It's possible to make a 'b' with no vowel. Start with the sound and never open your mouth. It's like an 'm' without letting any air out your nose. Hold it and y

It's possible to make a 'b' with no vowel. Start with the sound and never open your mouth. It's like an 'm' without letting any air out your nose. Hold it and your cheeks will swell, there's no place to release the air. You can do a tiny release and have no voice at that point. But I still agree with you overall that the correct approach is to teach it by demonstrating what's common across all its uses.