QUEENSLAND NARRATING SERVICE RELAXATION, BREATHING AND VOCAL EXERCISES

RELAXATION, BREATHING AND VOCAL EXERCISES Speech is formed by • • • •

the lungs the larynx (voice box) the pharynx (spaces at the back of our nose and throat) the mouth (all its surfaces, including the various surfaces of the tongue, teeth, gums and lips)

Speech is created by the articulating organs of the mouth • • • • •

lips tongue teeth and gums hard and soft palates resonating chambers of the oral and nasal pharynx

Vowel sound use the vocal chords, consonants use pairs of voiced and unvoiced sounds called plosives, dentals, fricatives, sibilants, nasals etc. Voice quality is affected by the vocal chord length, which is dependent on age, gender, physical build and practice. It is important to have all the organs that together produce speech relaxed and working smoothly, here are some exercises to help you to relax these organs. The Jaw • • • • •

many of the tensions we experience ultimately creep into and solidify in the jaw relieving jaw tension is essential in freeing the voice often a residue of accumulated tension precipitates a ‘closed jaw’ habit which becomes part of our everyday behaviour a jaw at ‘rest’ means that the teeth don’t actually touch, but the lips touch softly together the lower half of the jaw feels relaxed and is not thrust forward or held inward towards the throat which allows the sound to come out unimpeded and unmuffled

Jaw Release Exercises • • • • • •

gently massage the hinges beneath the ears begin to feel the jaw drop naturally and comfortably, aim for a ‘two finger drop’, the opening you achieve when placing the index and middle fingers between your teeth smile and keep the smile going in your face as you open and close your jaw gently (this exercise opens the jaw and the back of the throat - you may even yawn - this is a good sign, it shows that your throat is opening) chew around in a circular motion, start in a small way and gradually enlarge the motion, don’t do thid roughly as the jaw is a delicate piece of equipment think of eating an apple and open the jaw to its widest, most comfortable position rest now in a natural position, teeth slightly apart and unclenched but the lips together, and appreciate the feeling of freedom of the jaw

The Tongue The tongue is like any other muscle. It develops in accordance with the way it is used. To produce crisp, clear speech, especially consonants, the tip, blade and back of the tongue need to be exercised. Tongue Exercises • • • • • • •

Flick the tongue, liZard-like, in and out of the mouth keeping firm tension in the muscles right down to the tip. Stick out the tongue as far as possible, parallel to the ground. Hold out the tongue with the tension and wiggle the tip up and down. Press the tongue against the sides of your cheeks to produce a boiled lolly effect. Twist the tongue in all possible ways, turn it over to the left and then to the right. Keeping the jaw free and relaxed, begin to slowly flip the tongue from behind the upper front teeth, gradually increase the speed. Poke the tongue out as far as possible and then flatten it on the chin, trying to extend the tip as far as possible.

Do these exercises as a package keeping momentum going without respite for approximately 5 minutes.

The Soft Palate • • • • •

The most common cause of nasality in speech is a lazy soft palate. To find your soft palate, roll your tongue from the hard chamber just behind your top front teeth until you find the fleshy mobile part at the back. The soft palate separates the nasal cavity from the mouth. If it is loose or lazy, air can escape through the nose at inappropriate times. Apart from varying degrees of nasality, a soft palate lacking tone can cause slight rattles in the voice.

Toning the Soft Palate • • • •

The jaw should be free and open at a two-finger drop Place the tongue behind the bottom teeth, and make the sounds ‘k’, ‘g’, ‘ng’, as in ‘ing’ Immediately follow the above exercise with a speedy recitation of words ending in the suffix ‘ing’: ‘crying’, ‘laughing’, ‘singing’. Don’t forget to keep the tongue placed at the bottom middle teeth. Place a hand under your nose to monitor air flow. Speak ‘mm’ into ‘b’. Air should be felt on the ‘mm’ but not the ‘b’. Try with ‘nn’ into ‘d’. If your soft palate is well toned you should feel air with the ‘mm’ and ‘nn’ sounds and no air with the consonants.

