July 5, 2011

Selam!
     As you no doubt are already aware, they do not celebrate independence day in Istanbul, Turkey. It was a little unusual not hearing and seeing fireworks all night long! However a very happy Independence Day to all and please, go buy half priced fireworks for me today as I will be unable to do so!
     I acquired a new book yesterday: Modern Turkish: A Complete Self-Study Course for Beginners. I like the book quite a bit and after making up my own lessons, it is quite nice to be able to have a book. Excited to use my new book, I spent a great deal of time on Lesson 1, pronunciation. To be specific fine tuning pronunciation and trying to get it closer to Turkish and less American Turkish-my speciality. The Turkish alphabet is similar to that of the English alphabet with a few extra vowels and consonants:

a     a (as u in run)
b   be (as in English)
c   ce (as g in giant)
ç   çe (as ch in change)  
d   de (as in English)
e   e   (as in get)
f   fe  (as in English)
g  ge (as in get)
ğ  yumuşak g (soft g similar to a glide that lengthens the vowel proceeding it)
h  he (as in hotel)
ı   ı    (as in fun)
i   i    (as in fit)
j   je  (as s in measure)
k  ke (as in kitchen)
l   le  (as in English)
m me (as in English)
n  ne (as in English)
o  o   (as in novel)
ö  ö   (like the German ö where your mouth forms an "oh" but you say "ee")   
p  pe (as in Engish)
r   re  ( as in rabbit)
s   se  (as in sad)
ş   ş   (as sh in shade)
t    te (as in English)
u   u  (as in pull)
ü   ü  (like the German ü where your mouth forms an "uh" but you say "ee")
v   ve (as in English)
y   ye (as in yes)
z   ze or zet (as in English)

(Doğan, Orhan B. Modern Turkish: A Complete Self-Study Course for Beginners. Beşir Kitabevi Publishing, Istanbul: 2010)

I am constantly having to check my vowels and l's as the pronunciation should be in the middle of the mouth and mine tends to reside towards the front of my mouth. Most of the sound seems to sit in the middle of the mouth or further back towards the throat. Similarly, some of the consonants are controlled using the throat more so than Germanic and Romantic languages. The closest comparison is the German "R" being very guttural and in the back of the throat. It could be hypothesized that the throat singing of Turkish music is a direct result of the pronunciation of the language and vise versa. The melismatic control of the komas could have very well stemmed from the throat control needed for the spoken language. All in all, it is very challenging learning to use my voice in the right way. As a classically trained singer, the use of the throat and larynx is absolutely minimal if used at all.
     Another aspect of the language worthy of note is the need for consistent supported breath. To make the throat movements necessary and to get the sound quality as well as placement just right, the breath has to be connected to the low body. In my opinion, this explains how Turkish singers can produce the consistency in sound that they do while using the larynx to control movement of the notes.
     We will be heading to Antalya soon and from there, Adana until returning to Istanbul in August. I am looking forward to the trip which will be on a bus that makes frequent stops at larger cities allowing time for some sight seeing and, the best part, time to be able to taste the local cuisine!


Antalya, Turkey