Vocal Warm-Ups and Tongue Twisters: Rituals

Vocal Warm-Ups! Rituals and Tongue Twisters!

Every athlete, celebrity, performer, public speakers,  and others have warm-up routines before they perform or step out on that stage; superstitions, ceremonies, quirks, and rituals are all part of your preparation.  They even go as far as to set out detailed schedules and timing in their pre-game or pre-show time charts to make sure they are able to keep in rhythm with their rituals.  Some even make sure their specific needs are written into any contracts and client notes before they will accept a job. Musicians, singers, voice artists all have the same kind of beliefs or rituals that they use to guarantee a perfect performance in the recording booth. It is a very serious thing if their mojo is knocked off or their ritual gets interrupted. Artists are known to throw a fit of temper or walked off the job if they feel they were not given the time and space to warm-up; this has been accepted throughout the industry. They take their warm-ups and routines very serious.

What Works For You?

Voice actors, in whatever field you are representing; character work, narrator work; corporate, advertising, movie promos, etc all have base common training, practices, suggestions and influences that have been used to coach and train you for your profession. 
Finding your ritual takes time and effort. Testing and trying the different methods and suggestions that mentors, coaches and courses from practiced, professional voice artists that are willing to pass on their wisdom will help teach you what they have seen work for them and others.  Whispering the secrets of the industry, the hints and tips are a very valuable way to find what fits into your routine and rhythm that will help to encourage a perfect performance, and to match your lifestyle and needs. Reasons behind these routines, and actions all come down to making sure you are confident, flexible, relaxed and ready for the greatest recording session of your life!

Suggestions:
Lip Balm/Chapstick
Warm Tea: Throat Coat, Lemon Ginger or something you like
Lozenges
Personal Mesh Nebulizer
Vocal Exercises
Breathing Methods

 

Become the MASTER OF Tongue Twisters:

One of the most important vocal techniques that every voice actor should understand is breath support. As voice artists we will need to hold our breath longer and release with many different rhythms and methods.  Breathing slowly and silently in order to create sustained notes, intense reading scripts, creating character voices, creating different rhythms and projections during a recording session is important to master and on top of that you will need to be aware of the sensitive microphone 4 to 6 inches from our mouth that will catch every breath.

Learning to control the air blowing through the throat and passing the vocal folds creating them to vibrate will be one of the most important things you will learn in voice acting. These vibrations make sound waves that travel through your throat, nose, and mouth. The size and shape of your vocal folds, throat, mouth, nasal passages all create the pitch, loudness, and tone of your voice. That's why each person's voice sounds so different. We all have a different make-up.
With exercises, stretches, breath control techniques and the practice, practice, practice of breathing exercises will help to strengthen, enhance, and develop a more flexible, stronger vocal performance.

Vocal Coaches use some of the following suggestions to help you improve and strengthen your voice, our breathe control, flexibility and vocal skills:

Take singing lessons
Learning to play a wind instrument to develop strong breathe control
Take improb acting classes to learn how to act, project, be quick in your decisive decisions and what direction you will take your character development in.
Hire a vocal coach and mentor.
Hire a dialect language coach.
Take breathing and meditation classes.
Swimming and diving classes and training for diving; all this a creative, fun way to improve breath control
Listen and mimic; practice and mimic the dialect for the different languages, patterns and rhythms of speech

No matter how you approach improvement tactics to strengthen your vocal talents. Warm-ups before you start recording are needed to increase your success rate.  When you wake up in the morning your voice is gravely, rough and slow to start. After a bit talking becomes more fluid (pure, clean, filtered water.)

Same goes for recording sessions, if you DO NOT warm up your mouth, jaw, open your throat, and hydrate your vocal folds your voice becomes tight, and hard-to-work with. Realize that going into a recording session “cold” and “dry” will slow down and stagger your performance and become a problem.

Below is a list of suggestions that have been used by professionals throughout the industry that has seen a great success rate for the perfect recording session.  Try out different ones to discover which will work best for your lifestyle and needs.

Vocal Warm-Ups and Pre Recording Exercises Hints & Tips:

• Standing up opens your whole body and diaphragm. You’ll find you sound completely different with more energy, attitude and power to your voice. Simply by standing up!

• Standing up also gives you freedom in your body movement: Your language follows your body movements; helps with character development, dramatics, dynamics personality: don’t be afraid to move during a session.

• A voice actor must let the words flow naturally and fit with the character provided. A great way to do this is to read out loud daily, playing with the books characters and character environments, this will go along way to practice your rhythms and flow, word development, enunciation and breath control.

• You need the ability to “adapt fast” and provide the voice required, without prior exposure or direction.

• You need to be able to listen, understand and take directions quickly and with a positive attitude

• Practice taming your plosives/popping p’s, s’s, t’s, b’s, etc. – hold a pencil or a finger in front of your mouth when you say your “plosives” this will split the airflow from the mouth into different directions instead of all the air force going directly into the microphone.

