So what exactly is P.A.V.D.C?? Today we give you some keys to a better performance. Posture, Articulation, Vowels, Diphthongs and Consonants. So read on and discover how the next 15 minutes can bring your performance to a new level!
Taking Singing as a second language...exploring P.A.V.D.C.
This all sounds very complex and professional. But trust us, after this letter you will feel more confident and more professional as you learn even more easy ways to master memorable tips to help you sing like a professional
Posture
Posture is related to good breathing techniques. The way you are standing will enable your lungs to fill with air entirely … or will constrict the passages you need to send a free stream of air flowing through your lips. (Can you guess why sitting as you sing is not recommended?) Usually, proper posture can be described as a shoulder-width stand, with loose knees, tucked in pelvis, shoulders down and loose, spine centered, and chin aligned naturally so that you’re looking straight ahead (rather than down at sheet music or up into space). You should never need to drop your jaw or lower your head to sing out those low notes … nor crane your head high to sing the high notes. Always keep your head straight, as though you’re talking to someone. These are the basics of good posture.
Articulation
Many voice teachers spend ages training their students to pronounce vowels and consonants in an exaggerated, hyper-enunciated way. The reason is that words often sound different when sung than when spoken. Singing depends on vowel sounds, with only a minor role played by consonants. Yet without the correct articulation provided by consonants, the words of song lyrics can be lost.
The basics of good pronunciation are simple: try to move your lips and jaw only when you are producing consonants, while keeping the same open mouth shape for all vowels.
Vowels
Unlike consonants, vowel sounds come from the voicebox or throat, not the articulators. They are pure sounds, and your singing depends on them, but altering them by moving your mouth will muddy their clarity.
Try this exercise.
1. Stand in front of a mirror with your mouth open in a relaxed oval (not too wide).
2. Make the following vowel sounds without moving your lips or jaw.
ah ay eh ee i oh uh oo
Feel the way your throat and tongue move to create the different vowel sounds.
3. Now, allow yourself to move your mouth and say the vowels again.
ah ay eh ee i oh uh oo
See and hear the difference? The tone will most likely be less full and sound much less “professional.”
When you sing vowel sounds, then, you should always make sure that your mouth remains in the proper shape, but doesn’t move. Don’t drop or raise your jaw when you sing notes at either end of your range. You want your voice to sound natural … and for you to feel natural while you’re singing.
Does your sound have depth and fullness? Or is it breathy and thin?
Are you using more of your chest voice or head voice?
Does the tone change for certain vowels? (You want all your vowel sounds to be just as full and deep.)
Do you attack each note strongly?
Certain vowels will pose more of a problem than others. For example, when you sing the vowel sound “ee”, you may find yourself opening your mouth sideways.
This produces a thinner sound.
Listen to the example:
he solution is to keep your mouth still and try to form the sound in the back and upper back part of your mouth. As a result, you should find yourself producing a fuller and deeper sound.
Listen to the example:
Diphthongs
When you are singing a diphthong (a “compound vowel”), emphasize the initial vowel, adding only a hint of the second vowel sound at the end. For example, the word “around” can be pronounced like this:
For example, the word “around” can be pronounced like this:
Or, like this
You do not want diphthongs forming where a single vowel sound should be. For
example, if you sing the word “mine”, you may find yourself singing “my-een”, with an
“ee” sound added after the “ah” sound.
Listen to the example:
You should sing the word with the “ay” sound only: “mine.”
Listen to the example:
Consonants
Consonants are the spice to your singing: they add definition, clarify words, and bring out flavors, but the main body of your song should be vowel sounds.
Use consonants only as necessary for the lyrics to be understood. A glottal stop between the words will mean that they can be fully understood.
For example, compare It’s not with it snot. Compare I am with I yam.
You should always emphasize the initial consonant in a word instead of the last.
As you become more familiar with the way your voice connects different sounds, you’ll be able to break down the component word sounds in a musical phrase to convey the most clarity while preserving the best quality.
Try this exercise.
Sing or speak the following, making sure you keep up your speed:
Bah Beh Bee Boh Boo
Now, replace the B with one of the following consonants, and repeat until you have done them all: D, M, G, T, L, P, H.
Why these exercises are beneficial:
B, P, and M are good practice for the lips.
G and D are good practice for the jaw.
L and T are good practice for the tongue.
H is a good consonant and vowel practice. It is harder than the others and requires more concentration. You should avoid creating a breathy tone; make the initial sound firmly.
Vocabulary Review
Diphthong where two different vowel sounds combine
Vowel A, E, I, O, and U sounds; pure sounds
Consonant hard sounds; formed by articulators
Diaphragm sheet of muscle at the bottom of the rib cage, or midriff
Coming Up...
Well done. As you keep up the practice with all these performance enhancing exercises, you will notice that your voice and performances are easier for the audience to listen to and to understand. Its good not having to focus really hard on what someone is singing and far nicer to be able to listen to the overall performance and sound. Coming up, we give you the ability to look critically at your voice and fix any bad habits that may have crept in!
Another Singorama Success Story!
Chris Devereux
England
My name is Chris Devereux, (stage name Christopher Gee) and I am a professional Comedy Impressionist. Although I had appeared on TV as an Impresionist I always wanted to include vocal impressions in my act but would suffer from two things. 1) Lack of confidence, being told that I could never ever sing and the second was that people told me it was an art not a skill. The Singorama course blew these two myths out of the water by giving me a totally unique way to learn the technique and gain confidence in understanding how the voice works and to discover my vocal voice within. Before I would push my chest voice higher into my head voice cracking and straining over the breaks causing me sore throats not to mention the dreadful sound it would make. In addition to daily practise at home, every time I went on a gig in the car I would sing to all the scales and felt my voice become strong and tuneful. I wrote two Musical Shows called "Route 66" and "An Audience With A 100 Stars" and within these shows I performed many musical stars including Meatloaf (see picture attached). I performed this with a girl singer who had come direct from stage show "The Meatloaf Story" and she was so amazed at how well my voice had developed that she asked for details of the course as well! Thank you Singorama
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