Welcome to Mountain View Music Academy
Mrs. Marcia Kuhlman, Artistic & Musical Director
Applied Musical Instruction for Voice, Piano, & Bassoon
Vocal Diction &
Literature Resources
Vocal practice recordings, accompaniment tracks, pronunciation guides (ipa & phonetic) pronunciation tracks, & more can be found here. These resources are designed to inspire your own practice and learning by providing a solid vocal model. Links to English & Latin, Italian Arias, German Lieder, French Chansons, Musical Theater, and Ensemble Literature can be found here. Password required.
Introduction to the International Phoentic Alphabet (IPA)
The IPA is a set of symbols that aid learners in the pronunciation of almost all languages. My goal for working with vocal students is help them seek a beautiful, mature tone - safely and with a goal of excellent, un-pushed resonance. Most young singers produce tone phonetically, which inhibits unification and vowel efficiency.
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What Is IPA? ~ a brief description of at IPA is and how it helps singers & linguists around the world
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The Three Bears ~ This exercise is a silly introduction to English, Italian, French, & German in which the story of the three bears is told in English with a thick emphasis on the accent of each language's speakers. It will aid you in getting an idea of the cadence and tendencies of each language. It is both fun and informative! Check it out!!
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Vowel Chart for the International Phonetic Alphabet ~ page 1 & page 2
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Vowel Modification Charts
Helpful IPA Websites:
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What is the IPA? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet
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Vowels & Speech Breakdown: http://www.yorku.ca/earmstro/ipa/
This is a BBC video which emphasizes the importance of learning/understanding
minimal concepts in multiple languages. It makes me laugh EVERY time :) Enjoy!