Conductors, choristersNancy Singlacantala, cantala choir, nancy singla, Choral music, choral singing, choral sound, vowels, singing technique, womens choir, toronto choral sceneComment

The ABC's of Singing

Conductors, choristersNancy Singlacantala, cantala choir, nancy singla, Choral music, choral singing, choral sound, vowels, singing technique, womens choir, toronto choral sceneComment

One time I was asked if vowels were important in singing. I replied “vowels are like green vegetables in our diets: they are essential!”. This may seem obvious, but it’s important to understand the role vowels have in singing and how they are produced.

My daughter Maya, 2, showing me her best "ah" vowel. You can never start to young!

My daughter Maya, 2, showing me her best "ah" vowel. You can never start to young!

The term “vowel” is referring to {ah}, {ee}, {eh}, {oh}, {oo} and {y}. These are the alphabetical labels we have assigned to the different colours produced in vocal sound depending on the tongue's placement in the mouth. The open vowels are considered {ah}, {oh}, {oo} and the closed vowels are {ee}, {eh} and {y}.

There is a simple exercise that helps to understand how the different vowels are formed.  If you take a comfortable pitch and sing continuously {ah-eh-ee-oh-oo} and pay very careful attention to the movement of the tongue you will feel (or see if you stand in front of a mirror) that the tongue is flat for {ah}, then the back of the tongue rises for {eh} and then stays risen but also slides slightly more forward in the mouth for {ee} and then becomes concave for {oh} and flat again for {oo}. It should be noted here that the lips come forward to form the vowel on the {oh} and {oo} in addition to the tongue's position. Notice how the jaw doesn’t have to move and the soft palette remains lifted (this is harder to feel on the {ee} {eh} vowels). You might also now feel why some vowels are considered “open” or “closed”.  I have used this exercise to unify Cantala’s vowels for many years to great success. It is also a tool I use to solve many pitch problems. 

Have you noticed that we only sing on vowel sounds? Have you ever tried to sing on a {t} sound or a {p} sound for longer than a second? It doesn’t work! You can sing on voiced consonants’ as well, and we do, for example when we hum, but it is more for effect than beauty of tone. So love your vowels, study them, perfect them, hug them. It is the vowel sound that carries your beautiful voice out to the heavens…..

choristers, ConductorsNancy Singlacantala, nancy singla, choir, womens choir, toronto choirs, vibrato, choral sound, vocal health, singing, choral singing, vowels3 Comments

Vibrato + Choral Sound: Friends or Foes?

The gold standard of remarkable choral sound is unified sound. No one would dispute that. However, how to achieve this goal is not unified among conductors. 

choristers, ConductorsNancy Singlacantala, nancy singla, choir, womens choir, toronto choirs, vibrato, choral sound, vocal health, singing, choral singing, vowels3 Comments
choristers, ConductorsNancy Singlacantala, cantala womens choir, nancy singla, toronto choirs, toronto choral scene, choral singing, vowels, music, choral musicComment

Warming up the choir

Everyone seems to come to choir exhausted. It’s the end of their work day and while I know they are looking forward to creating music, their sense of listening and often also their vocal apparatus are fatigued. They are ready for the couch and some tv, but you are asking them to get up, smile and sparkle. Warming up the choir is an important transition from tired work day to musical brilliance.

choristers, ConductorsNancy Singlacantala, cantala womens choir, nancy singla, toronto choirs, toronto choral scene, choral singing, vowels, music, choral musicComment
choristers, ConductorsNancy Singlacantala womens choir, toronto choral scene, choral music, choral sound, singing, technique, breath, choral singingComment

7 tips for Preparing the Singing Breath

The way in which we prepare our bodies and breathe to sing greatly influences the quality of the sound that is produced afterward. It starts prior to the intake of the breath and the shaping of the vocal track.

choristers, ConductorsNancy Singlacantala womens choir, toronto choral scene, choral music, choral sound, singing, technique, breath, choral singingComment
choristers, ConductorsNancy Singlasinging technique, consonants, singing buzz, cantala women's choir, nancy singla, voiced consonants, unvoiced consonants, choral singing toronto, women's choirComment

Consonants + Singing: Part 1

There are 21 consonant sounds in the English language, and they are defined as “speech sounds that are articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract”. Now just a minute….Closure of the vocal tract? Let's understand how they are produced then look at how they can improve and/or enhance our singing.

choristers, ConductorsNancy Singlasinging technique, consonants, singing buzz, cantala women's choir, nancy singla, voiced consonants, unvoiced consonants, choral singing toronto, women's choirComment
choristers, ConductorsNancy Singlacantala, cantala womens choir, nancy singla, toronto choirs, toronto choral scene, choral singing, vowels, music, choral music, agnes grossman, choral examplesComment

7 ideas for warming up the choir

Years ago I had a very experienced choral singer come up to me in Cantala and tell me that I spend a lot of time on warming up and inquired "isn't there an urgency to get to rehearsing the repertoire?".

choristers, ConductorsNancy Singlacantala, cantala womens choir, nancy singla, toronto choirs, toronto choral scene, choral singing, vowels, music, choral music, agnes grossman, choral examplesComment