Voice Production and maintenance programme

A sustained practise regime is important not only in the process of improving vocals but sustaining
the actors current ability in the aspects of their voice. Irregular or no practise will cause the vocal
chords and muscles involved in the process of creating sound to weaken which means that not only
will the voice not improve but the actor will also find it more difficult to maintain the same level of
projection and control when performing much like a weight lifter would not be able to lift the
same weight if they had not worked out for a long period of time, they would have to start at an
easier pace and work their way up before lifting the same amount of weight they might have lifted
before. Similarly muscles need time to rest and repair therefore pushing the voice too hard by
rehearsing for too long or too often can also be counterproductive as it would not allow the
performer time to rest and they would be performing with weak and tired muscles which are more
likely to strain, overuse of the voice can also cause damage such as lesions on the vocal chords
making it inadvisable and extremely difficult to perform.
There are many different techniques that contribute to producing the sound used to sing and act; by
focussing on specific areas of the voice it is easier to identify weaknesses and use appropriate
exercises to help improve these weaknesses. To help improve a performers voice it would be no
good practising only projection exercises if they could project well but had poor diction. Instead their
main focus should be on improving their diction and sustaining their projection levels. An actor
should focus on specific techniques to enhance their overall performance.
Facial stretching and Physical exercises
1. Roll Downs Fold the body over rolling down through each vertebrae of the spine and hang
loose at the bottom ensuring that your knees do not lock, roll back up to a standing position
leaving your head to rise last and repeat until satisfied. This exercise promotes good posture
which is instrumental in the production of voice as an actor needs a strong stance and an
open chest to fully inhale and support their voice. Additionally this exercise promotes a
focussed and relaxed mind set to rehearsal. By beginning my warm up with this exercises I
can ensure that my mind is on task and I am getting the most out of my warm ups which will
ensure that I progress at much better rate.
2. Tongue Swivel To complete this exercises the performer must run their tongue around the
inside of their mouth stretching it as far as they can in a circular motion clockwise 8 times
then anti-clockwise 8 times, the exercise can then be repeated for 4,2 and 1 alternating
directions for each count. I find that on completion of this exercise my jaw is much looser
making it less difficult to annunciate words and find the correct placement for different
sounds which is beneficial to my diction. The exercise also promotes the strength of the
muscles in the facial palette and tongue making it easier to support the placement correctly.
By using the exercise I should find placement of the vocal tools comes more naturally which
will help me with all aspects of vocal production.
3. Velociraptor claws Curl your middle and index fingers in to the shape of a claw and drag
down the face and neck massaging the muscles as you go. This will relax the muscles in the
face and loosen the jaw making it easier to move around the placement of the words. By
relaxing the muscles it also alleviates any tension which may create a strained sound when
speaking.

Breathing Exercises
1. Tyre exercise to develop inhalation techniques To do this exercise I place my hands around
my waist and breathe in. The aim is to make the imaginary tyre expand as if I am breathing
correctly my stomach should push outwards as the air pushes down in the lungs. This
exercise is good as it helps me to feel the correct expanding movement of my stomach and
encourages proper inhalation and breathing which will help me with sustained phrases
and notes that use more breath. I can use this exercise in my practise regime as I often run
out of breath to support long phrases of speech. Furthermore in song where breath has to
be taken quickly I dont always inhale properly and make a gasping noise instead making it
more likely that I will run out of air on the next phrase. By practising this exercise over and
over full inhalation will eventually become more natural therefore I will be able to take full
breaths more easily in speeches and will be less likely to run out of air to support the notes.
2. Kung Fu exercise for diaphragm support Performing this exercise is relatively simple as I
simply have to exclaim ha several times like a Kung fu fighter might do so. The exercise
focuses on activating and developing the supporting muscles in the diaphragm. I should be
able to feel the diaphragm moving when I exclaim the phrase if I am doing this exercise
properly. By doing this exercise I will be strengthening my support muscles which will benefit
pitch as I will be able to support my voice better making it easier for me to speak higher
without producing a strained sound.
3. Flat tyre exercise for breath control This exercise focuses on the performers ability to
regulate the air flow when breathing so that when they are singing they are able to reserve
enough air to last them through to their next sung phrase. It is a simple exercise, the singer
breathes in for 4 counts and exhales for as long as possible making a Tss sound as they
expel the air. By learning to control the flow of air I will be able to make my breathing
support longer and longer phrases without running out of breath and eventually I should
find that I dont have to take as many breaths whilst performing a piece of text .
4. Counting exercise for breath control and support This is a simple exercise I was taught
when I was younger but it is very effective and can also be used to monitor any progress I
am making through rehearsal. Similar to the last exercise the actor breathes in for 4 counts
then sings on a single note counting each beat for as long as they can until the run out air.
The aim is to use the same amount of support for each number by regulating how much air
is being used to produce the sound. As sound is being produced the exercise also develops
the support muscles ability to keep supporting the voice over a long period of time which
should with practise increase. The exercise can be made harder through the use of pitch and
dynamics, for example if a performer is reaching well above 20 with ease then they might
sing it louder or sing a higher note as this will use a different about of breath and support. By
changing this exercise around it teaches the actor control at all levels of their voice. This
exercise is particularly good for me as I find it harder to regulate support and breathing for
long phrases. The changing shapes of the mouth whilst sustaining the note to create the
sound of the number helps me practise this. I can also use this exercise to see if I have made
any progress depending on how long I can count for, if I am constantly stopping at 16 counts
then this tells me that I am not improving and would suggest that I need to practise more or
change my rehearsal process in some way to find exercise that suit me better.

