IPA for Singers - PDF

# Chapter 1: The Content and Value of the International Phonetic Alphabet ## What are Phonetics? - The study of phonetics is the study of speech sounds. - It is the study of symbols that represent speech sounds. - A phonetic alphabet is an alphabet where one sound is represented by one symbol. - T...

# Chapter 1: The Content and Value of the International Phonetic Alphabet ## What are Phonetics? - The study of phonetics is the study of speech sounds. - It is the study of symbols that represent speech sounds. - A phonetic alphabet is an alphabet where one sound is represented by one symbol. - The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a phonetic alphabet. - The roman alphabet used for English is not a phonetic alphabet. - Often, the sounds in the English language do not match the spelling of words. - For example, the sound of *ee* can be spelled seven ways: *be, eat, beet, receive, people, brief, Phoenix*. - A single symbol in the roman alphabet can represent multiple different sounds. - For example, the letter *i* can represent different sounds: - *ah-ih* in *might*, - *ih* in *mitt*, - *ee* in *liter*, - *sh* in *nation*. - Two words can have the same pronunciation but be spelled differently. - For example, *peace* and *piece* are spelled differently, but pronounced the same. - Americans often confuse letters with sounds. - English has twenty-two vowel sounds: sixteen pure vowel sounds and six diphthongs. - Each vowel sound has its own unique IPA symbol. ## What is the International Phonetic Alphabet? - The IPA is a phonetic alphabet where one symbol represents one sound. - The IPA has remained largely the same since its creation in 1886. - Many IPA symbols are the same as the letters in the roman alphabet. - Sixteen English letters are identical to IPA symbols. - Only nine new consonant symbols and sixteen new vowel symbols need to be learned. - IPA symbols are recognized by their enclosure in brackets. - For example: - The sound *b* in the word *boy* is represented by the symbol [*b*]. - The sound *ee* in the word *bee* is represented by the symbol [*i*]. - The sound *t* in the word *tea* is represented by the symbol [*t*]. - Therefore, the word *beet* would be represented as [*bit*]. - The IPA promotes easy and accurate communication about speech sounds. - The IPA is a universal alphabet, representing all languages. - The IPA is helpful to singers, as they can use it to learn to sing in other languages. ## The Value of the IPA: - The IPA is valuable for singers for several reasons: - Foreign Language Diction Books and Dictionaries: It is used to communicate pronunciations. - Foreign Language Diction Texts: It is used in music departments of universities. - Phonetic Readings of Songs and Arias: Resources, such as *Phonetic Readings of Songs and Arias* by Coffin, Errolle, Singer and DeLattre, include transcriptions of songs. - Contemporary Foreign Language Dictionaries: Dictionaries such as The Bantam New College French and English Dictionary include IPA transcriptions. - A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English: It provides a more definitive explanation of English pronunciation than Webster's Dictionary. - Vocal Pedagogy Texts and Vocal Research Studies: They use IPA symbols. ## IPA Offers a Positive Influence on the Development of the Singing Tone - The old masters of voice teaching believed that breathing and articulating well led to good singing. - Accurate vowel production, breathing management and distinct articulation enhance tone quality. - Anchoring the sounds to specific phonetic symbols strengthens the memory of the sound and its physical production, leading to greater vocal security. - The use of IPA promotes more precise communication about speech sounds and pronunciations, thus aiding teacher-student communication. - The IPA can be used to help students understand the difference between similar-sounding words, like *pin* and *pen*. ## Intended Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet for Singers - This workbook is a training manual for singers to learn the basics of IPA. - Each chapter is dedicated to individual language sounds and how they are produced. - Exercises are included to help students learn to read and write IPA transcriptions. - A special section is included on IPA symbols for Italian, French and German. - A word of caution: Pronunciation varies by region. - Find a knowledgeable person in IPA to help clarify the sounds of the symbols. ## Conclusion: - Knowledge of IPA helps singers use foreign language texts, diction books, pedagogy