Application for Permanent Course Approval
For Perfa 18-01
May 25, 2016
1. School: School of Liberal Arts
Department of Performing Arts
Course Number: PERFA 018-01
Course Title: Lyric Diction
2. Justification for the Course:
Central to vocal music study is the research, preparation, and performance of literature from
multiple languages and cultures. Lyric Diction focuses on the study of the International Phonetic
Alphabet (IPA) with application (vocal technique) to lyrical (melodic) delivery. Within the
discipline of vocal music study, Lyric Diction is generally viewed as an essential course for all
students majoring or minoring in vocal performance and aligns St. Mary’s College with established
vocal curriculum at peer colleges and universities. If approved as a permanent course it will be a
required course for all vocal majors and minors which will positively impact enrollment.
3. Student Population: Students taking this course will be music majors and minors pursuing vocal
performance study, and some theater students who may this to augment their vocal studies. We
have offered this course twice; 7 students were enrolled each time it was offered.
4. Relationship to Present College Curriculum: Lyric Diction is a conceived as being a required
course for all students pursing a major or minor in music with a vocal performance emphasis, and
a proposal it to be approved as a requirement will follow. Course content included in-depth
diction study of repertoire within the discipline that may or may not be presented in other
courses. If so, it strengthens and augments students’ understanding of the great cannon of classical
and modern repertoire; if not, it serves to introduce students to new music which broadens their
exposure to solo repertoire. It has no impact upon other existing courses in or outside of our
department.
5. Any extraordinary implementation costs: Lyric Diction is best taught in a classroom which has
an AV system, a piano, and capacity for projection (such as power-point). Syufy 110 is where it has
been taught thus far which works well and poses no negative impact on facility use.
6. Library Resources: None are needed at this time.
7. Course Credit and Grading Options: Students who complete the course will receive one (1) SMC
course credit. Students and professor meet in class for three hours and fifteen minutes weekly
throughout an academic semester. A minimum of two hours of student work will be expected for
every hour of in-class instruction.
8. Pre-requisites: None. This is our introductory course and is recommended for first or second
year students, and first semester transfer students.
9. Course description for College Catalog: This course explores pronunciation and articulation
that enables vocalists to realize discernable and rhetorically expressive singing (and acting) in
four different languages (English, German, Italian, and French). Study focuses on learning and
utilizing The International Phonetic Alphabet (a universal phonetic alphabet) to express musical
lyrics from classical music repertoire. Mostly conceived for vocal music majors or minors, the
course is open to students who have some experience and interest in singing classical solo or
choral music. Offered in the fall on odd-numbered years.
10. Course Content: See attached syllabus.
11. Review of Experimental Offering: This course was offered by lead faculty with expertise of lyric
diction, and the course content was designed to parallel that at peer colleges and conservatories.
The music program director reviewed and approved the content and the execution of the course.
The students participated in two informal feedback sessions at six weeks and ten weeks to solicit
feedback on the organization of content and the perceived helpfulness of the assignments and
assessments. Slight modifications were made along the way as a result and end of semester
student evaluations were highly positive.
Submitted by Dr. Julie Ford, Music Program Director, Performing Arts Department
LYRIC DICTION SYLLABUS – FALL 2015
PERFA-018-01 (64446) • Meets Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:15AM - 10:20AM, Syufy Room 110
Dr. Julie Ford, Associate Professor of Performing Arts; Office: LeFevre #5
Summary
Lyric diction is the study and employment of diction that promotes lyricism – i.e. pronunciation and
articulation that enables vocalists to realize technically beautiful and rhetorically expressive singing. Singers
have the wonderful opportunity to animate (“give life to”) texts and their ability to do so can be greatly
enhanced by a richness of tools in musicianship, vocal technique, and rhetorical delivery. Successful and
celebrated singers convey authenticity - “convince-ability”- that allows greater truths within a story or poem
to be conveyed without distraction (both mis-articulation and mispronunciation are powerful detractors).
Voice students gain an increasing awareness of vowels and consonants and how their formation can affect
pitch, tone quality, vocal flexibility, and clarity of communication. A central part of developing a singer’s
musicianship is gaining a facility of a wide vocabulary of sound in order to empower artistic exploration of
literature in many different languages and from a variety of regions, cultures and genres.
