I’ve been working on a new film essay and relearning some of the things I learned when Rob and I made Civilization Noir –
- Speaking is hard
- I have very poor enunciation
After listening to some rough cuts of the voiceover for the most recent project, I started looking around for enunciation exercises and tips – specifically about how to reduce sibilant s’s – and I went down a bit of a rabbithole researching speaking, enunciation, and voice acting. Here are my notes.
Warm-up
Here is my current vocal warm-up routine:
- jump up and down
- do 30 pushups or jumping jacks
- with one hand on heart, one on diaphragm do a 4-7-8 breath (in through nose, out through mouth)
- chew gum exercise - R, L, front
- massage jaws
- lion face / lemon face
- lip trills - low to high, high to low, low high low, high low high
- guerilla / bubble cheeks
- hum happy birthday (or other tune)
- go through favorite tongue twisters
- wear soft clothes, turn off all noise, mic stance / distance (shaka distance)
Observations
- I have a strong tendency to pronounce s’s with a lot of sibilance / whistling
- My tongue is very attached (by the frenulum) even toward the very front of my mouth. (ankyloglossia / tongue-tie)
- I often will lazily pronounce “to” more like “ta”
Sibilant S Exercises
- via How To Get Rid Of A Splashy, Sibilant S:
- Keep your tongue back from your teeth.
- Make sure your jaw is mobile – move it dramatically.
- Direct the sound forward (vs towards the sides of your mouth). Imagine air coming out of a straw straight out the front of your mouth.
- Say the days of week with your tongue back from teeth - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
- Other words to practice: - accept - across - against - almost - asks - explain - snail - snake
- via Speak with Less Sibilance:
- when you open your mouth VERY WIDE, the air will whistle as it comes out your mouth
- open your mouth MUCH LESS WIDE – as wide as the inner corners of your eyes – and your mouth can open higher up/down (vs wide) and there will be less sibilant whistling
- practice “She sells seashells by the seashore” and “61, 62, 63…” with mouth open LESS WIDE
- via How To Quit That Lisp:
- This guy has a bunch of tongue movement exercises that I can’t seem to do because of my ankyloglossia
- He suggests you can improve your s-pronunciation by doing these exercises, then practicing saying the following phrase with the tongue in different positions: “Leave the lazy lion alone.”
Tongue Twister Exercises
- current favs (ie, the ones I find the most difficult)
- Shy Sheena Church
- cautiously shushed
- brash chatty Sean Bishop
- during the speech
- on religious friction.
- What time does the wristwatch strap shop shut?
- Reading and writing are richly rewarding.
- He threw three free throws.
- Three free thugs set three thugs free.
- She Sells Sea Shells by the Sea Shore
- Six Slippery Snails Slid Silently
- Fred fed Ted bread, and Ted fed Fred bread
- Rory the warrior and Roger the worrier were reared wrongly in a rural brewery.
- I really ran around eleven large roses late last night.
- Rarely do lovers rely on rowdy relatives.
- Shy Sheena Church
- via the EXCELLENT Best Vocal Warm Ups for Voice Actors
- Purple, paper, people.
- Red leather yellow leather,
- red lorry yellow lorry,
- red welly yellow welly.
- Shy Sheena Church
- cautiously shushed
- brash chatty Sean Bishop
- during the speech
- on religious friction.
- Unique New York, unique New York, unique New York.
- A big black bug bit a big black bear.
- She sells seashells by the seashore.
- Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
- How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
- What time does the wristwatch strap shop shut?
- A skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk, but the stump thunk the skunk stunk.
- No need to light a nightlight on a light night like tonight.
- My cutlery cuts keenly and cleanly.
- Four furious friends fought for the phone.
- Reading and writing are richly rewarding.
- Any noise annoys an oyster, but a noisy noise annoys an oyster most.
- I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen.
- He threw three free throws.
- Three free thugs set three thugs free.
