The song title, "Under Pressure" provides practice of the /p/ and /ʃ / (SH) consonant sounds, as well as the /ə/ (MUSTARD) and /ɛ/ (RED) vowel sounds. The first syllable of the word "under" contains the /ə/ sound, while the first syllable of the word "pressure" contains the RED vowel sound, /ɛ/.

The /p/ and /b/ sounds take the same mouth position with the lips starting fully together then releasing quickly to produce a small release of air. The /p/ sound is unvoiced while the /b/ sound requires that the vocal cords vibrate.

The SH or /ʃ / sound is paired together with the ZH or /ʒ/ sound because they take the same mouth position: the tip of the tongue is down and the sides of the tongue touch the insides of the upper back teeth. Air flows through the middle of the tongue. The SH or /ʃ / sound is an unvoiced sound while the ZH or /ʒ/ sound is voiced (meaning the vocal cords vibrate.

The /ə/ vowel sound is known as the schwa sound. The schwa is the most common vowel sound in spoken English. It is a quick, relaxed neutral vowel sound like the short /u/ sound, but it is softer and weaker. It is the only speech sound with its own special name.

To make the /ɛ/ as in RED sound, the tongue is relaxed in the mid-high position. The lips are farther apart than they are for the /ei/ GRAY sound.

For more information on using colors to represent vowel sounds watch:    • The Color Vowel® Chart - A Teaching a...  

Under Pressure by Queen & David Bowie - English Listening and Pronunciation Practice: P, SH & Vowel sounds
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