THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS - It feels appropriate this Festive Season to Post the following beautiful anonymous Poem.

It is rooted in Frederick Schiller's - "Ode to Freedom" changed in translation to Ode to Joy               

                                                               
                                                                .........................

                                         "Joy to the World" the carolers sang out
                                          as last minute shoppers scurried about,
                                          desperately seeking that one special gift
                                          that would give Christmas morning a magical lift.

                                         As an old man stood standing listening to the song,
                                         midst all the madness of the bustling throng,
                                         in a shaky, hoarse voice he began to join in
                                         singing the words of the famous old hymn.

                                         One by one, people stopped with their madness,
                                         to join the old man, for a moment of gladness.
                                        When the carolers had finished with singing the song,
                                         the whole throng was united as they all sang along.

                                        As if by magic from out of the sky,
                                        church bells rang out from a chapel nearby,
                                        And when it was over people greeted each other,
                                        sharing messages of good will with one another.

                                        You see, the magical lift the shoppers, sought, for so long,
                                        was not in the buying or scurrying along.
                                        That magical gift so desperately sought,
                                        was the Spirit of Christmas - which could never be bought.

                                                                      .....................

                                        I will have read this twice at public occasions this week.
                                        I have made a voice recording which will be attached shortly.

                                                    Festive Seasonal Greetings to you all.



Now to the Consonant - j.

In the English language this consonant has two sounds. The attached sound recording gives these.

The most common is where the sound comes from closing our front teeth together, pressing the tongue against them and our hard palate in the roof of the mouth. The actual sound forms at the point and time when we part our teeth letting the air, our breath, move forward out of our mouth.

As a gesture this sound has a feeling of "uprightness" not unlike the vowel i. A conscious stretching tall from our feet secure upon the earth through our arm and hand extended upward as high as we can towards the sky.

This consonantal sound carries vowel and other consonantal sounds well.

Examples where j is at the beginning of a word are jealous, jolly, jetty, jar - all words able to be formed well through the j driving the other sounds. These examples are in the recording.

Where the j is in the middle of a word the sound is equally important.  Take the word "adjacent." Without the j sound we would not recognise or understand the word. Try it - quite extraordinary.

The second type of sound that can come from the consonant j has a more "silent" quality.

This occurs where instead of the above 'hard' sound there is a softer quieter vowel sounds of 'u' or 'ay' spelt phonetically or the consonantal sound of y.

An example, from a name, is Julia. This name can be spoken both ways - with a hard J or softer quieter vowel sound of 'u' or 'ay' - spelt phonetically as Ulia. This silent quality has a very marked effect changing the manner in which this name sounds dramatically to very good effect.

Both ways of speaking this name are given in the recording.

I wish you well with this consonant.

I would appreciate hearing how these sounds are formed and written in other alphabets around the World. J ranks among the ten most common sounds in world languages. Please let me know.

The next Post will be the Fifth Instalment reading of Goethe's Fairy Tale " The Green Snake and The Beautiful Lily."

My best wishes to you all.

 



THIS IS THE FOURTH INSTALMENT OF THE GREEN SNAKE AND THE BEAUTIFUL LILY

In this reading the Green Snake is in a cavern with four kings.

Through a cleft in the rock wall a man enters - holding a lamp.

This "man with the lamp" becomes a main character in the fairy tale.

For the moment, in this reading, the kings engage him in conversation about how many secrets he knows. One of them is a life secret.......


Here is the Recording.



We are now at the 'h' sound in the English Alphabet.

This subtle, quiet breath sound is one of the jewels of the English Alphabet.

It presents itself in a variety of ways.

Firstly, where it is placed at the beginning of a word often requiring our full breath to project the sound for the required impact. For example at the beginning of the word "here" where in an emergency to save lives this sound forms an urgent command.

When we gather our breath and make this sound it is so easy for it to disappear in front of us. Try it now. It can sound like you are running out of breath just like when you run suddenly.

