Vocal warm-up 4: Articulation

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The big theatres at the National require a big focus on articulation. First Jeannette gets the actors to move their lips around, and then gives the tongue a good work-out. After relaxing the jaw and reminding the actors of the need for good support, she gets them to repeat the sounds 'da, da, da' and 'ta, ta, ta' very quickly. Jeannette's further selection of other sounds to repeat will, over time, build up an actor's ability to articulate clearly. In addition to being part of their continual training, it's also something they need to do every night before a performance.

People featured in this video:
Jeannette Nelson, Head of Voice
Sioned Jones, Actor
Chris Saul, Actor

These exercises were filmed on the set of Gethsemane, designed by Bob Crowley.