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.

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…..