THE SOUND

Right after the P-sound comes the B-sound.

Again, it's important to recognize that I am referring to the B-sound, NOT NECESSARILY the B-letter.

So again, remember, everything we are referring to is related to the B-sound.

THE SOUND IN DIFFERENT POSITIONS.

So, here's the sound in different positions of a word.

BEGINNING OF THE WORD - big, bet, better, ban, bond, Ben

MIDDLE OF THE WORD - husband, baby, cabin, robot, remember

END OF THE WORD - tab, crib, tube, absorb

SITUATIONS THAT SEEM LIKE THE SOUND BUT AREN'T

(Because it is the B-letter, NOT the B-sound)

Although dumb, climb, tomb, numb, thumb and lamb have the B letter, they do not have the B-sound
A general rule is if a word or syllable ends in the letters mb, the b is silent.

WHY IT MAY BE HARD TO PRONOUNCE THE SOUND.

Just like the P-sound, it shouldn't be a hard sound for most people. Most languages in the world have either a P or B sound which are good archetypal sounds to understand the concept of a stop. However, your first language may not.

So if you don't have a P-sound OR a B-sound, there's a steeper learning curve.

WHAT TO DO.

So let's say you do have trouble with your B-sound. What can you do about it.

Well here are the features of the B-sound.

Place of articulation - lips (so pay attention to your upper and lower lips. They should touch and firm tension should be felt in your upper and lower lips)
Manner of articulation - plosive or stop (there is a complete obstruction of airflow and then an audible release as air can then escape)
Voiced or unvoiced - voiced (this means the vocal cords vibrate while producing the V-sound)

To create the /b/, air is briefly prevented from leaving the vocal tract by closing the lips. The vocal cords vibrate so when you feel your neck while you make the B-sound, it will buzz. It can be helpful to think conceptually that you need “loud lip sound” or strong lip sound. This concept helps cue you to focus on your lips and “turn your voice on”, which is the needed voicing.

TIPS & EXTRA CONSIDERATIONS.

1. Visual Cues

If you looked in a mirror at your lips, here’s what you should look for. Your lips should start off closed. Your bottom lip should move away from your top lip (aka downward) slightly as you make the sound.
At first, when you’re trying, you may visually see increased tension in your lips. This is natural and may be a first step to exploring the sound. As you get more successful or comfortable with the sound, you will slowly learn how much effort or tension is needed in the lips and don’t need to force the sound out.
An analogy would be if you are first learning an accuracy game like bocce or curling. At first, you might overcompensate and use too much effort or force. As you slowly re-calibrate the amount of effort you need, then you won’t need as much effort later on to achieve the threshold needed.

2. Tactile Cues

When the /b/ sound is pronounced correctly, a small puff of air is released from the mouth. If you hold your hand in front of your lips, you can feel this small puff.
As a voiced sound, you can feel the vibration of your vocal cords when you make the sound. Put your hand on your neck as you make the sound to feel this taking place. If you don’t feel it vibrate, it means you are not voicing and may be producing a P-sound instead.
The /b/ sound is also a stop sound, which means that it is produced by completely “stopping” airflow, then releasing it in a burst which creates the sound. The /b/ sound cannot be “held”, and does not linger like an /s/ or an /m/ does. That means you cannot say

bbbbbbbbb without starting over again.

Whereas you can say ssssssssssssssssss and hold it.

The B-Sound