Vocal Clarity Flashcards
What is unnecessary tension
Wasted energy kept in the body not used for communication
What is posture
The alignment of the spine
What is neutral posture
Chin in line with the floor Back of neck stretched upwards Shoulders back and wide Spine is long Hands hang loosely Knees are soft Feet under hips , point forward
What does posture effect (2)
The delivery of your voice and the amount of air that goes into your lungs
What happens when your spine is curved forward
Your voice will be constricted , you will sound short of breath
What should an actress do to focus on her voice , what does this then require
Make sure you are relaxed and free of unnecessary tension , this requires a constant harmony between the muscles
What is relaxation connected to and why
It is connected to breathing and phonation because our voices are sensitive to any feeling of unease
How does tension push your voice up in pitch and why
By constructing the throat , you breath tends to sound shallow because tension also constricts your ribs and lungs therefor when you lie you sound high pitched
What is breathing
The process of inhalation and exhalation
What activity is breathing made by and affected by what
Physical activity , made by and affected by the body
What is the main source of energy for our voices
Provided by the airstream expelled from our lungs
What are the sounds we make controlled by
The capacity of our lungs and by the muscles contacting their action
What breathing patterns can affect vocal characterization
Habitual breathing patterns
What will affect the breathing of a character
Emotion , age , medical conditions (asthma) thus affecting vocal charaterization
What is the spine made of
A series of vertebrae , from each vertebrae pairs of ribs pass down and connect to the sternum .
What are intercostal muscles
Muscles in between the ribs that contract during inhalation
What is the diaphragm
A dome shaped muscle that divides the chest and abdomen
What is the diaphragm connected to
It is attached to the bottom of the lungs and also contacts during inhalation
What is the passage of breath
- Air enters the mouth and noise
- Passes through the pharynx (throat) into the larynx (voice box )
- Passes into the trachea (windpipe) divides into 2 bronchi which enter the 2 lungs
- On exhalation the air passes in the same order reversed
What is the breathing process
- Diaphragm and intercostal muscles contract
- Lungs are pulled downward and outward
- Air is inhaled (drawn into lungs)
- Diaphragm and intercostal muscles relax
- Lungs pushed upward
- Air is exhaled (expelled out lungs)
What does breath control imply
Control of the outgoing breath , as it is the breath that serves as a source of energy for the voice
What is passive breathing
The unconscious breathing action we perform all the time
What is clavicular breathing
Breathing that is restricted to the upper chest - shallow breathing accompanied by raised shoulders , not encouraged for performance
What is intercostal diaphragmatic breathing
Optimal breathing that engages the controlled contractions of the intercostal muscles and diaphragm for maximum breath capacity
What is phonation
The production of sound
Process of air stream being modified to become speech sounds
What is the larynx
The voice box that rests on top of the trachea and is made up of bine , cartilage and tissue .
Where are the vocal chords situated
Inside the larynx attached to the front beneath the Adam’s apple
What is the glottis
The opening between the vocal folds , through which the air stream passes as it expels from the trachea
What is the epiglottis
A leaf shaped piece of cartilage takes an upright position resting against the base of the tounge during breathing and phonation
What does the epiglottis do
When swallowing food or water the epiglottis closes the opening of the trachea so that food and water don’t enter the windpipe
What do vocal chords look like
Vocal folds or lips
What happens when you make sound
Your brain sends messages through the nervous system to activate the vocal chords and bring them closer together
What does the source of energy provided by your breath from your lungs result in
The movement of the vocal chords creating vibrations which are heard as sound
What do the vocal chords do
Chop up your breath into a series of rapid puffs
How many time does your vocal chords open approximately per second for each voice
256 times for a medium to dark voice colour
426 times for a lite voice colour
What is projection
The amplification of your voice , using good breath control , resonance and articulation so that you are heard effectively from the stage
What is resonance
The intensification and enriching of sound by vibration in the resonating chambers
What are the resonating chambers
Mouth , nasal , throat and chest cavities
What skills are required for an actress to be heard regardless of the stage and length of phrase
Intercostal diaphragmatic breathing
Resonance
Articulation
Why is intercostal diaphragmatic breathing important (actress)
To have a clear , strong voice the air must be exhaled under controlled pressure it is good for an actress as it maximizes her ability to create sound
What is relaxation
Your body is free , ready for action and alert without unnecessary tension
Why is resonance good for an actress
To ensure a well projected voice and rounded tone
When does resonance generally occur
When we create vowel sounds
What are vowel sounds known as
Sounds of emotion
Why is articulation goof for an actress
An actress must articulate active in order to be understood
What are the organs of articulation
Lips , jaw , teeth , alveolar , ridge , palate and toung
What is articulation
The process of when the articulation organs shape sound and breath into consonants and vowels which in turn creates words and phrases
Why do people generally speak differently
People are attributed to articulation organs in particular ways
What are vowels
Vocalized breath that pass through the mouth uninterrupted
What are vowels connected to and why
Resonance ,as they are all created through intense vibrations inside many of the resonating cavities
What is the shaping of vowel sounds
Enunciation
What 2 factors are vowels created by
Degree of lip rounding , placement of tounge
What do consonants do
Cut up continues vowel sounds and shape them into words
Why do consonants need to be articulated well
So your speech is clear and crisp
What is the shaping of consonants sounds called
Articulation
What are consonants created by (2)
Place where sound is created and voiced (vibration) or voiceless (no vibration)
What is vocal tone
The characteristic quality of the tone of voice which portrays the emotion state or attitude of speaker
What is vocal tone simialer to and why
Habitual pitch as they both reflect the characteristic pitch someone usually speaks in , but it is also associated with feelings and tends to show emotional state of speaker
What is PIPER
Pitch , inflection , pause , emphasis and rate
Pitch?
The pitch of your voice can be high , medium , low depending on the number of cycles of vibrations per second
What can an actress change her pitch for
To show emotion , to present a certain character
What feelings makes your pitch go up
Nervous , angry , scared , exited
What feelings make your pitch go down
Serious or discreet
What does changing your pitch bring to a performance
Variety and richness and adding meaning to your performance
What is inflection
The gentle rise and fall of the voice on syllables
What is a syllable
A unit of pronunciation having one vowel sound with or without surrounding consonants forming whole or part of a word .
What is inflection similar to
Pitch , but in pitch your voice goes up and down in pitch this is a rise and fall associated with changing meaning of sentence
What is an upward inflection
Used on the last syllable on the word of a sentence intended to be a question
What is a downward inflection
Is used on the last syllable of the last word in a sentence inted to be a statement
What is a pause
A rest or stop in the voice
What are the 3 factors that affect rythem of speechv
Emphasis , rate , pause
What can pause be used to show
Show emotion To create a phrase for meaning To indicate important words To create a dramatic effect Allow audience to take in what has been said
What are the 3 main types of pause
Breath pause Sense pause (punctuation ) Dramatic pause (suspense )
What is emphasis
Stress or weight given to a word to make it sound more important
What does emphasis effect
Rythem as the habitual use of emphasis can indicate the rythem of a characters natural speech pattern
How can we indicate emphasis
To press on a word To pause before or after a word To spell out the word To slide the word Adding a gesture to the word
What is rate / pace
The speed at which words are utterd
What does a fast pase indicate
Scared , nervouse , angry
What does a slow pace indicate
Depressed , sad , relaxed , peacfull
What does rate affect
The rythem of the characters voice as it will affect how they are feeling and where they are from
