Podcast Episode 87: O del mio dolce ardor

Summary

In this engaging podcast episode, the hosts delve into the intricate world of Italian opera diction, focusing specifically on vowel pronunciation and consonant usage. They provide insights into how Italian closed vowels differ from their German counterparts and offer tips on maintaining a bright vowel sound, which is crucial for a smooth legato. The episode also addresses common challenges faced by non-native speakers, such as the pronunciation of diphthongs and the potential pitfalls of overly dark vowels. Listeners are guided through an informative discussion on the nuances of Italian phonetics, aimed at helping singers refine their diction and achieve better musical expression.

Highlights

• This episode dives into the complexities of Italian vowels and their unique characteristics. 🎤
• Listeners get practical tips on how to avoid common pronunciation errors. 🎧
• The hosts discuss the importance of relaxed lips in achieving Italian diction. 📌
• Singer-specific challenges like diphthongs are thoroughly explained. 🎵
• A charming discussion about how Italian vowels differ from other languages like German and English. 😄

Key Takeaways

• Keep lips relaxed and vowels bright for effective Italian singing. 🎵
• Understanding diphthongs is key to mastering Italian opera lyrics. 🎶
• Closed vowels in Italian aren’t as severe as in German. 👌
• Avoid overly dark vowels to maintain clarity in singing. 🌟
• Gliding through certain vowel sounds rather than elongating them helps maintain word integrity. 💡

Overview

In this episode, we explore the fascinating nuances of Italian opera diction, guided by expert insights on vowel pronunciation. The hosts emphasize the importance of keeping vowels bright, avoiding overly dark tones, and maintaining relaxed lip positioning to ensure a seamless vocal performance.

Listeners are taken on a journey through the world of diphthongs and vowel usage, where specific focus is given to the differences between Italian and German closed vowels. The hosts impart practical advice on mastering these elements, which is invaluable for singers striving for excellence in opera.

