Vocal Performance

(def) the positioning of the articulators in order to create the individual sounds of any given language.

jaw, lips, tongue, teeth, alveoli, palate, and velum

Changes, modifications, or omissions in sounds as a result of placement in connected speech, often considered to be negative.

• "as velocity increases, pressure decreases"
• the concept of air flowing through your vocal cords. there is a build up of pressure when your vocal cords are closed, and then once they open the air rushes out until the pressure is low enough for them to close again. and the process starts over.

A good voice is clear, resonant, stable, well supported by adequate breath control. It is at a pitch level that is appropriate to the speaker and the message. Rate of speech is such that messages are clearly understood. A good voice has variety.

Vocal fold vibration. Used in reference to consonants and vowels.

• producing both sounds and ideas clearly.
• synonyms for diction are articulation (producing individual sounds clearly) and enunciation (producing linked sounds clearly and distinctly as in words)

How we use certain factors such as pitch, loudness, rate, and quality to communicate messages beyond words.

(saying "please pass the salt" as opposed to "yo! salt!")

• ("speech as a learned process and advocacy for improvement")
• motivation
• awareness
• instruction
• repetition
• time

• Friends (culture, society, etc)
• physicality
• psychology
• environment

• pitch
• loudness
• rate
• quality
• language
• articulation of vowels and consonants

the cycle of communication involves encoding, transferring, decoding, and feedback.

each person brings to the act of communication factors: gender, culture, education, religion, and physical & psychological components

• Time: late 1800's
• Maximillian Berlitz
• if you immerse yourself in what your are trying to learn, you learn it better and quicker.

the process of inhaling and exhaling air and, in this context, utilizing that air for producing voice.

The vibration of the vocal folds housed within the larynx

The amplification of vocalized sound that occurs in the pharynx, nasal cavities, and oral cavity.

• breathing
• phonation
• resonation
• articulation

• The act of voice production is an overlaid process because the structures utilized are employed in basic life-sustaining functions.
• voice generation and support is a secondary function.
• (lungs=breathing, teeth, tongue, & palate=biting and chewing food)

• a dome-shaped muscle situated just under the lungs.
• you have no direct control over the diaphragm

• "voice box"
• sits on top of the cartilage rings that form the trachea (windpipe)

• "adam's apple"
• most prominent part of the larynx. serves as the larynx's shield.
• cartilage that wraps around the larynx

a tongue-shaped flap of cartilage that projects above and behind the larynx and is responsible primarily for channeling food or other matter to the esophagus (instead of trachea)

• has no function in the production of voice.
• it is primarily use din the digestive process.

• thin sheets of muscular tissue
• attached in the front of the larynx to the thyroid cartilage and attached in the back to two small arytenoids

the space between the vocal folds

• pharyngeal cavity
• oral cavity
• nasal cavity

• the projection at the back of the soft palate (the tip of which is the uvula)
• it acts as a valve directing sound in one direction or the other (mouth or nose)

Oral cavity

an individual sound of any given language

• your ears are situated behind your voice
• your bones will reverberate with the sounds you make
• you are busy processing messages as you speak

Inflammation of the vocal folds may be caused by illnesses such as a cold or flue and may result in hoarseness or even an inability to produce vocal sounds. Screaming or shouting mary cause laryngitis.

• inhalation
• exhalation
• muscles
• diaphragm

• larynx
• glottis
• epiglottis
• vocal folds
• arytenoids

• for General American English, the center or focus of oral resonance is generally mid-mouth. lazy speech = rear mouth
• good speech = little forward of mid focus
• (9 positions of focus)

pharynx, formant frequencies, oral cavity, velum, nasal passages, resonance focus

tongue, lips, teeth, gums, hard palate, velum, lower jaw

malleus, incus, stapes, tympanic membrane, cochlea, organ of corti

• good breath control enable you to use your vocal mechanism more efficiently.
• amount of time spent on inhalation is shorter and exhaled air is utilized to produce and sustain voice over a longer period of time

an increase in tension will alter the sound quality of your voice.

the process of amplifying or modifying the fundamental vibrated sound that originated in the larynx.

sound characteristics resulting from resonance

• vibrated air is voiced
• unvibrated air is voiceless

The study of language

A regional variation of a language characterized by differences from the overall language in vocabulary, grammar, and phonetic choices.

EVERYONE HAS A DIALECT

a series of sounds which, when produced in a particular order, evoke meaning.

a significant series of sounds, when joined in a particular way, serve to symbolize something.

persons who study language

Language is in a constant state of flux because of the introduction of new words and new ways of saying old words.

