The Focus Vowel

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you may remember my post on Compound Vowels where I mentioned Margaret Harshaw's teaching that every "perfect vowel" is a combination of three vowels: /a/, /i/ and /u/.

The last two posts dealt with /i/ and /a/. This one will deal with /u/, what Miss Harshaw called the "focus vowel." 

Of the three, /u/ is most difficult to wrap one's head around. This may have everything to do with the fact that the sound of /u/ in English (on both sides of the pond) is quite guttural and muffled. It may also have to do with the fact that it is the polar opposite of /i/. While /i/ brings the vocal folds together, /u/ has the tendency to pull them apart—a good thing to know if a student is grating their folds together.

What does the thought of /u/ do?  It focuses the tone by lengthening the vocal tract. The soft palate is felt to rise while the larynx descends ever so slightly, the two working in opposition (see my post on movements of the soft palate here).

What can aid the student in obtaining a clear and resonant /u/? Two things. The first is the following instruction: when you sing /a/ think of /u/, and when you sing /u/ think of /a/.

The second is having already acquired a resonant /i/ vowel. It is the vowel that is the most "forward."  /u/ needs this influence.

If you want to beautify the tone, think of /u/. If you want to make a vowel more resonant, think of /i/. If you want to free a vowel, think of /a/. Of the three, /a/ is the center on which the other two hinge—a triptych of sound.  

Photo: Margaret Harshaw