module 03
Advanced vocal
technique
DYNAMIC RANGE
How loud can you go without being too loud and how
very very quiet can you go without being very very quiet!
In music dynamic range is indicated by:
p or piano, meaning "soft"
ƒ or forte, meaning "loud"
More subtle degrees of loudness or softness are
indicated by:
mp, standing for mezzo-piano, meaning "moderately soft", and
mƒ, standing for mezzo-forte, meaning "moderately loud".
Beyond f and p, there are also
pp, standing for "pianissimo" and meaning "very
soft", and
ƒƒ, standing for "fortissimo" and meaning "very
loud".
To indicate an even softer dynamic than pianissimo,
ppp is marked, with the reading pianissimo possibile ("softest
possible"). The same is done on the loud side of the scale, with ƒƒƒ being
fortissimo possibile ("loudest possible")
OK – that’s enough from Wikipedia – what does all
that mean to your vocal performance reading a script for a radio commercial?
It’s all about subjective loudness you’ve heard the
ads where there’s someone whispering about how sexy chocolate is, and although
the performance is in a whisper the energy used to perform is the same as if
the voice artist was reading the script normally.
It’s easy to force your dynamic range, it helps
again to imaging your voice coming from your chest, the words are formed and
nurtured to grow to the fullest potential and are enjoyed, given pathos,
feeling and understanding.
Cheating – OK we do cheat, voice processing in the
form of compression – a very fast volume control is often used to help enhance
a performance.
A Compressor makes the subjective volume LOUDER –
why ads seem to jump out of the TV in-between the programmes. There is even a European Directive to
control loudness – but commercial makers always want to make their ad the
loudest.
Practical – making an ah’s of yourself
We need the
help of middle c on the piano – that’s where your ahh’s can come from – it
wants to be gentle but not quiet have the same energy as a louder ahh – try
both – don’t be shy.
(keep you
posture upright, you still push all the way through and stay focussed)
I Got Rhythm?
In linguistics, prosody (pros –oddee) is the rhythm,
stress, and intonation of speech.
Prosody may reflect various features of the speaker
or the utterance: the emotional state of the speaker; the form of the utterance
(statement, question, or command); the presence of irony or sarcasm; emphasis,
contrast, and focus; or other elements of language that may not be encoded by
grammar or choice of vocabulary. (Wiki)
Practical – Carpet Right
“I really like the carpet here at the Academy.”
Take this
sentence and read it out loud in the following ways:
Enthusiastically
Ironically
Sadly
Crossly
Rhythm
It’s not really about rhythm and not even about
timing – both should happen naturally once you understand the words. Understanding comes from a mixture of
cognitive performance and deciphering the intonation and stress of the words.
Cadence
The way your speech flows, and the way you end a
sentence or end idea* usually with a fall of infection is another important
ingredient of good spoken performance. (*because spoken English breaks the rues
of grammar)
Articulation
Mmmm there was a time when one would speak the
proper Queen’s English and it would not be acceptable to use a regional accent
– lisp your words or mispronounce words – but in the pursuit of the natural
conversational delivery all that has changed.
I’ve already talked about finding yourself – what
kind of person am I – what kind of scripts and performance are in my range?
Practical – reading a commercial script
Before you begin… breathe! Practice breathing from
your diaphragm - that spot between your chest and abdomen just above your
waist.
To check yourself, you can lie on your back on the
floor, and place the palm of your hand on your middle. Take a deep breath in
through your nose. Your chest should not raise, nor should your shoulders
tense, but your midsection should expand pushing your hand up.
Now, you’ve got the idea. When you’re voicing a
script – all your breath should come from here. Otherwise, you’re going to
pinch and squeeze your vocal chords and you will sound pinched and squeezed –
and you’ll run out of air and be gasping through the spot.
Practice
taking in deep breaths and then releasing them slowly while voicing “Ah” until
you run out of air. When you’re actually reading a script you will need to take
short, but deep breaths to keep the copy moving while keeping the sound
supported.
Next, you’ll want to warm up your “articulators”.
There are many exercises that you can do. Basically, you’re trying to limber up
your facial muscles, jaw, lips and tongue.
In commercial voice over, especially, where you often
have to fit a LOT of copy into a small amount of time, it’s important to be
able to speak quickly without losing the beginning and especially ending sounds
of words. (On a side note – OVER enunciating is usually not desirable, either
as I have said before you flit lightly upon each consonant.)
Let’s
articulate:
On one breath
–
Buh Duh Guh
Duh
Buh Duh Guh
Duh
Buh Duh Guh
Duh
Buh Duh Guh
Duh
Buh Duh Guh
Duh
Buh Duh Guh
Duh
Buh Duh Guh
Duh Buh
Then
Guh Duh Buh
Duh
Guh Duh Buh
Duh
Guh Duh Buh
Duh
Guh Duh Buh
Duh
Guh Duh Buh
Duh
Guh Duh Buh
Duh
Guh Duh Buh
Duh Guh
Repeat over and over going faster.
