IPA for singers: what the International Phonetic Alphabet is and how to use it

Every language in the diction section is written here in IPA. This page explains the alphabet so the tables on those pages make sense, and points you to the charts, courses and libraries singers use.

What the IPA is

The International Phonetic Alphabet is an alphabetic system of phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin script¹. The International Phonetic Association devised it, starting in the late 19th century, as a standard written representation for the sounds of speech¹.

Classical singers use it widely during preparation because they are frequently required to sing in a variety of foreign languages¹. Vocal coaches teach it to perfect diction and to improve tone quality and tuning¹.

Where the IPA comes from

In 1886, a group of French and English language teachers, led by the French linguist Paul Passy, formed what became the International Phonetic Association from 1897 onwards¹. In 1888 the values of the letters were made uniform across languages¹. The alphabet was last revised in May 2005 with the addition of a letter for a labiodental flap¹.

The vowel letters a, e, i, o and u follow the long sound values of Latin¹.

How the chart is organized

The Association sorts the letters into three categories: pulmonic consonants, non-pulmonic consonants and vowels¹. Among the IPA’s symbols, 107 letters represent consonants and vowels, 31 diacritics modify them, and 17 additional signs mark length, tone, stress and intonation¹. Diacritics combine with letters to add tone and phonetic detail¹. English t shows the effect: it can be written as a single letter [t], or with diacritics as [t̺ʰ], depending on how precise you want to be¹.

One symbol, one sound

The rule that makes the IPA useful is that one symbol always stands for one sound². A singer can then name the exact vowel or consonant they are aiming for, independent of spelling².

Singers use it because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation, especially across languages like Italian, German and French². With the IPA you mark the precise target sound once and sing it the same way every time².

English spelling is the reason this matters. Though, through, cough and bough each end with a different vowel or consonant sound, despite looking similar on the page².

Reading the vowel chart

The vowel chart is a map of the mouth. The horizontal axis shows front-to-back tongue placement, and the vertical axis shows how open the mouth and jaw are².

Vowel counts differ between languages. Italian has four vowels where English speakers often hear two: closed [e] and open [ɛ], closed [o] and open [ɔ]². Singers also meet three different “ah” vowels across languages: [a] (bright, front), [ɑ] (dark, back) and [ä] (central, between the two)².

The rounded French vowels combine two positions. For [ø], the lips are shaped for [o] and the tongue for [e]². For [œ], the lips are shaped for [ɔ] and the tongue for [ɛ]². Singers approaching them typically start by producing the vowel’s tongue position first².

The consonants are the larger group: pulmonic consonants make up the majority of consonants in the IPA¹. A well-formed trill, as in Italian double rr, requires loose, buzzing tongue contact².

What the IPA does not do

The IPA does not replace the ear. It sharpens what the ear is already doing, and it does not prescribe how a sound should be colored, shaped or styled². Whether a vowel is bright, dark, open or closed is a matter of style, genre, language tradition and artistic intent².

The marks that matter in singing

Beyond the letters, a few marks carry a lot of weight:

• A primary stress mark [ˈ] appears before the stressed syllable².
• A tilde above a vowel, as in [ã], means the vowel is nasalized, which is central to French².
• The length mark [ː] means the vowel is held longer, which matters in German, where [iː] and [ɪ] are distinct phonemes².
• Slashes indicate a phonemic transcription; brackets a phonetic one².

The pages of this site use square brackets, the form for a phonetic transcription.

Singers’ charts

A chart built for singers pairs each symbol with English example words. The Indianapolis choir’s chart, titled “International Phonetic Alphabet”, pairs k with cork, kiss and chord, the sh symbol with sheep and sugar, θ with thin and maths, and x with loch⁴. The affricate symbol ʤ goes with judge and general, and b with baby⁴. Its vowel page, “International Phonetic Alphabet-Vowels for Singers”, gives example words for each symbol, such as machine for [i], and Früh for the German version⁴.

The University of Iowa guide links an IPA chart with sounds, where you select a phonetic sign and hear what it sounds like³, and a video channel that explains the uses of the IPA with examples of phonetics in action³.

Ted’s Voice Academy offers a free interactive reference for singers, voice teachers and choral directors, billed as a complete guide to the IPA covering symbols, sounds and the languages singers sing². The library covers about seventy sounds across English, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Latin, Russian, Czech and Hebrew².

Where to find IPA texts

IPA Source is a library of IPA transcriptions and translations for both operatic and art song texts in French, Italian, German, Spanish, English and Latin³. Opera translation collections are held in the Iowa library under the call number ML 48³. The Musicians Institute library guide lists Art Song Central as a free resource with thousands of IPA transcriptions for classical art songs in various languages⁶.

Opera librettos are also transcribed in IPA in volumes such as Nico Castel’s libretti¹. When you do need to make your own, follow how to transcribe an aria into IPA.

Courses and books

At the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith, Diction for Singers I is an introductory study of the IPA, designed to achieve accurate and appropriate pronunciation of text in both speech and performance of English and Italian vocal music⁵. One outcome is to use the IPA as a tool for clarity and accuracy of pronunciation in singing⁵. Another is to read IPA transcriptions of English and Italian words⁵. A third is to discuss the influence of the IPA on the development of the singing tone⁵.

For books, the Musicians Institute library guide points to two. The Handbook of the International Phonetic Association is a comprehensive guide to the alphabet⁶. IPA Made Easy gives example words for every symbol in English, Latin, Italian, German, French and Spanish, and is a clear and concise tool for singing in foreign languages, equally useful in the choir room and the vocal studio⁶.

Using it in practice

Because one symbol is one sound, you can tell a coach exactly which vowel you are unsure of². In French and German texts, check the length and nasal marks: the length mark means the vowel is held longer, and the tilde means it is nasalized².

Web browsers generally do not need any configuration to show IPA characters¹.

For a first language to read in IPA, see Italian diction for singers.