Expanding the vocabulary of staff notation by notating the vocal instrument

The aspects of vocal music performance that are often the most engaging, expressive, and creative cannot be conveyed with the established vocabulary of staff notation. Consequently, discussion of artistic choices is limited to oral or written-word formats that are neither internationally interpretable or widely shared. This research proposes a remedy by creating notation symbols for the larynx, tongue, and formants so the movements of a singer's instrument can be described in staff notation. These symbols, along with the International Phonetic Alphabet, were applied to four performances to highlight specific artistic choices. Additionally, this paper discusses the history of vocal sheet music and the role it plays in modern contemporary music genres. Upon application, it was determined that the custom symbols are helpful but clunky in discussing artistic choices, and much more information was able to be conveyed through vowel notation than tongue or larynx notation. Future research should focus on creating notation symbols for other parts of the vocal instrument, and testing the coherence of these custom symbols by sharing examples of them with vocalists.