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Archive for March, 2010
Getting Your Voice Ready For Ventriloquism
Now just a word as to the care of the throat before passing on to the actual work of ventriloquizing. A gargle of tepid or cold water, begin¬ning with tepid, aids and strengthens the voice, while hot water will take out any soreness that may result from the exercises. A cold compress applied to the neck over night works wonders.
This may be made by dipping a piece of cotton cloth into cold water, wringing it, and after folding into a convenient size, binding it around the throat under a strip of flannel. All so-called cough drops should be avoided. If the throat feels dry and harsh, half a teaspoonful of glycer¬ine a few minutes before beginning will lubricate it, and any hoarseness before beginning may be broken up by sucking a lemon.
It is also a good thing to daily massage the throat by bending the neck back until the space between the shoulders is touched by the back of the head. Resuming the natural posi¬tion, turn the head and touch the top of the right shoulder with the chin and do the same with the left shoulder. Then beginning in the notch just above the breast bone rub or knead from below up to the lower jaw with a light pressure, yet firm enough not to slip on the skin.
Of course I need hardly add a word as to the importance of keeping the teeth clean by brush¬ing them at least once a day, after every meal if convenient, to preserve them and keep the mouth sweet and wholesome. I would also recommend a daily lung bath in order to strengthen and de¬velop the lungs, which will not only give one added power for vocal elicits of any kind, but will also improve the general health.
Ventriloquist – Look After Your Voice
A half hour’s practice a day, taken in ten or fifteen minute instalments, especially at first, is sufficient to begin with, and if the student should become hoarse before that time is up, he should stop at once or he might forever ruin his chance of becoming a good ventriloquist.
It might be well for the beginner whose voice is changing to defer the practice until later, but if he experiences no special inconvenience at this time and is so strongly attracted toward the art that he is impatient to begin, he should proceed very carefully and discontinue the practice upon the least sign of vocal strain or weariness. In some boys the change from youth to manhood is so gradual as to be hardly perceptible, in which case the voice is not so easily injured; but it is always best to err on the side of extreme care in the use of so delicate and perfect an instrument than to carry vocal exercise of any kind to excess. In my own case, although my voice retained its clearness and strength during this period of change, I did not begin the study of ventriloquism until I was at least seventeen, and it was two or three years later before I gained confidence enough to give exhibitions in public.
Adult students whose voices are already fixed need not be so careful, although even to them the advice about stopping upon the first sign of hoarseness is applicable. Loud conversation, loud reading, immoderate laughter, rapid walking and running causing the breathing to be much accelerated, tend to fatigue the vocal organ and are therefore imprudent actions to any one pursuing a course of training directly dependent upon this organ for its ultimate success, like singing, oratory and ventriloquism.
Ventriloquist – Don’t Strain Your Vocal Chords
In taking up ventriloquism, the student should be careful not, in his eagerness to get ahead, to strain or overwork the vocal organ in any way, for he will only delay his progress by so doing, and perhaps might permanently injure his voice. Especially should this caution be observed by boys who have reached the period of their lives where the voice changes and finally takes on a deeper and more manly tone than the childish treble which has hitherto distinguished it.
Occurring usually at about fifteen years of age, sometimes a little before, this period, which is a critical one for the voice, lasts from one to three years, during which the vocal organs should not be overtaxed in any way. While the physiolog¬ical changes are taking place in the throat which brings about this alteration of tone, the voice often breaks badly or is accompanied by great hoarseness and is sometimes lost entirely for days and even weeks at a time. The altera¬tions chiefly affect the larynx, or so-called Adam’s apple, which often becomes noticeably prominent.
In the light of these facts, it need hardly be reiterated that boys who take up the practice of ventriloquism at this period should be extremely careful, as the efforts required tend to bring about an unusual degree of sensitiveness in the throat and lungs. For this reason the chest should be kept warmly covered to guard against sudden variations in temperature. A travelling ventriloquist whom I once saw kept a band of flannel constantly around his throat, except when on the stage, but this is neither necessary nor de¬sirable, and would indeed be very likely to make the lower part of the neck unduly susceptible to changes in the weather.
Ventriloquism – How The Voice Is Formed
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Of course the pitch is regulated by the tension of the vocal cords. The tighter they are stretched the more rapidly they vibrate and the higher and more shrill the sound; and, per con¬tra, .the more they are relaxed, the slower the rate of vibration and the lower the pitch. The different positions of the cords are determined entirely by muscular actions under the control of the will. In the ordinary act of respiration, the air passes through the larynx and vocal tubes without a sound, because they are relaxed and at rest and their relations to each other are not therefore favorable to tonal production.
The quality of the voice depends on the struc¬ture of the larynx and the size and form of the vocal tube. The ventriloquist alters the natural quality of his voice by dilating or contracting the mouth; by contracting the passage between the back part of the throat and the mouth so as to separate them into almost distinct chambers or by widening the opening so as to throw them into one, this being done by means of the soft palate; and by altering the form of the cavity of the mouth by means of different positions of the tongue.
Ventriloquist – How Does The Mouth Work?
