any singing tips for non-native english speakers?

[jrt12]

i'm helping a friend do a couple demo tracks and the biggest concern going in is his accent/pronounciation. its acoustic, singer/songwriter stuff, so the singing and lyrics need to be intelligible. was wondering if there were any techniques or exercises you guys have used in the past to help with this? (and yes, i know that singing lessons and speech therapy would be the best option... but he's like most other musicians, broke and cant afford lessons) I've already given him some basic breathing tips, but pronounciation will still be a problem it sounds like. have you guys used any techniques in the past that you've found works?

 

[OctoberRust]

"It's not a bug, it's a feature"

 

[mts1979]

Just have him yell "BULLSHIT" a lot like Max Cavalera.

 

[jrt12]

"It's not a bug, it's a feature"

i've always liked that line as long as i was on the comfortable end of it.

and dont get me wrong, i'm not trying to make him sound more american... this is his concern about his songs and i just thought that an international site like this might have several people who've faced this hurdle before. i'm already thought about recording individual lines, or cutting in on specific words that might be problematic... i'm just not sure he'll dig that approach (like i said, he's doing acoustic folk stuff). so any pronunciation or phrasing tips would be much appreciated.

 

[KeithTidd]

you speak english right? Coach him. If he sings a word badly, show him how to do it better. It's easy to redo a line with a punch in.