The Effect of Phonetic Vowel Spelling Variances on Singers' Performed Vowel

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which various phonetic spellings of a single vowel can influence singers' performed vowel, and to explore whether the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) may provide an alternative to phonetic spelling in sheet music. I prepared two short, sight-singable melodies of similar range and difficulty; one had vowels written as IPA symbols under the staff, including the /u/ vowel, while the other had the vowels written out phonetically, including two occurrences of the /u/ vowel, spelled in two different ways ("oo" and "ooh"). Each participant (N=41) performed both conditions in a randomized order. I recorded their performances and used the linguistics software Praat to analyze the frequencies of the first and second formants (F1 and F2) for each condition. I found no significant differences in formant frequencies between the conditions. In their exit survey responses, many participants indicated that they recognized a difference in the pronunciation of "oo" and "ooh." Participants also indicated a slight, though not significant, preference for phonetic spelling over IPA. These results suggest that while some singers believe that "oo" and "ooh" should be sung differently, this belief is not reflected in their performance. Results also suggest that IPA is no better at eliciting a specific pronunciation than either phonetic spelling, and is not recommended as a replacement to phonetic spelling in sheet music. I discuss the implications of these findings for choral teachers and composers, and suggest avenues for further research.