Vocalization

Components of the Vocal Mechanism

• Breath – diaphragm• Throat• Larynx• Mouth

• Tongue• Teeth• Lips

• Nasal cavities

Components of the Vocal Mechanism

Components of the Vocal Mechanism

Exercises One

• Breathing Exercise• Practice diaphragmatic breathing• relax your jaw• Say “aahhhhhhh” with full round sound• Babble like a baby: “dah-dah-dah-dah-dah,

lah-lah-lah-lah-lah” repeat• Yawn• Say “loh-lay-lee-lah-loo” repeat

Exercises TwoFor lips and tongue

• Say “The teeth, the lips, the tip of the tongue” over and over

• Say “oo-oh-ah” moving smoothly from one to the other so it sounds like one sound. Reverse.

• Say “mee-moh-mee-moh-mee-moh” over and over. Repeat with “bee-boh, lee-loh, tee-toh, wee-who”

• Say “fud-dud-dud-dud-dah, fud-dud-dud-dud-dah, fud-dud-dud-dud-dah, frill” (trill the “r” in “frill”)

Aspects of Vocal Production

• Quality (tonal quality)

• Pitch

• Volume

• Rate

• Articulation

Exercises for Qualitysay one of these words, each with

a different emotion

• No

• Yes

• Really

• Of course

• Right

No, Yes, Really, Of Course, Right

• surprise• scorn• irritation• sarcasm• boredom• suspicion• eagerness• love• doubt

• weariness• exaltation• determination• horror• pain• despair• joy• anger• relief

“Now is the time to make your choice.”

• A carefree young child• A mean old man• A dictatorial boss• A discouraged job hunter

Say the following sentence as each of these characters might:

• An eloquent clergyman• A distinguished actor• A plotting criminal• A hysterical mother

“Oh, what a beautiful morning!”

• A carefree young child• A mean old man• A dictatorial boss• A discouraged job hunter

Say the following sentence as each of these characters might:

• An eloquent clergyman• A distinguished actor• A plotting criminal• A hysterical mother

“Whatever will be will be.”

• A carefree young child• A mean old man• A dictatorial boss• A discouraged job hunter

Say the following sentence as each of these characters might:

• An eloquent clergyman• A distinguished actor• A plotting criminal• A hysterical mother

“Stop! Think it over before you do anything rash!”

• A carefree young child• A mean old man• A dictatorial boss• A discouraged job hunter

Say the following sentence as each of these characters might:

• An eloquent clergyman• A distinguished actor• A plotting criminal• A hysterical mother

Exercises for Pitch

• Count from one to ten going from your lowest pitch to your highest as if on steps.

• Go back from highest to lowest.• Same, but on each successive “step” take

an “elevator” to the bottom. Reverse.• Use the alphabet to talk as if you were:

– Preaching a sermon– Explaining a math problem– Describing an accident you witnessed– Trying to comfort an upset child

Exercises for Volume

• “Throw” your voice as you use numbers, backing up after several “throws” at each range. Increase you volume as you go.

• Repeat the alphabet, increasing your volume every time you come to a vowel. Reverse.

• Say “I am going home” as if to:– A friend sitting next to you.– A person ten feet away.– Someone across the room.– Someone on the other end of the football stadium seats.

Exercises for Volume

• “I didn’t say that to her.”

• “You don’t think I stole the book, do you?”

• Why didn’t you warn me before it happened?”

Change the emphasis one word at a time in each of the following sentences, and see how it affects the meaning:

Rate

• Fast – light, happy, excited, urgent

• Slow – calm, serene, tragic, reverent

• Phrasing – break passages into thought groups.

• Breathe – between thought groups.

Vowel sounds

• Sustained voiced sounds

– Front• e as in eve• i as in him• e as in end• a as in cat

Vowel sounds

Middle Backu as in up a as in ah

a as in alone o as in occur

u as in urn o as in lord

e as in maker o as in old

oo as in hood

oo as in food

Vowel sounds

• feel, fill, fell, fall, fail, file, foil, foul

• tea, tin, ten, tan ton, turn, tarn, torn, tune, town

• eat, it, at, ought, ate

• peak, pick, peck, pack, puck, perk, park, pock, pork, poke, pike

Consonant Sounds

• formed by obstructing air flow by the tongue, soft palate, or lips

• voiced = when vibrations from the vocal folds are present.

• un-voiced = when vibrations are absent.

Consonant Sounds

• Plosives

un-voiced voicedp b

t d

k g

Consonant Sounds

• Fricatives

un-voiced voicedf v

s z

sh zh

th th

Consonant Sounds

• Nasals

voicedm

n

ng

Consonants

• Difficult consonants

L ( t-d-l)

R (k-g-r)

• Tongue Twisters

Articulation

• pencil practice