About this activity
Twelve items sorted into hard and easy onset: UH-oh, I, EAT it, OPEN the door, ALWAYS and OUCH are written as hard attacks; aaapple, I am ready, eeeat slowly, ooopen the door, aaalways and ooover here are written as easy ones. Several pairs are the same word twice — always appears in both columns — which is what makes the contrast audible rather than abstract.
How to use it in a session
Say both members of a pair back to back. ALWAYS against aaalways is the whole lesson in two seconds, and hearing the difference has to come before producing it. Once the student can sort your productions, have them produce both versions deliberately — being able to make a hard onset on purpose is a good sign that the easy one is under control rather than accidental. Ten minutes covers the twelve.
What to listen for
Listen for the audible catch at the start of the hard items. It is a small click and students often cannot hear it in their own speech until they have heard it several times in yours. Watch the same-word pairs specifically — a student who can sort ALWAYS from aaalways has the perceptual distinction the whole technique depends on. Sorting trains the ear and says nothing about why a voice is rough. Hoarseness that has lasted more than about four weeks should be examined by a physician, preferably an ENT, before onset work starts.
Carrying it home
Ask a family member to notice the start of words beginning with a vowel. Apple, open, always and every are frequent, and hearing one gentle start a day is a realistic thing to ask for.
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- Second through eighth grade, and it is used both in voice work and with fluency.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all twelve items play with no account.
- What is a hard onset?
- Starting a vowel by pressing the vocal folds together and releasing, which makes an audible catch and takes more effort. An easy onset starts the airflow first and lets the voice come in on it.