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Name of your Vocal Buddy

Link to their own S.W.O.T analysis

Their Voice Goals for the year, and what they would like to have achieved from these sessions.

Feedback on their work in session/projects/shows for you to feedback to them in a constructive way, or positive feedback so they know what they are doing is working well, and how.

Photo of Buddy posture

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Here you will add your video of our Q&A discussion on 'How the Voice Works'

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You will be required to create a 20 min Vocal Programme, to be delivered to the Level 3's.

You should draw from your own research of methods, practitioners, and anatomy to create your exercises in your programme.

You should be able to lead the programme confidently, with the knowledge that all your exercises are going to help with Vocal Progression for students. You should have great knowledge of the voice, and WHY you are doing each exercise... students WILL ASK YOU QUESTIONS!

Part 1:

Relax & Breathing work

Stretch and Posture

Releasing Tension

Lip Trills, Sirens

Part 2:

Projection

Articulation & Diction

Inflection & Intonation

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LEVEL 3 INDEPENDANT STUDY:

Watch all resource videos on Padlet, and make notes in Vocal Anatomy section.

HNC INDEPENDANT STUDY:

In addition to watching the videos already in Vocal Anatomy column, do further research that will help you understand the anatomy of the voice when leading your Vocal Development Programme. Add all your findings and notes to Vocal Anatomy section, and include anything you want to write about in your Vocal Development Programme.

BOTH LEVEL 3 & HNC:

Research The Alexander Technique: Where did it originate? What are the benefits? How will practicing the spinal rest position ‘semi-supine’ help you with your performances?

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Please write a diary blog entry for each of your voice sessions.

Title each entry with the date.

Include;

What you have learnt in the session

Techniques that you will be applying to future acting work

Feedback you are given

What your Strengths and Weaknesses were in the session

Any independant study/research you are tasked to complete

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Any further notes from sessions you may find useful

Ideas you may have to put towards future work in acting with your voice

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Please upload video's/images/voice recordings of your practical work.

Photo's of your own physical posture 'at rest' and then 'aligned' (before/after pics)

Log warm-ups, and exercises you have learnt. This can either be a write-up, or a video recording.

TITLE THE MEDIA WITH THE DATE AND WHAT THE EXERCISE IS. This will help link to your voice diary section.

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All research into techniques and practitioners should be written up here. You can include links that helped you with your research.

Research:

The anatomy of the voice: Vocal Tract and Vocal Folds

Breathing Techniques

The Alexander Technique

Practitioners to research:

Kristin Linklater

Cicely Berry & Shakespearian Acting

Patsy Rodenburg

Other research:

Shakespeare

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How Humans Produce Sound | Sound | Physics | Class 9

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This post may contain a small selection of relevant affiliate links. When you purchase a product from an affiliate link, I may receive compensation at no cost to you. See the disclosure page for more info.

Below is an updated list of words students and teachers of drama and theatre can use to describe the qualities of an actor's voice. Responding to reader feedback, this list now includes the meaning of each word in plain English so students can readily see whether a word is appropriate for their needs.

Often as part of their coursework, drama students analyse aspects of a live theatre performance. These written analyses regularly include describing the actor's voice. This is where the list of words in this post and their related synonyms becomes a gold mine for students who wish to get high marks.

Did you think an actor spoke in an ambivalent tone? Well, below you'll know that this could mean the actor spoke with uncertainty, a wavering attitude or a tone that conveyed mixed or contradictory feelings. Perhaps an actor's voice sounded bossy. If so, below you'll know you can be more descriptive and say dictatorial, instead.

At other times theatre students also analyse their own play-making process in Drama class. This involves describing the various qualities of their own performance work or perhaps evaluating the work of classmates. In this instance, if an actor spoke in a high-pitched and ear-piercing tone, you could say she had a shrill voice. Or maybe she spoke in a gravelly, husky voice? All these words and many more are listed below.

If that's not enough, the list of words describing an actor's voice in this post is very helpful for use in written exams and exam preparation in drama and theatre courses.

Words Describing Voice in Performance

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130 Helpful Words To Describe Voice in Acting | The Drama Teacher

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This post may contain a small selection of relevant affiliate links. When you purchase a product from an affiliate link, I may receive compensation at no cost to you. See the disclosure page for more info. Below is an updated list of words students and teachers of drama and theatre can use to describe the qualities of an actor's voice.

