for popular music. It just makes singing sound better!

This is something that’s difficult to master if you speak American English. Singing the wrong pure vowel can make you sound stilted or even harsh.

Understand Diphthongs and Triphthongs

Many English vowels are actually diphthongs or triphthongs (two or three vowel sounds put together). Everything is elongated dwhen you are singing, so it’s important to treat the two or three vowels separately.

Know the Difference Between Long and Short Singing Vowels

It’s important to know that long and short vowels don’t actually refer to length in the English language – this is not something that’s helpful for singing.

Long vowels sound like the five vowel names, while short vowels are single vowel sounds. This can be significant if you are singing songs in languages besides English.

How to Modify Singing Vowels

Knowing how to sing vowels and consonants properly is important, but so, too, is knowing when to bend the rules! Sometimes, you’ll need to modify a vowel, and that’s okay.

You can do so by slightly closing or lowering your jaw, rounding or unrounding your lips, or moving your tongue to free up your singing. Lowering the jaw is one popular method used to sing vowels that are on high notes.

Don’t Tense the Jaw

When you are singing vowels exercises, put your mouth in the oval shape. This is the ideal singing vowels mouth shape. You may want to try putting your ring and pointer finger between your bottom and top teeth, lengthwise, to see if you have enough space.

Most importantly, don’t tense your tongue or jaw. Keep these areas as relaxed as you can.

Other Tips for Singing Vowels and Consonants

Breathe from your abdominal area when you’re singing, rather than inhaling through your chest. Try not to drink dairy products, as they cause phlegm, or extremely warm or cold beverages right before you sing (these can restrict the vocal cords and make it harder for you to sing vowels).If at all possible, avoid extreme temperature changes and clear your throat.

If your throat starts to hurt at any tie while you are singing vowels, or if you feel a “gripping” sensation, stop singing. This is an indication that you are straining your voice.

Sing Vowels Correctly

When you begin taking perfect vowel formation seriously, you’ll be surprised at the improved sound of your recordings, and also of your audience’s more emotional response to you and your singing.

So, the next time you are working on your vocal technique, be sure to focus on using your vowels in order to create a more resonant and powerful sound. Experiment with these tips and see how they work for you – we think you will be pleasantly surprised!

Not sure how to get started? Consider signing up for singing lessons. Like I said, it can be hard to realize if you’re having a hard time forming your vowels – but a singing instructor can not only let you know if your vowel work needs some improvement, but can also give you some actionable tips you can follow to improve.

Carl B. teaches singing and speaking voice lessons to students of all ages in Seal Beach, CA. Carl teaches singing in English, Italian, Spanish, & German, in all styles including pop, jazz, classical, & country & western. He joined the TakeLessons team in August 2012. Visit TakeLessons to search for a vocal teacher near you!