With a delightful mix of humor and expertise, the hosts tackle common challenges faced by non-native speakers, such as the correct execution of phonetic nuances and avoiding mistakes in diphthongs and the elusive 'ah' sounds. This episode is packed with engaging and informative content perfect for anyone passionate about singing and phonetics.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Holiday Wishes In the 'Introduction and Holiday Wishes' chapter, the host extends holiday greetings to all listeners, recognizing the busy season for musicians and wishing them rest, health, and patience. The host informs the audience about a break until January 28th, when new episodes will resume.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Episode Overview In Episode Overview, the focus is on a daily 'Medora Chad' or one of the 24 Italian hits, specifically concentrating on vowels and the difference between single and double consonants. Two versions of this episode are available: a full video tutorial and an audio version for easy listening on the go. For further details about today's contributors, Simona DPhil EHA, or to access the accompanying PDF containing IPA transcription and translations, viewers are directed to visit the relevant website.
• 01:00 - 03:00: Discussion on Italian Vowels This chapter delves into a discussion about Italian vowels, inviting readers to explore their unique sounds and articulations. It likely covers how these vowels are used in the Italian language, contributing to its melodic and rhythmic qualities.
• 03:00 - 06:00: Phrasal Diphthongs in Italian Singing This chapter discusses the reformation in Italian operas by composers such as Gluck and de Casa. These reformed operas marked a departure from the traditional opera seria, which was characterized by virtuosity and complex storylines. Instead, the reformed operas embraced a simpler musical and narrative structure. The chapter includes references to specific opera arias that exemplify this transition, such as "Oh del mio dolce ardor" and "Ombra mai fu."
• 06:00 - 07:00: Handling Double Consonants The chapter delves into the nuances of handling double consonants in language processing. Through the transcript, the discussion includes a variety of words and names such as 'quail', 'guardo', 'yuujiro', 'Leviathan', 'Beyonce', and more. These examples suggest a focus on how double consonants affect pronunciation or meaning. Notably, there's a reference to the importance of understanding specific phonetic contexts, as it mentions engineers and familial aspirations, suggesting these words are used to illustrate broader linguistic concepts or teaching points. The chapter might aim to unlock these linguistic intricacies to aid both learning and practical application.
• 07:00 - 12:00: Pronunciation Guide for Non-Native Speakers The chapter focuses on a pronunciation guide intended for non-native speakers. It particularly discusses the pronunciation of vowel sounds, emphasizing the position of the mouth. It advises on keeping the 'A's and the letter 'E' at the beginning of words mostly 'closed'. This suggests maintaining a narrower mouth position when pronouncing these sounds. The chapter also uses examples such as 'CI septum', 'C yes', highlighting the importance of practicing these sounds. The overall goal is to ensure that non-native speakers can accurately replicate the pronunciation of closed vowels.
• 12:00 - 16:00: Importance of Open and Closed Vowels in Singing In this chapter, the focus is on understanding the importance of open and closed vowels in singing, particularly in Italian and German. It highlights that closed vowels are perceived differently in these languages. The course advises against exaggerating these vowels when singing, emphasizing the need to adhere to specific rules that distinguish between how these vowels are rendered. Examples from Italian, such as certain Italian phrases, are used to illustrate these differences. Overall, the chapter stresses the significance of correctly utilizing these vowel types to enhance singing quality.
• 16:00 - 23:00: Maintaining Vowel Brightness and Legato The chapter discusses the differences in vowel articulation between German and Italian languages. It highlights how German closed 'O's are more closed compared to Italian, and draws a parallel with the pronunciation of the closed 'E'. The chapter also points out that the German letter 'E' often sounds similar to the closed lowercased 'I' in Italian, exemplified by the words 'Leoben' in both languages. The goal is to maintain a balance and find a middle ground in pronunciation that can be understood as both American and German.
• 23:00 - 30:00: Tips for English Speakers on Italian Pronunciation This chapter provides tips for English speakers on how to improve their Italian pronunciation. It emphasizes the importance of listening and practicing to achieve a more authentic accent. The text includes examples of Italian phrases and suggests focusing on vowel sounds and the distinct rhythm of the language. The advice encourages finding a balance between careful pronunciation and natural speech.
• 30:00 - 33:00: Tricky Italian Consonants The chapter discusses the subtle techniques required to produce tricky Italian consonant sounds. It specifically highlights the need to maintain space in the mouth while slightly closing the lips to achieve the correct 'clue oh' sound. The emphasis is on keeping the lips relaxed but in a more closed position without contraction. Additionally, there's a mention of being careful with specific sounds, with an implied lesson or advice from an expert named Christine and a remark by Yugi.
• 33:00 - 35:00: Concluding Remarks and Credits The chapter 'Concluding Remarks and Credits' discusses the complexity of phrasal diphthongs, particularly highlighting the challenge of transitioning from 'guardo yo.' It suggests that this process is not straightforward, perhaps implying a need for practice or a certain level of expertise. The chapter also briefly mentions various topics without clear coherence, such as an individual or character being initially severe, someone saying 'yo vengo,' a notion of having no mercy, and a reference to an increase in income or prosperity. There are mentions of certain Spanish phrases or words, suggesting a multicultural or bilingual context. Overall, the chapter wraps up the content with a blend of linguistic complexity and multicultural elements, finalizing the discussion with credits or acknowledgments.

