Diction and Textual Artistry:

Successful Communication When Singing in English

by Donald Neuen

The reason the arts exist is to conductor are to: and chorus will know the song and
express feelings. They begin with its text very well. They may not be
the creator of an artistic endeavor 1) Select music that has expressive aware, therefore, of the necessity
and proceed to the performer, lis- potential. for emphasis on understandable
tener, or observer. The arts include English diction. The challenge for
sound, design, movement, form, 2) Perform in a manner that success- each of us is to enable listeners to
writing, film, and pictures. As vocal fully transcends that potential understand every word—upon first
performers, we refer specifically to through the minds and voices hearing. The following outline of
vocal or choral composition, vocal of the singers to the minds of English diction techniques, if con-
pedagogy, choral conducting, and the listeners. sistently and thoroughly practiced,
singing. The reason for the exis- will guarantee the listener success
tence of singing, therefore, is to ex- In my many years of studying in understanding the words of an
pressively communicate the feelings with, performing with, and working English text.
of a composer in a manner that for Robert Shaw, his most import-
stimulates an emotional response ant admonition to me was: “90%
from the listener. This is the antith- will never be good enough.” I en- Seven Important Rules
esis of only performing accurate courage each of us to heed his ad- for Clearly Articulated
pitches and rhythms. vice and apply it to textual artistry: English Diction
This entire process is based on understandable English diction and singing (listed according to
the singer’s ability to freely and suc- with direct personal communication. Both their importance):
cessfully express innermost feelings. are crucial to the success of a choral
These can be serious or light-heart- performance and are especially true 1) Employ a very slight glot-
ed. They may be based on religion, with compositions that tell a story tal attack on most words that
patriotism, love, peace, joy, nature, or have a very significant meaning. begin with a vowel. This is sin-
justice, inalienable rights, humor, or Singing should be a direct, person- gularly the most important tech-
anything else within the wide range al, and expressive reflection of text. nique in articulation when singing
of human emotions. In most instances, the voice in English (and German). We do
The responsibilities of the choral teacher, soloist, choral conductor, not speak with this clarity. To ac-

CHORAL JOURNAL May 2020 Volume 60 Number 10 77

 Rehearsal Break

complish it when singing, therefore, sulted in his assurance that doing 2) Make use of the percussive
takes patient, relentless, and repet- as is recommended here will not be effect of final consonants. They
itive teaching, as well as total com- harmful to the voice—even if done are seldom heard. The echo of the
mitment. over a lifetime of singing. preceding vowel and/or the ac-
“Come all,” not “cuh-mall”; This method can be practiced by companiment usually covers them
“God of our,” not “Gaw-duh- singing the sustained vowels “ah, up. Both are often louder than a fi-
vour”; “I always am,” not “I yal- ay, ee, oh, oo,” repeated several nal consonant. To help the clarity
weh-zam”; “It is,” not “Ih-tis;” times, with only a very slight glot- of the final consonant, add a slight
“way over,” not “Weh- yover”; tal attack on each new beginning vowel sound: “Said” = “Sai-duh,”
“Many of us are,” not “many-yuh- vowel. Breaks in the continued tone “Lord”= “Lor-duh,” “Love” =
vuh-zare.” and accented glottal attacks should “Lo-vuh,” “Meek” = “Mee-kuh,”
Admittedly, this may be imprac- not take place. Musical line is not “Will” = “Wi-lluh.” In softer (and
tical in very fast tempi, and to ex- interrupted. This technique is the a cappella) music, “ih” may suffice,
aggerate the glottal attack can be first (major) step when singing in rather than the more vocal “uh.”
harmful to the voice. Consultation English, with the message clearly The minimal “dh,” “vh,” “kh,” and
with an otolaryngologist, who was understood. “lh” are seldom sufficient and usu-
also a baritone oratorio soloist, re- ally inaudible.
Caution: This will seem over-do-
ne and unnatural to the singers.
Teach them to understand why
they are doing it (see previous