It has a fixed roof formed by what is known as the hard palate, and a movable floor made up of the tongue and lower jaw. When the mouth is closed the tongue comes in close contact with the roof; and back of the hard palate, communication with the nasal cavity (leading to the nose) and the pharynx (back part of the mouth) is further impeded by a curtain of flesh, the soft palate. At the rear of the base of the tongue is a lid, or valve, the epiglottis, which covers the windpipe and protects it in the act of swallowing, the food passing down at the back of the throat. Below this valve is the glottis, composed of two semicircular membranes, forming a small oblong aperture which can be dilated or contracted at pleasure, and by the various vibra¬tory motions of which the tones of the voice are modified. Below this, and at the upper part of the windpipe, is the larynx (commonly known as Adam’s apple). This is composed of four pieces which have the power of playing into each other or of moving together.
Like the bellows of an organ, the lungs furnish the air which is forced up the windpipe and through a chink in the larynx where the sound is produced, the vocal cords vibrating in much the same manner as the reed of a musical instru¬ment to which the larynx may be compared. The tone then passes up into the pharynx, where it is modified at will, and, arriving at the mouth and lips, is shaped into intelligible language.
Ventriloquist Voice Production
THE word ” ventriloquism ” is made up from two Latin terms, ” venter,” the belly, and “loquor,” to speak—literally speaking from the belly; but in a sense the word is not well chosen. The sounds evoked by the ventriloquist have their origin in the back part of the throat, and of course cannot by any manner be forced below the vocal cords which create them. By compressing these cords, however, and by shutting off the sound by means of different positions of the tongue and jaws, or by forcing it explosively against the hard palate, the voice is given the peculiar characteristics necessary for all distant effects. But the work of those who use mechan¬ical figures is done almost entirely in the forward part of the mouth, just behind the teeth, and in the nasal passages. The ventriloquial voice has its own modifications, such as ” near distant,” “farther distant,” u above to level,” “level to below,” etc., all of which have their distinctive qualities of pitch and character. In the second part of this work the method of forming the ventriloquial voice and of lending to it these modifications will be fully explained.
Before proceeding further, however, it is well for the student to have some knowledge of the structure of the vocal organs as directly related to voice production and preservation.
Passing from the known to the less known we will first consider the mouth which, aided by the lips, shapes the sounds originating in the throat into words.
Being A Ventriloquist Is Great Fun
Among civilized races ventriloquism has long since ceased to be anything except a source of entertainment, and for that purpose it has a legitimate mission. In this strenuous age of money getting, public amusements are necessary, as they afford welcome relief and relaxation from the constant hurly-burly of modern conditions. So long as the entertainer, whether he be an actor, a ventriloquist, a magician, a monologue comedian or what not, amuses his audience without corrupting them, so long is his mission a beneficent one and his place in the world of men as important in its way as that of him who devotes all his attention to more serious affairs.
Merely as a source of amusement, however, a practical knowledge of ventriloquism pays well for the time and effort spent in acquiring it in the amount of fun and glory one gels out of it, the relaxation it affords from the sterner duties of life, and the welcome pocket money which it brings to its successful exponent, which in a city, where one can be in touch with amusement agents, often amounts to considerable. Even though the ventriloquist has daily employment of a clerical or mechanical nature, there are always remunerative evening and holiday engagements to be obtained, especially if he is a little energetic in “drumming up trade” by keeping himself constantly in the minds of the agents, by sending out circulars and doing some advertising on his own account, and by watching the columns of the daily papers for announcements of future entertainments where outside talent might be wanted.
Ventriloquist Art
A half-hour’s exhibition of ventriloquism with the aid of mechanical figures, which carry on a bright and amusing dialogue with the performer and possibly contribute a song or two, varied by conversation with invisible people or imitations of various tools and musical instru¬ments after methods which will be explained later, will often be eagerly accepted as an agree¬able departure from the monotony of readings and vocal and instrumental music usually given at local entertainments. Variety is the spice of life they say
In concluding this introduction on the ventriloquist art, I do not hesitate to say that if you possess a voice of at least moderate range and power, and an ear that is fairly accurate in sensing sound impres¬sions, you will have no difficulty in becoming expert enough in the art to give an exhibition similar to that mentioned above—just when, will of course depend entirely upon the amount of at¬tention you give to it and the degree of aptitude you display. Time and experience are all that you then require to become perfect at the art of ventriloquism. The road lies before you and is not especially hard to travel; follow it faithfully and the goal will soon be reached.
A ventriloquist is not born, unlike a poet. It takes practice and application to master the art. The following posts will give the explanation needed to become proficient in the art of ventriloquism.
This just a small fraction of the information contained in Ventriloquist Secrets Revealed. Click here to find out more about this comprehensive ventriloquism resource
Ventriloquist And The Audience
The audience stood so close to the platform that I could almost touch the foremost persons, and I felt that under such conditions I could have very little success. But even here, a bright young lady who stood among those in the first rank of the crowd and directed her attention entirely to my face and lips in order to test the matter, after-ward assured me that the illusion of ” the man
Under the floor ” was perfect, and that the voice did not seem to proceed at all from myself. This may sound egotistical, but I simply relate the incident to show the perfection which may be obtained, and for the encouragement of those among my readers who desire to take up the art.
Unlike the magician, who requires an elaborate” fit-up” to properly perform his illusions, the ventriloquist always has the mysterious at his command. From a haystack by the country roadside or from behind the closed portals of an empty store or the depths of an open sewer in the city, he can evoke ” spirits ” to amaze and mystify the hearers, which yet exist in nothing more substantial than his own voice. The art is an old one, and there is no doubt that in earlier times it was used by unscrupulous priests to terrify ignorant people and keep them in subjection. It has been practiced on the banks of the Nile and among the Esquimaux in the Arctic Circle, and probably has its exponents in those regions today.