The purpose of this clinic is to provide a “learning space” from a person-centered learning approach. To achieve a proper professional use of the voice, it is fundamental to know about the body, the breathing mechanism, voice projection, the resonators, and voice control in noisy environments. Characteristics of our voices will be analyzed and tips to maximize their potential will be provided.

1. PPhhoonnoo CClliinniiCC
aanndd UUPPddaattee
by Prof. Silvia
A. Schnitzler

2. The purpose of this clinic is to provide a
“learning space” from a person-centered
learning approach.
To achieve a proper professional use of
the voice, it is fundamental to know
about the body, the breathing
mechanism, voice projection, the
resonators, and voice control in noisy
environments.
Characteristics of our voices will be
analyzed and tips to maximize their
potential will be provided.
“Phono Clinic and Update” - Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

3. “Two roads diverged in a wood,
and I – I took the one less travelled
by, and that has made all the
difference”
VViiddeeoo:
Robert Frost
El Cuidado de la Voz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH_u7TstBwY
“Phono Clinic and Update” - Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

4. “La voz es el Hombre” Voice is Man
THE WORD carries the intellectual message.
THE VOICE transmits the emotional message.
 The voice is the true asset that escapes the teacher, as a
person, to be projected to his/her students.
 Voice disfunctions limit the professional development and
interfere with the continuity of daily activities.
Our voiceprints are more distinctive and public
than our fingerprints. We tell others WHO and
HOW we are, then why neglect our most
precious asset?
Alan Maley (2000)

5. “We ARE our Voices”
Sustained overuse and misuse impairs
efficiency and can cause permanent damage.
Therefore, as professional voice users, we
should get training in voice use.
“Teacher development is the process of
becoming the best teacher you can be.
It means becoming a student of learning, your
own as well as that of others”
(Maley 2000)
“Phono Clinic and Update” - Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

6. Essential to maximize
our voices potential
RReellaaxxaattiioonn
the key to all voicework is to start from aa ppoossiittiioonn ooff
mmiinniimmuumm tteennssiioonn.
 you allow your body to act in the least effortful way.
PPoossttuurree
everyday new habits  work against good natural posture.
Exercises help to correct poor body use habits and to
restore a well-balanced, centered posture.
BBrreeaatthhiinngg
breath  occupies the most active place in human vocal
production: it is the energy iimmppuullssee tthhaatt eexxcciitteess tthhee
vviibbrraattiioonn iinn tthhee vvooccaall ffoollddss aanndd tthhee rreessuullttiinngg rreessoonnaannccee iinn
tthhee bbooddyy - starting, continuing, and stopping it.

7. Natural Poise
http://www.alexandertechniqueinstitute.com.au/

8. BBrreeaatthhiinngg
VVooiiccee iiss aann aaccttiioonn. It has no location in the body
except when it is in action, sounding.
BBrreeaatthhiinngg eexxeerrcciisseess
 THE COMPLETE BREATH
 BLOWING OUT CANDLES
 FLAT TYRE
 VACUUMING THE LUNGS

9. Characteristics of our voices
and speech habits
Resonance
 reinforcement and intensification of sound by vibrations.
Articulation
 the way we chop up the sound after it comes through the vocal
chords, using the teeth, the tongue, the soft palate and the jaws.
Volume
 projection: ‘think’ your voice out, but do not push it out.
Modulation
 giving an effective tone to the voice.
“Phono Clinic and Update” - Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

10. OOnnsseett ooff tthhee vvooiiccee//rreessoonnaannccee
 RRuummbblliinngg
MMoouutthh aanndd nnoossee
 CClloossee yyoouurr eeaarrss aanndd ffeeeell!!
Exercises to improve: VVoolluummee
Sweet and
slow
Off the wall
Crescendo
Exercises to improve:
MMoodduullaattiioonn
Chunking and mood swings
Semi-supine speaking

11. AArrttiiccuullaattiioonn
Two basic kinds of exercises:
 to warm up the articulators
Eg. face muscles, jaws, lips & tongue, etc.
 to practice particular sounds
Eg. tongue twisters, minimal pairs, discrimination
excercise, sensitization activities, etc
Film clips:
- The Pink Panther
“I would like to buy a hamburguer”
V for Vendetta
“In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran cast
vicariously as both victim and villain by the
vicissitudes of fate …and you may call me ‘V’”

12. Dramatic technique of mimicry
/ imitation  mouthing
 Tracking
A technique in which students repeat with / along a
speaker
 Shadowing (echoing)
A technique in which learners repeat as in tracking,
although slightly after the speaker.
 Mirroring
A technique that involves repeating simultaneously with a
speaker while imitating all the speakers’ gestures, eye
movements, and body posturing.
Watch
“GGoollddmmeemmbbeerr”” Foxy Cleopatra/Nathan Lane & Austin
Powers

13. QUANTITY
The general tendency, which operates on
bbootthh lloonngg aanndd sshhoorrtt vvoowweellss, is that vowels
are shortened in ssttrreesssseedd ssyyllllaabblleess closed
by a fortis consonant and are given
more length in stressed syllables closed
by a lenis consonant.
Length is a variable matter, depending on
the quality of the neighbouring sounds.

14. Raise awareness
Sensitization exercises
“ … in order to engage successfully with
pronunciation, we (teachers and students)
needed the confidence that comes from
direct and conscious physical experience
of experimenting with the muscles and
breath energy in own vocal tract.”
Underhill (2005)
“Phono Clinic and Update” - Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

15. Raise awareness
Sensitization exercises
‘discovering’:
 Horizontal tongue position
 In-between sounds in a vertical
continiuum
 Jaw position
“Phono Clinic and Update” - Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

16. Typical traditional R.P. vowels on the cardinal vowel
table, based on Gimson (1970)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
“Phono Clinic and Update” - Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

17. SSooaapp OOppeerraa AAuutthhoorr ffoorr aa DDaayy !!!!!!
Read the following excerpt. Write a similar dialogue based on a current
soap opera. You must try and use minimal pairs.
Act it out !!!
I love you
Russ: Honey, why are you so sad? (Janet says nothing)
Honey, why are you so unhappy? I don’t understand.
Janet: You don’t love me, Russ!
Russ: But, honey, I love you very much.
Janet: That’s untrue. You love my cousin, Sunny. You think she’s lovely
and I’m ugly.
Russ: Janet, just once last month I took Sunny out for lunch. You mustn’t
worry. I like your company much better than Sunny’s.
Janet: Oh, shut up, Russ.
Russ: But, honey, I think you’re wonderful. You mustn’t ...
Janet: Oh, SHUT UP!
Source: Baker, Ann (1992) “Ship or Sheep” (p. 18), CUP.

18. CCoonnttaacctt @@
ssiillvviiaasstteeaacchh@@yyaahhoooo..ccoomm
pphhoonnoopprraaccttiiccee@@ggmmaaiill..ccoomm
PPhhoonnoopprraaccttiiccee
TThhaannkk yyoouu
!!!!!!