Next:
Puh Tuh Kuh
Tuh
Puh Tuh Kuh
Tuh
Puh Tuh Kuh
Tuh
Puh Tuh Kuh
Tuh
Puh Tuh Kuh
Tuh
Puh Tuh Kuh
Tuh
Puh Tuh Kuh
Tuh Puh
Kuh Tuh Puh
Tuh
Kuh Tuh Puh
Tuh
Kuh Tuh Puh
Tuh
Kuh Tuh Puh
Tuh
Kuh Tuh Puh
Tuh
Kuh Tuh Puh
Tuh
Kuh Tuh Puh
Tuh Kuh
Start as slowly as you need and keep speeding up.
Works wonders in the car on the way to those early morning sessions!
Humming is
also a very good exercise to open those nasal passages.
Without a Trace - continuity
When someone disappears, how long before they become a
missing person?
Finding
out the truth, can be a dangerous game.
Without
a Trace, tonight at 10 on Showcase.
_____________________________________________________
Derulo - Commercial
Jason Derulo is back with a brand new single to download –
the unique - Breathing.
Taken
from his album Future History.
‘Breathing’ - it’s out there to download on iTunes
or Amazon.
______________________________________________________________
Commercial soft-sell
Wouldn't
it be great if things were always straight forward.
Wouldn't
it be great if you knew there'd be no hidden extras.
Wouldn't
it be great if just a few days meant just a few days.
And
wouldn't it be great if you knew exactly what an ISA was and
What
it could do for you.
Call
virgin direct and you will..
If
you want straight talking..
We're
virgin direct.
____________________________________________________________
For centuries, admirers of the
Shroud have venerated a faint image of a crucified man. No one had imagined that hidden in the
fibres of the cloth, was an even greater prize. In 1898, Italian photographer, Secondo Pia, was commissioned
to capture the first images of the Shroud on film.
He exposed the light sensitive
glass plate and hurried back to his dark room, to process the picture. As the plate developed, it revealed,
not the ghostly image of a man, but a life like picture of remarkable detail
that had never been seen before.
Advanced
Facial Exercises
It’s good to gurn – mirror mirror
on the wall – if only we had a mirror at the academy!
Practical – a good face for radio
Facial
expression will help you performance.
When you are in a studio with strangers you will feel inhibited that
will curtail your performance – so be happy with you face – let it help your
performance:
Sit in
front of the mirror and imagine you are an elderly lady.
Script:
I remember
many years ago, er have told I am an elderly lady – 80 years, 80 years
old. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes
many years ago before the invention of the Interpol or whatever that computer
thing is called – you wrote a letter to someone not pushed a few button on your
telephone – things have changed – and not for the better!
Sit in
front of the mirror and imagine you are a slightly stupid teenage boy called
Dave:
Script:
Ere Darren
are you going to Candy’s tonight? Its gonna be lush mate, innit? I don’t want harsh your day but could
you get me in as I’m only fourteen and you know I wanna get really ammered
tonight?
Facial Exercises For Face Muscles:
Forehead: Place your index fingers
just above your eyes and pull down your eyes while raising your eyebrows. This
facial exercise firms your forehead. Repeat this exercise for ten times.
Lips: Suck on your finger as hard
as possible and slowly remove it. Repeat this facial exercise for ten times.
This face exercise firms your lips.
Eyes: Sit with your eyes closed and
relaxed. While keeping your eyes closed, look down and look up as far as
possible. Repeat this face exercise for ten to fifteen times.
Sit straight with your eyes closed
and relaxed. Lift your eyebrows and stretch your eyelids down as far as
possible by keeping your eyes closed. Keep in this position for a count of ten,
relax and repeat it for ten times.
Cheeks: Take your three centre
fingers and place them on the cheeks and push them down. At the same time,
raise your cheeks by smiling as hard as you can. Keep your head back when you
are performing this workout.
Neck: Sit straight and tilt your
head back looking at the ceiling. Keep your lips closed and relaxed. Move your
lower lip over your top lip as far as possible and keep for a count of ten.
Relax and repeat for ten times.
Double chin: sit straight in a
chair and tilt your head back and look at the ceiling. Keep your lips closed
and relaxed. Make your lips round, count up to twenty and relax and bring your
head back to the normal position.
Let’s end day one with a little bit
of Will – and what better than the thought of suicide.
This is a quote from William
Shakespeare's "Hamlet".
Hamlet, speaks this line when he is
contemplating committing suicide--basically, the question was "Do I want
to live or die?". The rest of the monologue from which this quote is taken
involves Hamlet deciding the possibility of life and punishment after death
make suicide an unattractive option, despite the known hardships of remaining
alive.
He is defining Hamlets Dilemma
through Hamlets eyes. Basically the Pains of Living Vs. the unknowing of what
death may hold for him. Hamlet is not very content with his situation at this
point in "The Tragedy of Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark". He is wondering
if it is worth it face the "Slings and arrows" or better to die even
though he is unsure of what death brings, and the possibility of damnation.
It means "Shall I kill myself or not?"
To be, or not to be: that is the
question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to
suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous
fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of
troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die:
to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we
end
The heart-ache and the thousand
natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a
consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to
sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay,
there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what
dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this
mortal coil,
