Mastering English Phonics for Singing

Even if you go to New York to study singing, your vocal teacher will most likely not correct your English pronunciation during your singing lessons.

Why?

In English-speaking countries, especially in more multicultural and developed societies, correcting the way someone speaks can sometimes be perceived as insensitive or even discriminatory, particularly when it comes to someone’s accent or the way they pronounce English. Unless you specifically ask for help, many teachers may be hesitant to correct you.

And even if you do ask, remember that most singing teachers are exactly that—singing teachers. They generally grew up speaking English and learned English pronunciation naturally as children. They are not necessarily trained to teach English pronunciation to non-native speakers.

Of course, if your goal is to become a Hollywood actor, for example, you might hire an American English pronunciation coach. But if you want to study English pronunciation abroad, you will most likely be working with a language teacher—and they are not necessarily professionals when it comes to singing.

On top of that, the way English is used in singing can be quite different from conversational English.

And because there are relatively few Japanese people living abroad compared with other international communities, many teachers may not be familiar with the specific pronunciation patterns and habits that Japanese speakers tend to have.

Taking all of this into consideration, I believe the ideal teacher would be someone who:

• Speaks English fluently and understands Japanese

• Is a native English speaker who understands Japanese

• Understands the pronunciation challenges Japanese speakers commonly face

• And, ideally, has professional knowledge of singing as well

Sounds like someone who would be pretty difficult to find, right?

I completely understand.

I myself am not a returnee or someone who grew up bilingual. I developed my English skills entirely on my own.

And yet, today, Americans sometimes mistake me for a native speaker or someone who grew up abroad.

That is exactly why I can help Japanese learners understand what tends to be difficult for Japanese speakers, what pronunciation habits they tend to have, and what kinds of exercises can help eliminate those habits.

Today, I'd like to share a few pronunciation exercises that you can actually practice on your own.

Practice #1: Start with Phonics!

There are tons of resources available online for learning phonics, but first, make sure you practice basic sound combinations such as:

ph / th / st / nd / fr

Don't just look at written materials. Listen to the sounds and practice saying them out loud at the same time.

Here's the specific method I used.

Practice #2: Shadowing Is Seriously Powerful!

Shadowing is a practice technique where you simply repeat what you hear, without overthinking it.

Your only goal is to get your pronunciation as close as possible to the original speaker.

Tip #1: Choose a speaker of the same gender as you

Why?

Because it is generally easier to reproduce the sounds and vocal qualities of someone with a similar vocal range.

If you choose someone of a different gender, it can be more challenging, so I recommend starting with someone of the same gender.

Try to imitate them so closely that you can almost sound like the same person.

In my experience, people who are good at singing often seem to be good at impressions and imitation too.

And people who are good at English often seem to be good at singing.

Why?

Because it all comes down to how well you can hear and distinguish sounds.

Train your ears to hear the sounds accurately, and then use shadowing to reproduce exactly what you hear with your own mouth.

Tip #2: Practice in an environment where you can clearly hear both the recording and your own voice

Here's the method I personally used:

I would put an earbud in one ear to listen to the audio, while leaving the other ear completely open so that I could hear my own voice.

Then I would practice the exact same phrase over and over again.

Repeat it until you can reproduce the sound as closely as possible to the original.

Start by practicing these techniques with phonics.

Only after you can do them confidently should you move on to practicing actual phrases from songs.

Give it a try, and feel free to share your progress in the comments! ♪

Mayu