As you can hear in the attached recording the 'h' sound has to be consciously grasped for it to be recognisable and heard. To help do this picture the 'h' sound as a long sound with a definite and continuous flow. Creating a full 'h' sound supports well the sounds of the vowels and consonants that follow it so that in the word 'here', for example, the consonant 'h' provides the two 'e' vowels that follow a safe place within which to be held. At the same time the 'h' supports the consonant r being lengthened.

Secondly, where an 'h' is placed within a word, for example, "inhibited" or "inhale" the 'h' has an incredibly rich enlivening quality that brings the whole word to life. Equally, if you do not use this quality the word goes "flat" and the word and its potential meaning is lost completely.

Try this for your self. Take the breath needed to create the fullest 'h' sound you can in a word and then say the word again where you do not try very hard at all. There will be a real difference. The attached recording gives an example.

The Third common place where 'h' is placed in a word is where it follows immediately after consonants like t or w which are totally reliant upon the sound of the 'h' to bring out their complete qualities, characteristics and strengths.

Take for example the word "where" which needs the 'h' sound to support the w by making it fuller, stronger, longer and with direction. This is why the 'h' sound is so subtle and powerful and reliable. Equally, where it is not used to it's full advantage the sound of the word and it's meaning is lost - without purpose and influence.

A friend of mine who is very keen on language e-mailed me the other day after hearing the following written by Vladislav Khodasevich, a poet, spoken at an event in London:


                    "But sound is more honest than meaning, and strongest of all is the word."


To exercise and enhance our own individual ability to create full bodied 'h' sounds recite frequently,

                           "Ha forceful rush. This showers as chaff. From threshers flail."

In this exercise by Dr Rudolf Steiner the consonant 'h' is in a variety of places within the words, which remember, are not intended by him to have any meaning. In particular it enables us to exercise the longer "shhhhh" and "chhhhh' sounds. This exercise also helps develop the ability to form consonantal breath sounds, generally.

I wish you well with consciously creating this sound and using it to it's full potential.

Attached here is a supporting recording. Let me know how the Posts are helping.

 



The next Post will be my Fourth Instalment Reading of The Green Snake and The Beautiful Lily.

THIS IS THE THIRD INSTALMENT OF THE GREEN SNAKE AND THE BEAUTIFUL LILY

In this audio reading - attached - the Green Snake goes into a cavern in the rocks where she has been many times and is now able to see objects in it in a way she has never been able to before.

She has a conversation with one of them, a Golden King, for which the Fairy Tale is renown.

I will be delighted to hear from anyone tuning into this recording as to what for them this speech conveys.

And do come to the free exploratory workshop I am holding in London on Tuesday the 1st of October where I propose we explore the characters and their speeches, again to see what they convey.

Go to the last Post Entitled "IN LONDON on 1 OCTOBER I AM EXPLORING THE CHARACTERS in GOETHE's FAIRY TALE POEM - THE GREEN SNAKE AND THE BEAUTIFUL LILY which tells you where the workshop is taking place and between what times.



IN LONDON on 1 OCTOBER I AM EXPLORING THE CHARACTERS in GOETHE'S POEM
                             THE GREEN SNAKE AND THE BEAUTIFUL LILY

I will be doing this as part of my continuing research of the Poem, in Hammersmith at Temple Lodge, 51 Queen Caroline Street, W6 9QL.

We will be able to experience what it is like to be the Prince, Beautiful Lily, Kings, Ferry Man, Green Snake, Will o' the wisps, Man with the Lamp and many more. There are twenty characters in the Poem all travelling a personal journey through which we can discover much about our own journey through life. Goethe's writing is incredibly imaginative and creative.

We have use of The Lantern Room, between 11 am and 4 pm. This room is delightful and holds 12 people comfortably. Temple Lodge is very supportive of this type of activity.

Everyone is welcome. Come for any or all of the time. You do not have to know the Poem. I will have copies with me. It is accessible easily on the internet. I have posted the first and second (of nine) sequential readings of the Poem on this Blog recently and will post the third in September. These give a good flavour of the Poem through early activities of the characters.

