- Get some sleep. Now. Go to bed earlier than you intended. Put that smartphone down, and that tablet, and that laptop. Pick up a BOOK (how about this one?) and read until you fall asleep. Less bluescreen = less stress on the brain = better sleep = better health.
- Wake up and drink oodles of water. Keep a bottle with you all day and keep refilling it. Hydrate that body and throat and keep it hydrated. There are more stringent rules for healthy tap water than bottled water, so just use the tap to save pennies!
- Spend five minutes breathing deeply, in through the nose and out through the mouth. Do it in the shower, on the way to the train, in the car, anywhere. No one will know you’re doing it and your lungs will thank you.
- Eat honey on toast, if it rocks your boat. Honey is so great for the throat. Local honey is best, so do your best to find your local honey seller.
- If you have five minutes where no one can hear you, hum a tune or two, then lalalala a few times to get your voice practised. Practice some consonant sounds and tongue twisters. A stronger voice is less likely to suffer.
- Speak softly and carefully when you can, save your big voice for necessary times, like that AMAZING presentation you’re doing later on, or that Christmas Do when everyone will be chatting and you’ll need to be loud to be heard.
- Buy some Vocalzones. They’re the best for a healthy voice. Honestly.
- Wash your hands as often as humanly possible. Colds and lurgy spread more quickly through poor hygiene, so avoid it by washing your hands when you can.
- If your voice hurts, rest it.
- Rest it some more.
- And some more.
- Go back to point one and start again J
Tag: being English
Listening For Pleasure
I stole this title from a wonderful series of albums made in the 60s/70s where pop music would be re-recorded by orchestras. I have the Mancini on vinyl and it is divine. I also have Burt Bacharach, for those evenings when strings and cheese are all you need.
My post today is all about listening to audio recordings for pleasure. What do you like to listen to? Are you an audiobook fan? Do you like factual podcasts or discussions? Do you like to catch up on comedy? I’ve found some of the most popular things to listen to and have collated them here.
Let’s start with audiobooks. I tried Audible once, but found listening to a story too relaxing. In bed I fell asleep so missed chunks of the story, sat in the front room I dozed off – I didn’t dare try it whilst driving! So audiobooks and I don’t really get on. My 5 year-old son loves his Ivor The Engine cassette, or anything involving Thomas The Tank Engine. He falls asleep too! The soothing sounds of voices reading stories can be very, very relaxing. Perhaps I ought to try a horror story next – something to keep me stimulated.
If we look at Audible’s Top 10, 3 places are taken by Harry Potter. The hypnotic and addictive stories must make for great listening. The great thing is, the narrators are not world-class actors! These are professional audiobook artists, people who read into a microphone hour after hour, day after day, I would absolutely love to have a go!
Tell me – what are your favourite vocal things to listen to?
My absolute favourite are podcasts. I listen to Mysterious Universe, The Archers, The Moth, Serial, Untold, Woman’s Hour, A History of the World in 100 Objects, Dumteedum, The History Hour and my children and I listen to The Fun Kids Weekly too. People work so hard on their podcasts and I appreciate the work and the content. How about you?
Listening for pleasure can also help our voices. Listen to the way people read sentences, words, phrases. Try keeping the book they’re reading in front of you, pause and repeat their pronunciation, their inflection, repeat and repeat until it sounds the same. Find people’s voices that you enjoy listening to and try to emulate them.
Tongue Twisters
I love tongue twisters. I mean, I absolutely love them. I do them with and for my children, until we dissolve in a puddle of giggles on the floor. I do them with all of my students, from the oldest to the youngest. I love them.
The great thing is that you’re learning while you’re doing them. You’re twisting and turning that mouth around, thinking about how the words feel in your mouth, thinking inadvertently about the spelling and how it relates to the movements, thinking about speed, delivery, pace, and laughing laughing laughing the whole time.
If we laugh while we’re learning, we learn better. I think. I remember CDT with Mr Taylor, who was funny. Really funny. I remember him teaching me about tools and wood and him fixing my violin and being funny.
Try some tongue twisters today!
Feeling hot, hot, hot.
In this BEAUTIFUL hot weather that we are having in the UK, it is absolutely essential to drink plenty of liquid. Water is best but juice and squash are great too. If you love caffeine try and up your water intake to balance out the caffeinated drinks as they are quite drying to the system. Avoid straining your voice in the heat by warming it up thoroughly in the morning before you leave the house. Take some Vocalzone with you in case of dry throat-related hoarseness. Take antihistamines regularly to feel their maximum benefit.
I’m restarting a blogging course that I let go last year – fingers crossed I show better staying power this time! #31DBBBDay1
England in the Springtime
I adore England in the Springtime. I especially adore it here in East Anglia where there is a great mix of arable and livestock farming, so I drive past fields of rapeseed, cows, sheep (& lambs of course), wheat, corn, whatever they are growing. And the hedgerows – the hedgerows are bursting with life. Cow parsley and hawthorn and blackthorn and lilac and bluebells and harebells and the odd rogue bulb that someone has guerilla planted or has just ‘appeared’. The grass is long, luscious and thick, the trees have that luminous green in their leaves that painters often puzzle over capturing. My favourite painting of Spring is in my house. My father-in-law painted it and it’s perfect. The light dapples on the floor of the woods and the sky is that precious light blue we get in the Spring.
Things in England are not so happy. My facebook newsfeed is full of people utterly bemused at how a political party who achieved 30% of the vote can rule the country… a few people gathered to peacefully protest and they were treated appallingly by the Police, creating fights and arresting people who had done absolutely nothing. So actually being English is tainted… a bitter taste is left in our mouths.
So, will I have a job in a couple of years time? If people haven’t been affected by the swathing cuts yet, they will be soon. Will people have disposal income to spend on lessons to help them speak more clearly? Will employers still pay for their employees to receive tuition to gain confidence and ability in public speaking? To begin worrying about your future before there’s even a problem is a bit odd, isn’t it?
I haven’t anything useful or promising to share today. I am enjoying the Springtime and hope you are too.
midwintertutor 