• Another Pencil trick: Used to improve your clarity, clear speaking.  Hold a pencil and place it between your teeth as far back as you can. Start reading a text or your script with the pencil in that position, after a few takes remove the pencil, read your script again you should hear a difference with an improvement in the clarity of your words.

• Slow down; one of the biggest problems to solve for new voice actors is “speed” “fast talking” script reading. The need to slow down and then slowly work up faster and faster; this will help you to keep a clean, clear and concise rhythm. Then build you can build up to a “timed” “fast” script session. Ask yourself when you listen to your recordings: How is my pace? To relaxed, too loud, too fast, too slow, etc.

• Play back your own performances; listen to yourself; learn from what you hear; let it go, move on with any corrections that need to be made; try again.

Some questions you can ask yourself once you listen to your recordings:

• Is my inflection (a change in tone or pitch when speaking) excellent or bad?

• Which words am I emphasizing (stating the importance or a word, meaning, or bringing attention to a word) Am I emphasizing the right words, how would it sound if I tried emphasizing different words?

• Is my enunciation (the act of pronouncing words or parts of words clearly) good or where to improve mumbled words, slurred words, run-on words?

• Grammar (the form and structure of language) is crucial in voice acting: Pronunciation, Enunciation 

• Warm up by saying your vowels with exaggerated facial expressions and sounds, this will help loosen facial muscles.

• Vocal exercises; make sound effects, noise, humming, yawning, sighing, singing, increase your vocal range (low to high and back again), improve your resonance (quality of sound).

• Tongue Twisters are a fantastic way to help develop brain, tongue, mouth, and speech development.

• Shouting, screaming, whispering will place a strain on your vocal folds; stay away from these activities

Remember the 5 P’s in vocal training:
pitch, pace, pause, projection, personality

• Lip Trills: these exercises are good for enunciation:

• Tongue waggle, tongue circles: these will loosen up the back of throat

• Say “Q…E…Q…R” exaggerated mouth movements and facial movements; to loosen up the mouth, facial, and throat

• Scales; singing lessons to improve your range, your breath, your projection

• Cup of warm tea; Throat Coat by Traditional Medicines is the most known throughout the industry; this helps to hydrate, and soothe irritated or tight vocal folds. If you like to make your own DIY combinations check out our blog article titled: DIY Remedies for Mouth Clicks, Throat Care (CLICK HERE)

• Hydration 1-2 hours before; small sips during a session

• Personal Nano Mesh Nebulizers: Facial steamers/ vapor from a humidifier/diffuser combo (steam and essential oils); soothe, moisten, heal irritated vocal folds

• Throat Sprays: (not alcohol based) If you like to make your own DIY combinations check out our blog article titled: DIY Remedies for Mouth Clicks, Throat Care (CLICK HERE)

• Lozenges: If you like to make your own DIY combinations check out our blog article titled: DIY Remedies for Mouth Clicks, Throat Care (CLICK HERE)

• Mouthwash/Gargle: Non-alcohol If you like to make your own DIY combinations check out our blog article titled: DIY Remedies for Mouth Clicks, Throat Care (CLICK HERE)

• Keep throat, neck warm; scarf, hoodie (Check out our Voice Artists Clothing Choices in our Products Catalog: (CLICK HERE), turtleneck, stay out of cool drafts; air conditioning; fans;

• Meditation; stay calm, become the “eye of storm” focused, use visualization techniques, connection with character and increase your performance level: Find your Mindset

• Muscle Tensions are the enemy of a voice actor; Tension will happen the most in the jaw area and will tighten up a vocal performance and destroy a recording session. Massage jaw, neck, shoulder, this is where vocal warm-ups help you to loosen up, relax, let go of stress and get you ready for a session.

• Get enough sleep

• Stay away from irritating substances; drinking, smoking, smoky rooms, second hand smoke, vaping, drugs, foods that cause irritation for your health and digestive system.

• General Healthy Lifestyle; diet, nutrition, oral healthcare, exercises, all come into play; the stronger your health is the better you will perform.

Here is a couple of excellent videos to give you some steps to improve your vocal performance from SOVAS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwptXx_2Fq4

SOVAS – Society of Voice Arts and Sciences:
Organization and Events:

https://sovas.org/

Introducing the ultimate event for voice artist check it out:

https://sovas.org/schedule-tvo/

 

Tongue Twisters for you to start with:

I personally have worked through a great book called:

Tongue Twisters; Vocal Warm-Ups written by author: Rodney Saulsberry’s (CLICK HERE)
I loved this fun, great book full of helpful information and takes you through all the different levels: beginning to challenging too!

NOTE: According to The Guinness Book of World Records, the toughest tongue twister is:

 “The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick”

NOTE: The hardest tongue twister to pronounce in the world by a team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is:

“Pad kid poured curd pulled cod.”

80 General Commonly Known Tongue Twisters:
Practice, Practice, Practice:

Brisk brave brigadiers brandished broad bright blades, blunderbusses, and bludgeons—balancing them badly.