Podcast Episode 87: O del mio dolce ardor Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Music] hello and welcome to the diction police this will be our last episode before the holiday break so I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy holiday whatever it is you choose to celebrate for most musicians this is an extremely busy time of year so we wish you plenty of rest good health and patience for the craziest months of the musicians year we'll be back on January 28th with all new episodes to satisfy your diction addiction in this episode
• 00:30 - 01:00 we'll be covering a daily Medora Chad or one of the 24 Italian hits concentrating on vowels and single versus double consonants there are two versions of episode 87 the full video tutorial or the audio version for people who prefer to listen to it on the go for more information about today's contributors Simona DPhil EHA or for the accompanying PDF of this text which includes an IPA transcription along with the poetic and word-for-word translations please visit
• 01:00 - 01:30 www.facebook.com/subtitleyoutube and librettist Ranieri de casa BG who also worked together on both or feodorovich a
• 01:30 - 02:00 and i'll chest a these three operas by clock and de casa BG are called Luke's reformed operas whereby they shied away from the virtuosity and complex stories of opera seria of the time and worked towards a more simple approach to the music and storyline Oh del mio dole chard or bra motto jet Oh Laura K - respira al fin race pero UN
• 02:00 - 02:30 quail guardo yuujiro Leviathan Beyonce amore make deep engines in me open sea our chief engineer famiglia Esperanza en el deseo que cosa en el pecho chair cote qiyamat a sparrow s Espino one of the first things that I noticed in looking at this and listening to people sing this song is that this o and
• 02:30 - 03:00 the A's the letter e at the beginning are mostly closed door so no to take you say CI septum int C yes so we really want to keep that all in a very narrow position right see is that the C so no oh you don't share door C so no to take using chapter menu manager RA so practice i canta at all so no did I go I could take you as I seen yes that's right they're all closed vowels of
• 03:00 - 03:30 course it's better not to exaggerate it above all when you're singing but according to the rules these are all closed because a closed vowel in Italian is not the same as a closed vowel in German right is that the main thing in today's course wanna lock uses wanna puke use arcane in italiano see ya uncle is called so mean yeah quasi una italiana about the label an even swollen
• 03:30 - 04:00 exactly in German closed O's are much more closed than in Italian and the same thing goes for the closed e sometimes the German letter e sounds almost like the closed lowercased I in Italian so the words Leoben and Leoben sound very similar in german so you tell Ian we want to keep a balance between it so that we want to find something between what I would say it is American what a German we want to say is
• 04:00 - 04:30 that time in to see dementia economy per sempre say guten abend sorry okay mein la boca she simply molto spots you commandeer a national opera kyudo non Pokeno Alaura ctenophores una buona all know there are acute or non non contracted West oh no there are a kombucha no but not Kuala Lumpur Oh Laura the intro about Cassandra policy on these parts you find a middle point in my opinion it's useful to think that
• 04:30 - 05:00 there is always a lot of space in the mouth while the lips clothes just a little more to make a good clue oh not that the lips contract they just closed a little more while still keeping space in the mouth basically relaxed but in a more closed position it's not I mean christine and to be very careful with thongs right Yugi yeah these
• 05:00 - 05:30 phrasal diphthongs these are not your standard phrasal diphthongs going from guardo yo is not the easiest thing ever right now question initially severe capita of all in corresponding second yo vengo no mercy tre boca income increase okay so oh oh the country to assume unique ánotá what
• 05:30 - 06:00 that if I steal your bottom Popo symbol officially Anansi poppin salad word o Y zero in intra guardo oh do I owe Shyama depends Arabic entirely EDA NT k wali eternally to una Pecola Feliciana Kayla echo initial carry on carry non-contact contraband difference at all E Oh Vince Neil Diamond es su la coruna
• 06:00 - 06:30 Pecola Feliciana de la voce do you zero zero understanding that in this situation with the word yo we end up with three vowels oh yeah all of which need to be sung on one note it can seem a little difficult but make sure to sing both of the O's identically and between them just a little bending to the e sound so don't try to sing them with too much difference between Oh e OE
• 06:30 - 07:00 but on the contrary try to stay on the O and bend it a little bit don't move it's a very elaborate minnow possibility do you Jiro yes you want to move the lips as little as possible here does that work the same way
• 07:00 - 07:30 in here it's a little easier because there are only two of L's e and AH here
• 07:30 - 08:00 it's important to sing them in a way that connects them very gently so that the air becomes the ah without trying to make a huge difference and without trying to precisely decide when the a becomes AA vowel ah that bright ah sound is really bright right it's because as Americans we have a tendency to think of our as being are simply being a pencil
