May 16, 2025

Episode 248: What is a Vowel Made Of?

43 minutes

Is there value to teaching the “science of singing” to young kids? I say yes. The goal is not to over-intellectualize the voice. It is to demystify it for young singers.

Part of the Vocal Pedagogy Series

Have you ever asked kids “what is a vowel made of?” Try it! See what answers they give you.

There are ways to help young singers understand this concept. The key is small doses, and practical application.

Summary: What is a vowel “made of”?

Perceptually: The brain interpreting those frequencies as a vowel.

Physically: A voiced sound shaped by the vocal tract.

Acoustically: A specific set of resonant frequencies (formants).

Young singers can often take any timbral criticism or correction personally. Can we train them to think of their voice as an instrument like a clarinet?

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1. Sundberg, Johan – The Science of the Singing Voice

This is the foundational text in vocal acoustics.

Sundberg introduces and explains the concept of the singer’s formant, formant tuning, and how the vocal tract shapes vowel identity and resonance.

He also explains how overtones align or conflict depending on vowel shape and pitch.

2. McCoy, Scott – Your Voice: An Inside View

A pedagogically friendly yet scholarly resource used in many university voice programs.

Covers formants, harmonics, resonance tuning, vowel modification, and implications for choral singing.

Includes spectrogram analysis examples of vowel shaping and overtone reinforcement.

3. Miller, Donald – Registers, Resonance, and Formants

A deeper dive into acoustic theory applied to singing, especially useful for understanding how register transitions and vowel modification interact with overtone alignment.

4. Bozeman, Kenneth – Practical Vocal Acoustics and Kinesthetic Voice Pedagogy

Applies acoustic theory directly to classical and choral singing.

Bozeman details how vowel shapes affect resonance, tuning, and vocal efficiency.

Introduces the concept of “acoustic goals” rather than fixed vowel targets.

5. Titze, Ingo – various works, including Principles of Voice Production

One of the most respected voices in vocal science and voice therapy.

Discusses the source-filter theory of speech and singing in detail.

His research supports how formant-harmonic interaction affects perceived pitch, vowel clarity, and vocal efficiency.

6. Benade, Arthur – Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics

While broader than voice, Benade’s text covers harmonic structures, resonance, and tuning systems in a way that supports overtone theory in ensemble singing.

7. Howard, David M., and Angus, Jamie S. – Acoustics and Psychoacoustics

Used in both music tech and voice programs.

Covers how humans perceive pitch, timbre, and vowel identity through formant structures and overtone relationships.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles (Examples)

Titze, I. R. (2008). “Voice research: Where do we stand?” Journal of Singing.

Sundberg, J. (1987). “The acoustics of the singing voice.” Scientific American.

Ternström, S. (1993). “Perceptual evaluation of voice source characteristics of professional and amateur singers.” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

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By Christopher M Munce

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