Just let me know by e-mail    robinlivingspeech@gmail.com    that you would like to come or like further information.

Admission is free.

I look forward to seeing you.

Robin

Now to the Consonant "g".

'g' is a powerful grounded sound made by the back of the tongue pressing against the soft palate in the roof of the mouth.

It is a short sound that consumes all the breath it needs. If it is made well "the breath becomes the sound itself". This can and should be the case with all sounds though this is more easier to achieve in some  than others. This is called 'intoning'. I will spend time on this at the conclusion of the alphabet.

Experience the "g" sound by saying the words "Gripping Granite". In these two words the g is incredibly powerful. It sets the whole tone and nature of the sounds to come through these two words.
When the breath is able to become absorbed into the sound it feels solid and dense. It is these particular characteristics that help give the consonant g its power.

Search for a phrase or sentence you use often which has the consonant g in it. Write it down and repeat it a number of times and start developing and creating the characteristics of solidity and density. Get a sense from within yourself what it is like to speak in this new way and observe the reaction of others to how you are consciously forming this sound. For example if they look up or towards you when you form it. Ask them what they are hearing from you.

And play with the various images and tones that may be expressed through this sound. For example a teacher saying during the course of a day a range of sounds of g. For example from: "gather round for a story", through "get your sports gear and put it in the locker" to "go to the head teacher, now" The sounds of the consonant g in each of these examples is likely to be different to each other.

The first is soft, gentle and with an intriguing nature. The second a simple direction. The third a command which needs to have an unequivocal characteristic to it. Say these phrases and experience where, for you, the g sounds are coming from in the palate and what exactly the tongue is doing to make them.

I explore this further through the audio recording attached to this Post.

And going right back to our initial Posts on the importance of holding a clear picture image of what you are wanting to say for this consonant - visualise the sound you intend to form by gripping something with your hand and experiencing the advancing closure of your fingers.

g is a profound sound embodying the power of the universe with the power to have a strong impact on resistance and "engrave" itself on what it meets.

An exercise from Dr Rudolf Steiner for this consonantal sound is "Grey gritty granite grounds gruesome are they." As with all his exercises a particular consonant is placed in words in such a way to gain maximum benefit from repeating them a number of times. There is no meaning to them.

ng is also a linked key sound often ending - putting the finishing touches to the intended sound nature of a word. As with the word "intoning" itself it has a 'ring' to it and provides an excellent opportunity to portray the quality of the ng sound. Practise saying these two consonants together and experience where the combined ng sound comes from in relation to both the palate and the tongue and how this is different to forming the consonantal g sound on it's own.

The final thing to say about sounds coming from forming the consonant g is the responsibility for  creating the sound most appropriate for the picture-images we are seeking to impart. With power comes responsibility!

So we are at the point now where I attach the audio recording I have made about aspects of forming this consonant.

 

 

 



Please let me know how you get on with experimenting with this sound, especially from countries where it is not a natural sound in the alphabet.

The next Post will be the third in a series of readings of Goethe's Poem "The Green Snake and The Beautiful Lily" where in a Subterranean Vault there are key conversations between Kings, the Snake and a Man with a Lamp. In this reading there will be plenty of consonantal g sounds!

I SPEAK THE SECOND INSTALMENT OF THE GREEN SNAKE AND THE BEAUTIFUL LILY

In this part of Goethe's Epic Fairy Tale Poem we are introduced to the Green Snake and the effect her eating gold, that she finds, has upon her.

The Green Snake is a key character in this story about transformation.

Enjoy it. 

There will be nine instalments, each subject of a separate Post. These, in turn, will continue be inter-spaced with further Posts providing descriptions of how we can create for ourselves the characteristics and qualities of consonants and vowels - the next one being for 'g'.

Here is the spoken recording:



Now we have reached the Consonant "F"

As you would expect this consonantal sound is 'fiery' in nature and is best achieved by blowing the air in our lungs and mouth "through" our front upper teeth - arching downwards slightly the sides of our upper jaw.

