PURPOSE OF THE QUALIFICATION

LAMDA Graded Examinations in Communication: Speaking Verse and Prose are designed to develop the skills necessary for effective oral communication of the written word.

Learners who prepare themselves appropriately will develop:
1 Interpretative skills
2 Technical skills
3 Knowledge of literature.

BROAD OBJECTIVES OF THE QUALIFICATION

1 Interpretive skills
The learner will be required to engage imaginatively with the thought, emotion, style and form of a text.

2 Technical skills
The learner will be required to develop skills in voice, diction and posture.

3 Knowledge of literature
The learner will be required to know and understand the chosen selections and to understand voice, speech and versification theory to communicate the specific demands of the text.

Below you will find guidance notes provided by the LAMDA Teacher.

Grades 1-5

1)         LAMDA can ask theory from any previous grades (even if candidate has not taken that grade)
2)         Students can chose their prose piece from the LAMDA anthology but you must be ABSOLUTELY SURE that they have read the WHOLE book (not just seen the movie!)
3)         These notes are for the benefit of students & can be photocopied for their use, they are a précis of notes that tutors need to follow from ‘Knowledge Matters’.
4)         Remember to practice sight reading with G4 onwards
5)         All exams are 10 minutes, apart from G4 & G5 which are 15 minutes.

LAMDA ENTRY THEORY
(one Lamda poem/one ‘own choice’ poem) NB There will be four questions from the examiner in the ‘knowledge’ section.

i) The meaning of the poems (Do they paint a picture? Tell a story? What are the poems trying to say?)
ii) The meaning of 4 individual words in both poems

LAMDA GRADE 1 THEORY
(one Lamda poem/one ‘own choice’ poem)

QUESTIONS WILL BE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING

  • The mood, content & contrast between poems (Are they shaped differently on the page? Do they have strong rhythm? Do they use rhyme? Is the mood different in the poems?)
  • The reasons behind your choices
  • The meaning of 4 individual words in both poems

LAMDA GRADE 2 THEORY
(one Lamda poem/one ‘own choice’ prose)

YOU WILL BE ASKED THE FOLLOWING ABOUT YOUR BOOK

1          What happens in the story? (A succinct outline)
2          Where & when is the story set?
3          What is your favourite part of the story?
4          How does the extract you are performing fit into the story as a whole?
5             The content of the verse selection
6              The mood of both verse and prose

LAMDA GRADE 3 THEORY
(one Lamda poem/one ‘own choice’ prose)

  • The mood of both verse and prose
  • The content of the verse selection

Questions will be based on two characters from the story:

1)         Why have you chosen them?
2)         Are they the main characters?
3)         What do you think they look like?
4)         What do they say about themselves?
5)         What happens to them & why?
6)         Do they know each other?

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VERSE & PROSE

  • LAYOUT: In English, both flow from left to right of page.
    In verse words are shaped & arranged into patterns & sometimes stanzas.
  • RHYTHM: Both posses rhythm which is a beat or pulse you can hear when you say words. When rhythm has a regular pattern of syllables this is called metre.
    In verse rhythm is more distinct and may be strong or subtle.
  • LANGUAGE: Prose has logical sequence & grammatical order.
    Verse may change word order or omit words/punctuation. Verse may also make more use of similes & metaphors.

LAMDA GRADE 4 THEORY
(one Lamda poem/one ‘own choice’ prose/sight reading)

SIGHT READING

  1. Scroll thumb down side of page
  2. Good eye contact without losing place
  3. Appropriate expression, diction, clarity, pace, volume & stress

PROSE:

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TWO CHARACTERS

1)         What do they say about each other?
2)         What do other people say about them?
3)         How do they relate to each other?
4)         How does their relationship develop/change & why?

VERSE:

  • The mood of both verse and prose
  • The content of the verse selection

FIGURES OF SPEECH

ALLITERATION: Repetition of an initial consonant eg Firelight, lamplight, the little lame cat ASSONANCE: Repetition of a vowel sound eg a flicker of light, glittering, just out of sight ONOMATOPOEIA: Words that make a similar sound to their meaning when spoken aloud eg pop/hiss

ANTITHESIS: When a word,phrase or idea is set in opposition to another, resulting in a strong contrast or ambiguity which can often surprise or shock eg Dinosaur roar, dinosaur squeak, Dinosaur fierce, dinosaur meek.

PUN: When a word with 2 different meanings, both relevant to the context, is used eg “Thank goodness”, the carp thought, “That rivers have banks!”

SIMILIE: When one thing is likened to another, recognised by use of ‘like’ or ‘as’ eg My love is like a red, red rose

METAPHOR: Turns on thing into something else eg Beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock, the meat it feeds on.

LAMDA GRADE 5 THEORY
(one Lamda poem/one ‘own choice’ prose/sight reading)

THE PLOT OF THE BOOK (A narrative of events with emphasis on cause & effect) Be able to discuss what happened & why; the books development & outcome

PHRASING (A group of words which make sense, but not complete sense on their own)

CONTENT OF VERSE SELECTION

  1. SENSE-GROUPS: A group of words which make sense when put together, often introducing a fresh idea
  2. BREATH-GROUPS: The number of sense-groups that can be easily said in one breath. May be longer than sense-groups and should occur where a longer pause is indicated by text.
  3. PARENTHESIS:         Brackets, commas, hyphens used when a word, phrase or sentence is inserted as an explanation or after thought. The prose would make sense if the words inside parenthesis were removed.

