Vocal Warm-Ups
Purpose: Being an actor means having full control not only of your body, but also your vocal chords. Actors who have great potential must learn to command attention or power through their voice. They must understand how to control their voice and they must take care of this vital acting tool. Although there are literally hundreds of different vocal exercises, below are some of the most effective we've used in the dept. Perform these exercises at least once a day to keep your voice in tip-top-shape. ________________________________________ EXCERCISE 1 Face Massage Massage your face with your fingertips as well as with the palm of your hands. Apply light pressure to your jaw and nasal-labial folds, also known as your laugh-lines. Make sure you also massage your forehead. Since you'll be touching your face, make sure your hands are recently cleaned to prevent clogging your pores with dirt and debris. The Hummmmm This is one of the most effective vocal warmups, and I personally do this before any speaking engagement. Sit with your back straight, and take a deep inhale that expands your diaphragm. During your exhale, vocalize the sound, "Hummmmmmm" until you have no more breath. Repeat five times. Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha This is a great exercise to help give control into your voice and breathing. Stand with your shoulders resting and your face pointing forward. Place your hand on your abdomen, and breathe in so your abdomen expands (also known as diaphragm breathing). During your exhale, make static "Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha." noises. With every "Ha," push in your abdomen to force the sound out of you. Note: this is not an extended note, but rather staccato. Guh Sit or stand comfortably, and repeat the sound "Guh" five to ten times. Do this in the same manner as the above exercise. Pah Sit or stand comfortably, and repeat the sound "Pah" five to ten times. Kah Sit or stand comfortably, and repeat the sound "Kah" five to ten times in a staccato fashion. Buh Sit or stand comfortably, and repeat the sound "Buh" five to ten times in a staccato fashion. Me, Me, Me, Maaahhhhh Standing or sitting, repeat the following phrase "Me, Me, Me" performed in a staccato fashion, and finally follow with an extended "Maaahhhhhh" as your exhale your full breath. _____________________________ EXCERCISE 2 Deep Breathing Deep breath in and hold Exhale to a count of ten. (Repeat) Deep Breathing II Deep breath in and hold Drop over like a puppet. Exhale and come back up to standing position on a count of ten (snapping as you come up) EXCERCISE 4 Diction Learning Goal - for the student to be able to find a clarity in their speech and to begin building better pronunciation skills. Tongue-Twisters - Be sure and say these in only one breath, but never go faster than you are able to go and still keep the clarity of each word in the phrase! (there are more on the handout from the instructor) *********************** Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked? A tutor who tooted the flute, Tried to tutor two tooters to toot. Said the two to the tutor, "Is it easier to toot, Or to tutor two tooters to toot?"* Bobby Bibbit bought a bat. Bobby Bibbit bought a ball. With the bat, Bob banged the ball, Banged the ball against the wall. Amidst the mists and fiercest frosts, With barest wrists and stoutest boasts, He thrusts his fists against the post, And still insists he sees the ghosts.** _________________________________________ EXCERCISE 5 These are not singing exercises, these are simply exercises to get students used to using their voice. They are exercises that everyone can do at once. They sound a little goofy and can act as great warm-up! __________________Work the face: Scrunch the face up tight and yawn it out as far as it will go. Have students make the face their mother always warned them about: 'If you make a face like that, it'll stay that way!' ________________________ Chew Everyone stands in a circle and imagines they are chewing. Give instructions: That they should work their jaw in conjunction to whatever's in their mouth. Some chew options are:
_________________________ Noises Start by buzzing the lips. Make motor boat sounds that start high and then go low. Don't think about notes, just think about sound.
EXCERCISE 6 Articulation Excercise: "Seuss on Socks"This will force you to: - Open your mouth - Articulate - Speak clearly At first it looks tremendously tricky, but it isn’t. There’s only 13 lines, which means that if you really want to nail it, it will take becoming confident on two lines per day for the next 7 days. Within a week, you will be able to rattle it off with ease and perfect articulation. Give it a go, it’s a great little challenge!!! About Socks Give me the gift of a grip-top sock, A clip drape shipshape tip top sock. Not your spinslick slapstick slipshod stock, But a plastic, elastic grip-top sock. None of your fantastic slack swap slop From a slap dash flash cash haberdash shop. Not a knick knack knitlock knockneed knickerbocker sock With a mock-shot blob-mottled trick-ticker top clock. Not a supersheet seersucker ruck sack sock, Not a spot-speckled frog-freckled cheap sheik’s sock Off a hodge-podge moss-blotched scotch-botched block. Nothing slipshod drip drop flip flop or glip glop Tip me to a tip top grip top sock. - Dr. Seuss See if you can get it down to doing it in about 25 seconds, while retaining the clarity of speech. If you can do it in 20 seconds and retain beautiful articulation, then you’ve really cracked it! __________________________________________________ EXCERCISE 8 DICTION It's Hard to SayIf you prepare by doing a few voice exercises regularly, you'll be better prepared when it comes time to perform. A good way to improve one's delivery of normal phrases is to practice on difficult ones. PART ONE: Examples from actual scripts or publications. NOTE: the test is not whether a phrase has long, complex words -- a mental challenge -- but simply whether its phonetic structure makes it really hard to say. From corporate media, ads, and elsewhere (for actor educational use only!)
These "tongue-twisters" are, for the non-professional, just fun (or frustrating!) to read. However, they're categorized by the specific vocal elements that each exercise targets. Exercises for Consonants
PART THREE: Exercises for Vowels
PART FIVE :RepeatersI've set these aside a special class of tongue twister -- the kind that becomes more challenging the more you say it. So if you don't find each one "hard to say" at first, just keep repeating it until you do!
EXCERCISE 7 Go to the following site for a lot more excercises and vocal warm-up ideas. http://procw.hubpages.com/hub/voice-warmups *Play the videos for "Articulation and resonation" *There is also a great singer's warm-up video *One for breathing too! |
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