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Music & Worship
Singing Lesson 3
In this lesson we will continue to build on the principle of connecting the tone. It is one of the most important aspects of singing—and it is probably the most neglected "singing technique" by those who sing in the congregation. Mastering this technique will make an enormous difference in your singing!
Using the hymn, "Holy, Holy, Holy" as your training hymn, do the following:
Read over the text and distinguish between vowels and consonants--and diphthongs as well. A diphthong consists of two vowel sounds in only one vowel. For example, consider the words "I" or "might". In each of these words you have one vowel "i", yet there are two vowel sounds "i" and "e". In our hymn, a good example is the word "mighty". Sounding out the word "mighty" looks like this: "maaah-ee-teee". The two vowel sounds are again "i" and "e".
Now SPEAK, through the first stanza very slowly elongating and
emphasizing each vowel. By the way, for our purposes, treat ‘y’ as a vowel. Although it looks a bit strange, I have shown you below how to speak each word in an elongated fashion. It’s important to speak very slowly! Don’t worry about sounding strange. This is a good beginning exercise. As in the last lesson, do
not allow any breaks between the tone—and think continuous sound! (except for breathing, of course.) (Listen)
Hoooh-leee, Hoooh-leee, Hoooh-leeee, Looohrd Gaaaahd aaah-l-maaah-ee-teee, Uuuuhr-leee (think uh) iiiihn thaah mooor-neeeeng Aaaarh saaaahng shaaaal raaaaheeze tooo theeeee; Hooo-leee, Hooo-leee, Hooo-leee, Muuuuhr-seee-fuuuuhl aaand maaaah-teee Gaaaahd iiiihn threeee puuuhrsaaahns, (rhymes with purse) Bleeeeh-seeehd treeeen-iiih-teeee.
Holy, Holy, Holy,
Lord God Almighty, (remember: mighty is a dipthong)
Early in the
morning
Our song shall rise to
thee.
(Diphthong illustration: rise=raaaaeeze)
Holy, Holy, Holy,
Merciful and mighty,
God in three
persons,
Blessed Trinity.
- Again, this all might sound a bit strange, but stick with me. Your singing will improve. Be patient and be consistent.
- Speak through the hymn many times until you feel fairly confident speaking AND elongating each vowel.
- Now try singing, slowly, the whole hymn (unaccompanied) insuring that the same principle of elongation and "smoothness of tone" is a part of your singing. (Listen)
After you feel fairly confident with the first stanza, go to the recording and try it at a faster speed (tempo) (Holy, Holy, Holy). After you have done this several times, then work on the other 3 stanzas in the same way. This will take time—that much is obvious. But the results will be worth it! And always keep in mind the principles from session 1. By the way, if you have a question on this or any of the previous lessons, drop me an e-mail, paul at songandhymns.org. Happy Singing!
Paul Lusher