In some consonants, the vocal cords vibrate, making voiced sounds. In others they do not and the consonants are said to be voiceless or breathed. Voiced and voiceless consonants generally are in pairs. For example, b (as in bin) represents a voiced sound of which p (as in pin) is the voiceless equivalent. The sound d (as in din) is voiced; t (as in tin) is voiceless. The sound v (as in vie) is voiced, but f (as in fie) is voiceless. In the word this, the first sound (th) is voiced; yet in the word thin it is voiceless. In the final sound in rose, the vocal cords vibrate but in house they do not. The medial consonant in pleasure is voiced, and its voiceless equivalent is found in the initial sound in she. In the beginning sound in we, voice is present, while in why it is absent. The aspirate sound represented by the letter h has no voiced counterpart, nor do m, n, ng, r, and 1 have voiceless forms.

The sounds w in we and y in you are often called semi-vowels, for, in their production, friction is practically imperceptible. They are also sometimes defined as vowels used in the capacity of consonants. The continuant consonants 1, m, and n also are classified as semi-vowels, for they frequently constitute syllables by themselves without accompanying vowels; as, for example, little, prism, heav’ n.

The sound represented by the symbol r is generally considered a consonant, but in certain words it becomes part of the vowel (as in air, far, err). Some people omit or drop r when it is final in a word (as in ever, far), or when it comes before a consonant (as in bird, harm). But final r, if followed by a word beginning with a vowel (as far away), should be lightly trilled or rolled 1 in singing. To insure better quality and to give it greater clarity or distinctness, r also should be lightly trilled when it is the initial consonant (as in rose); when it occurs between two vowels (as in sorrow), and when it is used with other consonants (as in three).

Although vowels are the chief vocal element in speaking and singing, it is the consonant that gives them character and meaning. To cite specifically, the vowels in see, bee, tree, me, seed, heed are the same, but the consonants used with them entirely change the sense of the word. It is obvious, therefore, that, if you wish to speak and sing effectively, you must learn to produce consonants accurately and skillfully. It is well in forming them to keep the tip of the tongue well forward in the mouth. There is often a tendency to retract or invert it, particularly in r and 1, which gives these and surrounding sounds an unpleasant quality.
* There is an old rule for speech which is helpful in singing: Be sparing [merciful] with the vowels and you will speak beautifully; honor the consonants and you will speak distinctly.

Honor the consonants. There are twenty-one of them in our alphabet and only five vowels, so they must be important to speech. They give it meaning; they color your singing. Sing on or stress the consonants when it helps to make your enunciation of a word more interesting. For instance, if you say won-derful’, and pause for an instant on the n, it really sounds more wonderful than if you say wo-nderfult, and stress the vowel. If you say ‘ whispering’, and accent the s just a little, it really sounds like a whisper. Learn.to look for the consonant in a word that will help to make the word more interesting and give it meaning, and then sing on it.

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