Wencke Ophaug

• Ophaug, Wencke (2017). The Diminished Vowel Space in Classical Singing and the Tug of War between "Speech-true" and Modified Vowel Qualities. Journal of Singing. ISSN 1086-7732. 73(3), p. 293–303. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Good voice quality and good diction are often contradictory. This basically concerns vowels. In classical singing, vowels are often modified in their quality from speech, to make the voice function better as a musical instrument, often to such an extent that vowel identification is impossible and fine detail differences in quality regarding one and the same vowel phoneme in different languages may be neutralized. Many attempts have been made to try to understand why and how vowels need to be modified from a musical point of view; not many attempts have been made from a linguistic point of view to understand the effects of this modification on text delivery and intelligibility. The aim of this article is threefold. I intend to show and explain why there seems to be a smaller phonetic vowel space in classical singing as opposed to normal speech. I also question how vowels are reorganized from speech to singing in order to fit into this new area. And I attempt to present an explanatory model with some predictable rules and give some useful guidelines to help singers improve their diction in singing in general and to better target the correct phonetic quality in any foreign language they want to perform in particular. I base my presentation on results from my dissertation back in 1999, which bears the title “Vowel Migration and Equalization in Classical Singing”1 , and on my experience in the years thereafter, tutoring students of classical singing in the phonetics of singing. Item may not be reproduced. © 2017 National Association of Teachers of Singing

• Stenbrenden, Gjertrud F & Ophaug, Wencke (2017). Laterals in Singing and Speech. Journal of Singing. ISSN 1086-7732. 74(1), p. 61–76. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In what follows, we would like to examine some of the available secondary literature and its somewhat chaotic presentation of laterals, in books on both diction and phonetics, and also on the Internet (for example, You Tube videos demonstrating how laterals are made and which only add to the confusion). Secondly, we will review the discussions and findings of more recent research on the two main lateral types, clear and dark /l/, and thirdly, introduce some of the results of our own acoustic research on laterals. It is our aim in later articles, when we have analysed a larger body of material, to show how this research may contribute to understanding and perhaps solving the dilemma of the classical singer: whether to sing only clear /l/s or introduce some dark variants also. Item may not be reproduced. © 2017 National Association of Teachers of Singing

• Ophaug, Wencke (2015). The challenge of identifying vowel phonemes in singing. In Proto, Teresa; Canettieri, Paolo & Valenti, Gianluca (Ed.), Text and Tune: On the Association of Music and Lyrics in Sung Verse. Peter Lang Publishing Group. ISSN 9783034315609. p. 287–311. Full text in Research Archive
• Jordheim, Alisa Suzanne & Ophaug, Wencke (2015). Transcribing Scandinavian Song Texts into IPA. Challenges when aiming for a higher degree of uniformity in the IPA transcription of the three Scandinavian languages: Norwegian, Swdisch, and Danish. Journal of Singing. ISSN 1086-7732. 71(4), p. 473–488. Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke & Guleng, Gullveig Cecilie (2013). Devoicing Voized /z/ in German Lyric Song - Good or Bad Diction? Journal of Singing. ISSN 1086-7732. 69(4), p. 451–462. Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke (2013). How Singable is Finnish? Journal of Singing. ISSN 1086-7732. 70(2), p. 193–208. Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke (2012). Troubleshooting Norwegian Pronunciation in Classical Singing. Journal of Singing. ISSN 1086-7732. 69(1), p. 49–56. Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke (2010). The Pronunciation of /r/ in German Classical Singing. The development of various r-allophones and their distribution in today's German classical singing. Journal of Singing. ISSN 1086-7732. 66(5), p. 561–574. Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke (2009). Wenn dem Vokalisten die Vokale in die Quere kommen. In Helin, Irmeli (Eds.), Linguistik und Übersetzung in Kouvola. Helsinki University Press (HUP). ISSN 9789521052484. p. 356–379. Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke & Noven, Arild (1997). Bokanmelding: Rolf Theil Endresen: [Kapittel] 4 Fonetikk. Endresen, Rolf Theil, Hanne Gram Simonsen & Andreas Sveen (red.): Innføring i lingvistikk. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 1996. & Kolbjørn Slethei: Grunnbok i fonetikk for språkstudenter. Oslo: Cappelen Akademisk Forlag, 1996. NLT - Norsk lingvistisk tidsskrift. ISSN 0800-3076. 15(2), p. 258–269. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Anmeldelsen er en sammenlignende vurdering av bøkene med tanke på hvor egnet de er som grunnbøker i fonetikk for forprøvestudenter.