It is an exciting, engaging, ear catching sound which draws attention to itself.

Try it in the word it can so easily represent - FIRE - and experience how the sound F literally propels the "IRE" along in it's wake.

This sound is an "air sound" which enables it to continue on in length for as long as you want it to - providing you have the breath!

It is unlike an "impact sound", for example 'd' as presented in the last Post, which comes to a definite stop once the tongue parts from the upper set of teeth.

There are two stages to making this sound. The first is to blow air from our mouth in the way I describe at the beginning of this Post. The second is simply to open our mouth and "release" the f sound.

Below is a sound recording where I do this.

In the recording you will hear and experience my conscious lengthening of the f sound to present it's full attractive potential.

Find words with f in them, not only just at the beginning like Fire, Family, Focus but also where this consonant is placed elsewhere in the word. Experience the truly remarkable affect it can have on a word.

Examples where f is contained within the body of a word are - offer, effort, leaf.

A bodily movement from Eurythmy, a form of invisible speech, for the consonant f is outstretching our arms and hands, particularly the latter, like water waves extending into the distance. Make this movement when creating this voice sound and experience how the two live together in natural harmony.

An example of an exercise I use and speak in the recording is:

                              Ha, forceful rush,

                              this showers as chaff,

                              from thresher's flail.

This is an exercise for all "air" sounds. Make your own up placing f in different positions in words.

Again as before, the construction of these phrases, by Dr Rudolf Steiner, is solely for exercising air consonants. The construction of the words themselves have no particular meaning.

Have fun with this consonant and note the reaction of those with who you are speaking when you consciously use this consonant.

Do not blow them away!

As I was seeking to show in the last Post through the first instalment of reading Goethe's prose-poem The Green Snake and The Beautiful Lily - enjoyable, good, effective speaking is about moulding and radiating what you are imagining. If this is done well there is no need to "be noisy"!

Best of luck and let me know how you get on.

 

 



I SPEAK THE FIRST INSTALMENT OF THE GREEN SNAKE AND THE BEAUTIFUL LILY

I am reading this beautiful piece of European literature by Wolfgang Goethe because as a fairy tale "prose-poem" it is one of the best examples of imaginative writing. Another is The Apprentices of Sais by Novalis, from the same period as Goethe.

The first Posts on this Blog were devoted to the value of moulding and radiating clear imaginative picture images before and when speaking. And I said then I would be using The Green Snake and The Beautiful Lily to help. So here it is!

This image forming should be like a continually flowing stream with even waves, bringing variation into this even flow. Seeking to represent a prose-poem orally in this way is finding the soul of language.

I am not presenting myself as a master in this at all - just someone who wants to point this out and do my best in this subtle art form.

              I will weave speaking this prose-poem between the Posts on the consonantal sounds.

                               
                                    CLICK BELOW TO HEAR THE FIRST READING

 



THE GREEN SNAKE and THE BEAUTIFUL LILY

Explore the hidden wonders of this epic fairy tale prose poem masterpiece of European literature.

On Tuesday the 1st of October 2013 at 51, Queen Caroline Street, Hammersmith, London. W6 9QL  10.30 for starting at 11 a.m., finishing at 3.30 p.m.

There will be room for twelve of us to appreciate the profound nature of this work by exploring the characters in the tale, what they said, how they spoke, why and any meaning there may be for our own  lives.

This occasion will also provide an excellent opportunity to practise and play with the observations and  recommendations in the Posts on this Blog about the art of speaking.

It will be good fun and worthwhile.

A grant has enabled the occasion to be free from charge.

To enquire further and reserve a place please contact me, Robin Blackmore, either via my e-mail address: robin@robinblackmore.co.uk or by using the Comment Box for this Post.

A good translation, published by Wynstones Press (info@wynstonespress.com) and able to be read via the internet, is by Thomas Carlyle. I will have copies with me.

I look forward to our working together on this exceptionally insightful piece of work.


The next Post on this Blog in our exploration of the English consonants will be for the consonant "f".

