Vocal Development

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Vocal Development
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Development of Vocal Quality

• Understanding
• Training
• Practice

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How Sound is Produced
Sound is produced when air passes over and
vibrates the vocal cords. Its the lungs and
diaphragm that control our breath and send air to
the wind pipe or trachea. The trachea directs
air over the vocal folds or vocal cords which are
located within the larynx or voice box. When
your vocal folds are flat, no sound is produced.
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When air passes over them and they are stretched
out, sound is produced. Air continues to pass
through the glottis and epiglottis to the mouth.
Proper use of teeth, tongue, lips, jaw, hard
palate, uvula and soft palate (speech
articulators) and the pharynx, nose, nasal
passage and sinuses (speech resonators) will have
an impact on your tone and breathing.
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Diaphragmatic Breathing Technique
The diaphragm muscle is what allows us to breath
naturally. As we inhale, the diaphragm moves
down so the lungs can expand to fill with air.
As the diaphragm moves down, it pushes on the
abdominal cavity and forces the abdominal area to
move outward because of the pressure from the
muscle pushing down.
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This movement of the abdomen makes it easy to
feel if you are breathing deeply. You should
feel expansion of the stomach area and all around
the back. The lower chest should also expand.
As the breath is exhaled, the diaphragm also
controls the airflow so that air is released
slowly rather than all at once.
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Proper Breathing Posture
The proper breathing posture, while standing, is
feet apart with weight slightly on the balls of
your feet. Knees should be slightly flexed and
your hips straight. The back is also straight
and, as you breath in, your abdomen should push
out but your shoulders should not rise. If
seated, its best to sit toward the edge of the
chair with your feet flat on the floor and your
back straight.
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Avoid Thoracic Breathing
Youve probably heard the old expression stomach
in, chest out. This is the opposite of the way
our bodies are supposed to breathe. When you
breathe improperly, air is forced into only the
upper part of the lungs. This means you, as a
broadcast announcer, are forced to take breaths
every few words, making performance difficult and
a broadcast script sound choppy.
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Key Elements to Vocal Development
Excellent announcer voices are usually well
developed in three ways

• they speak in a lower range with a pleasing
  resonant voice
• they speak at a pace that promotes easy
  comprehension by the listener
• they speak with exceptional clarity of content

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Elements that you have some control over

• Volume
• Pitch
• Rate
• Tone

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Volume
The loudness or softness of your voice. It
contributes to the perception of energy and
enthusiasm that you communicate to an audience.
Volume is controlled by the muscles that effect
proper breathing.
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Pitch
Pitch is the highness or lowness of your voice.
Pitch change is called inflection. These
variations can add greatly to the interpretation
of broadcast copy. It can add variety and can be
used to change meaning. The ability to alter
your pitch is an important part of your vocal
development.
The best way to lower your pitch is to relax.
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Rate
Rate is the overall speed of speaking (or the
tempo in which you speak). There is no correct
rate, typical delivery is 145 to 180 words a
minute. This is probably slightly faster than
normal conversation rate. Keep in mind that you
will most likely have articulation problems when
speaking at higher rates of speed.
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Pace and Phrasing
Pacing, the use of pauses ad variations in speed,
can greatly enhance the meaning of words.
Phasing is how you group words together and
properly pause and breathe between these groups
of words.
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Tone
Tone is the quality of sound that is made. It is
affected by the body that surrounds the vibrators
such as vocal cords (throat) or strings (violin
or guitar). The body surrounding the vocal cords
is different for each person and therefore will
resonate sound in a different way.
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Articulation of Sound
Sounds must be shaped into recognizable words.
Articulators (lips, teeth, tongue, jaw, and hard
and soft palettes) do this. Good articulation is
producing sounds that are clear without being
overly precise.
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Pronunciation
Pronunciation is the way in which words are
spoken by uttering the proper sound and stressing
the proper syllable(s).
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Common Vocal Problems
Common problems related to variations in pitch
are monotone, sing-song and whiny vocal styles.
Other common problems are related to a lack of
resonance or improper breathing. Other problems
are excessive sibilance (the over-emphasis of the
s sound) and popping. Popping is caused by a
pop in the air in words with p, b, t, d, k, and
g.
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Maintaining a Healthy Voice
As a broadcast performer, you must take care of
your voice as it is your most valuable asset and
without it you could lose your livelihood.
Voice-saving techniques include warm-ups,
water-downs and withdrawals.