Breathing • • •

• •

The powerhouse of a good voice Every feeling and thought, every mental and physical condition is first experienced in the breath Because of our own fears and apprehensions, and the personal biographies within us, it is rare for us to experience the Natural Breath. (The Natural Breat is achieved when the quantity of your breath intake is what your body, emotion and thought capacity require in order to fulfil a given task at a given moment.) Breath and action are equalized. In our lives we have made unconscious choices not to allow our bodies the chance to breathe deeply Explore your own experiences and think of how your breath changes with circumstances e.g. getting a fright, hearing bad news, hearing good news

Breathing Exercises Objectives • • • • •

To allow the breath to find its natural position To open the rib-cage around the centre of the body to produce full breath capacity To allow the diaphragm to freely move down and out To activate the muscles that support the outward breath to create a column of air that connects and starts the voice To build and control the breath capacity

Breathing Workout 1 • • • • • • • • • • •

Start from a centred, standing position (make sure you return to this position after each exercise, remembering to check that shoulders remain unbraced and the body stays aligned down the spine) Allow the tension to drain from your shoulders (like a ping pong ball on a jet of water and ensure your jaw is unclenched and your knees are unloaded) Now feel the Natural Breath coming in and out. Don’t force it or do anything to your body which takes away a natural, relaxed state For a FULL MINUTE breathe naturally, and as you do, check where you sense movement in your torso - sides of the ribcage, back, front, stomach area? Where? Place one hand on one side of the rib-cage and the other on the diaphragm just above the waist. Feel these areas for movement - they should remain open as you breathe Now, with your left arm above you, stretch over to the right side to expand the left side of your ribcage. Don’t flop forwards as you do this, just gently to the side As you arc the left arm over, you notice the rib-cage expanding with the pressure. Now BREATHE. You should feel the ribs struggle to open on the stretched left side Now come up to the centre position and check your breathing. You may well feel a greater freedom in the left side than you do the right side Now repeat the stretch, but this time with your right arm above you, stretching to the left side Repeat this exercise about 3 to 4 more times to remember the experience of opening breath to the above parts Practise on a daily basis!

Breathing Workout 2 • • • • • • • •

Begin by hugging yourself with your arms criss-crossing your breath, with the wrists and hands wrapped around the back. Just hug, don’t clutch. Now try and hug yourself without creating any shoulder tension or raising your shoulders. Let your head drop, chin onto your chest, but stay as loose as possible and do not strain your neck. Once in this position, flop forwards from the waist, and slightly bend your knees While in this down, hugging position, take your time to breathe in and out as fully as possible. Eventually you will feel the breath open your back area and travel right down to your bottom. After several breaths like the above, release the hug and let your arms drop towards the floor. Now come up very slowly and back to centre position. If you rush up you will experience dizziness You may feel more activity in your breath, perhaps even a tingle in the back of your rib-cage. The breath has reached a part of yourself which you don’t typically feel. This exercise can be quite habit-forming, and it is a good idea to do them before narration.

• This exercise is designed to both relax and stretch the whole breath system, and prepare it to take on vocal work. Relaxing the Body •

Key element to good voice projection

If our body and throat are constricted in all sorts of ways, our presentation, particularly in respect to tonal quality, warmth, vocal ease and vocal range will suffer. The use of the voice for narration should always begin and end in a state of relaxation. Remember, just as emotions can change our physiology, we can calm the emotions. The following exercise is designed to quickly achieve a state of relaxation prior ro engaging in vocal work. The idea is to release tension so Natural Breath can be achieved.

The De-freeze • • • • •

Sit on a chair. Move about until you achieve maximum comfort and there are no physical stresses on your body Mentally take a journey through your body from your toes to your head, checking for wherever you feel tension Concentrate on relaxing all joints By thinking your way up through your body you will actually begin to notice and discover tension When you discover a ‘core’ of tension, command your body to release it: o release your stomach o let go of your shoulders o unclench your jaw o relax all fingers and toes

Go through your body releasing tension. It should take about three minutes. • • •

Now sense the state of relaxation you have achieved Now inhale and exhale. Now take the breathing deeper inside yourself and begin to experience the breath supporting muscles Just allow your focus to be on your breathing. Let everything else go, just place all your attention on your breath, allow your mind to follow the breath in and out

Remember, for good narration, you need to learn to speak naturally, to do this you need: • • • • •

a jaw at rest an agile tongue a soft palate which is not sluggish natural breathing a relaxed body state