How to Sing Legato: A Practical Guide for Smoother, Connected Phrasing

Ever been told to “sing it more legato” and realized you’re not totally sure how to do that? You’re not alone. Legato gets mentioned constantly in lessons, auditions, and rehearsals—but few singers are taught how to build it from the ground up.

In this episode, we’ll break down exactly what legato means, why it’s so hard to master, and how you can start training it today. 

Welcome to The Voice Science Podcast, where we dive into the science behind all things singing and teaching. Here, you’ll learn how the voice works and discover practical tips to train it more efficiently. I’m Josh and today we want to look at a common-enough aspect of singing that often stymies singers when asked to explain and demonstrate it. We’re talking about legato. So, what is it and how does a singer successfully delivers it.

Singing a song is an excellent example of multitasking. Think about all the things you have to keep track of: the rhythm and pitches of the melody, the lyrics and their pronunciation, the structure or form of the song, the dynamics or volume levels you will choose to convey the story of the text, the articulation of the melodic phrases for interpretive goals, just to name a few.

That’s just a partial list of the component parts of the song itself. In addition, you will make choices concerning phonation, specifically the voice quality or qualities that you think will best deliver the story you are telling. This involves making choices about what is happening relating to the three parts of singing: power (breath and body engagement), source (true vocal folds), and filter (vocal tract). Delving into each of these is underway here at VoSci so check out our podcasts and we promise more to come.

Before we do, just one caveat: Not all songs need to be sung legato. Some genres demand it, for example, the bulk of classical vocal repertoire and much of Golden Age musical theatre. In contrast, contemporary commercial pop, rock, and musical theatre may have legato moments, but they are the exception, not the rule. Having the ability to sing legato as part of your singer’s toolbelt is just a wise addition for any singer who desires to be competently flexible.

Legato comes from an Italian verb, ligare, which means “to bind together.” It is comparable to placing two pieces of paper edge to edge and bonding them with a piece of clear tape. If done properly, there should be no gap. This is precisely what legato performance should sound like. Although it is easy to define, it is much harder to accomplish, and not just for singers. Perfecting legato performance on keyboard and string instruments takes years of hard work due to the instruments’ design. One could argue that wind instruments have an advantage due to the presence of air flow, but wind players still have to coordinate embouchure and fingering coordination to reach their goal.

But, what about singers? Do we have it any easier than other musicians? Yes and no. Yes, because as breath-powered instruments we benefit because we equate flowing air with a flowing line, which is often inspiration for legato. That is why singers need a good breath management plan, namely, the ability to put the exhalatory process in slow motion through good torso engagement; listen to our first episode on breath support for more insights. But is that enough to achieve legato? Although it is essential, it alone won’t get the job done. The next step requires the singer dealing with something no other instrument has to—the words.

As stated earlier, legato performance means no gaps between pitches. But for a singer, it also means, generally-speaking, no space between vowels. One’s expressive use of the text or the language being sung may necessitate a different approach. Linking vowel to vowel may sound easy enough but then there are those ever-present consonants, seemingly relishing the up-hill challenge before you. Simply dropping all the consonants to make the task easier is not a real option. So, what is a singer to do?

Quick pause—if you’re finding these insights useful, keep your ears open. VoSci Academy is coming this summer. It’s our new learning space for singers who want to train smarter—not just harder. You’ll get in-depth courses, expanded weekly Skill Labs, and access to live monthly Q&A sessions where we dig into your vocal questions.

Whether you’re working on tuning, head voice, or refining skills like legato, VoSci Academy is designed to help you make real progress—on your terms. Head to VoiceScience.org to join the waitlist and be the first to know when it launches.

Singers must train themselves to hear the dovetailing of one vowel into the next. Dovetailing is a woodworking term for a type of joint made of interlocking tenons and mortises. It is as if the piece of wood with the tenons begins to imbed itself into the piece with the mortises forming a bond but each remaining true to itself. In the keyboard instrument world, it is a fingering technique called overlapping where, according to Google AI, “fingers (are) released slightly after the next note is played.” So, let’s take these excellent images and concepts and make them practical.

First, take a song that is familiar to you. Don’t do this exercise with a song you don’t know well. The challenge is great enough without upping the difficulty level.

Next, take one phrase at a time and sing it on a sustained vowel of your choosing. Keeping in mind what was said previously about maintaining good breath management, listen for a never-ending flow of the vowel through the phrase. Notice if you hear any interruption in the vowel flow, especially at skips or leaps in the melody.

Then, slowly, and at first, very slowly, say the text out loud, listening to the vowels you are sustaining. Do it again, even slower, and discern what you hear in the sustained vowel sounds. Do you hear them dying off just before the insertion of a consonant? If so, say the text again and don’t allow the vowel to fade before the consonant appears.

Now that you’ve reviewed the vowel sounds in the phrase, just say the vowels, allowing one to dovetail into the next. Listen intensely and don’t excuse any decay in the vowel stream in the moment you change to the next vowel.

If the previous step is going well, it is time to sing the phrase with just the vowels. Take it slowly at first. Remember: this is a lot of multitasking, and the primary goal is to train your ability to hear the start of the next vowel before you finish the last one. Slow and steady will get you there.

Finally, you can add the consonants back under one condition; they do not eat into the length of the sustained vowels you have worked so hard to create. Be patient with this process. It can be frustrating at first but it will yield results. The best way for you to think about the consonants intersecting the vowel stream is: they are glints of dappled sunlight hitting the surface of a gently flowing stream.

Too often, singers over produce consonant sounds, to the demise of any desired legato. This is probably due to some well-intentioned concern for good diction. Quality enunciation is important for great storytelling through song, but according to what measure? Too often, clean, nimble, and efficient diction is exchanged for anything loud, thick, and heavy. An approach to diction that is akin to laying siege to a castle is not your friend if legato is your goal.

When you feel you’ve made progress with that phrase, move to another and go through the process. You don’t need to do the whole song unless you have the time, patience, and motivation. You are setting an awareness in your mind through these exercises that you will then apply to anything you are singing that needs legato.

Let’s recap! Singing legato may sound like a simple concept—binding notes together with a smooth, connected flow—but achieving it as a singer is anything but easy. In this episode, we unpack what it really takes to sing legato well. It starts with good breath management, yes—but it doesn’t stop there. Unlike other instruments, singers must navigate the complexities of language: vowels, consonants, and how they all fit into a seamless musical line.

We explored how to train for legato by developing vowel continuity, noticing where airflow and tone drop off, and learning to “dovetail” each vowel into the next—while keeping consonants clean, light, and efficient. Heavy-handed diction? That’s the enemy of legato. Instead, think of consonants as quick flickers of light across the surface of a flowing stream—present, but never interrupting the current.

By isolating these elements one phrase at a time and rebuilding them step-by-step, singers can develop a more refined and expressive legato line—an essential skill for anyone aiming for stylistic flexibility and vocal polish across genres.

Outro

If this episode helped you think differently about your approach to legato singing, make sure to check out our earlier episodes—especially the one on breath support—for even more tools to level up your vocal technique.

And don’t forget—VoSci Academy launches this summer. Join the waitlist now at VoiceScience.org.

Until next time, keep listening, keep experimenting, and keep singing smart.