Unit 3 – Vocal
Performance
Proper Breathing
• Lungs should not do most of the work
• The diaphragm is the muscle that keep the air
flowing
o Separates the thoracic cavity from the abdominal cavity
• When contracted the diaphragm moves down
• When relaxed the diaphragm it moves up
• Stomach should push out when breathing in
o Diaphragm is pulling down, ribcage widening from bottom
• Stomach should suck in when breathing out
o Stomach muscles are contracting
• Avoid thoracic breathing technique
Air Flow
• Once the lungs fill, the air is push upward through
the trachea
• Air then passes to the larynx and the vocal folds
o Vocal folds are relaxed and open in silence
o Vocal folds tighten and come together in speech
o The air flow through the folds causes them to vibrate rapidly
• Air then goes through the trachea into the head
and mouth
o Bones and sinuses in the head serve as resonators
o Parts of the mouth serve as articulators
Posture
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When standing:
Feet apart
Weight slightly on balls of feet
Knees slightly flexed
Hips straight, Back straight
Chest and Shoulders should not rise
When seated:
Sit toward edge of chair
Feet flat
Back straight
Volume
• Loudness or Softness of one’s voice
• Contributes to energy and enthusiasm
• Can be controlled by muscles and microphone
o A soft voice that is boosted will still be weak and lifeless
• Projection is the process of pushing sound out of
your mouth
o Push with your stomach muscles to speak to the back of the room
• Variety between loud and soft helps the speaker to
talk to the audience rather than at the audience
Pitch
• Highness and lowness of your voice
• Use your full pitch range with emphasis on lower
end of voice
o Don’t use an “announcer’s” voice
• Go about ¼ up from your lowest pitch
Rate
• Number of words per minute you deliver during a
period of time
• Typical rate is 160-180 wpm
• The faster you go, the more mistakes you make
Tone
• Quality of the sound made
• Also known as timbre (tam-ber)
• Affected most by the surrounding of the vibrators
o “Resonators”
• Relax enough to allow the sound to resonate
• Humming
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Bridge of nose
Fingers on either side of nose under eyes
Say ah
Move tongue to block
Articulation
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Shaping sounds into recognizable words
Lips, teeth, tongue, jaw, hard palate, soft palate
Be clear, not overly precise
Most common issue is lazy mouth
“Let’s take the local bus to that market”
o Tongue position
o Relaxed jaw
o Unclenched teeth
• Exercise the articulators
• Drink water
Pronunciation
• The way words are spoken by uttering the proper sound
and stressing the proper syllable
• Pronunciation = accent Enunciation = clarity
• Determine the accepted form, make sure you get it right
• Standard American English is the standard
• Mispronunciations cause alienations and loss of
credibility
• Use pronunciation guides, use practice
• A = uh the = thu
• Foreign names, places, lakes, are killers
• Phonetic spelling
Substandard
Pronunciation
• Omission – leave out part of word
o Dropping off g
• Additions – adding sound to word
o Warshington
• Substitution – replacing with wrong sound
o Mudder, budder
• Distortion – slightly altering correct sound
o Fergit, jist
• Slurring – running words together
o Whatcha doin’
Common Vocal Problems
• Filler: Unnecessary words used while thinking of
message
o “um, uh, ya know”
• Monotone: lack of variance in pitch
o Boring and uninteresting
• Sing-song: repeated pattern of pitch
• Whiny: too high, nasal pitch, elongated vowels
• Choppy: repeated pattern of pause
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Common Vocal Problems
• Nasality: air is blocked from resonators by tongue or
soft palate
o Relax Jaw
• Thin Voice: lacks resonance and is weak
o Diaphragmatic breathing
• Breathy Voice: lack of vibration, overly airy
o Let air out slower
• Husky Voice: harsh and unpleasant, caused by
misuse of voice
o Use higher pitch
Common Vocal Problems
• Sibilance – fricative sounds (s, z, f,) are
overemphasized
• Popping: plosive sounds (p, b, t, d, k) are
overemphasized
Voice Maintenance
• Avoid screaming
• Adequate moisture
o Avoid coffee, dairy, alcohol, caffeine
• You are using a microphone
• Save your voice
Conversational Style
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Difficult to achieve because:
No other people in booth
No immediate feedback from listener
Not using your words
Conversational Style
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Must practice by:
Recording yourself (aircheck)
Be critical when you listen
Read it out loud as you rehearse
Conversational Style
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Be flexible in your projection
Assume the audience is 18 inches away (distance)
Address your immediate family (number)
“There are four people 2 feet in front of you”
Inflection
• Ranges from low to high pitch
• Gives life to the copy
• Start by exaggerating, then adjust
Emphasis
• Provides importance to words
• Can use inflection, loudness, pause, etc.
• Don’t over use
o Limit to 1 or 2 key words per sentence
Emphasis
• Provides importance to words
• Can use inflection, loudness, pause, etc.
• Don’t over use
o Limit to 1 or 2 key words per sentence
Volume & Rate
• Provide volume/rate variety in order to speak to
the listener and not at the listener
Pause
• Break up copy, create interest, give audience a
chance to absorb
• Avoid choppy delivery
• Allow for breath, and avoid fading at the end of
sentences by planning your breath
Phrasing
• Group words that form ideas and deliver them
smoothly together
• Vary length of pause between each phrase, avoid
patterns
Flow
• Don’t over enunciate, pause after each work, or
drop your pitch at each pause
• Avoid stumbles and restarts by being familiar with
the copy and maintaining concentration
Mood
• May need to change mood within same read
• Serious, happy, elation, humor, etc
Energy
• Must sound alive
• Avoid holding back
• Consider audience, message, and circumstances
when determining energy of read
• Don’t overdo it, resulting in unprofessional,
inauthentic sound
• May need to use your body language to create
Jargon, Slang, Cliches
• Jargon: specialized language or words of a
specific profession or interest group
• Slang: informal, common language used by a
specific social group
• Cliches: overused, old, worn-out expressions that
usually started as slang
Redundant Expressions
• Uses more words than necessary to convey idea
• Abundant wealth, true fact, visible to the eye, free
gift, armed gunman, green in color, unexpected
surprise, filled to capacity
Malapropism
• Misuse of a word by giving it a mixed up meaning,
incorrect word that sounds like correct one
• Pineapple of politeness – pinnacle
• Optical conclusions – illusions
• Civil serpent – servant
Solecism
• Word or phrase that is not grammatically
acceptable
• Ain’t, you and I, they was
Spoonerism
• Transposing syllables “bloopers”
• Tip of the slung – slip of the tongue
• Tasted two worms – wasted two terms
Political Correctness
• Being sensitive to using language that may offend
• Gender, Race, Ethnicity, Age, Nationality
Amateur Delivery
Don’t hesitate when voicing a difficult word
Avoid filler
Avoid throw away “vocal fry”
Concentrate while reading
Avoid slurring or mumbling
Avoid improper rate, misplace emphasis, and dead
delivery
• Develop audience rapport (relationship)
• Be knowledgeable
• Be flexible
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