Our progression through the English Alphabet now looks, in this Post, at the consonantal speech sound of "d".

This is a speech sound that makes it's mark in a very certain yet subtle way - often closing, ending the sound of a word, in a rounded form.

Take the phrase "light-hearted" used to describe a humorous, fun approach, to what you are doing. The special quality and characteristic of the sound d enables the speech sound to 'complete', often be warm and certain, closing the end of a word firmly and positively.

Taking, respectively, phrases nurses or teachers may use about a medical procedure for patients or a piece of homework for pupils, the rounded, firm, warmth of the d sound can provide re-assurance and direction.

For example a nurse needing to re-assure a patient saying, "The medical procedure has now been completed." A lot can rest, for the patient, on the measured pace of this phrase being spoken and ability to draw out and create the warm,  firm, rounded characteristic of the the consonant d where it appears within the words.

The creation of the characteristic, the quality of d in this sentence is aided further by the opportunity in the two words 'medical' and 'procedure' by stepping the syllables, a technique I will cover in a future Post. The syllables in these two words - med/ic/al and pro/ced/ure - show the consonant d being in prominent positions at the close of syllables in which they are situated.

A natural supporting gesture for this sound is where our hands, through our outstretched arms in front of us, enclose gently, yet firmly, an imaginary tennis ball with the giving out of the sound d coming as our hands encircle the ball.

Feel the sound d come from between the tongue and upper teeth when, finally, the tongue moves away from the teeth to allow the built up air of our breath to project forward out of the mouth - a true "impact" sound.

A good exercise to develop the quality of the d sound is to repeat the following phrase a number of times, periodically:

"Tricked deep dingle deep biting narrow copper dark to dark"

This exercise from Dr Rudolf Steiner places key consonants, in this case d, within words to enable the above full characteristics to be developed and experienced.

The speech sounds we make should arise consciously, rather than unconsciously, reflecting our striving to create the full nature we know a particular sound can make. The short recordings of the sounds I include with each post are there to help in this conscious striving. I attach one for d.



This Post looks at the consonantal sounds associated with 'c', 'ch' and 'k'

All these sounds are surprisingly different.

Take the following statement which a nurse might use: "Look at her condition - certainly a challenge"

'c' in the word condition is a straight forward cutting, dismembering sound originating from the middle of the upper hard palate in the roof of the mouth with the tongue rising towards the palate to help.

The sound of 'c' in the word certainly is not the same - otherwise it would be "curtainly"!

Instead the 'c' in this word requires an 's' sound as in see or sea. This sound does not come from the hard palate. It is an air sound where we blow air towards and through our upper teeth.

Try these two entirely different sounds concentrating upon the positions in the mouth from which they originate.

Being conscious about the difference in the two sounds enables us to realise their full potential.

When the 'c' is followed by an 'h' the sound is either ch as in the word used by the nurse of challenge or k as in the word loch.

Make the 'ch' sound and experience it as another air sound, this time with our breath leaving our mouth through closed upper and lower teeth with our tongue moving towards a very brief closure of the teeth before the sound is released.

The second sound of ch (loch) - 'k' leads us to the full sound of k itself often referred to by teachers and young pupils as the kicking k. This is a sound which is stronger and slightly 'shorter' in length, which has a noticeable impact upon the listener.

Like the 'c' the 'k' sound also comes from the hard palate of the roof of the mouth. With the k the tongue presses towards the lower set of teeth to give strength to this sound.

Both the 'c' and the 'k' have valuable characteristics and qualities of being able to close the sound of a word, boldly, cleanly and if necessary dramatically.

A very helpful exercise for developing our skill in forming the fullest characteristics and qualities of these sounds is "Come crooked craftiest cur" (Rudolf Steiner). Again as explained in the last Post for 'b' there is no meaning to the words, the value of the exercise is the positioning within them of the consonant 'c'.

The two types of 'c' sound, the 'ch' sound and that of the 'k' are a good introduction to two general types of sound - impact sounds and air or blown sounds. The c in the word from the nurse of condition and the k in the word look are impact sounds.