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What is the Alexander Technique? | The Definitive Guide to the Alexander Technique

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The Anatomy of Singing: How the Diaphragm, Larynx, and Vocal Folds Work

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Creating a S.W.O.T. analysis for your voice as an actor can be a great way to understand its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Here’s a breakdown of what you might include:

Strengths

Unique Tone: A distinctive voice that stands out and is easily recognizable.

Versatility: Ability to adapt to different roles, accents, and emotions.

Range: Wide vocal range, from high to low pitches.

Clarity: Clear enunciation and articulation, making it easy for audiences to understand.

Emotional Depth: Capability to convey a wide range of emotions convincingly.

Weaknesses:

Vocal Strain: Susceptibility to strain or damage with overuse.

Limited Range: If the vocal range is not as wide, it may limit the types of roles.

Accent Limitations: Difficulty in mastering certain accents or dialects.

Consistency: Challenges in maintaining the same vocal quality over long periods.

Opportunities:

Voice Acting: Opportunities in animation, video games, and audiobooks.

Commercials: Potential for voice-over work in advertisements.

Training: Further vocal training to enhance range and versatility.

Technology: Use of technology to modify and enhance voice for different roles.

Threats:

Health Issues: Risk of vocal cord damage or other health issues affecting the voice.

Competition: High competition in the industry with many talented voice actors.

Typecasting: Risk of being typecast into specific roles based on voice type.

Technological Advancements: Advancements in AI and synthetic voices potentially reducing demand for human voice actors.

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Their name is Scarlett and her goals are to improve emotional depth when performing on stage within singing and acting, to become consistent meaning every performance is the same or at least near to the same level of quality, be successful in her drama school meaning to excel, develop diction and breath, meaning to develop how she uses breath in performances (to advantage) and better pronunciation.

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My strengths are projection, tone and emphasis. This is as i feel that these are my best areas that really enrich my performance. This is as it makes my character more believable and realistic. This is because if certain scenarios were to happen in a real situation, it would feature these things (or at least have a high chance of featuring them) They make my performance more believable and realistic, as they are all decently developed. This is as my projection/my voice (at least most of the time) is very loud and so can be heard from the back of the room. My tone isnt amazing, though still is a strength of mine, as through voice alone you could tell what emotion my character was feeling throughout the performances. This is as i would do things such as use emphasis or pitch to illustrate the emotion. Finally, emphasis. My emphasis is a strength of mine as throughout performance, especially A Monster Calls, i would emphasis certain words or parts of words to further illustrate my characters emotions or intent in the line.

My weaknesses include a wide range of things. These are: diction, limited range, accent, clarity, annunciation, emotion. This is as one of, if the not the biggest, issue with my voice is the lack of understandability which is why 3 of the weaknesses have to do with being able to properly speak. This is as i have trouble with pronouncing words properly and also often speak too fast as a default meaning that the clarity of what im saying dwindles. Though, there are other issues. This is as the other weaknesses are to do with the fact that during performance my voice is quite monotone meaning it sometimes lacks emotion, despite tone being a strength- this is as it's debatable, and also the fact that I find it hard to change my voice from what it is naturally. This is as the last remaining two weaknesses are limited range and accent. This is because i find it a point of difficulty to change my voice enough for it to be a good accent- and so i end up not trying as my options are either stick with normal voice, or do a very bad accent- that could also mean my focus is now split as theres more things to focus on.

Opportunities- i dont feel as though i have any opportunities for work with my voice (at least in the current moment) as there are too many negatives and weaknesses about it combined with too few strengths meaning that realistically no places of work would view my voice as desirable. Though, i do recognise that with work and practise this could be easily turned around and changed for the better. In terms of opportunities i wouldn't mind having- despite the reality of the situation- it would be: voice acting (wouldnt mind what field in)

Threats- My threats are only few. One of them being autopilot. The trait of me forgetting to speak and use my voice in a certain way, which results in me going into a mode that can only be described as "autopilot". This is as this is my default- when im not focusing on vocalising in a certain way it results in mumbled speech that also has too fast a pace for any semblance of clarity. This creates issues with being understood. Another threat i have to any opportunities i may hold, is lack of practice. This is as, as previously stated, i currently have a lot of issues with the way i talk and use voice. This means that if i dont practise (especially a lot) then it will result in my voice being a weakness that threats me as even in acting the voice is obviously very apparent and commonly used. The last threat i have is sickness. This is as if i constantly get sick (sicknesses that affect the voice) then my voice would decline in quality over the years.