(principle I of language change and evolution)

languages and sounds survive, but survival is rooted in common speech. survival may depend on isolation.

(principle II of language change and evolution)

• generally it takes hundreds of years for the sound values in a language to change or be lost.
• conditions for change include: (1) the conquering of one linguistic group by another, as in war, and the imposition of its language is upon that conquered people; (2) the fading away of words, sounds, or stresses of a given language because people stop using them; or (3) the altering of the grammar of a language in such a way as to cause sound to be lost.

• the perception of frequency, which defines the number of vibrations of a sound wave.
• it is perceived as high or low.

• an upward or downward change in pitch.
• sometimes this occurs on a single vocalization, and sometimes there is a slight break in vocalization.

the overall pitch movement or pattern that characterizes a language or a person's speech

the employment of upward and downward pitch in order to avoid monotone or narrow pitch range.

• the physical component of pitch
• defines the number of vibrations or cycles a sound wave makes per second (cps)

true

• a given pitch level that you adjust to
• the level at which you most frequently initiate vocalization.

the level [of vocalization] that is the best for your particular vocal structure and the one that projects well.

inflection

• (or Upward inflection)
• when you move from a lower pitch to a higher pitch on a continuous vocalization.

• (or downward inflection)
• when you move from a higher pitch to a lower pitch level on a continuous vocalization

both the upward and downward pitch inflection used on a single vocalization

(used for excited or overly emotional)

pitch change, either upward or downward, characterized by a break in vocalization (from word to word)

• features that are those that indicate to others the condition of the anatomical structure.
• (ex: if you are extremely tired, your pitch may change)

• all languages are characterized by the music of rising and falling inflection.
• most languages feature distinctive intonational patters.

• refers to the degree of intensity of vocal sound.
• amplitude is its physical component, used interchangeably with volume.

the ability to support the voice in order to place vocal sound to appropriate points or distances.

• (with voice)
• (1) the emphasis on a given syllable or word

(2) as in strain or tension due to too much intensity

volume (or loudness) is the perceived amplitude of a sound

5% increase

your ability to perceive the loudness level is directly related to the pitch level (or frequency) of a sound

• (1) the acoustical properties of the room you are in
• (2) the decibel level of nearby sounds.

• force
• support
• amplification

• changes in loudness levels that help convey meaning and making ourselves heard.
• these changes identify the most important syllable in a polysyllabic word or the relationship of that word to the rest of the sentence (in monosyllabic words).

breath support, a relaxed pharyngeal cavity, and open mouth

• intimate space (within inches)
• personal space (arm's length)
• social space (around ten feet)
• public space (beyond ten to twelve feet)

nouns receive stress on the first syllable of two syllable words

verbs may receive stress on the second syllable of two syllable words

we alter the loudness levels of our voices given these spatial parameters (the 4 spaces defined by Edward Hall)

the time spent producing both the sounds and silences of a language

the number of words per minute one speaks

a break in speech characterized by no sound.

forming a group of spoken words that constitutes a meaningful unit and is surrounded by pauses.

the emphasis on a given syllable.

• actual speaking or oral reading rates
• use of silence or the pause
• integration of these into speech phrasing
• rate variety

• too slow = 110 to 130 wpm
• excellent rate = 140 to 175 wpm
• too fast = 180 to 220 wpm

• point that corresponds to the punctuation marks of its grammar
• a vocal indicator of meaning or speaking style and is related to situations, individuals, and cultures.

the rhythms of a language and the amount of time, or duration, spent on certain sounds in the language.

• grammatical structure
• physical process of articulation
• meaning of the message
• mood or emotional state of speaker or message

speaking rates are faster than reading rates

• learn to elongate appropriate sounds
• utilize appropriately placed pauses

irregular growths on the vocal folds caused by irritation and causing the voice to sound coarse or raspy.

• vocal fold vibration
• used in reference to consonants and vowels

used in reference to consonants; lack of vocal fold vibration.

a vocal quality characterized by excessive release of air during speech.

• is the act of breathing deep into one's lungs by flexing one's diaphragm rather than breathing shallowly by flexing one's rib cage.
• This deep breathing is marked by expansion of the stomach (abdomen) rather than the chest when breathing.
• It is generally considered a healthier and fuller way to ingest oxygen[1], and is often used as a therapy for hyperventilation and anxiety disorders.