Starting Foundations

Starting Foundations Voice and Diction

Objectives • To develop a more effective speaking voice through relaxation, proper breathing, and good posture • To learn habits of good diction in order to develop distinctive, effective voices • To use voice quality, pitch, volume, pause, and rate effectively in interpreting character, mood, and meaning.

Basics and expectations of 'talent' • Effective communication of intended message • Delivery style that creates a connection with the intended target audience • Effective and/or pleasing vocal qualities • (cont.)

Basics and expectations of 'talent' • Delivery style that matches the content and message intent • Attention-getting style of voice and/or delivery • Accomplishes goal(s) of talent and/or client and/or supervisor • Communicator personality, • and ..... ?

Voice and delivery basics • Accent vs. dialect • Correct pronunciation (phonetics? compare foreign language issues) • Projection, rate, resonance, articulation, vocal variety, inflection and emphasis, tone / timbre / pitch, nasality, hoarseness, breathing through your diaphragm, optimum pitch

Voice and delivery basics • Singing comparison -- can everyone sing? Can anyone be talent? • The technology: Correct use of microphones, addressing the camera in video productions.

Focus Activity Who’s on first?

Relaxation • Proper sounds are made through vowel sounds and vowel sounds are made through a relaxed and open throat, jaw and lips. • A tense or tight throat will cause hoarseness when you try to project your voice in practice or performance. • Warm Ups

Breath Control • What is the difference between regular breathing and breathing for speech? • Regular breathing • The inhalation and exhalation periods are of equal length. • Breathing for speech • Requires a very brief inhalation period and a slow, controlled exhalation period. • In breathing for speech, you should inhale through the mouth since this allows for more rapid intake of breath than through the nose. • Controlled breathing is more important to a performer than deep breathing.

Breathe from diaphragm? • What does that mean? • Means that the chest cavity stays relatively still, while the lower ribs rise and fall slightly. • Requires less chest breathing • Allows you to breathe more deeply • Provides the control you need to project long passages without running out of breath. • Practice this daily t be a good performer!

Four characteristics of the Voice • Must be used for effective voice: • Quality • Pitch • Volume • Rate

Quality/Tone • Individual sound of your voice • Depends on the shape and size of your vocal mechanism, which you will not be able to change • You CAN learn to make the most of what you’ve got by keeping your throat open and controlling your breath. • If your voice sounds harsh or raspy, it usually is the result of a closed throat. • If your voice sounds breathy, you are probably using more breath than you need. • Voice quality may also be affected by emotion • Tone is the vocal element you use to create different emotional colors when you speak or sing. • Tone Exercises

Pitch • Relative highness or lowness of the voice at any given time • Pitch is determined by the rapidity with which the vocal folds vibrate • Most persons use only four or five notes in ordinary speaking, but a good speaker can use two octaves or more • Pitch gives meaning to speech. • Excited, interested, enthusiastic = higher pitch on important words to emphasize them and lower pitch on unimportant words to subordinate them • Conflict increases, excitement stirs, comedy builds = higher pitch • Variety in pitch is called INFLECTION • Without variety in pitch, speakers are unable to hold the attention of their audiences. • Overcome this by practice and conscious attention • As a performer, you must learn to control the number, length, and direction of your pitch changes. • Observe others – notice what different emotions do to the pitch of their voices

Volume • The relative strength, force, or intensity with which sound is made • NOT loudness! • Depends upon the pressure with which the air from the lungs strikes the vocal folds. • Explosive and Expulsive • What is the difference? • Explosive – sudden sharp breath pressure – commands, shouts, loud laughter, screams • Expulsive – pressure held steady, breath released gradually – used for reading long passages without loss of breath and in building to a dramatic climax • Volume is used in combination with other voice characteristics to express various feelings

Pause and Rate • Use the punctuation in your speech for help in determining pauses. • Logical and dramatic pauses demand thought and feeling on your part or you will not have your audience thinking and feeling with you. • The speed at which words are spoken is called RATE • Steadily increasing speed creates a feeling of tension and excitement • Slow, deliberate delivery impresses the hearer with their significance.

Diction/Articulation • Diction refers to the selection and pronunciation of words • Proper breathing technique, great tone, and perfect pitch will make no difference at all if you have poor diction • Poor articulation is generally the result of carelessness and sluggish speech • In performance, every word counts, unlike in everyday speech • If your speech is to be an asset in your daily usage, you must use clear, correct, pleasing speech that carries well. • Practice reading aloud daily • Record and analyze your speech and the speech of others

Vowel Sounds • Spelling is not reliable for pronunciation • Letter A • Father • Cat • Came • IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) • Created to represent the sounds found in all languages • Helpful when working with dialects • Confusing Vowel Sounds • Each word should sound different!!!

Consonant Sounds • Voiceless consonant – no vibration • Voiced consonant – vibration • Plosive, Fricative, Nasal • Plosive – air is stopped and suddenly released • Fricative – air passage is narrowed • Nasal – mouth is completely closed; air through nose

Avoid these common habits of sloppy speech: • “Didn’t you?”, “Wouldn’t you?” and “Did you?” should be separated to avoid saying “Didncha?”, “Wouldnja?”, and “Didja?” • Mumbling, muttering, or dropping words at the end of sentences and letters at the end of words • Using the vocal apparatus, especially the tongue, in a lazy manner, resulting from indistinctness • Being too meticulous, artificial, or theatrical • Voice and Diction in Performance • It is an performer’s responsibility to avoid spoiling lines by blurring pronunciation, muffling enunciation or speaking with a nervous rhythm

Five Principles to Guide You: • Vowels are the sounds performers can work with in interpretation. Vowels can be lengthened, shortened, and inflected. • Verbs are the strongest words in the language. Except for forms of be, verbs should be stressed. • Look for “color words” in your copy – those that are vividly descriptive. Look especially for those words whose sounds suggest their meaning (onomatopoeias) such as crash, stab, grunt, splash. • Rarely stress negative, pronouns, and articles. • When a word or phrase is repeated, stress each repetition more than the preceding repetition.

Tongue Twisters • Rubber baby buggy bumpers • To make the bitter batter better, Betty bought better butter, beating the better butter into the batter to make the batter better. • The dedicated doctor diagnosed the dreaded disease as December dithers. • Fickle fortune framed a fine finale for a fancy finish. • Could a creeping cat keep crafty claws clear of kitchen curtains? • Many mortals miss mighty moments more from meager minds than major mistakes. • Some people say I lisp when I say soup, soft soap, or something similar, but I don’t perceive it myself. • Round and round the ragged rock the rugged rascal ran. • Which is the witch that wished the wicked wishes?

Starting Foundations