Unison vowel production in Music Education

I have been through many exercises for unison vowel production, and the best I have found was taught to me by my own vocal coach, Dr.Jan E. Bickel, D.M.A at Saint Xavier University in Chicago.  She gave it to me as an excellent way to practice a smooth phrase:

Take the phrase we used last time, “In the land of the living, I will walk with God all my days.”

• Take away the consonants, and now you are left with:    “I  e  a  o  e  i  i, i  i  a  i  o  a  y  a”     (In the land of the living, I will walk with God all my days).                                                                                                 
•  Have the choir pronounce the vowel sounds as they appear in the phrase (no  diphthongs):     i      uh    a     uh        uh  i   ee,      ah    i     aw    i     o    aw    ah    A  (In thuh land uhv thuh liveeng, Ah will wawk with God awll mah daze)

OK, get ready for mutiny….this takes a little time to master; visual handouts for the choir, or even the vowel sounds written on the board are essential; but what results!

• Now have the choir sing only the vowels on their correct pitches and then have them connect the vowels to each other, sing in a very legato manner to produce a smooth phrase.
• Finally, have them put the consonants back in (they’ll be soooo relieved), but lightly!  Just touch the consonants.

This is a wonderful way to get your choir to produce a lovely, smooth, truly unison phrase.  This same exercise is helpful for unlocking the breath.

….more later!