• Ophaug, Wencke (1986). Probleme in Verbindung mit einer Korrekten Aussprache der Deutschen Kontinuanten <sch> (sch-Laut) und <ch> (ich-Laut) bei Schülern aus Bergen. Mit Empfehlungen für den Deutschunterricht. Språk og språkundervisning. ISSN 0038-8521. 19(4), p. 35–41. Full text in Research Archive

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• Ophaug, Wencke (2009). Sangfonetikk. En innføring. Fagbokforlaget. ISBN 9788245005004. 230 p. Full text in Research Archive

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• Ophaug, Wencke (2016). The Challenge of Identifying Vowel Phonemes in Classical Singing. Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke (2012). Singing short vowels on long notes. Different intelligibility challenges in different languages. Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke (2012). Den klangfulle tyske utlyds-l. Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke (2011). norsk sangutale; kulturarv eller personlig signatur. Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke (2009). The loss of Intelligibility in Classical Singing due to Vowel Equalisation and Temporal Factors. Why do diferent languages suffer to different degrees? Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke (2009). Nordiske språk og musikalitet. [TV]. Nrk 1. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Programdeltakelse i programmet Lydverket

• Ophaug, Wencke (2008). Skarre når jeg synger tysk? Å synge skarre-r er ikke forenlig med klassisk sang, i hvert fall ikke på lenge ennå. Musikk-Kultur. 12(12), p. 36–38. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Artikkelen behandler utviklingen av bruk av ulike r-varianter i tysk klassisk sang. Tidligere var bare tungespiss-r akseptert. I dag bruker mange unge sangere ulike bakre varianter, særlig approximant og vokalisert r, etter mønster fra talen, mens den bakre frikativen (skarre-r), som regnes for hovedtypen i talen, ikke blir brukt. Artikkelen bygger på et større forskningsmateriale, og vitenskapelige artikler om temaet er også på trappene.

• Ophaug, Wencke (2006). Telemann og språket. [Radio]. Nrk p2 "Midt i Musikken". Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke & Vogt, Yngve (2006). Jakter på barokkens sanguttale. [Journal]. Apollon, Forskningstidsskrift for Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke (2006). Fagfokus: "Norgøø mitt Norgøø...". Hovedmålet i klassisk sang er at stemmen skal bære gjennom et orkester. Derfor må sangerne bruke resonansteknikker som kan stå i konflikt med språklydene. Musikk-Kultur. p. 38–39. Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke (2006). Fagfokus: "Vokalene som forsvinner" Hvorfor gaper sopranen så veldig og synger bare a-vokaler i høyden? Musikk-Kultur. Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke (2004). Ordet i koret. Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke (2004). Deutsch wird so gesprochen wie es geschrieben wird. Warum diese Aussage nicht für Deutsche und schon gar nicht für Norweger stimmt. Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke (2003). Sense og nonsense i resitasjon og sang. Hvordan transkriberer jeg lydene? Muligheter og begrensninger ved bruk av lydskriftsystemet IPA. Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke (2003). Egner tysk seg dårlig som sangspråk?Hvorfor hører man at sangeren er norsk når han synger på tysk? Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke (2000). I hvilken grad kan norske sangere bruke vokalkvaliteter fra norsk når de synger tysk og allikevel høres tyske ut? Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Presentasjon av de viktigste resultatene fra min doktoravhandling: "Vowel Migration and Equalisation"

• Ophaug, Wencke (2000). Vowel Migration and Equalisation in Classical Singing. [Radio]. NRK-radioen : NRK - P2 "Midt i musikken". Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  I anledning min doktordisputas 11. des 1999 ble jeg invitert for å snakke om avhandlingen min "Vowel Migration and Equalisation in Classical Singing". Jeg redegjorde for spesielle resonansteknikker i klassisk sang og deres innvirken på språket/tekstforståeligheten. Programleder: Arild Hansson

• Ophaug, Wencke (1999). Why is Singing Special? Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Trial lecture for the dr.art degree, prescribed topic: What makes singing different from speech, at the levels of air flow control, laryngeal physiological conditions, and articulation, and what are the relevant consequences that will be perceived by a listener. It would be nice if this is not only discussed for Western classical singing, but also for other styles heard in musicals and pop music. And is singing more special for one language than another? Of intriguing interest is the mixed form of Sprechgesang [cf Pierrot Lunaire from Arnold Schoenberg]; how do singers cope with this?