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Today in class we studied breath and how it impacts acting. We did this through watching two informational videos. These videos involved where breath comes from/how it is formed and how it benefits acting. This was positive and beneficial, as it means we arent confused on where breath comes from but also why it's beneficial to learn, meaning we know why we are covering it. We also had people do their monologues. They then had feedback. This is effective as it means that they can improve, meaning theres a reason to do it Infront of people. This is good as it means that they have an incentive to do it Infront of people, lessening the chance of people refusing to do it. This was also beneficial to us watching, as it meant that our nerves were lessened. This is as we now have less stress and anxiety about the monologue recital, as we see others do it and realise that it wasnt that bad and so wont be that bad for us either.

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For this lesson we did a recap of Alexander's technique. We did this as it meant that we could have our memory refreshed. This is effective, as it means that our memory of the knowledge will last longer, as we have had it refreshed. This also means that we know why the thing we are about to do is beneficial, as it links to this. This means that we are less likely to not do it. This is good as it increases willingness to learn. This is positive, as it means that we are more attentive as we actually want to do it. We then did tongue twisters. This is effective, as it is linked to voice and increases our ability to speak. This means that our voice will get better over time. This is important as voice is an integral part of acting, as it will be commonly used unless in the case of mime. This means that if we lacked practice, voice would become a detrimental part of our skill set that drags us down. This would limit our employment opportunities. We also did this with our vocal partners, meaning that we had the opportunity to get closer to them (in a metaphorical sense) as we had to work with them, meaning we had to talk to them.

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15/10/24

In todays lesson we started off with semi supine. we did this as it relaxes us. This is effective as we had monologues later. This meant that we were more prepared as a nervous actor isnt a good actor. This is as the nerves hold back techniques from shining through. We then did other tongue twisters. This is as it means that we don't get bored. This is good as it raises the chances of us actually doing it. This is important, as if not a lot of people do it, then its a waste of time that could be used for other important things. We then learnt about intonation which is the way which things are said that alter the intention behind them. We learnt about this through doing the bread butter exercise. We did this is as it means that we get a way of practicing this which means that we understand it better. This is effective, as it means that we actually remember and understand what happened.

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12/11/24

For our workshops, we started off with doing 7 words, 7 ways. This means when a sentences meaning is changed through how words are said- using emphasis. This teaches us the importance of vocal techniques/the way we use voice in performance as the line could come across differently depending on how we deliver it, which could be unintentional. We we taught this through a game where we had to (in vocal partners) make a scene where the line was said, and one of the words were emphasised. This was effective as it increases chances of remembering. This is as the memories with emotion attached to them are the easiest to remember. This is as it has multiple links. We then had to show it to the class so then we could feedback.

In the second workshop, we did our monologue recording. We did this as it is important that we get our university applications made and ready to send off, not only that but also important they're done early, as it increases chances of acceptance.

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19/11/24

For the first workshop, we were started off with vocal warmup exercises. We did this as we later on we had a segment that would need our voices. This means that it was relevant and time wasnt wasted. This also meant that the chances of our voices being strained was substantially lower as we had properly warmed up. This is important as injury/strain can take a long time to recover from, meaning it massively inconveniences us as now we cant participate in activities and rehearse for a long time. We then did an activity where we were given tongue twisters to say in an emotion and we had to exaggerate the emotion. This is useful as if we can exaggerate the emotion, we can definitely act it normally as all it takes to act normally from exaggerated, is to tone down the intensity. This means it teaches us how to act these emotions, but also makes us better at using voice.

For the second workshop, we were recording monologues. Because i had already recorded mine, i had to guard the door to make sure people wouldn't make noise around the room in which it was being recorded, whilst it was being recorded. This was beneficial, as it means that the recording for those people, including my partner, wasnt interrupted and ruined. This also means that the relationship between vocal partners is strengthened as the trust built up from guarding the door makes them closer. This is as they now know they can trust one another. This is important as it means they are more inclined to work with another. This also means time isnt wasted, as they might even want to work with one another as they become frien

ds.