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be understood. Do not exaggerate
this technique in an attempt to do

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78 CHORAL JOURNAL May 2020 Volume 60 Number 10

3) Th and V: Involve the tongue for victory,” etc., by tucking the lower nounced quickly), but certainly not
“th,” and the lower lip and upper lip under the upper teeth, and pull pronounced as “are,” which often
teeth for “v.” For “th,” slightly stick the lip out for the voiced “v”. As happens.
the tongue out, then draw it back with the voiced “th,” the “v” should
touching the upper teeth. Do this have audible tone. 6) In classical music, double
for actual tone with a voiced “th” as consonants such as T’s or D’s,
in “the, they, these, thy, that,” etc., 4) W vs. Wh: For words that be- should both be slightly artic-
and for extra breath for voiceless gin with W, start with a slight, quick ulated: “Night to,” “God did.”
“th” as in “think, thought, through- “oo,” as in “oowe, oowill, oowin.” In pop, country, and other music,
out, throw.” “Wh” begins with extra breath: in which we emphasize a natural
“Is thy” is often heard as “izz- “what, where, why, when,” etc. speaking style (as opposed to a bel
eye,” instead of either “is thy,” Singers tend to sing both “w” and canto singing style), we would em-
or even better, “ih-z’thy.” “Deep “wh” as though they were all ane- ploy the stop-consonant, which is a
thought” is often “Dee-ought,” in- mic “w’s.” very brief staccato/stop on the first
stead of “Deep thought,” or better, word: “night” immediately followed
”Dee-p’thought.” 5) The word “our” is a trip- by “to” = “nigh-to,” as though it
Clarify “v” as in “live, dive, voice, thong: “ah-oo-wur” (although pro- were one word.

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CHORAL JOURNAL May 2020 Volume 60 Number 10 79

 Rehearsal Break

7) Take advantage of the sec- Granted, it is logical to assume that expected to be—totally perfect.
ond sound of diphthongs (for in lighter music such as ballads, However, with great teaching, in-
greater over-all vocal and word country, folk, show, and pop styles, spiration, and 100% commitment,
color/sound): “Thy” = “thah- lesser attention to some of the pre- most singers can attain perfection
ee”; “they” = “they-ee”; “Thou” vious suggested techniques may be most of the time—which will result
= “thah-oo”; “though” = “tho- appropriate. It is up to the conduc- in the ensemble consistently achiev-
oo”; “Joy” = “jaw-ee.” The second tor to make those decisions. One ing collective perfection.
sound should not be approached thing, however, is absolute: the text The “trilogy” of successful cho-
earlier, nor last longer than a “t.” must be clearly understood by the ral teaching/conducting:
Consider the second sound indicat- listener upon first hearing, and it
ed above as unique and vital, which must mean something. • Know what perfection is.
may be more effective than a pas- We might call this effort to
sive, neutral “uh” or “ih.” achieve understandable English a • Know how to teach it.
“commitment to perfection.” This,
Although the first four rules are by the way, is the exact definition of • Know how to inspire singers to
the most important, all seven will Robert Shaw’s overall contribution want and commit to it.
successfully clarify the message to choral music in America. Per-
in our music. They will clean up fection is greater than excellence. Then, with patience, compas-
nearly all English diction problems. Granted, no one can be—nor is sion, respect, and love…demand it!

