Those French Nasals

Ah, those French nasals!

Those two words are enough to send even the bravest of us into a panic. Okay that might be a bit of an exaggeration....or is it?

Bottom line...not only these vowels proper to the French language are complicated to understand and produce, but their name doesn't do anything to help their case.

The term "nasals" often misleads us to think that these vowels are placed in the nose, generating a plethora of issues, from mispronounced words to otherwise healthy voices all of a sudden sounding as if they were straight out of a Teletubbies episode.

No, French nasals are not to be sung or spoken in the nose. They each have a different position along our cheekbones and they each require a specific lip position BUT they are all to be placed in the same space.

Hint: not in our nose. While other vowels in French can be called "forward", nasals have a very different and distinctive placement: they are behind your nose, at the limit between the hard palate and the soft palate. Some people respond well to them being described as "back and up in the skull" or "behind the upper molars".

As time goes on, I will describe each nasal precisely and hopefully give you a foolproof idea of how to sing them all, without sacrificing the color of your voice, or your sanity and heart rate.

For more information on nasals, and if these bad boys are playing tricks on you in your French repertoire, message today for a private coaching!