Practice R with a song
Practice R with a song
Two /R/ songs: one for R before a vowel, one for vocalic R.
Rah! Rah! The pirate tips his hat, Ree! Ree! Up the ramp hops a rat.
er, er, er Talk like a roosterrrrr!
Why songs? What the research says
Speech sounds · IPA /ɹ/
The R sound /ɹ/
In the IPA, the English R sound is written /ɹ/. About 9 in 10 US children say it by age 5;0 to 5;11. Crowe & McLeod, 2020 (opens in a new tab)
The symbol
Why /ɹ/ and not /r/?
In the IPA, the upright [r] is a trilled r, like Spanish “perro.”
The English R is a different sound, so it gets the upside-down symbol ɹ. Many dictionaries still write /r/ to keep things simple. Univ. of Manitoba (opens in a new tab)
How to say it
How the R sound is made
The tongue does not touch the roof of the mouth. It stays close enough to shape the sound.
- Two tongue shapes workSome people bunch the tongue back. Others curl the tip up (retroflex). Both are normal. Ohio State chart (opens in a new tab)
- Sides of the tongue upThe sides of the tongue touch the back teeth.
- Voice onThe voice box hums during /ɹ/.
- See it moveSeeing Speech (ultrasound and MRI) (opens in a new tab) · Univ. of Iowa animations (opens in a new tab)
Two kinds
R before and after a vowel
Prevocalic R comes before a vowel: red, rabbit, carrot.
Vocalic R comes after a vowel: car, door, bird, her. It is often practiced as its own goal.
Age
When children say R
R is one of the later sounds. Your SLP looks at your child, not just the chart.
9 in 10 childrenSay /ɹ/ by 5;0 to 5;11. Crowe & McLeod (opens in a new tab)
Normal rangeNorms vary by 6 to 18 months. Wisconsin DPI (opens in a new tab)
DialectSome R differences are part of a regional or community dialect, not errors.
Common errors
“Wabbit” for “rabbit”
Saying w for r is called gliding. It is common while R develops. ASHA (opens in a new tab)
Some children say an R that sounds muffled or vowel-like. An SLP can tell these apart. ASHA patterns (opens in a new tab)
Minimal pairs for gliding (8 pairs)
Say both words. Ask your child to point to the one you said.
- red / wed
- ring / wing
- rake / wake
- right / white
- ray / way
- rest / west
- rip / whip
- run / won
Practice
R word lists
Practice the position your SLP chose. Open one list at a time.
Start of words (20 words)
- red
- run
- rain
- rock
- road
- rope
- ring
- rug
- rake
- rice
- ride
- roof
- room
- rose
- read
- rabbit
- robot
- rocket
- rainbow
- ruler
Middle of words (15 words)
- carrot
- berry
- cherry
- parrot
- giraffe
- zero
- arrow
- around
- carry
- hurry
- very
- story
- sorry
- pirate
- burrow
End of words (vocalic R) (15 words)
- car
- star
- jar
- door
- four
- more
- bear
- chair
- hair
- deer
- ear
- fire
- tire
- her
- fur
R blends (15 words)
- tree
- train
- truck
- green
- grape
- frog
- friend
- bread
- brush
- crab
- crayon
- drum
- dress
- prize
- three
Phrases (6)
- red rug
- ride a raft
- rainy road
- run to the reef
- read a story
- a rabbit in the hay
Sentences (6)
- The rabbit ran away.
- The pirate reached the gold.
- A rooster crows in the morning.
- Red berries are on the bush.
- The rat ran up the ramp.
- We read a story about a robot.
Prints every list on one page, without the extras.
For parents
A 5-minute home routine
Short and often works better than long and rare. Use your SLP’s words and level.
- 01
Listen
Play the song or say a word slowly.
- 02
Hear the difference
“Red or wed?” Let your child pick.
- 03
Say five words
From the list your SLP chose.
- 04
Use one sentence
Make it silly or turn it into a game.
- 05
Stop while it’s fun
Praise effort, not just correct sounds.
For SLPs
Clinical notes
Pick prevocalic or vocalic targets based on stimulability and the child’s errors.
Move from sounds to words, phrases, and sentences, then into songs for home carryover.
For assessment and treatment guidance, see the ASHA Practice Portal (opens in a new tab) .
When to ask
When to see a speech-language pathologist
If R is still hard after age 6, ask for an evaluation.
If you are worried at any age, ask sooner. You do not need to wait. ASHA (opens in a new tab) · NIDCD (opens in a new tab)
Questions
What is the IPA symbol for the R sound?
The English R sound is written /ɹ/, an upside-down r called “turned r.” The upright [r] stands for a trilled r, as in Spanish. Univ. of Manitoba (opens in a new tab)
At what age should a child say R?
About 9 in 10 US children say /ɹ/ by age 5;0 to 5;11 (5 years to 5 years 11 months). Norms vary by 6 to 18 months. Crowe & McLeod, 2020 (opens in a new tab)
Why does my child say “wabbit” for “rabbit”?
Swapping w for r is called gliding. It is common while R is still developing. ASHA (opens in a new tab)
What is vocalic R?
Vocalic R is R after a vowel, as in car, bird, or her. It is often practiced separately from R at the start of words.
When should we see a speech-language pathologist?
If R is still hard after the ages above, or you are worried at any age, ask for a speech evaluation. ASHA (opens in a new tab)
Sources
All sources (12)
- Crowe, K., & McLeod, S. (2020). Children’s English consonant acquisition in the United States: A review. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 29(4), 2155-2169. ASHA Journals (opens in a new tab)
- Same paper on PubMed. PubMed (opens in a new tab)
- Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Sound Development Chart (2021), based on Crowe & McLeod. PDF (opens in a new tab)
- Russell, K. IPA symbol [ɹ]. University of Manitoba. Univ. of Manitoba (opens in a new tab)
- Ohio State University IELP. English consonants IPA chart (bunched and retroflex R). PDF (opens in a new tab)
- International Phonetic Association. The IPA chart. IPA (opens in a new tab)
- Seeing Speech: IPA charts with ultrasound and MRI. University of Glasgow and partners. Seeing Speech (opens in a new tab)
- University of Iowa. Sounds of American English. Univ. of Iowa (opens in a new tab)
- ASHA (public). Speech sound disorders. ASHA (opens in a new tab)
- ASHA Practice Portal. Selected phonological patterns. ASHA (opens in a new tab)
- ASHA Practice Portal. Speech Sound Disorders: Articulation and Phonology. ASHA (opens in a new tab)
- NIDCD. Speech and language developmental milestones. NIDCD (opens in a new tab)
Links go to third-party sites and are not endorsements. Last checked October 17, 2026.
For clinics
R songs your SLP can prescribe
CantaLingo’s pilot has 6 /R/ songs, plus /S/ and /L/, for ages 4 to 6. The SLP picks the song. Families replay it at home.