Education and Inspiration through the ancient art of storytelling!
THE GOLDEN VOICE OF THE STORYTELLER
One of the most important tools of a storyteller is the emotionally charged, clear and compelling voice. How can you acquire that rich resonating tone that catches the ears and hearts of your audience? I do not pretend to have any secret formulas or incantations. Simply exercising the muscles and becoming more conscious of your instrument is the key to unlocking the wealth we are all given.
Following are a few of the games and exercises I have shared with participants of workshops I have lead. The key ideas are volume, enunciation, emotion, and character.
First, I would like you to focus on the voice as a series of muscles. Relax your throat as you breathe in a deep, open-mouthed breath. To exercise these muscles, to warm up, sing the scales. DO-RAY-ME-FA-SO-LA-TI-DO, or better yet sing, MA-MAY-ME-MOE-MOO. The "M" sound helps you to loosen the vocal chords, while the vowel sounds help you to open your mouth, open your instrument and let the sound out.
The larger the audience, the larger your voice needs to be. To work on projection, sit up straight, put your hands on your abdomen and take a deep, full breath. Sing, "How ARE you?" Gently push the word "are" to the full capacity of your volume without screaming or straining your voice. Try it again, this time focusing on letting your vocal chords relax, while pushing with your diaphragm. Admittedly, this is an area where I have trouble. It is difficult to have enough volume without straining. Focus on relaxing your voice.
The next activity is a simple yet effective way of emphasizing the emotional content of your words. With a partner, take turns counting to 10 with feeling. Numbers have no feeling, so this is a chance to ham it up. We all know the way you say a word is often more important that what it means. Saying "I'm OK. Leave me alone!" with tears in your eyes and repressed anger in your voice is a clear example of this concept.
Next, play the same game, counting to 10 with feeling, but add the layer of accent. Count in someone else's voice. This gives you a chance to experiment and have fun pushing the limits of vocal inflection and range. I would like to remind you to be careful in the context of a story: Do not confuse the little girl's voice with voice of the giant. Sometimes it is easier and just as effective to change your tone or pace and still delineate characters. For example, a child may speak a little faster while an elder may speak slower, both with your natural voice, but clearly different characters marked by the change in pace.
Now it is time to begin to put these exercises to practical use. Choose one of your favorite stories and read it aloud. As you read, practice changing your volume to match the imaginary setting. Imagine you are in a room with 30 people; 100 people; 300 people. Continue reading. Focus on the emotional aspects of the story. Play around by rereading passages with different feelings. Try a twist of irony by reading joyful text with a hint of melancholy in your tone. Next, I would like you to focus on the characters in the story. Read some of the dialogue with distinct character voices. Again, play around with subtle changes in tone and pace. Put it all together and read the story start to finish, practicing the various aspects of vocal range.
Don't be embarrassed about singing and talking to yourself with reading this article. These suggestion will only work if you give them a try! So go back through this article, read it again and exercise your voice. With the right kind of practice you too can develop the golden voce of the storyteller!