- If you stick a stock of liquor in your locker
- It is slick to stick a lock upon your stock
- Or some joker who is slicker
- Is going to trick you of your liquor
- If you fail to lock your liquor with a lock.
- Someone said something simple
- A simple something said to me
- Simply simple someone said
- A simple something said to me.
- via Tongue Twister Breakdown:
- This page was cool because it had breakdowns, benefits, and tips for each.
- Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers
- Breakdown: This tongue twister employs a lot of plosive ‘P’ sounds.
- Benefits: Excellent for practising plosive sounds, speed, and rhythm.
- Tips: Start slow, emphasizing each ‘P’ sound, then gradually increase speed.
- How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck
- Breakdown: The twister is filled with ‘W’ and ‘CH’ sounds.
- Benefits: Great for mastering rhythm and vocal flexibility.
- Tips: Keep a consistent rhythm as you go through each iteration.
- ★ She Sells Sea Shells by the Sea Shore
- Breakdown: An array of ‘S’ and ‘SH’ sounds.
- Benefits: Perfect for practising sibilant sounds and tongue control.
- Tips: Focus on clean transitions between the ‘S’ and ‘SH’ sounds.
- A Proper Copper Coffee Pot
- Breakdown: Features a variety of consonant transitions.
- Benefits: Useful for practising consonant transitions and breath control.
- Tips: Take deep breaths and articulate each word clearly.
- Six Slippery Snails Slid Silently
- Breakdown: Alliteration of ‘S’ and ‘SL’ sounds.
- Benefits: Enhances alliteration and smooth transitions.
- Tips: Maintain a steady pace and focus on smoothness.
- Fred fed Ted bread, and Ted fed Fred bread
- Breakdown: This tongue twister incorporates a mix of ‘F,’ ‘T,’ ‘D,’ and ‘B’ sounds.
- Benefits: Excellent for practising consonant transitions, rhythm, and vocal dexterity.
- Tips: Focus on the quick shifts from ‘F’ to ‘T’ and ‘D’ to ‘B,’ aiming for crisp, clear articulation.
- Betty Botter Bought Some Butter
- Breakdown: A mixture of ‘B’ and ‘T’ sounds.
- Benefits: Enhances lip and tongue dexterity.
- Tips: Enunciate the ‘B’ and ‘T’ sounds crisply.
- via Coach
- Red leather, yellow leather. (×3)
- Robert Rowly rolled a round roll round.
- Rory the warrior and Roger the worrier were reared wrongly in a rural brewery.
- Robert ran rings around the Roman ruins.
- Real red rock roof. (x3)
- I really ran around eleven large roses late last night.
- Rarely do lovers rely on rowdy relatives.
- Are lucky red rabbits really real?
- Rain on the rail will surely remain.
- Larry looked long at a love letter.
- I asked for an exact explanation, please express clearly and abstain from exclamation!
- Oxbridge attracts stacks of prosperously subsisting students with strict expectations.
- Try strolling, striding and springing through all disreputable backstreets in the district.
- Breads, bags of figs, tubs of eggs and shelves of olives gives loads of carbs.
- I’ll be amazed if those disturbed scallywags get their hands on lobsters.
- Bulbs blazed over our heads, shades and closed lids absorbed the waves.
Vocal Fry
- I had never heard of the phenomenon of “vocal fry” before – here’s the technical definition via What is Vocal Fry?:
It’s this aperiodic staccato sound that is formed by compression of the arytenoid cartilages or the vocal processes which are at the back of the vocal folds – and the vocal folds are maintained in a relatively loose position. There’s very little air flow. Then the voice becomes very sort of a popping or a creaking sound.
Books
- The Art of Voice Acting. I picked this up and have been going through it. Some good stuff in here (but also a bunch of career-coach-y stuff that is less relevant.)
- This is a Voice. Heard about this via one of the YouTubes. Have not read (or bought) it yet.