5 Tongue Twisters

Use a metronome to set a slow and steady speed.

Say each tongue twister slowly and clearly.

Increase the speed of the metronome and continue to strive for accuracy as you speak the tongue twister.

For an added challenge, select an element of the tongue twister for which you will add an action (like a clap, snap or tap). The element you choose may be a specific word, words that rhyme, or words that begin/end with the same letter.

Continue adding the action you have added, but leave out the word where you have added the action.

Speak your tongue twister in canon with another person. Can you stay on track?

Use spoken or sung tongue twisters as a warm-up activity before singing other repertoire.

5 Tongue Twisters

When I was in grade 7, our math teacher held multiplication table competitions. Two of us would stand in front of the class and be given a specific times table to recite. I remember doing the 12 times table. Because of my ability to speak quickly (and maybe because I was used to singing and had developed some breath control) it was possible to get all the way to “12 x 12 is 144” without needing to take a breath. My opponent would stop somewhere along the way to take a quick breath and, voilà, I would be at the finish line – the winner! I can still rattle off all those times tables which astounds my grown up children who whip out their phone to do some of those higher combinations that are still firmly established in my memory.

How does math times tables have anything to do with tongue twisters? Like reciting times tables, tongue twisters also incorporate the ability to speak or sing words in rapid-fire succession. I enjoy playing with words and seeing how they sound in various combinations, so tongue twisters are a great fit for how I work with language. I know there is much research on how music and math are connected. Note values correlate with mathematical equations and the harmonic overtone series can be explained using principles of physics. I don’t know if anyone has ever researched the tongue twister – multiplication table connection, but maybe someone should look into that!

My collection of Five Tongue Twisters evolved when Nikki Loney of FULL VOICE Music asked me to create some melodies for a few simple tongue twisters. In addition to creating the tunes, I added lyrics to produce a song with a bit more substance. I chose five tongue twisters and put them together to create a set. The beginning of each tongue twister might sound familiar, and if I did my composer’s job well, the extra parts I have added should sound like they belong with the rest of the words. One-verse and two-verse tongue twisters mean the singer (or speaker) has many more words to accurately manage, increasing the challenge of the tongue twister. I also created a three-verse version of We Will Surely See the Sun that is included as a study in the FULL VOICE Music publication, Songs and Studies for Kids, Introductory A. That should prove to be a good challenge.

Tongue twisters are a fun writing exercise and I know I will return to this form of writing for future compositions.

Donna Rhodenizer

This Tongue Twister Song Set is so new there are no videos to post as samples.

You are invited to send us your performance of any of the 5 Tongue Twisters.

Maybe your video will be featured here on this page.