What is involved in a sound besides its pitch that allows us to hear the “shape” of the vowel? Or is it actually a combination of pitches, and a true pitch (like from a tuner) will always sound the same?
In: Biology
The shape of your mouth, and what that does to your soft palate, and your tongue placement all play a part.
As an experiment, pick a pitch and sing Ahhh with your mouth wide open. Without stopping or changing the sound produced in your throat, slowly bring your teeth together. The vowel changes, and you’ll likely feel the point of resonance move as well.
We learn very early how to manipulate all the elements of sound/speech production to get a specific result, so this is all unconscious stuff, but you can try different things — moving your tongue forward and back, changing your cheek shape, opening your mouth more or less — to get an idea of all the moving parts in a given vowel sound.
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