How to Sing With Diction

Diction refers to how clearly a word sounds when a person is singing. Without proper diction, the audience cannot understand the text of the music and, ultimately, they misunderstand the song's message.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Practice producing clear consonant sounds. Consonants allow the listener to interpret a word correctly. If you do not sing each word crisply, your audience will hear only vowel sounds, causing the lyrics to sound muddled.

2. Work with your vocal coach to improve your diction. She can offer you several exercises utilizing consonant sounds. She can also teach you how to place your teeth and tongue properly for each sound so that the audience will better understand you. For example, when making the "V" sound, rest your two top teeth lightly on your bottom lip.

3. Study mistakes that singers commonly make. Many singers mispronounce their words when singing, dragging out vowels and emphasizing the wrong sounds. This is most true of diphthongs, in which the vowel sounds change throughout the word. For example, emphasize the "ah" instead of the "ee" sound of the word "I."

4. Sing like the British do. Sing through the "r" sounds so that it sounds soft. For example, sing the word "near" like "neah."

Tips & Warnings

• It's important that when you are practicing any vocal exercise, you do only what is comfortable to you. Unnecessary or prolonged strain to your vocal cords can cause permanent damage. Train to sing the way you would train to run a marathon--slowly.