By Corinne Bach
What the Heck is a Diphthong?
(The Vowel Trick You Didn’t Know You Were Ignoring)
Hey Songbirds 🎶🎙️🐦
“Diphthong” is our SOSS Wednesday WOW!
First: How to Pronounce It
Say it with me now…”Dif-thong”
✅ “Ph” like “Phone” or “Difference”
🚫 Not “Pone” or “Diprence”
Second: The Real Question
In singing, on which part of the diphthong do you usually sing?
(Think about it… 👀)
The Most Common Diphthongs in English
8 Common Diphthongs, with Easy Example Words + Singable Phrases:
| IPA Diphthong | Example Word | Familiar Phrase to Sing |
| /eɪ/ | day | 🎶 Oh, what a beautiful day (“Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’” – Oklahoma) |
| /aɪ/ | fly | 🎶 I believe I can fly (R. Kelly – common audition cut) |
| /əʊ/ | go | 🎶 Let it go (“Let It Go” – Frozen) |
| /aʊ/ | now | 🎶 Don’t Stop Me Now Now (“Don’t Stop Me Now Now” — Queen) |
| /ɔɪ/ | boy | 🎶 If I were a boy (“If I Were a Boy” by Beyoncé) |
| /ɪə/ | hear | 🎶 Do you hear the people sing? (“Les Misérables”) |
| /eə/ | air | 🎶 Up where the air is clear (“A Spoonful of Sugar” – Mary Poppins) |
| /ʊə/ | pure | 🎶 I want pure imagination (“Pure Imagination” – Willy Wonka) |
By the Way… I ❤️ IPA
Nope… NOT the beer — yuk! 🍺 No… give me a good porter or hefeweizen, thank you very much.
(You can take your bitter hops and walk.)
The International Phonetic Alphabet, ya silly goose! 🦆 (I think that emoji is actually a duck.)
Why Singers Need to Know Diphthongs
The close combination of two vowels causes each one to lose its pure quality.
That’s why it’s so important to be aware of diphthongs in singing—especially when aiming for:
- Clear tone
- Vowel consistency
- Better resonance
- Professional polish across all genres
Whether you’re singing pop, classical, screamo, or musical theatre…
how you treat the vowels matters.
🎯 The Big Takeaway (TL;DR)
In most cases—especially in traditional and classical singing—you sing on the first vowel of the diphthong and minimize the second.
That’s the trick most singers don’t realize they’re ignoring.
🎬 Want More?
📺 Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more nerdy vocal tips: @CorinneBach
🎶 Learn more about the Singing Circle [Landing page coming soon – stay tuned!]
