Northern Irish Accent Intonation
Here's an introduction to the upward lilt of the Northern Irish accent - maybe not what you'd expect from an Irish accent if you're used to thinkin... Read more
Dark-L vs Light-L
An L at the beginning of a word is commonly a "light-L" whereas an L at the end of a word is commonly a "dark-L" - pulled back in the throat. It's... Read more
Introduction to Accents 2: Phonetics
The International Phonetic Association created a system to represent the sounds of world languages. The Phonetic Alphabet is a useful tool for lear... Read more
Breath Support - Transversus Abdominus Crunches
Major element of Breath Support = Abs (more specifically, the Transversus Abdominus) It can be difficult to get a sense of where the Transversus is... Read more
Intonation in American Accents
An introduction to the primary intonation patterns in most American accents, especially focused on dropping off at the end of phrases, how pitches ... Read more
Introduction to Accents 1: Accent vs Dialect vs Idiolect
Part 1 of 6 - Introducing how to learn an accent. This session gives a quick overview of what the terms Dialect & Accent mean, and an explanati... Read more
Breathing from the Diaphragm?
Can you "breathe into the diaphragm" or "breathe from the diaphragm?" Yes, and no... Here's an introduction to how the diaphragm works and the basi... Read more
Intonation of Western Irish Accents
The intonation of a western Irish accent is actually very similar to a southern Irish accent - I like to think of western Irish intonation as "Sout... Read more
Breath Support = Abs
Ever heard of Breath Support? Think "Abs!" It's all about the abdominal muscles (or, more specifically, your Transversus - watch for a future post.... Read more
Breath Support at the Ends of Phrases
You need even more breath support (ABS!) at the ends of phrases than anywhere else, especially to avoid falling into vocal fry. Read more