80 CHORAL JOURNAL May 2020 Volume 60 Number 10

 Syllable and Word Inflection expressive singing. Without it, text flection takes time. Consider two
becomes meaningless and monoto- thoughts:
Syllable inflection: For words nous.
with more than one syllable, em- Like other techniques that bring 1) We should never be in a hurry for
phasize those normally empha- professionalism to our singing, con- anything in the arts. Take time
sized when speaking articulately, sistent employment of syllable in- to do things right.
and de-emphasize those normally
de-emphasized.
Somehow, when singing, sing-
ers are so concerned with correct
pitches and rhythms that all sylla-
bles result in a manual production
with exactly the same emphasis.
Nobody speaks in that monoto-
nous way, but choirs often sing in
that manner unless specifically
taught to do otherwise.
Many soloists also lack consis-
tent syllable inflection. Unless the
tempo is too fast to effectively do it,
logical syllable inflection should be
a way of life for all singers, greatly
beautifying the natural sound of text.
For example: the word “anticipa-
tion” would have a slight crescen-
do during “antici,” plus forward
motion added to the syllable “ci,”
followed by an appropriate empha-
sis on “pa,” and a gentle-softness
on “tion.” Similar attention should
be given to most words with more
than one syllable.
There are, of course, excep-
tions. These are instances in which
the composer or arranger has indi-
cated a constant forte or continuous
marcato markings. This may make
syllable inflection impractical.
Very fast tempi or the placement
of important syllables or words on
off-beat positions may also make
syllable inflection difficult or im-
possible. Normally, however, this
concept of syllable inflection is
absolutely crucial to the success of

CHORAL JOURNAL May 2020 Volume 60 Number 10 81

 Rehearsal Break

2) If need be, do fewer songs, and “From all falseness, set me free.” ness,” de-emphasizing “ness” to
do them well. the level of “From” and “me.”
One way in which this phrase
Word inflection is a similar em- might be interpreted: In the above example, there are
phasis/de-emphasis concept con- three levels of dynamic intensity with-
cerning continuous words within a 1) Primary emphasis on the words in only one indicated dynamic level.
phrase. Some words are logically “falseness” and “free” (under- Additional (different) interpretations
more significant than others. Some lined). might be based on melodic rise and
may actually be insignificant—ex- fall, harmonic intensity, rhythm,
cept as they serve as the vehicle to 2) Next, slightly less emphasized, are and/or dramatic impact. It is at the
move (with forward motion) toward the words “all” and “set” (itali- discretion of the conductor to deter-
a word with special meaning. Such cized). mine which best fits the music and
insignificant words might be “and, the composer’s intent. How it is done
the, be, of, to, on, from, for, am, at, 3) The least emphasized words are is not as important as simply doing it!
in, a,” etc. “From” and “me” (regular font). Do something. Beautifying the sound
The following is an example of of words is a crucial part of inter-
syllable and word inflection analysis 4) In addition, syllable inflection is preting and teaching choral music.
within a phrase. necessary for the word “false- It is important to remember that

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82 CHORAL JOURNAL May 2020

1329792_Whitacre_ChoralJrnlAD.indd 1 Volume 3/3/20
60 Number 10
12:23 PM
composers rarely—if ever—draw at- (< - >) should flow naturally and un- ductors to identify these words and
tention to inflection with their mark- obtrusively. see that they are performed with the
ings. The same may often hold true Reminder: Syllable stress and full dramatic intent of their mean-
with other interpretive markings. word inflection should flow natu- ing—exactly the same as a great ac-
Igor Stravinsky said, after hearing rally, never being over-done, which tor would speak the word.
the Robert Shaw Chorale recording will draw attention to the technique That special meaning must come
of his Symphony of Psalms, “I didn’t itself. from the depth of the actor’s or sing-
know my piece was that beautiful.” er’s heart. It is that important aspect
Composers seldom know the po- of passion—the ability to freely and
tential beauty and message-impact Word-Meaning Emphasis convincingly express innermost feel-
of their composition. It is their job to Many words have a very definite ings—with which great artists con-
simply create a musical work that has meaning and are important to both sistently rehearse and perform. We
never been previously heard. That’s the singer and listener regarding the are all capable of varying degrees of
it. It is the conductor’s responsibility full communication of the song’s passion, and with coaching/teach-
to take the work, study it thoroughly, message. It is up to soloists and con- ing by the choral conductor or voice
and determine what can be done to
fully realize its potential while pre-
serving it as the composer’s, avoiding
making it “the conductor’s composi-
tion.”
Figures 1 and 2 are examples of
syllable and word inflection and are
taken from Handel’s Messiah, Nos. 9
and 23. Some measures, involving
rests or repetition, have been omit-
ted or condensed to focus only on
points of inflection. The markings

