Vocal Variety

Colorful Voices

Vocal Variety

OBJECTIVE: After this lesson, the students will pay attention to the vocal variety when they listen to a speech.

Materials: one speech’s video, transcript of the speech

Steps:

1. The teacher hand put the transcript sheets.

2. The teacher explains what we will do using the transcript sheets.

3. The students watch a video and they underline and write words about vocal variety on the transcript sheets. The students find out which words are emphasized, or which words or sentences are expressed by what kinds of voice tone, or any other recognizing point about voice.

4. The students speak out what they wrote down on the sheets. The teacher gathers the students’ sayings.

5. The teacher adds the points for vocal variety and explains why a speaker uses vocal variety in a speech and what vocal variety affects the speech.

6. The students watch the video once again with thinking about what the teacher taught in the lesson.

Results: Students should realize that there are a lot of vocal effects in a speech.

Azusa Minoda

Look Who’s Talking

Vocal Variety

MATERIALS: Papers printed with four or five short conversations between three people.

OBJECTIVE: The students will read aloud a conversation using different vocal
inflections for each voice in order to engage their audience.

STEPS:
1. Read a short fairytale aloud to the class using no vocal variety whatsoever. Ask the students if they felt engaged while listening to this story.

2. Now read the same fairytale using different voices and inflections for each character. Explain to them the importance of using ones voice in order to engage their audience.

3. Divide the class in to groups of three or four. Hand to each group a conversation paper.

4. Have each student pick a conversation and read it to his or her group. Have the students listening to the speaker decide if they can tell the difference between characters.

5. Walk from group to group to make sure that the exercise was understood.

RESULT: The students should understand the importance of vocal variety and should be able to change their voices for different characters and situations. The next step will be to choose one of these characters and work on the vocal inflections that that one character possesses.

Life’s too Fast to Take the Interstate

Vocal Variety

OBJECTIVE: By completing the activities, students will be able to show their understanding of tone, pitch, volume, and rate by correctly identifying three out of the four vocal characteristic stations.

MATERIALS:

8 bowls
Slips of paper with different quotes
Slips of paper with different tone, pitch, volume, and rate items
Vocal Characteristic Station sheet (1 per group)

STEPS:

Before class starts, teacher needs to set up four different stations in the room.
1. Each station should give enough room for about five or six students to stand and act.
2. Place two bowls at each station.
3. In one bowl, cut and place ten quotes.
4. In the other bowl, cut and place the vocal variety slips of paper with its corresponding station.
5. Teacher will write the following stations on the board, but must not tell the students which station is which: tone, pitch, rate, volume
6. Divide the class into four equal groups. Assign each group to a station.
7. At each station, students will complete the assigned station sheet.
  1. At each station, two students will each take a turn picking a quote and vocal characteristic.
  2. They must not show their slips of paper to anyone as they read the quote out loud in the tone, pitch, volume, or rate characteristic that is given.
  3. The group members must then guess what the given characteristic was and write it down.
  4. Together, as a group, they must come up with what they believe their voice characteristic is.
  5. Students will return to their seats after all groups have completed the stations.
  6. Teacher will ask each group to write what they think is the characteristic at each station.
    1. After all groups report their findings, reveal the actual stations.
    2. Ask students to share their favorite quote and prompt with the group.

RESULTS: Students will incorporate these vocal characteristics into their persuasive speech

Vocal Characteristics

Definitions:

Tone: Refers to the emotional content carried by our voices. It is not the words themselves, but ‘how’ we say them. To speak expressively, is to fill or energize our words appropriately.

Pitch: It has high and low notes as do people’s voices. Everyone’s voice has a natural pitch. Women’s tend to be higher than men’s and everybody has a pitch range: the number of notes we habitually use. When that range is very small, the effect is monotonous.

Volume: This is the degree of softness or loudness with which you speak. Some people are habitually loud and others, quiet.

Rate: This is the speed in which you speak, usually ranging from 125 to 175 words per minute. How fast or slow do you speak? Can you vary the rate? Do you know the effect of slowing deliberately?

______________________________________________________________________________

Group Members: __________________, _________________, ___________________, _________________, ______________________, ___________________, ________________

Period: ___________

Station 1:

Vocal Characteristic: ____________________________

Why? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Best group example:

Given vocal variety: ___________

Quote: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Station 2:

Vocal Characteristic: ____________________________

Best group example:

Given vocal variety: ___________

Quote: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Station 3:

Vocal Characteristic: ____________________________

Best group example:

Given vocal variety: ___________

Quote: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Station 4:

Vocal Characteristic: ____________________________

Best group example:

Given vocal variety: ___________

Quote: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Quotes:

A hospital bed is a parked taxi with the meter running.

A lot of people are afraid of heights. Not me, I’m afraid of widths.
A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.

All right everyone, line up alphabetically according to your height.

Never tell your problems to anyone…20% don’t care and the other 80% are glad you have them.

When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile.

I’ll be back.

Bond. James Bond.

I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.

Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.

Go ahead, make my day.

All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my closeup.

May the Force be with you.

Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.

– E.T. phone home.

Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

I’m king of the mountain!

There’s no place like home.

I am big! It’s the pictures that got small.

Show me the money!

After all, tomorrow is another day!

You’re gonna need a bigger boat.

Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re
gonna get.

I see dead people.

It’s alive! It’s alive!

Houston, we have a problem.

I can do anything; I’m the chief of police.

Always treat a famous person as if they’re not. And a person who’s not as if they were.

Hold on boss, I’m gonna make you famous!

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.

Do not interrupt me when I’m daydreaming.

When a zebra’s in the zone, leave him alone.

I sometimes eat on Saturday.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Let me introduce you to my best friend: Will Scarlet.

What can you tell me about Robin of Locksley?

Are you with me? Yea or Nay?

Where’s the snowman?

Tone:

Excited

Curious

Tired

Bored

Sure

Puzzled

Hysterical

Shy

Mischievous

Hopeful

Pitch:

Monotone

Pause twice in your speech

High, girly voice

Low, manly voice

Say one word louder than all others

Say one word softer than all others

Iambic Pentameter

Stutter

Volume

Whisper

Scream

Start soft and end loud

Start loud and end soft

An indoor voice

You are speaking to the Queen of England

Start soft, get loud, then end soft

Rate:

Talk as fast as you can

Talk as slow as you can

Slow down at the end

Speed up at the end

Stacy Laue
9 September 2009