VOICE & SPEECH

How Your Voice Works The Power Source: Your Lungs • The Vibrator: Your Voice Box • The Resonator: Your Throat, Nose, Mouth, and Sinuses

The Power Source: Your Lungs, EXHALING & INHALING As we exhale, the process reverses and air exits the lungs, creating an airstream in the trachea. This airstream provides the energy for the vocal folds in the voice box to produce sound. The stronger the airstream, the stronger the voice. This is why breathing exercises are important to stage actors!

The Power Source: INHALING The power for your voice comes from air that you exhale. When we inhale, the diaphragm lowers and the rib cage expands, drawing air into the lungs. Give your voice good breath support to create a steady strong airstream that helps you make clear sounds.

Your Respiratory System

The Vibrator: Your Voice Box The larynx (or voice box) sits on top of the windpipe. It contains two vocal folds (also known as vocal cords) that open during breathing and close during swallowing and voice production.

When we produce voice, the airstream passes between the two vocal folds that have come together. These folds are soft and are set into vibration by the passing airstream. They vibrate very fast – from 100 to 1000 times per second, depending on the pitch of the sound we make. Pitch is determined by the length and tension of the vocal folds, which are controlled by muscles in the larynx.

Breathing- the most important part

The Resonator: Your Throat, Nose, Mouth, and Sinuses By themselves, the vocal folds produce a noise that sounds like simple buzzing, much like the mouthpiece on a trumpet. All of the structure above the folds, including the throat, nose, and mouth, are part of the resonator system.

We can compare these structures to those of a horn or trumpet We can compare these structures to those of a horn or trumpet. The buzzing sound created by vocal fold vibration is changed by the shape of the resonator tract to produce our unique human sound. When our voices are healthy, the three main parts work in harmony to provide effortless voice during speech and singing.

Definitions to know… Breathing: the necessary process of inhaling and exhaling air to live. Diaphragm: the muscle located between the abdomen and the rib cage. Vocal folds: muscular membranes in the larynx that produce sound.

OK, SO HOW DO I USE MY VOICE ON STAGE? RELAXATION: means freedom from all bodily tensions. It gives the actor a deeper level of awareness and provides the energy needed for the stage. POSTURE: how we sit and stand is essential in controlled breathing, which will improve the sound of your voice and make your movement smoother onstage.

Breath Control: the amount of force you use in inhaling and exhaling. Quality: the voice element that makes one person sound different from everyone else.

Pitch: the musical tone of voice. Inflection: the rising and falling of pitch to add meaning, color, and rhythm to spoken words.

Flexibility: the process of varying inflections of the voice. Poise: the effective control of all voice elements and body movements

Articulation: the shaping and molding of sounds into syllables. Pronunciation: the way sounds or syllables that represent a word are said and stressed according to the proper notation found in the dictionary.

Diction: a person’s pronunciation of words, choice of words, and manner in which the person expresses himself or herself. Accent: the manner in which people speak and the way words are pronounced in different parts of the world. (Do all people from Texas talk like cowboys?)

Volume: how softly or loudly a person speaks. Rate: the speed at which someone speaks.

Projection, Projection, Projection! The placement and delivery of voice elements used effectively in communicating to an audience. Involves aiming you voice at a directed target. Not only must you remember all the aspects of acting and speaking onstage; you must also remain aware of the audience’s need to HEAR you!

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