By Corinne Bach
IPA: Not Just a Beer — Why Phonetics Is a Singer’s Secret Weapon
A Quick Throwback First…
This builds on WOW #6 about diphthongs, where we talked about vowel pairs that shift shape.
ICYMI: Check out our earlier deep dive into how singers shape sounds in real time—it’s a great primer before this week’s nerdfest.
Let’s Talk IPA — the Singing Kind, Not the Bitter Beer (you already know my feelings — blech!)
fəˈnɛtɪks ænd aɪ-pi-eɪ ɑr ˈsɪriəsli wʌn ʌv ðə ˈnɜrdɪɪst pɑrts ʌv ˈbiɪŋ ə ˈsɪŋər. ɪf ju noʊ mi, ju noʊ aɪ lʌv aɪ-pi-eɪ! wɛl, aɪ ˈækʧuəli ˈrɪli heɪt ɪt æz ə bɪr (brɪŋ ɑn ðə ˈpɔrtərz, hefeweisens, ænd ˈtrɪpəlz, θæŋk ju ˈvɛri mʌʧ). ˌ
haʊˈɛvər, aɪ ˈrɪli lʌv ɪt æz ə ˈpræktəs fɔr ˈdɪkʃən. ɪt hɛlps ˈstrimˌlaɪn ðə ˈlæŋgwəʤ-ˈlɜrnɪŋ ˈprɑˌsɛs ɪn ɔl ˈwɛstərn ˈlæŋgwəʤəz, bʌt ɪts ˈɔlsoʊ ʤʌst pleɪn fʌn. ɪt ˈivɪn hæz ɪts ˈɔltɜrnət ˈjusəz, laɪk… ɪts greɪt koʊd ˈlæŋgwəʤ fɔr ˈpæsɪŋ noʊts ænd ju doʊnt wɑnt ˈɛniˌwʌn tu noʊ wʌt jʊr ˈtɔkɪŋ əˈbaʊt.
bʌt, hu ˈjusəz ɪt, ˈrɪli?
ˈlɪŋgwɪsts, spiʧ pəˈθɑləʤəsts, ænd ˈklæsɪkli-treɪnd ˈsɪŋərz du, ðæts hu! jɛs, ðə ˈklæsəz ɑr ɪnˈkludəd ɪn ˈaʊər dɪˈgri fildz ænd kæn bi kwaɪt ɪkˈstɛnsɪv. ɪt ˈrɪli ɪz ə fʌn klæs!
ðə ˈvaʊəlz ʧɑrt ˈfɑloʊz ðə loʊˈkeɪʃən ænd ˈpleɪsmənt ʌv sɛd ˈvaʊəl ɪn ðə ˈstrʌkʧər ʌv ðə maʊθ, ænd ðə ˈkɑnsənənts rɪˈzɛmbəl ə ˌpɪriˈɑdɪk ˈteɪbəl ʌv ði ˈɛləmənts.
ʌv kɔrs ðɛr ɑr ə lɑt ʌv ˈʌðər saʊndz ðæt wi meɪk ðæt ɑr nɑt ɪn ðə ˈrɛgjələr ˈælfəˌbɛt bʌt ju meɪ faɪnd ɪn ˈʌðər ˈlæŋgwəʤɪz ˈælfəˌbɛts, ɔr ðeɪ ɑr saʊndz wi hæv əˈdɑptəd.
