How does vowel modification affect diction?
Ideally, vowel modification should enhance comprehension for the listener. The tricky part is, in voice diction studies, you will first be asked to speak sounds and words correctly, and then you’ll often be asked to modify them for singing–both to accomodate higher pitches and to achieve a pleasing tone throughout your range. Three voice pedagogues in particular have addressed this matter most eloquently. The first is John Moriarty, who wrote that “… detailed instructions about position of tongue, lips, jaw, etc., are for the purpose of leading the singer to a discovery of the authentic vowel sounds. After they have been securely established, the singer will perhaps wish [to put less emphasis on the purely physical aspects of these vowel formations, and will wish] to adapt the formations to his method of vocal production. If the production is at all honest, it should be possible to effect this adaptation without sacrificing the identity of the vowels” (John Moriarty, Diction, p. 23)
