Stop Singing "Pretty": Why Your Voice Teacher is Wrong About Diphthongs
"Why are you closing to the second sound of the diphthong?"
If you’ve ever brought Original Pronunciation (OP) into a classical voice lesson, you’ve probably heard this critique. Standard pedagogy tells us to stay on the first vowel because it’s "pretty," open, and acoustically resonant. But does that "practiced" sound actually serve the poetry of Campion and Dowland?
In Episode 5 of The Spoken Ayre, Kayleen Sanchez explores why the "formal" way of singing English might be creating a distance between you and the listener. By looking at the natural, earthy diction of folk legends like Silly Wizard, Niamh Parsons, and Kate Rusby, we discover that closing to the second sound isn't "bad technique"—it's the key to making Renaissance music feel immediate, relatable, and alive.
In this episode:
The "Pretty" Trap: Why we are taught to avoid the second sound of a diphthong.
The Folk Connection: Analyzing the accents of Silly Wizard, Niamh Parsons, and Kate Rusby.
OP vs. Modern Diction: A side-by-side comparison of Thomas Campion’s "Fire that must flame."
The Challenge: Why you should dare to let the language be "natural" rather than "affected."
Music in this video:
"If I Was a Blackbird" by Silly Wizard
"Sun Grazers" by Kate Rusby
"The Banks of the Nile" by Niamh Parsons
Used for educational purposes and commentary under Fair Use guidelines.
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