The International Phonetic Alphabet
We will study specific speech sounds (phonetics) from several languages, learn how they are represented in
universal single symbols (the International Phonetic Alphabet), obtain translations to understand the
connections between sound and meaning, and use spoken sounds as a springboard to lyrical delivery.
Successful pronunciation of texts requires precise, flexible, and nuanced adjustments of the lips, tongue, jaw,
and soft palate to create specific sounds, and the singer must learn how to sustain, rhythmically align, and
modify texts to make them musical. We will learn to speak, sing, and write the basic IPA symbols for English,
German, Italian, and French.
Process of Text Study: Internalization of Meaning, Technical Analysis, and Musical Delivery
Our study will be a survey of the essentials of English, French, German, Italian, and pronunciation as outlined
in the concise reference “Diction for Singers” by Joan Wall. The process will include (1) pre-reading assignment
followed by a lecture reviewing the material (power-points which you will be provided access to via Moodle,
(2) applying information/concepts to songs along with word for word and poetic translations. Homework will
be light but specific and needs to be done on schedule (some homework will recorded and submitted online).
Grading will be based on demonstrated progress through (1) written and oral quizzes, (2) singing exercises
with group analysis, (3) individual sung presentations, and (4) your reference binder (organized notes).
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this class, students will be able to (1) transcribe English, French, German, and
Italian texts into IPA symbols, (2) produce all the associated sounds represented by these symbols, (3)
demonstrate the various articulators and vowels placements that affect diction, and (4) possess materials and
strategies for troubleshooting various challenges that one encounters when addressing lyric diction.
Course Topics and Assignments
This class is grounded in performance application with repertoire choices that responsive to the students
involved. Therefore, the following outline of topics, the breadth of details to be covered in each language
study unit, and related timelines are all subject to alteration according to the pace of progress and needs of
the individuals in class.
Unit 1: ENGLISH: INTRO TO IPA: VOWELS & CONSONANTS (September)
Intro to IPA
Vowels: anatomy; purity; placement diagram; frontal, back & central; diphthongs
Consonants: fricatives & nasals, lateral “l” & glides.
Typical challenges of singing in English
Presentation due: English 1-pg piece
Unit 2: FRENCH (late September through mid-October)
Distinctive qualities; single, two, and three consonants; consecutive vowels
Stress & rhythm; Mixed vowels; Glides; nasal vowels (& their various spellings)
Final mute e; pure vowels e & o; mute & aspirate h; enya
Pronounced and silent consonants; elision & liaison
Common pit-falls in pronunciation
Fourth presentation: French chanson
Unit 3: GERMAN (mid-October through early November)
Vowels: distinctive qualities; open, closed & exceptions; unstressed e; diphthongs
Mixed vowels; Consonants: interpretive use; ach-laut & ich-laut
Consonants: dental; voicing & un-voicing of b, d, g; contractions
Double consonants & contractions; use of glottal stop
Vowels & Consonants in detail; trouble shooting
Second presentation: German song
Unit 4: ITALIAN (early November through December)
Special features: syllabification; 1, 2, & 3 consonants; consecutive vowels
Stressing: primary & meaning; accent marks; Double Consonants, special doubling
Long and short vowels; Consonants l, d, t, and n; stop-plosives
Vowels a, e, o; flipped and trilled r; two glides: j & w; enya and elya
Apocopation, elision; Diphthongs, glides, triphthongs, two syllables
Singing consecutive vowels & connecting words; pitfalls
Third presentation: Italian aria
FINAL : Fifth sung presentation: TBA; Written/Oral exam: Italian, French, & German diction (open book)
Expectations & Grading
The study of diction is accomplished by classroom coaching that follows detailed and thoughtful preparation
outside of class. Attendance is essential and required: the only way to learn diction is by performing in class
and observing other people performing. Course activity involves homework (reading & transcription
assignments and preparation of songs) that serves to prepare students for tests. Song preparation includes
learning pitches, rhythms, phrasing, and doing basic contextual research outside of class. Reading assignments
are provided in class and posted on Moodle; if transcription assignment is provided in class, anyone absent is
required to take initiative to obtain a copy (extra copies will be available outside my office door).
Grading of Tests, Song Presentations, and the Final
Tests and solo presentations will be worth 80% of your grade, and the final, 20% of your grade.
