Student:

Transcript: Theatre Voice: Techniques & Exercises

https://study.com/academy/lesson/theatre-voice-techniques-exercises.html

Explore vocal techniques and exercises to train the voice for theatrical performance. Learn how the voice works and
what is needed for a healthy, resonant, and clear voice.

Understanding and Using the Voice for Performance

We use our voices every day to communicate ideas, emotions, and needs. In theatre, the voice is
imperative for both speaking and singing. With their voices, performers communicate the dramatic truths
of the characters through the dialogue of a play or the songs of a musical or opera. Breathing,
phonation, resonance, and articulation are the fundamentals of vocal production and technique.

Anatomy of the Voice

The vocal mechanism includes three subsystems: air pressure, vibratory, and resonating. The air
pressure system produces vocal fold vibration by supplying and controlling the air pressure using the
following organs: the diaphragm, lungs, ribs, and abdominal and chest muscles. The larynx (voice box)
and the vocal folds (vocal chords) are the organs used in the vibratory system to create sound and pitch
through vocal fold vibration, called phonation. The resonating system amplifies the sound with the throat
(pharynx), oral cavity, and nasal passages, creating the identifiable voice. Proper use of the voice
involves the breath, voiced sound, and resonance to sustain vocal health and prevent damage.

Elements of Vocal Production

Connection to the voice begins with breathing
breathing . The diaphragm is the primary muscle for
breathing and has a dome-like shape. During the inhale, the diaphragm flattens down into the abdominal
cavity, and while exhaling, the diaphragm floats back upward towards the lungs, resuming the dome
shape. The breastbone should be lifted and still while the breath enters deeply and expands the lower
belly; however, the chest and shoulders should not move during the breath.

Organs for Breathing

Phonation
Phonation is the creation of a vocal sound or vocalization. An actor uses the voice to build their
character with these considerations: pitch, pace, tone, volume, emphasis, intonation, age, dialect,
speech pattern, and personality. Vocalizing is an important part of a singer's training using scales,
vowels sounds, and other exercises to solidify technique and also help warm up the voice. Warm-ups
help to avoid damaging the vocal folds for performers.

Your body creates a natural loudspeaker called

Resonance
resonance . Resonance causes vibrations in
the body. On lower pitches, the sound vibrates in the chest (chest resonance) and higher pitches
resonate in the head (head resonance). Articulation
Articulation is the capacity to make every word,
sound, and consonant clear. Good articulation breeds good diction, which means pronunciation.
Resonance and articulation allow the voice to travel loud and clear throughout a theater, with and
without a microphone.

clear
career

Articulators and Articulation Anatomy

Warm-Up, Breathing, and Vocal Exercises

Warm-Up Exercises
The body should be relaxed before working on breathing and vocal technique. Here are a few warm-up
exercises to prepare the body for practice and performance:

1. Tuck your chin into your chest, and roll down your spine starting at the top of the head. Your head
should move towards the floor, but the key is to lower down one vertebra at a time with a relaxed head
and neck. You can bend your knees, if needed, so long as your hips are released. When you are done,
shake out your torso, arms, head, and neck. Then, roll back up slowly, stacking one vertebra at a time
until your head is aligned on your neck. Repeat this exercise to release any remaining tension.

2. Roll your neck gently in circles clockwise and counter-clockwise.

3. Roll your shoulders in gentle circles forward and backward.

4. Yawn to open your throat and lift your soft palate. Smile while you yawn to increase the stretch. Try
voicing the ah vowel on the yawn.

Breathing Exercises
After a warm-up, the performer is ready to work on breathing technique. The posture should be erect but
without tension. The spine is straight, the feet are a hip's width apart, and the head is upright and
parallel to the ceiling. Repeating the following breathing exercises will strengthen the muscles used to
support the breath and voice in addition to changing old breathing habits:

1. Elevate your breastbone with your shoulders held back. Put your hands on your lower abdomen to
remind you where to send the air. Allow a breath to drop in deeply, and feel the lower abdomen and ribs
expand. Make sure the shoulders and chest do not move. Hold the breath in for a count of five, and then
release the air through the mouth all at once. Repeat this exercise many times.

2. Take in the breath as in exercise 1, but release the breath on a gentle sh sound without allowing your
expanded abdomen to collapse. Repeat frequently.

3. Follow exercise 2, but release the air on a lip buzz with puckered lips. Feel the vibrations of the
buzzing sound as the air exits the body, and change the pitch when repeated.

Vocal Exercises
Below are some techniques to exercise different aspects of the voice. Remember to take in a deep
breath before doing every exercise, and repeat the exercises:

1. Sliding scales and sirens help expand range and open the voice. Begin on a low pitch, and slide up
the scale to a high pitch, or imitate the sound of a siren by starting on a low pitch and sliding to a high
pitch. The long ee and oo vowels work well with these exercises.

2. Humming explores chest and head resonance. Hum on a low pitch, open up to an ah sound, and then
return to a hum. Next, sustain a hum on a high pitch. Repeat these exercises in multiple pitches.

3. Below are some tongue twisters to improve articulation:

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Unique New York.

She sells sea shells down by the sea shore.

Red leather, yellow leather.

The big black bug bit the big black bear and made the big black bear bleed blood.

Lesson Summary
The voice is an instrument which allows performers to communicate through speech and song. With
breathing , phonation
breathing resonance , and articulation
phonation , resonance articulation , the voice can
be trained for the theatre to speak a character's truth, embody the sound of a character, and sing songs
as part of a character's story. The warm-up and vocal exercises exemplify voice training and technique
through relaxation, breath, and vocalization. Now, take the time to discover your own voice.