ˈmɑrsi ˈmɛrɪdɪθ, wʌn ʌv ˈaʊər səkˈsɛsfəl ˈsɪŋərz/spiʧ pəˈθɑləʤəsts, ænd aɪ hæd ə fʌn ˌkɑnvərˈseɪʃən əˈbaʊt aɪ-pi-eɪ ɪn hɜr ˈɪntərˌvju, wɪʧ ɪz ˈkɜrəntli ɪn ˈɛdətɪŋ. ˈlukəs Tannous, ˈaʊər ˈʌðər səkˈsɛsfəl ˈsɪŋər/spiʧ pəˈθɑləʤəst tɔks ˈdɪkʃən əˈmʌŋ ˈʌðər proʊˈfaʊnd ˈɪnˌsaɪts æz wɛl.
soʊ ɪf ju wɑnt tu noʊ mɔr əˈbaʊt aɪ-pi-eɪ, ɪts ˈjusəz, ænd haʊ tu trænˈzleɪt jʊər noʊts tu aɪ-pi-eɪ laɪk aɪ dɪd hir, ʧɛk aʊt ðiz greɪt ˈrisɔrsɪz.
Yes, I really wrote this whole post in IPA—and yes, it was a flex.
Why? Because singers who love diction (or just want to nail their vowels in multiple languages) will eventually fall in love with this system.
🧠 Wait… What Did That Say?!
Here’s the English version of what you just read in phonetics:
Phonetics and IPA are seriously one of the nerdiest parts of being a singer. If you know me, you know I LOVE IPA! Well, I actually REALLY hate it as a beer (bring on the porters, hefeweisens, and trippels, thank you very much).
However, I really love it as a practice for diction. It helps streamline the language-learning process in all Western languages, but it’s also just plain fun.
It even has its alternate uses, like… it’s great code language for passing notes when you don’t want anyone to know what you’re talking about.
But, who uses it, really?
Linguists, speech pathologists, and classically trained singers do, that’s who!
Yes, the classes are included in our degree fields and can be quite extensive. It really is a fun class!
The vowels chart follows the location and placement of said vowel in the structure of the mouth, and the consonants resemble a periodic table of the elements.
Of course there are a lot of other sounds that we make that are not in the regular alphabet but you may find in other languages’ alphabets—or they’re sounds we’ve adopted.
Marcy Meredith, one of our Successful Singers/Speech Pathologists, and I had a fun conversation about IPA in her interview, which is currently in editing. Lucas Tannous, our other Successful Singer/Speech Pathologist talks diction among other profound insights as well.
So if you want to know more about IPA, it’s uses, and how to translate your notes to IPA like I did here, check out these great resources (see below).
🎓 Why I Love (and Teach) IPA
As someone with a background in both performance and speech-language pathology, I’ve studied the International Phonetic Alphabet from both sides:
- The technical, nerdy, vowel-chart-loving academic side
- AND the side that helps singers actually sound fluent and clear in Italian, German, French, and beyond
Singers often struggle to match pronunciation across pieces—IPA makes that easier.
You don’t need to be fluent in a language to sound fluent when you sing it.
🎤 From the Experts: SLPs Who Sing
I’ve had great conversations with some of our amazing Successful Singers who also happen to be speech pathologists.
You can hear us talk all things diction, anatomy, and yes—IPA—in these interviews:
And explore more episodes from the Successful Singers Interview Series on my YouTube channel.
🔧 Resources to Get Started With IPA
If you want to start exploring IPA, translating your notes, or decoding that vowel chart for your next art song, here are some of my favorite tools:
- ipa.typeit.org – type phonetic symbols directly
- ipachart.com – interactive IPA chart
- internationalphoneticalphabet.org
- EasyPronunciation – French
- EasyPronunciation – German
- EasyPronunciation – Italian
- Latin in French context
🎯 The Big Takeaway (TL;DR)
IPA isn’t just for linguists—it’s for you, the singer.
Whether you’re working on diction, learning a new language, or just flexing your vowel clarity, the International Phonetic Alphabet gives you tools to sound polished, prepared, and professional across genres.
It’s nerdy. It’s fun. And it’s one of the most underrated tools in your singer toolkit.
🎬 Wanna Geek Out Some More?
📺 Subscribe to my YouTube channel to catch more interviews, technique breakdowns, and guest experts like Marcy and Lucas.
🎶 Want training that brings together phonetics, vocal health, and artistry?
Learn more about the Singing Circle (landing page coming soon!)