The 'c' in the word certainly and 'ch' in the word challenge require air, our breath and therefore known as air or blown sounds. We will meet these two main types as we progress through the alphabet.

To close the circle, choosing conventional pronunciation from spellings provided, for example Achilles, commander of the Myrmidons in Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey, where the 'ch' is pronounced 'k' as in "a-kil-eez".

The sounds of 'c', 'ch' and 'k' are in the attached recording.

I look forward to hearing from you about your experiences with this very powerful group of consonantal sounds.



NOW TO THE SOUNDS THEMSELVES! - Starting with the consonant "B"

So here we start the journey through the characteristics and qualities of consonants to help bring alive speech sounds that are able to be made by expressing them to their fullest extent - not in the volume of  sound - but in the nature of the consonant.

In doing this for consonantal and vowel sounds I will describe and present the actual sound, the outward gesture that supports it being made, provide an example of it's use within roles described in the last Post together with exercises to help develop making the sound.

I am concentrating upon the consonants first, rather than the vowels, because their sounds are more capable of being developed independent of our temperaments. Vowels reflect our temperaments more strongly, being described as "windows of the soul". Another way of distinguishing between the two is through the analogy of a train and it's passengers. The coaches of a train are the consonants, the passengers are the vowels.

So to the consonant 'b'.

To make the sound - keep closed for as long as possible both lips and feel their measured opening to form the 'b' sound - picturing a gesture of careful "enclosure". In consonants there is rarely a stronger need to consciously form a sound than in the case of the 'b' because of it's quiet subtle nature.

Consider a mother holding a baby and speaking "beautiful baby" - the consonants 'b' being perfectly placed to help her present, in sound, a treasured mothering instinct.

Speaking these two words you can feel strongly what a mother can bring not only to the consonant 'b' but also what that consonant can do to underpin the whole nature of the words 'beautiful' and 'baby'.

The physical gesture that supports and helps make the sound 'b' is one of bringing our forearms and hands in towards our body in an "O" shape, having first held them out in front of us, just as we would if receiving safely a new born child from another. Within the sound of 'b' there is the intention to protect.

Roles of teacher, facilitator, or nurse, using the consonant 'b' within an intended necessary 'command' for something to have to happen in a fixed way by a set time can, contrastingly, gain considerable strength from the consonantal sound 'b'. This is because of the 'inclusive' character of the sound.

Try examples: A nurse encouraging someone in their care who is finding it very difficult to eat saying "Break the bread into small pieces" - supported by hand gestures of breaking bread: A teacher requiring a class to complete a piece of work by break-time saying "By break-time I need to have all your work on my desk"- an effective command within a clear boundary of time and place - the desk.

These examples are not given to show we have to have the consonant 'b' included within words to engender feelings of inclusiveness and enclosure. They are given to show that the consonant 'b' is particularly powerful in being able to engender these feelings. Therefore, when choosing words to speak, consider the potential qualities and characteristics of the consonants in them for their sounds.

Exercise speaking 'b' by speaking a sentence with words containing this consonant concentrating upon forming the sound in the above way. I use exercises by Dr Rudolf Steiner and a line he created for developing the sound 'b' is "By beaten bowers bide brave". The words themselves are not meant to have any meaning it is the arrangement of the consonant 'b' within them that is the value.

You might be saying now - what!! - such concentration upon a single consonant, let alone a word or sentence. Is it worthwhile, does it make a difference, what is it saying about the way I hear people and myself speak? Especially having covered the ground in 2012's Posts about forming clear mental pictures - images and supporting gestures of what we say.

This Blog is offering a path towards consciously formed living speech. It is not about techniques. It is about principles and values at the root of forming speech - a watchfulness over speech.

Below is an audio recording of the character of the sound 'b' and exercises to develop it.



I appreciate hearing from those consciously working with this consonant and in the next Post I will work with the consonantal sounds of 'c', 'ch' and 'k'.