m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
How to pronounce music in American English
MYOO·zuhk
Start here
Americans pronounce music as MYOO-zuhk (/ˈmjuzək/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Listen to the music" or "Cute music usually uses a huge tube" — more examples below.
Now you try.
Record yourself saying "music" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "music".
2 syllables, 5 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
yoo/ju/
Start with the tongue mid-front raised high, almost touching the roof of the mouth (but not touching). Glide into a tight lip circle as the tongue back lifts.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
In real conversation
Hear "music" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"A few new students argued about the music."
uh FYOO noo STOO·duhnts AR·gyood uh·BOWT dhuh MYOO·zuhk
"Could you turn the music down a little?"
kuud yoo TURN dhuh MYOO·zuhk DOWN uh LIH·duhl
"Cute music usually uses a huge tube."
KYOOT MYOO·zuhk YOO·zhoo·uh·lee YOO·zuhz uh HYOOJ TOOB
"He appreciates various genres ranging from jazz to classical music."
hee uh·PREE·shee·ayts VAIR·ee·uhs ZHAHN·ruhz RAYN·juhng fruhm JAZ tuh KLA·suh·kuhl MYOO·zuhk
"I bought a classic vinyl record at the music store."
ahy BAHT uh KLA·suhk VAHY·nuhl REH·kerd uht dhuh MYOO·zuhk STOR
"I really like listening to rock and roll music."
ahy REE·lee LAHYK LIH·suh·nuhng tuh RAHK and ROHL MYOO·zuhk
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Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.
In "music", the "k" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.
music→MYOO·zuhk
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch MYOO — keep everything else short and quick.
myoo·ZUHK→MYOO·zuhk
03
Pronouncing the unstressed syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
MYOO·ZUHK→MYOO·zuhk
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "music" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "MYOO" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "MYOO-zuhk" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "music" reduce to "uh"?
Unstressed syllables in American English collapse toward a schwa — a lazy, neutral "uh" sound. The full vowel is what textbooks teach, but in actual American speech every unstressed vowel reduces. The respell "MYOO-zuhk" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "music" different from British English?
American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "MYOO-zuhk" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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