CHORAL JOURNAL May 2020 Volume 60 Number 10 83

 Rehearsal Break

teacher, greater degrees of passion expression and specific meaning. Search every phrase microscop-
can be developed. Passion is crucial The following are just a few. First, ically (meaning the thorough study
to artistic success—at all levels and speak the words as a dramatic actor, of one word, one beat, one measure,
areas of the arts. Singers of any age then sing them in a similarly expres- and one phrase before moving on to
are capable of experiencing joy, sor- sive manner as a great soloist. the next), finding every opportunity
row, love, and anger. These, and oth- “Love,” ”Sing,” “Joy,” “Sincere- to employ syllable and word inflec-
er emotions, can be transferred to ly,” “Anger,” “Fight,” “Destroy,” tion, word-meaning emphasis nad
musical passion through the exam- “Burn,” “Live,” “Passion,” “Great,” our seven rules of English diction.
ple and teaching of a creative and “Peace,” “Tenderly,” “Caress,” Mark your score accordingly, and
inspiring conductor. “God,” “Shine,” “Light,” “Happi- ask the singers to similarly mark their
The conductor, in her/his teach- ness,” “Beautiful.” music. Then, teach it—relentlessly!
ing, example, conducting gestures, Doing this will enable a conductor Let us establish a new "cho-
and facial expressions is the source to have personally experienced the ral golden rule." If we interpret a
of everything—every expression process of word-meaning interpre- composition musically, carefully
and all passion. The conductor must tation, enabling her or him to effec- observing the inflection of syllables
freely demonstrate, teach, and mo- tively teach it. The meaning must be and words, and solidly establishing
tivate this passion. Simple accuracy felt by the conductor, taught to the word-meaning emphasis, our “gold-
of the-right-note-at-the-right-time, singers, and intentionally communi- en rule” will quite naturally evolve:
without expression, is lifeless. It is cated to the listeners. This is particu- There will seldom, if ever, be two
passion that brings the math of mu- larly true if the message of the song consecutive notes, words, or sylla-
sic into expressive, musical, art. (as has been previously mentioned) is bles performed with equal emphasis.
Language is filled with words of potentially impactful or tells a story. Each will have a special function: 1)

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84 CHORAL JOURNAL May 2020 Volume 60 Number 10

those that actively lead to the most A chorus will never surpass the ability volvement.
important note, word, or syllable; or and knowledge of its conductor. The con- For most people, there are no lim-
2) the one that is the most important; ductor, therefore, must seek knowl- itations regarding beautiful singing
or 3) those leading away from it with edge until the day he or she ceases to except those they place on them-
less emphasis. conduct, and develop an inspiration- selves. Encourage and inspire sing-
al manner of continually leading the ers to always grow, expand, and be
chorus to further heights of great- better this week than last, in every
In Closing ness and beauty. area of singing. Teach beautiful sing-
Great singing is an inspiration to Beautiful singing, combined with ing! Be free to be great! Prioritize
all concerned: composers, musicol- the artistry of motivating text, may perfection!
ogists, voice teachers, conductors, be the ultimate experience within
singers, fellow musicians, and listen- the arts. The voice is the only in- Don Neuen is a distinguished pro-
ers. It can be achieved by any chorus strument that speaks directly (through fessor of music emeritus of UCLA.
that is willing to be taught and ready music and text) to the listener’s Previously, he was director of choral
to work hard through the relentless mind. The human voice is the only activities for The Eastman School of
efforts of a knowledgeable and in- natural instrument in music. It is the Music. [email protected]
spiring conductor. only instrument of total human in-

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CHORAL JOURNAL May 2020 Volume 60 Number 10 85