(There is a PDF of the Tongue Twisters at the end of this article)
The Tongue Twister
Vocal warm-ups are imperative for an actor, and they are also an excellent way to get out pre-performance jitters. The theory is simple, if you were running a marathon, about to play a sports match, a musician about to tackle a piece of music, or a dancer who is about to rehearse or perform, then you would naturally need to warm up first. Vocal warm-ups for actors are crucial as you prepare for a rehearsal or performance.
As I say to students, exercising our craft is exactly like going to the gym and if you don't exercise, then you will not be at your peak; like a weight lifter who doesn't lift weights.
Your voice is one of your most powerful tools as an actor so keep it strong, healthy and ready to do what you want it to do to achieve your work!
The Actors Tongue Twister
Tongue twisters are an awesome part of your vocal regime and are fantastic tools for actors as they prepare to perform or rehearse. They help actors to warm up their voices, improve diction and enunciation, and get their brains moving!
Tongue twisters stretch and strengthen the muscles which you use to speak. They not only support effective articulation but also unearth for you what words and sounds you have trouble pronouncing.
There are thousands of Tongue Twisters out there but here are a few that I have used and loved throughout my career working as an actor and as a teacher of acting. (There is a PDF of the Tongue Twisters at the end of this article)
1. The lips, the teeth, the tip of the tongue... This one is short but it's surprising how difficult it can be.......its a great challenge! Try it faster and faster to sharpen your -s, t- and th- sounds:
The lips, the teeth, the tip of the tongue. The tip of the tongue, the teeth, the lips.
2. To sit in solemn silence… This one first appeared in Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera The Mikado at the end of the song “I Am So Proud” .
To sit in solemn silence
On a dull dark dock
In a pestilential prison
With a life-long lock.
Awaiting the sensation
Of a short, sharp shock
From a cheap and chippy chopper
On a big, black block.
3. How much wood… Many know this tongue twister.
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck
If a woodchuck could chuck wood?
As much wood as a woodchuck could chuck
If a woodchuck could chuck wood.
4. Peter Piper… This is another famous tongue twister. You may have heard some differing versions
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
How many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?
This a particularly handy warmup if you are working on Mic.
Side Note: P is a Plosive!
What is a plosive consonant and what is its effect for an actor?
A plosive consonant is an abrupt sound made by closing the mouth then releasing a burst of breath. The plosive consonants in English are B, P, T and D. Their effect, especially when used repeatedly is to create a verbal reflection of events, items or emotions which have a harsh feel. For example anger, a car crash or a gun. They are more effective when used by actors in prose or in poetry due to the increased intensity of focussed language.
5. Betty bought a bit of butter.... This one helps with the contrasts of sounds in seemingly similar words like batter / butter, batter / bitter.
Betty bought a bit of butter.
But the bit of butter Betty bought was bitter.
If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter
But a bit of better butter will make my batter better
So, Betty bought a better bit of butter.
6. Leery Larry... this short one helps you improve your ‘L’s and R sounds. Say it five to ten times increasing speed but maintaining clarity.
A really leery Larry rolls readily to the road.
7. To sit in solemn silence... One of my favourites mostly because I had such trouble with it during my training at WAAPA. Some very tricky pronunciations! Focus on the digraphs, and the short “o” sounds for a hefty mouth and sibilance workout.
To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock,
In a pestilential prison, with a life-long lock,
Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock,
From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block!
8. Imagine... This sentence is a new one to me and it helps you practice the soft sound produced by “g.” Another great one for mic technique.
Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager managing an imaginary menagerie.
9. The sixth sick sheik’s... This was considered as the hardest tongue twister by Guinness Book of World Records (1974 Book). Try it for yourself, it’s a killer...
The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick
or
The sixth sheik's sixth sheep's sick
or
The sixth sheik's sixth sheep is sick
10. Give me the gift... This is just AWESOME!
Give me the giftof the grip top sock.
A drip drape, ship shape, tip top sock.
Not your spinslick, slap stick, slip slop stock;
But, a plastic elastic, grip top sock.
None of your fantastic slack swap slop
From a slap-dash, flash-cash, haberdasher shop;
Not a knick knack, kit-lock,
Knock-kneed knickerbockers sock
With a mock-shot, blob-mottled tricktickertock clock;
Not a rucked-up, puckered-up flop-top sock;
Not a super-sheer, seersucker rucksack sock;
Not a spot-speckled, frog-freckled cheap sheik’s sock
Off a hodge-podge, moss potched,
Botched scotch block
Nothing slip shod, drip drop, flip flop, or glip glop,
Tip me to a tip top, grip top sock!
My all time favourite!
Are they copper bottoming it, my man? No ma'am, they're aluminiuming it.
Here are some other funky tongue twisters
Try tying twine to three tree twigs (or) Try tying twine round three tree twigs
Six sick hicks nick six slick bricks with picks and sticks.
Unique New York, unique New York. You really need unique New York! (or) Unique New York. New York unique .
Rory the warrior and Roger the worrier were reared wrongly in a rural brewery.
Send toast to ten tense stout saints’ ten tall tents.
Green glass globes graciously glow greenly.
Nine nice night nurses are nursing nicely
Fred fed Ted bread, and Ted fed Fred bread
Susie works in a shoeshine shop. Where she shines she sits, and where she sits she shines
Red leather, yellow leather. (x3) As fast as you can!
Near an ear, a nearer ear, a nearly eerie ear
Try saying "ostrich eggshell" five times, quickly.
Try saying "Irish wristwatch" five times, quickly.
And then there is this beautiful poem by Hilaire Belloc that combines all the work you've just done.
Tarantella
(1929)
Do you remember an Inn,
Miranda?
Do you remember an Inn?
And the tedding and the spreading
Of the straw for a bedding,
And the fleas that tease in the High Pyrenees,
And the wine that tasted of tar?
And the cheers and the jeers of the young muleteers
(Under the vine of the dark verandah)?
Do you remember an Inn, Miranda,
Do you remember an Inn?
And the cheers and the jeers of the young muleteeers
Who hadn't got a penny,
And who weren't paying any,
And the hammer at the doors and the Din?
And the Hip! Hop! Hap!
Of the clap
Of the hands to the twirl and the swirl
Of the girl gone chancing,
Glancing,
Dancing,
Backing and advancing,
Snapping of a clapper to the spin
Out and in --
And the Ting, Tong, Tang, of the Guitar.
Do you remember an Inn,
Miranda?
Do you remember an Inn?
Never more;
Miranda,
Never more.
Only the high peaks hoar:
And Aragon a torrent at the door.
No sound
In the walls of the Halls where falls
The tread
Of the feet of the dead to the ground
No sound:
But the boom
Of the far Waterfall like Doom.
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