PAUSING (When sound stops – brings meaning & mood)

  1. SENSE PAUSE: Oral punctuation used to mark the sense at the beginning or end of a sense-group.
  2. EMPHATIC PAUSE: A pause used to isolate a word or phrase which therefore achieves prominence & builds suspense and climax.
  3.  EMOTIONAL PAUSE: When voice is suspended by the strong working of emotions.
  4. RHYTHMICAL/METRICAL PAUSE: Used at ends of lines/in between stanzas to indicate form & pattern of verse. Should be timed with the rhythm of the verse.
  5. CAESURAL PAUSE: A slight pause which occurs mid-line, usually indicated by a break in sense or a punctuation mark.
  6. SUSPENSORY PAUSE: A pause on the word itself – the speaker must continue to the next line without a breath pause.

LINE STRUCTURES IN VERSE WHICH AFFECT PAUSING

  1. END-STOPPING: A pause or complete stop in sound, often indicated by a punctuation mark.
  2. ENJAMBMENT: When the sense line of a verse continues onto the next line.

Grade 6

Knowledge
The student will be asked questions on the following.

  • The key themes in the book from which the prose was taken.
  • The content of the verse and prose.
  • The techniques involved in breathing, voice and basic speech production (including resonance, projection and articulation)

Breathing
Fundamental to life and producing voice.

What bones are used for breathing?
The 12 pairs of thoracic vertebrae which form the rib cage, part of your spine.

What muscles do you need to breathe?
The intercostal muscles, that lie between the ribs, (inter–between, costal–ribs). The diaphragm, a dome shaped muscle dividing the chest and abdomen. The abdominal muscles help to control the movement of the diaphragm.

What happens when you breathe in?
When you breathe in the intercostal muscles contract, moving the ribs slightly upwards and outward.
The diaphragm in response flattens, to give the lungs room to expand.
The air pressure reduces and air immediately flows through the nose or mouth in attempt to equalise the pressure.
The abdominal muscles release and the lungs full with air.

What happens when we breathe out ?
When we breathe out:
all the muscles come together to support the release of breath, the abdominal muscles contract, the diaphragm rises and the rib cage returns to its normal position as the intercostal muscles relax, the lungs are compressed and the air flows out through the nose and mouth, powered by the abdominal muscles.

What is support?
Having the right amount of pressure from the abdominal muscles so you have the right amount of breath force for the sound you want to make. For example if you want to project your voice you will need more consistent pressure from the abdominal muscles.

What’s clavicular breathing ?

Should be avoided, it is when you move your ribs upward instead of outward when breathing in, holds the air in the upper lungs and causes you to raise your shoulders putting strain on your vocal cords.

What’s voice production?
The two elements that produce voice are: a flow of air, vibration.

What is the pharynx?
Long muscular tube which extends upwards from the larynx, it ends at the back part of the oral and nasal cavities, first part of where the sound has to travel to get to your nose and mouth.

What’s the structure of the mouth? (Oral resonator)
Lower jaw forms the bottom of the mouth and is attached to the facial bones by hinge joints. The tongue lies above this, rooted in the front wall of the pharynx, can move rapidly or intricately.
The end of the tongue lies (blade) is underneath the upper tooth ridge. The lips are known as the exit of the mouth.
The front of the roof of the mouth is called the hard palate and the back is called the soft palate.
The hard palate is arched bone structure separating the nasal section from the mouth section.
The soft palate controls the flow of air like a trap door. When breathing through nose it flops down into mouth and when speaking it contracts upward blocking the nose passage.
Breath carries the sound from the pharynx to to the mouth if the breath is strong enough it will bounce off the hard palate and out the lips this is called forward resonance.
If the breath force is too weak to pitch on the hard palate it will be on the soft, which makes sound difficult to project!!!! The mouth is capable of many shapes there needs to be plenty of space to create an appropriate amount of oral resonance.

What’s the structure of the nose (nasal resonator)?
Two types:

Type 1:
When the vibrating column of air passes directly through the open soft palate to the nasal cavity.

Type 2:
When the vibrating column of air does not directly pass into the nasal cavity, but instead pitches into the hard palate, this type of resonance can be heard in vowel sounds.

How do you balance resonance?
For your resonance to be good, you have to balance the vibration from the pharynx, mouth and nose. The quality of the sound will be affected if there is too much resonance from just one of the factors.

What is head and chest resonance?
Sometimes you may feel vibrations from higher notes in your head and lower notes in your chest they are not official because they come from sound waves produced by the pharyngeal, head and chest resonance is offer referred to as secondary resonance.

What does projection involve?
Audibility: strong secure breath forward placement of resonance (using the hard palate) Intelligibility, clarity of speech appropriate emphasis and modulation.

Mental projection:  engaging the audience by commanding their attention, this ensures that the emotion of the words is conveyed clearly.

Basic speech production
Clear speech, don’t join words up, don’t swallow word endings by speaking too quickly.
Articulation is the formation of clear and distinct sounds in speech.
Sound is turned into speech by the use of organs articulation.
These are the tongue, teeth ridge, the lips and the hard and soft palates. The vowel sound is an unobstructed sound formed by the changing shape of the mouth.