Inspired Coaching Living Voice Workshops

The Trick To Triumphing Over Tongue Twisters

10/6/2014

 
Picture
Have you ever wondered what the point of tongue twisters was? Ever felt like they don't do very much? You probably learned tongue twisters as a child. When you're a kid the entire point of tongue twisters is to go faster than the kid next to you. So what possible application can they have in real life?

Contrary to popular belief the point of tongue twisters is NOT to go a fast as you can. Not initially anyway. The point is to limber up your facial muscles in order to create greater dexterity and precision. Tongue twisters are extremely effective. When done properly.

Start slow and big
At the beginning want to over articulate a much as possible, use your entire lower face. Engage your cheeks, your lips and your tongue. (Your eyebrows, jaw and neck should not be involved.) Do this in the mirror and see how big and agile your mouth can get. Really over enunciate and warm up those stiff muscles.

Never sacrifice clarity for speed
You do want to speed up, you always want to be challenging yourself to go just a bit faster than is comfortable. But there are two things that are always more important than speed:

1. Precision. You should always sound as clear a you did when you were slowly over articulating. If words start to run together or muddy around the edges, slow down agin and revisit step one. This sin't about making sense, it's about being clear on every syllable, so you will pronounce some letters that you might gloss over in everyday speech like the T in “at”. Be especially aware of consonant clusters (like “ts” or “kt”) this won't always sound like normal speech. The point is to exercise your muscles and improve your articulation, not to reinforce your existing habits.

2. Keep the breath free. When you were doing it slowly you probably had enough breath for every line of text so breathing was pretty natural. As you speed up the temptation will be to hold your breath. Holding your breath will introduces tension and in order to be dextrous you need to be relaxed. We don't want to do any damage. Let the breath come and go freely, see how much you can separate the actions of your articulators so they work independently of your neck, breath and eyebrows. Still. Pronounce. Every. Single. Consonant.

Got it? Try these:
The swift flew through the thistle
Give me the gift of a grip top sock
Red lorry yellow lorry
I am the very model of a modern major general

Test yourself by building momentum until you trip up, then dial it back just one notch from there. Continue to check in with yourself and be vigilant about those consonants. Be a perfectionist and resist the temptation to be the kid who wants to go faster and faster and win the competition. This should be a workout for your lips, tongue, cheeks and brain.

Do 5 minutes of tongue twisters a day (properly) for 2 weeks and you’ll notice a difference in the ease and clarity of your speech. Not only will it be easier for people to hear you when you’re on autopilot, but your sight reading and thinking on the spot will improve too! Keep switching it up and you’ll notice it’s not just your articulators that are getting some exercise it’s your mind too.

If you liked this post, sign up for the VoiceD monthly newsletter.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Danielle Benzon coaches entrepreneurs and performing artists in voice, acting and audition technique. She is also certified to teach the Meisner Approach through the True Acting Institute. Danielle is based in Vancouver, Canada.

    Archives

    March 2016
    February 2016
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    June 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

    Categories

    All
    Acting
    Alignment
    Articulation
    Audtions
    Breath
    Challenges
    Contest
    Corporate
    David Smukler
    Development
    Exercises
    Experiments
    Expression
    Fringe
    Giveaway
    Habits
    Hiccups
    Kristin Linklater
    Larry Silverberg
    Meisner Approach
    Microphone
    Myths
    National Voice Intensive
    Nerve Busters
    Nerve-busters
    Performance
    Posture
    Preparation
    Quotes
    Resonance
    Reviews
    Sales
    Singer/songwriter
    Singing
    Stewart Pearce
    Student Rants
    Teaching
    Theatre
    Tip Of The Week
    Tongue
    Travel
    Vancouver
    Workshops

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • HOME
  • HOME