Diction Exercises/ Tongue Twisters

I noticed in my formative assessment that many people felt I had poor diction. As mentioned in my
action plan there are many sounds that I personally feel need improving. Through the use of tongue
twister I should find that this improves as my mouth should get used to the correct placement of the
facial palette, tongue and lips. When I have achieved this I should be able to annunciate the words
more clearly and my diction should sound clear and more pronounced. This will also help me in
varying the tone as once I can clearly pronounce words I can vary the way I am doing so with more
confidence. The following exercises focus specifically on the sounds I have personally identified as
contributing to my poor diction:
1.

2.

3.
4.
5.

6.

7.

8.
9.
10.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked? X 5 (Focusing on plosive sound
of the P)
I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop.
Where she sits she shines, and where she shines she sits. X 10 (Focusses on the
placement of the s sound and quickly moving the mouth to this)
How can a clam cram in a clean cream can? X10 (Focusses on clear word endings)
Sheena leads, Sheila needs. X 10 (Focusses on repetitive phrasing and subtle changes
between the la and na sounds)
Something in a thirty-acre thermal thicket of thorns and thistles thumped and
thundered threatening the three-D thoughts of Matthew the thug - although,
theatrically, it was only the thirteen-thousand thistles and thorns through the
underneath of his thigh that the thirty year old thug thought of that morning. X 5
(Focusses on the forward placement of the th sound with the occasional F sound to
help the performer differentiate the placement between the two)
Seth at Sainsbury's sells thick socks. X 10 (Focusses on the differentiation of the th and
s sound to change placement correctly, this exercises should help the actor perform
these sounds more clearly)
If Stu chews shoes, should Stu choose the shoes he chews? X 10 (Focusses on the subtle
change between chews and choose and stu this helps me to take more notice of
the placement of my mouth when speaking)
Seventy seven benevolent elephants x 10 (Focusses on the pronunciation of the T
sound)
Willy's real rear wheel x 10 ( focusses on r sounds)
Gobbling gorgoyles gobbled gobbling goblins. X10 (Focusses on the G sound which I
often dont pronounce clearly as I place it too far back)

Tone and Pitch exercises

1.

Lip trills This exercise consists on vibrating the lips using a forward placed hum. To
adjust this to tone and pitch I can run up and down a scale. This will help to expand my
range and help me become more aware of changing my pitch. This exercise will also
warm up my facial muscles as it involves quick vibrations of the facial palette.

2.

3.

See-saw exercise This focusses on varying speech between the vocal range. Take a
piece of text and see-saw each sentence between different pitches. Then make the
see-saw swing faster by swinging after every 4th word, 3rd word etc. This exercise will be
especially useful in help me implement pitch variation into my speech. By using the
actual speech I intend to use for auditions I can also take note of any pitch changes that
fit certain sections of speech whilst I am see-sawing and this will help me to implement
it into my final performance. Furthermore I should also begin to feel more confident
experimenting with vocal control and changes in my speech.
Tongue Twister Tone exercise Using some of the above tongue twisters, choose a new
accent or tone for each repetition of the sentence to portray different emotions. This
will help build confidence in trying different tones of voice as I will gradually build up an
arsenal of tones that I can easily implement into my speeches. By using tongue twisters
on this exercise I can also ensure that I do not lose the clarity of speech when I change
the tone I am using as I will still have to concentrate on the placement of my mouth and
how this changes when I change the tone of the word. This may take some alteration to
achieve a clear sound in a different tone of voice to that of my natural tone.