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26/11/24

For the first workshop, we were researching Cecily Berry from a video format. This was intentional as it meant that it engaged us more. This is as the colours from the video meant that it was more exciting and fun to watch. This meant that there was a higher chance of the information being absorbed. This is as there was less chance that we would lose interest and stop watching. We were researching her as it meant that it would help us with our current work. This is as we are currently doing monologues. This is as in the video she describes and shows exercises to better your acting. She also was doing Shakespeare which is what a lot of us are doing, so it has multiple links of use to us.

For the second workshop, we were recording monologues.

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Semi-supine (no date) Semi-Supine | The Definitive Guide to the Alexander Technique. Available at: https://alexandertechnique.co.uk/learning-it/semi-supine (Accessed: 16 December 2024)

The regular routine of lying down in Semi Supine will give the changes sought with Alexander technique. All though this does sound positive, some sources may describe it as 'invaluable for maintaining a healthy spine'.

How do you get into the position?

* Lie down on a fairly firm surface

-> Ensure that the floor you are doing it on is firm and wont move in anyway. Also make sure to put a book or coat or anything that elevates beneath your head.

* Bend your knees with flat feet

-> make sure your feet are shoulder width apart

-> take some time to come to the position properly and settle

* Notice how you interact with the floor

-> make sure you're not in pain or uncomfortable

* Be aware of what surrounds you

-> use the 5 senses to notice things. Such as: what can i see? Hear? Feel?

* Make sure to bring your attention back to nothing when your mind starts to wonder

But how do i discipline my thoughts?

Tip(s):

1. Be aware of where your head is pointing

2. Think of your body and how it feels and interacts with the floor

In conclusion the way to discipline your thoughts is to observe yourself from a third party perspective rather than be oblivious of whats happening.

Why do semi supine?

'This position gives the best support and rest for your back and is the perfect way to de-stress'

How long should i do it?

In an ideal situation, you would do it 15-20 minutes a day. This is as its enough time to restore realignment of the spine. Doing it for this amount of time also allows you to fully reap the benefits of the mental side to semi supine. This is as it gives you time to be aware of yourself and quieten your mind.

In conclusion, semi supine is an Alexander technique that is very effective and versatile. This is as its uses isnt limited to one situation, as the amount of times we face vast amounts of stress in life are vast. This means learning this skill potentially will help you later on in life. Not only that, it also has both physical and mental benefits, meaning that it relieves both types of stress- being both physical and mental.

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Honey

Strengths-

Accents

Emphasis

Tone

Improvements-

Doesnt know lines

Doesn't really stay in character

Accent (slightly lost in some parts)

Scarlett

Strengths-

Accents

Tone

Projection

Physicality

Improvements-

Mumble slightly

Mya

Strengths-

Physicality

Improvements-

Accent is decent but slightly iffy

Catherine

Strengths-

Accent

Facial expressions

Tone

Body language

Turned out to audience

Improvements-

Physicality (just standing)

Accent slightly slips

Ozzy

Strengths-

Accent decent

Characterisation

Facial expressions

Body language

Improvements-

Sometimes the smiling doesnt seem in character

Rachel

Strengths-

Body language

Accent

Tone

Improvements-

Speech too fast

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Today we did work on the northern accent. We did this as it meant that we are now more diverse actors (in terms of our skill). This is as not only does it mean that we know how to do another accent in general, but also how to do one of the most common ones in England. This is as a lot of plays/musicals in present times are either set in the North, or feature Northern characters meaning that it is very useful to be able to do said accent as so much work features them. This means that we are more employable as we are more versatile. In the second workshop, we were still working on the northern accent. This is helpful as it means we get better at it, because the more time spent on something, the better you become. But this time we were devising scenes using the accent. This is advantageous, as it means that we are more likely to do it and to actually take away things from the workshop- as the activity was fun and so more likely to pay attention.

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In todays workshops, we did a recap of the northern accent. This is because of the fact that the last time we did it was a week ago but also because of the fact that some people that were here today werent here last week. This means that not only do we receive a chance to brush up and refine our skills on the accent, those that didnt receive this education on the accent last week receive it now. This means that every student gets the same education and learning experience. We then had performaned the scenes we had devised last week. This is beneficial as it tests and strengthens memory. The fact we did it in a scene format is intentional and beneficial as well, as it means that we are more likely to give our full effort as it is fun. This means time isnt wasted. We were also given feedback afterwards. This means we can improve and not stay stagnant.