• 08:00 - 08:30 in a vaunted old shared or seal esata ma respect to a less empty okay epinephrine Avanti whiskey okay boy button 28 row assuming it was you know the our vowel is always in a very frontal position very relaxed but to go back to the example of ah that you gave try not to think of it as being too big
• 08:30 - 09:00 because that has a tendency to fall back in the mouth and almost become an O exactly the American ah is much too dark and is closer almost to the O sound for the open O's I think what you see quasi-community American community no nah man you should carry a little pencil hope you Ecola assembly in Avanti no shared or exactly it's better to think of an AA as a little smaller and always in the front and the next word
• 09:00 - 09:30 rahmato rahmato and there we really hear that chin tada queer blame Oh Gromit Oh Akane no you ni Todoke a real tan no name de todo porque cuando se trata be vocal you ollie oh she amo pensara simplemente una una encuesta cazzo brahma to Jett oh boy
• 09:30 - 10:00 Yamuna dokkan gee Quinn de Cristo in questa cos of Yamuna uncle brave a perk a vision for the time bomb for this patch of play-doh PRG here with promit oh we have a diphthong that's not really a diphthong because we have two of the same vowel back to back so we can just think of one Oh in this case after that we have a double J sound so although we
• 10:00 - 10:30 have two O's in a row they'll only sound like one short because we really need to take that time for the double JJ to
• 10:30 - 11:00 object oh come a pincer I see do is change this is also a word that has two doubles the double J and the double for foreigners this can seem a little difficult so make sure that both of these double consonants get enough time to make them truly doubled and not just one of them although I think sometimes
• 11:00 - 11:30 it's harder to sing a double and then a single or a single and then a double and then it is to double everything like beeping J you know there we have these two consonants at the end that we have to shorten the e sound but we can't say deepen J and SAP to Christa Christa Baro christo.pas capitale a Bolton the dopey are a cozy pristine consonant Pritchett
• 11:30 - 12:00 Ella Chen to deepen j.chan to Salahi already pingjun what's a fairy on Aurora Iona cause I stink Ibaka suture day yeah Alex face so imaging Christa can see a comment your travel central a young dari differ Allah people Tierra Supra to toe and keen on consider are a chain toda la e de Ben she simply Sherman Tyrion Barbarossa mentor sulla and Suleiman
• 12:00 - 12:30 dipping dipping je su la ma carry immediate Ament Ella dopey a consonant is which is Siva communi do that chain turn on prema being J absolutely this can happen sometimes that we double a single consonant before the stressed syllable like you're saying with the beam J but it's incorrect it's an instinctive mistake that happens often so I recommend saying the P very gently
• 12:30 - 13:00 and then not thinking about having the accented syllable on the e sound but instead to think more about getting to the end that follows so not the ping J but DPN J and the same thing then with spit on say that this R is just as a flipped sound and not sped around that time in Madrid in Burkina air a seat reverted with vakani a queen
• 13:00 - 13:30 D commandeer a gonna punch a team of the moon to lechero dato kelana chain topo capital and cable quest okay Paris Tinto Salado Belarus / runs a question on Aurora miss parents a boy abiam Allah and Allah set up in the do a consonant e consecutive in questo cars oh la la amo are
• 13:30 - 14:00 sentir ebon LA passe Moacir a to PRA LA passe mo can Terry Burke a lion a swan oh yeah a quindi Picasso you in because I'm pretty sure cara nonne Angela Chen toe slab INSEAD literal süleyman çelebi Latinos rule on this word can also be a problem for non-native speakers here the are is just a single flip because it's between two vowels but just like in the other case the ah here is the stressed syllable so the tendency is to want to
• 14:00 - 14:30 roll the are before it in correctly then we have the end followed by Z so we want to really lengthen the end almost to double it because the N is a voiced consonant again don't think of the accent on the ah but think about getting to the end yeah so in a word like same Beyonce then we really are going to all these voiced consonants right is that I mean we could
• 14:30 - 15:00 do a car Z consonant e KO swallow case wanna know secrete and trauma doctor a consonant akin to the consumers interior bayonet yes here we have two cases both the M and the N are voiced consonants each followed by another consonant so we really want to hear them lengthened same young thing so I had said at the beginning that we had all those closed
• 15:00 - 15:30 O's and E's towards the end we have a whole lot of ease and they sort of go back and forth there's some that are open and then there are some that are closed and there's no real rule to know whether in E is open or closed right we just have to look them up si chiama pero see a bit more multi a we Alaura future Jonah latina phonetic ax a queen dc314
• 15:30 - 16:00 sonic yes in a place like this it's important to follow along with the phonetic transcript main okay so there we see that this the EU before the M&P even though it's two consonants that doesn't make it an open sound no Krista gonna come a Punto in Italian on Bali Krista Valley Valley in Tedesco Alice I am pure man Italian oh
