SPEECH & VOICE PRODUCTION RUSTENBURG MARCH 2013

OUTCOMES 1.Improved voice production 2.Voice definitions and terminology  Pitch  Pace  Projection  Articulation  Resonance  Emphasis  Pause  Tone  Intonation

VOICE PRODUCTION Do you think the following have an impact on voice production?: – Stress, tension, tiredness – Enthusiasm – Aggression – Too little / too much confidence – Preparation or the lack thereof – Concentration or the lack thereof

VOICE PRODUCTION In groups, discuss the following: – What do you regard as a pleasing voice? – What vocal qualities prevent you from receiving the intended message? – Do you find certain voice qualities disturbing or distracting?

VOICE PRODUCTION Distracting vocal qualities: – Mumbling / lack of clarity – Too loud / too soft voice – Too high / too low pitch – Delivery too fast / too slow – Too long / inappropriate pauses – Inappropriate emphasis – Breathy tone – Nasal tone – Hoarse tone

VOICE PRODUCTION Remedy to most voice faults: – Relaxation and correct posture – Positive attitude – Correct breathing method – Regular practice of exercises (articulation, pitch, pace, projection, inflection, tone, pauses and emphasis)

VOICE PRODUCTION VIOLIN – bow strikes the strings of the violin – strings vibrate – vibrations set up sound waves VOICE – breath strikes against the vocal cords in the larynx – vocal cords come together and vibrate – vibration sets up sound waves – sound waves resonated in body resonators

Definitions of voice terminology Pitch: the level of voice - high or low note, related to the range of the voice Pace: the speed at which we speak Projection: the strength of tone, the power behind words, increased volume supported by meaning Articulation: the formation of sounds by the lips, tongue, hard and soft palate, teeth and jaw Resonance: the resonation of sound waves in the body resonators. Also the reinforcement of sound

Definitions of voice terminology Emphasis: the weight placed on a word /s to give it enhanced meaning Pause: a cessation of sound, to make sense, to breathe, for effect, for rhythm, used to express emotion Tone: the quality of voice produced by the speaker. Expression of feeling, emotion and mood Intonation: changes made in pitch- use to enhance subtlety of meaning

RELAXATION The conscious application of techniques to eliminate tension from the muscles, the mind and emotions to prepare for a focused and creative state.

POSTURE The position of the different body parts relative to one another. –Stand with your feet slightly apart and your weight equally distributed –Stretch the spine and feel ”tall”. –Do this by “pulling out of your waist”. Be careful of not lifting the shoulders, keep the shoulders relaxed. –Pull your head up, but only by lengthening the back of the neck. Look at eye level. –Let the head rest naturally and easily on the spine. Do not jut the chin. –Feel toned, but at ease! –Be in a state of restful alertness.

BREATHING The process of taking air into and expelling it through the lungs For the production of voice the use of the following body parts / organs are important: – diaphragm – intercostal muscles – larynx – resonators

ARTICULATION Organs of articulation –lips –jaw –tongue –soft and hard palate Exercises

PAUSE Pause: a cessation of sound, to make sense, to breathe, for effect, for rhythm, used to express emotion Nelson Mandela extract

PAUSE Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous. As quoted by Nelson Mandela

PROJECTION PROJECTION IS: Breath Support Strength Of Tone

PROJECTION EXERCISES: 1.Count from 1 to 5. Breathe with each count. Concentrate on filling the vowel sound. Project more with each count 2.Call as if from a distance – prolong vowel sounds, guard against shrillness –Wait for me! –Yoo hoo! Ho there!

PROJECTION  Visualise that your voice is a stream of paint. Decide on the colour of you voice (paint). Say: ‘Away to the woods on the wings of the wind!’ “Paint” the person in front of you with your voice. Then breathe and “paint” five meters / ten meters away – to the back of the room.

PACE Divide into pairs: A and B –A tells B in four sentences what he/she has done this morning up to this point. –A tells the story at a very fast pace. B must repeat. A may not repeat if B is unsure –A tells story using a manageable pace. B must repeat word for word adding colours –Change pairs

EMPHASIS See how emphasis can change the meaning of one sentence in eight ways. 1.I don’t know where he is (Statement of fact) 2.I don’t know where he is(Someone else may) 3.I don’t know where he is (Contradiction) 4.I don’t know where he is (But I can guess) 5.I don’t know where he is (He has quite disappeared) 6.I don’t know where he is(I know where the others are) 7.I don’t know where he is (I know where he was) 8.I don’t know where he is? (Why, of course I do!)

EMPHASIS Alter the emphasis of the following sentence by stressing one word for each of the following 5 meanings : ‘THEMBA USUALLY COMES INTO CAPE TOWN BY TRAIN’ 1.But not Andy 2.It is his habit 3.He gets a lift back 4.But uses his car for other places 5.Not by taxi

PITCH Say the following sentences beginning the first on your lowest note. Each sentence thereafter should be a little higher each time –It’s very dark in here. (lowest) –I don’t like the look of it all. –Let’s go and see what we can find! –All right, you go first, I’ll follow! –Come over here! Look what I’ve found! (highest)

TONE Tone: the quality of voice produced by the speaker. Expression of feeling, emotion and mood Archbishop Desmond Tutu extract

TONE My vision of a South Africa that is totally non-racial… a new South Africa. A free South Africa, where all of us, black and white together, will walk tall, where all of us, black and white together, will hold hands as we stride forth on the Freedom March to usher in the new South Africa where people will matter because they are human beings. Archbishop Desmond Tutu

RESONANCE Resonators: – Sinuses – Temples – Nose – Mouth – Pharynx – Chest

ASSESSMENT – Divide into pairs – Choose one extract – Read it to your partner applying all the vocal skills you have practiced – Assess each other using the checklist

INTONATION Intonation: changes made in pitch - use to enhance subtlety of meaning

INTONATION For one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks, the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is but preparation.