• Ophaug, Wencke (1999). The Sonorous Vowel-like Lateral in German in Syllable-final Positition. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Trial lecture for the dr.art degree, self-chosen topic: Sub-title: A contrastive acoustic comparison of German and Norwegian prevocalic and post-vocalic laterals. Abstract: A special post-vocalic, vowel-like lateral has been observed among speakers of the German Standard. This lateral differs in quality from the socalled ¿clear¿ lateral, which is to be expected in all positions in the standard. It sounds ¿darker¿ and is altogether more ¿sonorous¿ and vowel-like than the ¿clear¿ lateral, but it is far from as ¿dark¿ in quality as the ¿dark¿ (velarized) lateral. The German subjects of this study all live in Norway and speak Norwegian relatively well. One main problem in their pronunciation of Norwegian, however, is that they use this special [l]* in all post-vocalic positions. This lateral quality sounds very foreign in Norwegian and cannot be accepted. Acoustic analyses by means of spectrograms and averaged spectrums show that: 1) [l]* has a significantly higher F1 than the clear lateral. 2) Although the location of F2 and F3 are more or less the same for both allophones, the clear lateral has typical antiformants (zeros) in these regions (weakening F2 by females and F3 by males), whereas when it comes to [l]* these formants have all strong amplitudes. 3) Another significant difference between the two allophones is the fact that the [l]* has a longer duration. These findings explain why the [l]* is more sonorous and vowel-like and sounds ¿darker¿ than its counterpart. Based on the same acoustic data, we can also draw conclusions as to the articulatory differences between the two variants: the [l]* is spoken with less degree of contact (constriction) between the tongue and the roof of the mouth and possibly with a lower position of the jaw (greater mouth opening).

• Ophaug, Wencke (1997). Er sangeren virkelig tysk? Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Hvilke endringer må en norsk sanger gjøre med sine vokaler for å høres tysk ut i klassisk sang? Foreløpige resulater fra doktoravhandlingsarbeid.

• Ophaug, Wencke (1997). Vokalausgleich im Lied. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Antrittsvorlesung

• Ophaug, Wencke (1997). Hvorfor er det så vanskelig å forstå teksten i klassisk sang? Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Foredrag på NFS¿s julemøte.

• Ophaug, Wencke (1997). Vokalutjevning i klassisk sang. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Undertittel: "Hjertøøø og smertøøø. Det naturlige ved kunst(ig)sang".

• Ophaug, Wencke (1997). Hvorfor er det så vanskelig å forstå teksten i klassisk sang? [Radio]. NRK 2 Fjernsynet, i programmet "På hovedscenen" med programleder Arild Erikstad. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Ved hjelp av en sonagraf og to sangere (bass-barytonsangeren Njål Sparbo og sopranen Isa Katharina Gericke) viste jeg forskjell i deltonestruktur hos mannlige og kvinnelige sangere og dennes innvirkning på språklig tydelighet/utydelighet i sang.

• Ophaug, Wencke (1997). Hvorfor er det så vanskelig å forstå teksten i klassisk sang? [Radio]. NRK, radioen, P2 "Midt i musikken". Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke (1993). Intra- og interlinguale akustiske og auditive analyser av tysk/norsk tale/sang. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Presentasjon av doktorgradsprosjektet "Vowel Migration and Equalisation in Classical Singing"

• Ophaug, Wencke (2002). The Vowel-like Lateral in German. A contrastive acoustic comparison of German and Norwegian prevocalic and postvocalic laterals. Universitetet i Oslo, Germanistisk Institutt. Full text in Research Archive
• Ophaug, Wencke (1999). Vowel Migration and Equalisation in Classical Singing. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  A voice that carries and uniform voice quality are important in classical singing, since it must be possible to hear the singer through accompaniment without the use of a microphone. However, the resonatory techniques that are required to achieve this have consequences for vowel quality. The vowels often become more like one another (vowel equalisation) and intelligibility is reduced. One consequence of this is claimed to be that it is easier in song than in speech to produce accent-free vowels in a foreign language. This assertion provided the impetus for this thesis. While the literature only documents general vowel equalisation in song for several languages, the author claims that on the basis of the specific quality of a vowel in speech one can determine both the degree and the direction of this change in quality. An explanatory model was tested that took account of both the musical requirements made of the singing voice and the language needs for authenticity. The model turned out to hold for very many of the vowels. Acoustic analyses of two German and two Norwegian bass-baritone singers showed that the language-specific differences between Norwegian and German vowels are in varying degrees significantly present also in singing. Perception analyses based on authentic and synthetic material show that these differences are also necessary for listeners to accept the vowels as genuine Norwegian or German. Listeners with professional affiliation to the genre show a greater degree of ability to distinguish between native and non-native vowel qualities than other listeners. This work sheds new light on a neglected area: contrastive phonetic differences between languages in song versus speech. A number of the results may help singers to develop new strategies for a more effective approach to foreign languages. This will be useful because singers have to perform songs in many different foreign languages. German is of particular interest in this connection, as much of the classical singing tradition is in German.

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