Fricatives Are My Favorite!
by Robyne Driggs
What is a fricative? In this teaching tip, Robyne Driggs shares her experience with this valuable tool, and how they can be fun even with younger students!
Fricatives Are My Favorite!
Balancing energy and breath flow seems to be what I work on most with students who have mastered the beginning exercise used to teach mix. Students who can do this can become the singers and performers they always hoped to be! That is our goal as vocal educators (or should be!) and the reason why “Fricatives are my favorite!”
Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. To simplify: Consonants where sound carries on them as a result of minor friction.
The consonants I use most in my studio are v, z, th and jh.
Attached is a full list of Fricatives both voiced and unvoiced. All are good tools that help students become more aware of their breath flow and their diaphragm.
When working with students, begin by finding the fricative that works best for them. Start with a siren and then move to a 9 tone exercise. After students have mastered that and are feeling more aware of their energy and breath, move to a syllable that the student is familiar with and see if they can continue to feel the flow! Then move to Interval exercises using the same method. Lastly, I move to exercises from the top down with the same process.
Another great process is having students recite tongue twisters using Fricatives. My young students especially love this! It takes energy and breath flow even when speaking to create sound using Fricatives. This is a great tool for budding actors and actresses to “find their voice” and learn to speak correctly. Doing this will help them learn to project on stage and speak in a way that will augment their singing. Here are a couple examples of tongue twisters I wrote for this purpose:
“Zebras zig zag through valiant vacant zoos”
“Jacque the visor zoomed zoomily through the thistle.”
Silly but effective!
We have so many wonderful methodologies and exercises to draw from, but Fricatives are my Favorite!
Robyne Driggs received her BA in Vocal Education and is certified in Mix. After spending a year as a Vocal performance major she soon longed for performance opportunities outside of the classical genre. After changing her major to education, she was free to sing in a Pop/Rock Band (the typical 80’s wedding singer!), do professional musical theater productions, and semi- professional leading roles as well! Later in her career, she was a Messiah Soloist and performed in many concert forums and recitals. Certifying in Mix has brought her back to her roots. She is so very grateful to Dean Kaelin and his patience and support throughout this process. Thank you to IVTOM for providing an ongoing education for all of us!
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