- Each language unit = 20% (test = 10%; solo presentation = 10%)
- Final = 20% (comprehensive test = 10%; comprehensive reference binder =10%)
Consistent attendance alone does not earn you an “A”, but poor attendance will severely affect your grade.
You can miss three classes without any affect to your grade. Subsequent absences will affect your grade:
- if you miss 4 classes, grade is lowered by 1/3 (“A” becomes A-; B+ becomes B, etc.)
- miss 5, grade is lowered 2/3 (A to B+; B+ to C)
- miss 6, grade is lowered a full letter grade (A to B, B to C)
PERFA 018: Lyric Diction
Review of Library Resources Summer 2016
This is a review of library resources for the course “Lyric Diction”, which has been offered as an experimental
course in the past and is now being submitted for permanent course status. The library will be able to support
this course using the existing collections and collection budget allocated for the Performing Arts.
Collections
The Performing Arts allocation for library resources is shared between music, dance, theatre, the MFA in
Dance, and also includes support for the LEAP program. Prof. Ford indicates that no new library resources are
needed at this time.
It is noted that in a November 2012 library review for Lyric Diction (then being submitted as a new course
proposal), Sharon Walters, the previous librarian for the Performing Arts, was aware of “growth in the music
program and the corresponding need for more resources to support this growth -- specifically music scores and
vocal sheet music.” Responding to this, the library added Naxos Sheet Music to its collection of databases and
increased the collection of popular sheet music. In 2012, it was unclear if “our current audio CD collection has
the appropriate types and quantities of performances in Italian, French, and German songs to meet the listening
expectations for this course.”
Like Ms. Walters, I am happy to work with music faculty to strengthen existing media, monograph, and sheet
music collections in support of this course and as the library resource allocation for the Performing Arts allows.
The following is a brief selection of databases and titles in our collection related to this course. Library of
Congress Subject Heading: Singing - Diction
1. International phonetic alphabet for singers: A manual for English and Foreign language diction / Joan Wall.
Greenbank: Pacific Isle, 1989. [Included in textbook collection] 2. Diction for singers: a concise reference for English, Italian, Latin, German, French, and Spanish
pronunciation / Joan Wall. Redmond: Diction for Singers.com, 2009. [In textbook collection] 3. A handbook of diction for singers: Italian, German, French / David Adams. New York: Oxford University
Press, 2008. 4. Phonetics and diction in singing: Italian, French, Spanish, German / Kurt Adler. Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota Press, 1967. 5. Understanding French verse: a guide for singers / David Hunter. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
[e-book] Databases:
1. Naxos Music Library: More than 126,000 CDs and 1,800,000 tracks including choral, vocal and vocal
ensemble music. 2. Naxos Sheet Music: M ore than 45,000 sheet music titles available. Library Instruction
PERFA 018: Lyric Diction
Library research assistance is available during regularly scheduled reference and research help hours as well as
by appointment. Formal library instruction sessions are available as student research assignments demand and at
Prof. Ford’s discretion.
Respectfully submitted,
Josh Rose
Librarian, Performing Arts June 10, 2016
Approval of the Dean of SOLA, Sheila Hughes
Begin forwarded message:
From: Sheila Hughes <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: updated permanent status proposals for Perfa 120, Perfa 114L, Perf 117L, and
Perfa 018
Date: November 17, 2016 at 3:19:47 PM PST
To: Julie Ford <[email protected]>
Cc: Dana Lawton <[email protected]>
Hi Julie,
I have reviewed the proposals for permanent course status for Perfa 120: Conducting,
Perfa 018-01: Lyric Diction, Perfa 114L-01: Sightsinging I and Perfa 117L-01:
Sightsinging II. I have also circulated them among SOLA chairs and directors for
feedback, but received none. All of the concerns I raised earlier have been addressed
in these final versions, and I am happy to lend my support to these proposals.
Thanks & cheers,
Sheila
<New Proposal for Permanent statusl-PERFA 120 Conducting.docx>
<New Proposal for Permanent status-PERFA 018-01 Lyric Diction.docx>
<New Proposal for Permanent status-PERFA 114L-01 SIghtsinging I.docx>
<New Proposal for Permanent status-PERFA 117L-01 Sightsinging II.docx>