Vocal Development
Development of Vocal Quality
• Understanding
• Training
• Practice
How Sound is Produced
Sound is produced when air passes over
and vibrates the vocal cords. It’s the
lungs and diaphragm that control our
breath and send air to the wind pipe or
trachea. The trachea directs air over the
vocal folds or vocal cords which are
located within the larynx or voice box.
When your vocal folds are flat, no sound
is produced.
When air passes over them and they are
stretched out, sound is produced. Air
continues to pass through the glottis and
epiglottis to the mouth. Proper use of
teeth, tongue, lips, jaw, hard palate,
uvula and soft palate (speech
articulators) and the pharynx, nose,
nasal passage and sinuses (speech
resonators) will have an impact on your
tone and breathing.
Diaphragmatic Breathing
Technique
The diaphragm muscle is what allows us
to breath naturally. As we inhale, the
diaphragm moves down so the lungs can
expand to fill with air. As the diaphragm
moves down, it pushes on the abdominal
cavity and forces the abdominal area to
move outward because of the pressure
from the muscle pushing down.
This movement of the abdomen makes
it easy to feel if you are breathing
deeply. You should feel expansion of
the stomach area and all around the
back. The lower chest should also
expand. As the breath is exhaled, the
diaphragm also controls the airflow so
that air is released slowly rather than
all at once.
Proper Breathing Posture
The proper breathing posture, while standing,
is feet apart with weight slightly on the balls
of your feet. Knees should be slightly flexed
and your hips straight. The back is also
straight and, as you breath in, your abdomen
should push out but your shoulders should not
rise. If seated, it’s best to sit toward the edge
of the chair with your feet flat on the floor and
your back straight.
Avoid Thoracic Breathing
You’ve probably heard the old expression
“stomach in, chest out.” This is the
opposite of the way our bodies are
supposed to breathe. When you breathe
improperly, air is forced into only the upper
part of the lungs. This means you, as a
broadcast announcer, are forced to take
breaths every few words, making
performance difficult and a broadcast script
sound choppy.
Key Elements to Vocal
Development
“Excellent” announcer voices are usually
well developed in three ways:
• they speak in a lower range with a
pleasing resonant voice
• they speak at a pace that promotes easy
comprehension by the listener
• they speak with exceptional clarity of
content
Elements that you have some
control over
1.Volume
2.Pitch
3.Rate
4.Tone
Volume
The loudness or softness of your
voice. It contributes to the perception
of energy and enthusiasm that you
communicate to an audience.
Volume is controlled by the muscles
that effect proper breathing.
Pitch
Pitch is the highness or lowness of your voice.
Pitch change is called inflection. These
variations can add greatly to the
interpretation of broadcast copy. It can add
variety and can be used to change meaning.
The ability to alter your pitch is an important
part of your vocal development.
The best way to lower your pitch is to relax.
Rate
Rate is the overall speed of speaking (or
the tempo in which you speak). There is
no correct rate, typical delivery is 145 to
180 words a minute. This is probably
slightly faster than normal conversation
rate. Keep in mind that you will most
likely have articulation problems when
speaking at higher rates of speed.
Pace and Phrasing
Pacing, the use of pauses ad variations
in speed, can greatly enhance the
meaning of words.
Phasing is how you group words
together and properly pause and breathe
between these groups of words.
Tone
Tone is the quality of sound that is
made. It is affected by the body that
surrounds the vibrators such as vocal
cords (throat) or strings (violin or
guitar). The body surrounding the
vocal cords is different for each
person and therefore will resonate
sound in a different way.
Articulation of Sound
Sounds must be shaped into
recognizable words. Articulators
(lips, teeth, tongue, jaw, and hard
and soft palettes) do this. Good
articulation is producing sounds
that are clear without being overly
precise.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is the way in which
words are spoken by uttering the
proper sound and stressing the
proper syllable(s).
Common Vocal Problems
Common problems related to variations in pitch
are monotone, sing-song and whiny vocal styles.
Other common problems are related to a lack of
resonance or improper breathing.
Other problems are excessive sibilance (the overemphasis of the s sound) and popping. Popping
is caused by a “pop” in the air in words with p, b,
t, d, k, and g.
Maintaining a Healthy Voice
As a broadcast performer, you must
take care of your voice as it is your
most valuable asset and without it you
could lose your livelihood.
Voice-saving techniques include
warm-ups, water-downs and
withdrawals.