Betty bought a bit of butter. But the butter Betty bought was bitter. So Betty bought a better butter, and it was better than the butter Betty bought before.

How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?

Rory the warrior and Roger the worrier were reared wrongly in a rural brewery.

Which wrist watches are Swiss wrist watches?

Fred fed Ted bread and Ted fed Fred bread.

A synonym for cinnamon is a cinnamon synonym.

Thirty-three thousand feathers on a thrush’s throat.

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood
As a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

Gobbling gargoyles gobbled gobbling goblins

How many yaks could a yak pack, pack if a yak pack could pack yaks?

Picky people pick Peter Pan Peanut-Butter, ‘tis the peanut-butter picky people pick.

Abominable abdominals

Lemon Lime liniment

Crispy Kinky cookie crumbles

Eleven benevolent elephants

Many moaning men making money

Betty Baker beats bagel bowls better than bakery bakers

She sells seashells by the seashore

Shelia sells seashells, sea stars, sea glass, to Shirley Siebert

If a dog chews shoes, whose shoes does he choose?

I thought that I thought of thinking of thanking you

I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen, kitty snack

Near an ear, a nearer ear, a nearly eerie ear

Willie’s really weary, really silly Willy

A big black bear slept on a big black rug

Tom through Tim three thumbtacks

Nine nice night nurses nursing nicely

Sunny Sunday snacks silly sushi chef

Four fine fresh fish for Friday fish fry

Six sticky skeletons stick sticky stickers

Purple pumpkins, pink peonies, pointy prickly pears, perfect posies

Which witch is witchery which one

Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better

Pre-shrunk silk shirts

True tried trumpets, trombones and true tridents

A skunk sat on a stump and thunk a chunk of the stump it stunk, but the stump chunk stunk more than the skunk

Sheila needs, Sheena leads, Shirley feeds

Top chopstick shops stock top chopsticks

Shellfish, shellfish, shellfish, shellfish

No need to light a night light on a light night like tonight

A happy hippo hopped holiday lollipops hoping a hundred hippo hiccups

Eddie edited it editor Eddie edited it

Linda-Lou Lambert loves lemon lollipop lipgloss.

Toy boat. Toy boat. Toy boat. (Repeat many times)

One-one was a race horse. Two-two was one too. One-one won one race. Two-two won one too.

Six sick hicks nick six slick bricks with picks and sticks

Any noise annoys an oyster but a noisy noise annoys an oyster more.

The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.

Each Easter Eddie Eats Eighty Easter eggs.

The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick

Thirty-three thirsty, thundering thoroughbreds thumped Mr. Thurber on Thursday

Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?

Scissors sizzle, thistles sizzle

Send toast to ten tense stout saints’ ten tall tents

Betty’s big bunny bobbled by the blueberry bush.

Four furious friends fought for the phone.

Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager managing an imaginary menagerie

Many an anemone sees an enemy anemone.

If you notice this notice, you will notice that this notice is not worth noticing.

An ape hates grape cakes

Smelly shoes and socks shock sisters

Elizabeth has eleven elves in her elm tree

Little Lillian lets lazy lizards lie along the lily pads.

A shapeless sash sags slowly

Six Czech cricket critics

Green glass globes glow greenly

Rubber baby buggy bumpers.

Tie twine to three tree twigs.

A flea and a fly flew up in a flute.

Fresh French fried fly fritters

Bake big batches of bitter brown bread.

Double bubble gum, bubbles double with double bubble gum

Flash message

A pessimistic pest exists amidst us

“Surely Sylvia swims!” shrieked Sammy surprised. Someone should show Sylvia some strokes so she shall not sink.

Susie works in a shoeshine shop. Where she shines she sits, and where she sits she shines.

She stood on the balcony, inexplicably mimicking him hiccupping, and amicably welcoming him in.

If you must cross a course cross cow across a crowded cow crossing, cross the cross coarse cow across the crowded cow crossing carefully.

If practice makes perfect and perfect needs practice, I’m perfectly practiced and practically perfect.

Round the rock really rascally rats ran rowdily rambunctiously

Clever climbers clamber carefully crusty cliffs

Giggly gangly giraffes gamble guiltily

 

THE END

Wishing you all the best in your career!
Seize The Day!
SOTVO Team
7/15/2024

 

References:

https://www.berlitz.com/blog/english-tongue-twisters#:~:text=1.,the%20Massachusetts%20Institute%20of%20Technology.

https://www.rd.com/list/toughest-tongue-twisters/

https://www.businessinsider.com/the-14-toughest-tongue-twisters-in-the-english-language-2018-2

https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/tongue-twisters-english/

https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2017/04/keep-your-voice-sound#:~:text=The%20air%20blowing%20through%20the,person's%20voice%20sounds%20so%20different.

https://bunnystudio.com/blog/voice-acting-exercises-a-quick-guide-for-the-perfect-voice/

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