Learning to be a ventriloquist can come in handy in case you want to indulge in the show or play an innocent prank on friends. The art of ventriloquism is to make your voice sound distant without moving your lips and jaw. In addition, a good ventriloquist knows some useful tricks to divert the attention of the public from himself. Here's what you need to know to learn the basic techniques.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Creating the Distance Effect
Step 1. Inhale
Take a deep breath, inhaling as much air as possible.
- The art of ventriloquism is to create the so-called "distance effect", which makes your voice seem further away than it is.
- To create this effect, it is necessary to exploit the pressure generated by compressing a large amount of air in a very narrow passage; to do this, as a first step, a lot of air must be collected in the lungs.
- Learn to breathe deeply without noticing. Take slow, deep breaths, using your nose to avoid giving yourself away with the movement of your mouth.
Step 2. Lift your tongue
Place the back of the tongue near the soft palate, almost touching it.
- The soft palate is the soft part of the palate; it is located high up, near the gorge.
- Use the back of your tongue rather than the tip. The tongue should be almost in contact with the soft palate.
- In this way, the tongue closes a large part of the mouth of the throat, allowing to emit an attenuated sound, essential for obtaining the distance effect.
Step 3. Apply pressure with the diaphragm
Pull in your stomach to tighten the diaphragm, then apply pressure underneath the lungs.
- The diaphragm is a muscle located just below the lungs and plays an important role in the inhalation and exhalation processes; the technique of deep breathing largely depends on the action of this muscle.
- Since the diaphragm is located immediately below the lungs and surrounds the upper part of the stomach, tensing the belly muscles also tens the diaphragm.
- Pressing under the lungs narrows the passage from these to the mouth and nasal passages. This compression gives you more control over the voice and is essential for trapping the voice in the throat.
Step 4. Make a moan
Exhale slowly, letting out a moan as the air escapes from your throat.
- By compressing the airways, you will trap the breath near the larynx and the moan will be trapped in the throat, causing the sound to be distant.
- Repeat the moan several times, until you feel that you have trapped the sound in the correct way and you can't hear it far enough away. Each time, inhale deeply and squeeze the muscles; rest when your throat hurts.
Step 5. Do "aah"
Repeat the above, but this time, instead of the usual moan, make an open sound by saying "aah".
- Your "aah" should be kept for a long time. Start making the sound as soon as you start exhaling and continue until you exhaust the air collected in the lungs.
- The verse shouldn't be particularly strong; if anything, expect a muffled, seemingly distant sound. With practice, you can make the sound louder but, at least initially, focus on trapping the sound in your throat.
- Keep practicing, doing "aah" until you master the technique. Stop if your throat starts to hurt.
Step 6. Replace "aah" with "help"
When you are satisfied with your "aah", use the same technique to say "help".
- "Help" is a rather used expression in ventriloquism (in the classic skit of the puppet trapped in a chest, for example). You can use other expressions, such as "let me out!" or "is someone there?"; the message depends on you, but try to say something simple, so as not to strain your throat too much.
- Repeat the exercise several times, until you are satisfied with the result.
Step 7. Don't exercise for too long
Training sessions should last no more than five minutes.
- Stop whenever you feel pain in your throat or lungs.
- By performing these exercises, the larynx, throat and vocal cords are used in an unusual way; to avoid straining your body too much, training sessions should be short and intense.
- Over time, you will be able to exercise for longer, but still shorter, periods.
Part 2 of 3: Masking the Mouth Movement
Step 1. Check your lip movements
As for the way of holding the lips, the three basic positions in the art of ventriloquism are: the relaxed one, the smiling one and the open one.
- The relaxed position is assumed by opening the lips slightly. Keep your jaw relaxed, making sure that the two rows of teeth, upper and lower, remain separate.
- The smiling position is used quite often during ventriloquism performances (but not as often as the relaxed position and the open position, which are more effective in creating the distance effect). Keep your lips and jaw like in the relaxed position, but use the muscles on the sides of your lips to make them smile. Unlike what happens with a normal smile, the lower lip should be positioned slightly outwards.
- The open position is particularly good for expressing disbelief or amazement, but some tongue movements may be noticed by viewers. Keep your mouth open so that the separation between the lips is evident. Lift the corners of your mouth, keeping them slightly "curled" (in fact, using this technique, a more open version of the smiling position is achieved).
Step 2. Practice with some simple sounds
Simple sounds are those that can be produced with minimal movement of the jaw or without moving it at all; practice in front of a mirror until you are satisfied with the result.
- Among the simpler sounds we find the five vowels "A, E, I, O, U".
- The consonants "C" and "G".
- The sounds "D, H, J, K, L, N, Q, R, S, T, X" and "Z".
Step 3. For more difficult sounds, use the position known as the "front press"
This technique, which consists in altering the natural position of the tongue, allows to reproduce the most complicated sounds of all: the labial consonants.
- Generally, the sounds "B" and "M" are produced by tightening the lips: a rather obvious movement, which cannot be missed (even the most distracted spectator understands where the sound is coming from if they close and open the lips).
- Using the "front press" position, the tongue replaces one of the lips.
- Touch the back of your teeth for a moment with the tip of your tongue, exerting slight pressure; do this movement whenever you should close your lips to make the sound.
- Use this technique for the "B, M, P, F" and "V" sounds. Keep in mind that the pronunciation of these consonants will be a little different from the standard one, but it will come very close and will be as natural as you can get without moving your lips.
- Don't exert too much pressure with your tongue and don't touch your upper palate, otherwise your "B" s will sound like "D" and your "M" like "N".
Part 3 of 3: Learning to Mislead the Audience
Step 1. Pretend you are looking for the source of the sound
One method of fooling your listener is to first look for the source of the sound you are producing yourself, exactly as if you were a normal listener.
- Contrary to what it might seem, the art of ventriloquism is not about "bottling" your voice and making sure it comes from a specific point; an attentive listener will realize that the voice is coming from you, even if you master the technique perfectly.
- The success of a ventriloquism performance lies in large part in inducing the audience to look somewhere else in search of the origin of the sound.
- People have a tendency to look in the same direction that others are looking. By pretending to search for the source of the sound, you can make viewers follow your gaze and unintentionally join you in search of the origin of the voice.
Step 2. Focus your attention on one point
After "finding" the source of the sound, keep looking in the same direction.
The principle is always the same: because of their curiosity, people are inclined to look in the same direction in which they look at others. By focusing your attention on a specific object or point, viewers will be led to follow your gaze and focus their attention on your same goal; in the long run they may look away, but their first reaction will still be to look where you are looking
Step 3. Use the principles of non-verbal communication
Increase the fiction by talking to yourself, as if you were two distinct people.
- If you say something startling, mark the surprise by gesturing. Express your disbelief by raising your eyebrows, bringing your hand to your mouth, sighing, or tapping your forehead with the palm.
- Likewise, if abusive words are spoken to you, cross your arms, turn your back, or use other gestures that simulate your anger.