texts and research studies. - Its use leads to a positive influence on the development of the singing tone. - Communication between teacher and student is enhanced. - The few symbols of the IPA are easy to learn. # Chapter 2: Helpful Hints for Using the IPA - **Brackets:** IPA symbols are enclosed in brackets. - **Letters and Symbols:** Orthographic letters refer to letters of the alphabet. IPA symbols refer to the phonetic symbols of the alphabet. - **Names of Symbols:** An IPA symbol is normally called by its sound. - **Transcribing:** Writing a word in IPA symbols is called spelling or transcribing the word. ## Tips for Transcribing - **Silent Letters:** Do not transcribe silent letters. - **Double Letters:** Transcribe only the single sound. - **Capital Letters:** IPA symbols remain the same whether or not the word is capitalized. - **Punctuation:** Do not use apostrophes in IPA. - **Penmanship:** Take care when writing IPA symbols, as several symbols look similar. ## Accent Marks for Syllabic Stress - Stressing individual syllables is important in English. - It's achieved by changing the loudness, duration, pitch and vowel choice of the syllable. - Stress must be carefuly observed in order for language to be easily understood. - In IPA, marks are used to indicate the primary stress. - The primary stress mark is placed above and in front of the stressed syllable. - Some two-syllable words have equal primary stress. - Secondary stress is indicated by a mark below the line. - Unstressed syllables do not require an accent mark. - Unstress is indicated by the weakening of the vowel sound. - One syllable words do not require accent marks. ## Using a Trick to Learn Stress Patterns - Create a nonsense word that captures the accented rhythm of the word. - For example, the nonsense word *da-DUM* could represent the word *about*. ## Phonemes and Allophones - A **phoneme** is a single language sound that is represented by a single symbol. - It is the smallest unit of sound in IPA. - For example, the phoneme [*t*] represents the sound of *t* in the word *team*. - An **allophone** is a slight variation in the pronunciation of a phoneme. - Allophones are still recognizable as the original phoneme. - For example, the *t* sound in *team* is pronounced slightly different than the *t* sound in *wart*. ## Phonetic Transcriptions - When reading IPA transcriptions, authors may not always agree on the spelling. - Each author will use the IPA to match the pronunciation of the general dialect or a specific dialect. - This author uses IPA to help singers. - For example, *ur* sounds are transcribed as [*ar*] and [*ər*]. - Another issue for singers is syllabic consonants - when a consonant is pronounced as a vowel like in the words *little*, *bottle*, or *able*. - The syllabic [*l*] cannot produce a substantial sound on long sustained notes, so it should be transcribed as [*əl*]. - Singers should pronounce the word *little* as [*li təl*]. ## Conclusion for Chapter 2 - The most important aspect of the IPA is that it breaks down difficult speech sounds into individual units and assigns a symbol to each. - Singers can use IPA to help them accurately sing. - Speak IPA sounds aloud to become intimately aware of your articulation. # Chapter 8: Consonants ## Introduction to Consonants - A consonant is a speech sound that is formed when articulators block air flow in your mouth. - Consonants are classified by the place of articulation, manner of articulation, and voicing. ## Classification of Consonants - **Place of Articulation:** The point of contact in the vocal tract where air flow is blocked. - **Manner of Articulation:** How the air flow is stopped, such as a full stop or partial interruption. - **Voicing:** Whether or not the vocal cords are vibrating. ### Places of Articulation - Lips - Upper Teeth and Lower Lips - Tongue and Upper Teeth - Teeth Ridge - Hard Palate - Soft Palate - Glottis ### Maneners of Articulation - Stop Plosive - Fricative - Nasal - Lateral - Glide - Combination Consonant ## Common Problems in Articulation - **Muffledness:** Lazy, weak articulation. - **Over-Articulation:** Exaggerated, unclear articulation. - **Mis-Articulation:** Distortion of a specific consonant. - **Substitution:** Replacing one consonant with another. - **Addition:** Adding a consonant to a word. - **Omission:** Leaving a consonant out of a word. ## Exercises for Consonants - The exercises are designed to identify the IPA sound for each consonant. - They are presented in groups, according to the manner of articulation. - Chapter 9 discusses stop-plosive consonants.