• 16:00 - 16:30 no and kabuna dopey a consonant and one on Walden on implica necessary I mean tequila a president SEO Berta tsukasa-kun to accuse are mainly a non-member about the Baltic use I mean II don't exactly know that rule where two consonants following a vowel opens it is a rule that works in German but not in
• 16:30 - 17:00 Italian even when we have two consonants like here with the MP in MPA this doesn't mean that the e will be open in fact this one is closed maybe a not mem key but Peto is open sometimes open sometimes closed there's no real rule and when it comes to verbs when they're in their infinitive form then that syllable is unstressed like COD a
• 17:00 - 17:30 inspirati but sometimes when you're in the first person singular and that's the stressed syllable sometimes it's closed like share and chef curtis will soon de Janerio la princesa translates to been a
• 17:30 - 18:00 sparrow in LA premature to accuses Peralta that's a clever observation chair Cara Jericho sporadic Sparrow so even here it's important to check with the transcript to be sure to get these correct there are some people that say just sing them all open no one has ever told me that I should ever close or open a vowel
• 18:00 - 18:30 in Italian none of the Italian coaches have ever said that to me should we really be worrying about these open and closed sounds important the different such a windy Ella Oh a pair talk use a windy Oh Oh put it all the same pubertus pero quiero que pone el
• 18:30 - 19:00 contrato cuesta differentiate oh so noisy on Pokeno canto Punto menu sure currency menus moosari Impala differential on cable
• 19:00 - 19:30 tierra de Vaca Roberto Q's a DA opera do a bet oh boy Donna bass is at gusta the Lisa poacher karate are you that simple it is actually important in Italian the only question we have is between an open and closed e and an open and closed Oh for example Paco open molto closed or sparrow open and catechol closed of
• 19:30 - 20:00 course in singing these differences can be softened a little bit if we want to keep a better legato however it's better to start off with a clear basis with these open and closed vowels and from that correct basis then see if you need to change these sounds and soften them to help your singing I wanted to combine some of the concepts
• 20:00 - 20:30 that we talked about in the interview first Simona talked about keeping the yo-yo in a closed position to make that phrasal diphthong easier to sing and he said something similar about the phrasal diphthong in Dolce our door and second the bright ah part of the reason that this guardo yo-yo is so difficult for non-native speakers is because we allow our vowels to be pronounced in different
• 20:30 - 21:00 spaces of the mouth when singing it's always preferable to keep vowels focused in the front of the mouth as Simona was saying for the AA vowel the way I find this position is by saying or seeing the phonetic lowercased i.e once you can feel where that e buzzes right behind your teeth then try to make sure that all the other vowels buzz there as well yeah and you oftentimes vocal warm-ups
• 21:00 - 21:30 include these patterns so if you warm up with anything like meeow meeow meeow or yo yo yo be sure that as the vowels change that there's no click of the tongue into a new position these vowels should feel as though they're all buzzing at that same point behind the teeth without any sharp movements of the tongue or any sharp changes this buzzy
• 21:30 - 22:00 ah feeling will ensure that your eval is bright enough and making sure that the tongue doesn't fall back for those more open vowels will ensure that the diphthongs don't throw your legato out of position along these lines two dangerous words for English speakers are Alda and I'll Fein in aura the tendency will be to sing the ah too dark because we want to head to the u sound too quickly so be
• 22:00 - 22:30 sure to start it off with a true bright ah and then to stay on that ah until just before your tongue comes up to flip the louder and with Alphin the danger is that we will think of the American ll which is formed more with the back of the tongue and then will almost swallow that a vowel because we're thinking too much about all so be careful to always form this L with only the tip of the
• 22:30 - 23:00 tongue which will force the ah to stay in that brighter position I'll Fein the letter I can be a little tricky sometimes when it stands alone it's the phonetic lowercase I as in the dice PD and Al Fein when it's followed by another vowel however sometimes it can be the primary vowel the diphthong like ayo mio and Daisy oh where the eye
• 23:00 - 23:30 is actually the stressed vowel and needs to be longer than the o that follows it other times it can create a J glide as in sim Beyonce Pouilly and maybe a here the letter i' is the phonetic j meaning that we want to glide through this sound to get to the next vowel sometimes people want to sing through this sound a little more but by lengthening it we actually distort the word so it's not
• 23:30 - 24:00 p-8a but rather a very quick to al finger spo2 yuujiro late way back same
• 24:00 - 24:30 Beyonce amore main tip injure me opens here C finger yet Esperanza energy Zeo Kohi magnum p.i chhote qiyamat a sparrow a suspiro this interview with Simona defy tha was
• 24:30 - 25:00 conducted by Ellen Ricimer phonetic transcription by Ellen Ricimer and Deborah Michelle this has been the diction police special diction unit a production of singing diction gar [Music]