Fred Waring Rules of Enunciation Presented by: John Devine Rule #1

Rule #1 5/8/06 RULE 1: Be conscious of all consonants which have pitch and sing them with exaggerated intensity and duration. 

Rule #1 - Explanation Consonants having pitch are those on which tone can be sustained. It can be found that consonants having sustainable pitch are: m, n, ng, l, r, voiced th, v, zh (as in azure and pleasure), and z (or s pronounced as z, as in is). The dynamic level of a tuned consonant will NOT be equal to that of a sustained vowel, unless the consonant is sung with comparatively greater intensity. In order to achieve the desired legato (smooth) line in singing, consonants must be given added volume.

Rule #1 - Explanation Besides the greater intensity with which all tuned consonants are sung, some of them (m, n, ng and to a lesser extent l) are also sung with slightly increased duration. This is because these four consonants, along with certain vowels, constitute the most beautiful sounds in singing. This principle must be used with discretion. Consonants are not to be prolonged ad nauseum. Vowels make up the main body of tone in singing; consonants are stressed only to the extent necessary to bring out the meaning and beauty of the poetry.

Rule #1 - Explanation

Rule #1 - Explanation Initial consonants and good intonation. To avoid a bad habit called “scooping,” careful attention must be given to the pitch of initial consonants. Accurate initial intonation (attack) will result if singers always think in advance of the pitch of the first vowel and sing the preceding consonant on that pitch. This true whether the consonant has pitch (m, n, ng, l, r, th, v, zh or s pronounced as z, as in is) or is pitchless (ch, f, h, k, p, s, t or sh).

Questions?

Fred Waring Rules of Enunciation Presented by: John Devine Rule #2

Rule #1 Review 5/8/06 RULE 1: Be conscious of all consonants which have pitch and sing them with exaggerated intensity and duration. 

Rule #2 5/15/06 Establish continuity of tone from word to word and from syllable to syllable. Vowel sound followed by a vowel sound.   Consonant sound followed or preceded by a vowel sound. Consonant sound followed by a consonant sound.

Rule #2 - Explanation The purpose of Rule 2 is to achieve in song the same tone continuity as in good speech. The visual impression of space between written words may be a handicap to the singer. In speech and singing there should be no such space; the end of each word or syllable (except at the end of phrases) is joined to the beginning of the following word or syllable. This joining of the final sound of a syllable to the beginning sound of the next syllable results in three combinations of vowel and consonant sounds.

Rule #2 - Explanation Vowel sound followed by vowel sound. No special enunciation technique is required to sing this combination which occurs when a syllable ending with a vowel is followed by another syllable beginning with a vowel. There should be NO BREAK in the flow of tone between vowels, unless a staccato effect is desired.

Rule #2 - Explanation Consonant sound followed or preceded by a vowel sound. This combination can occur under two circumstances: (1) When a syllable ending with a vowel is followed by one beginning with a consonant, as in “day time,” and (2) when a syllable ending with a consonant is followed by one beginning with a vowel, as in “night is.” In both cases the consonant is treated as the beginning sound of the second syllable.

Rule #2 - Explanation Consonant sound followed by consonant sound. This combination creates obstacles to clear enunciation. In general, consonant sounds are classified in two groups: short and sustained. Short consonants are the “explosives” (k, p, ch and t), and the “subvocals” (b, d, g and j). Sustained consonants are subdivided into voiceless (f, sh, s, and h), and tuned (m, n, ng, l, r, v, z and th).

Rule #2 - Explanation Short consonants (explosives and subvocals). When a short consonant ends a syllable which is followed by any consonant, the short consonant is stopped. To understand what is meant by a stopped consonant, consider what happens to the t in the phrase: “Do it now.” In singing you might hear it sung as “Do it(uh) now.” This singer is exploding the t and allowing a fragment of voice to follow. The result is affectation.

Rule #2 - Explanation Sustained consonants (voiceless and tuned). When a sustained consonant ends a syllable which is followed by a different consonant, there is no change in the enunciation of either consonant. When a sustained consonant is followed by the same consonant, the flow of sound is uninterrupted, but the second consonant is given a slight accent. For example, June night is Joon nah-it (not Joon(uh) nah-it or Joo-nah-it.

Questions?

Fred Waring Rules of Enunciation Presented by: John Devine Rule #3

Rule #1 Review 5/8/06 RULE 1: Be conscious of all consonants which have pitch and sing them with exaggerated intensity and duration. 

Rule #2 Review 5/15/06 Establish continuity of tone from word to word and from syllable to syllable. Vowel sound followed by a vowel sound.   Consonant sound followed or preceded by a vowel sound. Consonant sound followed by a consonant sound.

Rule #3 6/12/06 Be conscious of the placement of each tone syllable within the time value of the note or notes on which it is sung. A. Begin each pulse or beat of music with a vowel sound. B. Give subsidiary vowel and tuned consonant sounds a proportionate rhythmic amount of the full time value.

Rule #3 - Explanation Begin each pulse or beat of music with a vowel sound. The visual impression on the music is that the word and the note begin simultaneously. This is true only if the word begins with a vowel. The enunciation of all initial consonants must be completed prior to the instant the beat occurs. If this rule is not followed, one of two undesirable results occurs: (1) the consonant will be slighted or (2) if the consonant begins on the beat, the words will have a delayed or “behind the beat” sound.

Rule #3 - Explanation Give subsidiary vowel and tuned consonant sounds a proportionate rhythmic amount of the full time value. This rule cannot be feasibly illustrated by the phonetic spelling of tone-syllables. It’s just too complex. (Example) The amount of time allotted to all sounds is governed by considerations of tempo and taste and the style of music being sung. This can vary with the period, tradition, mood and intent of the music.

Rule #3 - Explanation

Questions?

Fred Waring Rules of Enunciation Presented by: John Devine Rule #4

Rule #1 Review 5/8/06 RULE 1: Be conscious of all consonants which have pitch and sing them with exaggerated intensity and duration. 

Rule #2 Review 5/15/06 Establish continuity of tone from word to word and from syllable to syllable. Vowel sound followed by a vowel sound.   Consonant sound followed or preceded by a vowel sound. Consonant sound followed by a consonant sound.

Rule #3 Review 6/12/06 Be conscious of the placement of each tone syllable within the time value of the note or notes on which it is sung. A. Begin each pulse or beat of music with a vowel sound. B. Give subsidiary vowel and tuned consonant sounds a proportionate rhythmic amount of the full time value.

Rule #4 6/12/06 Be conscious of all the vowel sounds, and sing them with what seems like exaggerated distinctness.

Rule #4 - Explanation The purpose of Rule 4 is not only to help the chorus achieve clarity of enunciation, but, perhaps more importantly, to improve the blending of the tone. There are many different pronunciations of vowel sounds since dialects vary from area to area. To achieve a well-blended tone, singers must first learn the correct sound/sounds in each vowel. Following is a list of the 16 vowel sounds we use. These are taken from “The Singer’s Manual of English Diction” by Madeleine Marshall.

Rule #4 - Explanation The 16 vowel sounds: e as in “he” u as in “urge” i as in “it” oo as in “soon” a as in “day” y as in “you” e as in “let” u as in “full” a as in “man” o as in “roam” i as in “sky” oi as in “joy” a as in “far” aw as in “awe” u as in “love” ou as in “out”

Rule #4 - Explanation Five main Diphthongs: a as in “day,” i as in “sky,” o as in “roam,” oi as in “joy” and ou as in “out.” A sixth important one is y as in “you” (note the second syllable is stressed more than the first.)

Questions?