If you’re a voice user (and most of us are) who isn’t an actor, then how could all this accent and voice stuff relate to you?
Your voice and your articulators (muscles used for speech) are quite literally your instrument. Just as a guitarist becomes a better player by really knowing and understanding the intricacies of their instrument, the same happens for the every day voice user. In drama school, students learn about their voice in a very specific way.
These are:
- Release – Releasing unnecessary tension in the body to allow the voice to be free. Tension within the body stifles both the breath (which can lead to panic) and the voice (you won’t be heard!)
- Alignment – I’m not talking about good and evil, I’m talking about your physical alignment! Learning about objectively efficient alignment where the curvature of the spine is properly adhered to – this means the breath and voice can flow freely with minimal constriction.
- Breath – Breath keeps us alive but it’s also the fuel for your voice. Learning how to breathe efficiently ensures you stay calm and collected, whilst also being able to properly support the voice.
- Support – Not emotional support (although, that’s super important!) but vocal support. Understanding how to properly use your support muscles to aid in vocal production will help you have more control over your voice in both projection and sustain (which means you won’t have to keep taking those tiny breaths!)
- Resonance – This is about unlocking the different resonating chambers to give your voice a fuller, rounded sound. You can also utilise different resonators depending on where you are speaking!
- Articulation – All about warming up those speech muscles to aid you in speaking clearly. And I’m not talking about being posh (I’m about as far away as you can get from that in my normal speaking voice) but instead, I’m talking about how to speak easier in your accent and beyond!)
- Talking – Just keep doing it and see how far you’ve come. It’s always useful to reflect on where you started and where you’ve gotten to!
Acting
All acting is, is storytelling. By learning the secrets of acting training you in turn become a better storyteller! Everyone listens more intently when they hear a story they want to be immersed in. Similarly, when you are telling a story, you don’t worry about what people think about you because you’re focussing on telling the story! If you immerse yourself in the tale and take the focus off yourself, you’ll find that you don’t even think bout how nervous you are.
Accent learning and impressions
Learning accents (and doing impressions) develops your listening ear and helps you understand your own specific speech system. It encourages a deeper level of understanding but also helps you speak much, much easier. And also, it’s a super fun party trick and perfect for networking!
If you want to know more, well then why not get in touch? Contact
Even if you’re not an actor, I can help you discover your true potential!
Voice with Keith
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