The Flow of Spanish
  • Home
  • Table of Contents
    • Sound System Primer >
      • Vowel Awareness
      • Spanish Vowels
      • English Speaker Vowel Mistakes
      • Spanish Consonants
      • Spanish R Sounds
      • Phonetic Notation Key
    • Course Tutorials >
      • Your First Recording
      • Benchmark Exam #1
      • Primer Submission Page
    • Phonetic Training >
      • Introduction
      • Basics
      • Construction
      • Memorization
      • Mimic & Meaning
      • Benchmark Exams
    • Song Lessons >
      • Unit 1 - La Negra >
        • La Negra Lesson 1 >
          • Basics (La Negra Chorus)
          • Construction (La Negra Chorus)
          • Memorization (La Negra Chorus)
          • Submission Page (La Negra Chorus)
        • La Negra Lesson 2 >
          • Basics (La Negra V1L1-4)
          • Construction (La Negra V1L1-4)
          • Memorization (La Negra V1L1-4)
          • Submission Page (La Negra V1L1-4)
        • La Negra Lesson 3 >
          • Basics (La Negra V1L5-8)
          • Construction (LA Negra V1L5-8)
          • Memorization (LA Negra V1L5-8)
          • La Negra Lesson 3 Submission
        • La Negra Lesson 4 >
          • Basics (La Negra V2L1-4)
          • Construction (La Negra V2L1-4)
          • Memorization (La Negra V2L1-4)
          • La Negra L4 Submission
        • La Negra Lesson 5 >
          • Basics (La Negra V2L5-8)
          • Construction (La Negra V2L5-8)
          • Memorization (La Negra V2L5-8)
          • La Negra L5 Submission (La Negra V2L5-8)
        • La Negra Mimic >
          • Mimic Practice (La Negra M&M)
          • Meaning Practice (La Negra M&M)
      • Unit 2 - Clandestino >
        • Clandestino Lesson 1 >
          • Basics (Clandestino V1L1-4)
          • Construction (Clandestino V1L1-4)
          • Memorization (Clandestino V1-4)
          • Final Activity (Clandestino V1L1-4)
        • Clandestino Lesson 2 >
          • Basics (Clandestino V1L5-8)
          • Construction (Clandestino V1L5-8)
          • Memorization (Clandestino V1L5-8)
          • Final Activity (Clandestino V1L5-8)
        • Clandestino Lesson 3 >
          • Basics (Clandestino V2L1-4)
          • Construction (Clandestino V2L1-4)
          • Memorization (Clandestino V2L1-4)
          • Submission Page (Clandestino V2L1-4)
        • Clandestino Lesson 4 >
          • Basics (Clandestino V2L5-8)
          • Construction (Clandestino V2L5-8)
          • Memorization (Clandestino V2L5-8)
          • Submission Page (Clandestino V2L5-8)
        • Clandestino Mimic >
          • Clandestino Meaning
      • Unit 3 - Pies Descalzos >
        • PD Lesson 1 >
          • Construction (PD Chorus 1-5)
          • Memorization (PD Chorus 1-5)
          • Submission Page (PD Chorus 1-5)
        • PD Lesson 2
        • PD Lesson 3 >
          • Basics (PD Refrain)
          • Construction (PD Refrain)
          • Memorization (PD Refrain)
          • Submission Page (PD Refrain)
        • PD Chorus Mimic >
          • PD Chorus Meanings
      • Unit 4 - Shakira Rap >
        • PD Rap Lesson 1 >
          • Basics (PD Rap V1L1-4)
          • Construction (PD Rap V1L1-4)
          • Memorization (PD Rap V1L1-4)
          • Submission Page (PD Rap V1L1-4)
        • PD Rap Lesson 2 >
          • Basics (PD Rap V1L5-8)
          • Construction (PD Rap V1L5-8)
          • Memorization (PD Rap V1L5-8)
          • Submission Page (PD Rap V1L5-8)
        • PD Rap Lesson 3 >
          • Basics (PD Rap V2L1-4)
          • Construction (PD Rap V2L1-4)
          • Memorization (PD Rap V2L1-4)
          • Submission Page (PD Rap V2L1-4)
        • PD Rap Lesson 4 >
          • Basics (PD Rap V2L5-10)
          • Construction (PD Rap V2L5-10)
          • Memorization (PD Rap V2L5-10)
          • Submission Page (PD Rap V2L5-10)
        • PD Rap Mimic >
          • PD Rap Meanings
      • Unit 5 - Lo que Pasó (Speed Training) >
        • LQP Lesson 1 >
          • Basics (LQP V1)
          • Construction (LQP V1)
          • Memorization (LQP V1)
          • Submission Page (LQP V1)
          • Speed Training
        • LQP Lesson 2 >
          • Basics (LQP V2)
          • Construction (LQP V2)
          • Memorization (LQP V2)
          • Submission Page (LQP V2)
          • Speed Training (LQP V2)
        • LQP Lesson 3 >
          • Basics (LQP V3)
          • Construction (LQP V3)
          • Memorization (LQP V3)
          • Submission Page (LQP V3)
          • Speed Training (LQP V3)
        • LQP Lesson 4 >
          • Basics (LQP V4)
          • Construction (LQP V4)
          • Memorization (LQP V4)
          • Submission Page (LQP V4)
          • Speed Training (LQP V4)
        • LQP Mimic >
          • LQP Meaning
  • Drills & Practice
    • Phonetic Notation Key
    • Alveolar Bootcamp >
      • Tap in Isolation
      • Easy Combos
      • Tricky Combos
      • Difficult Combos
    • Bonus Content
  • Help

/&/ in Isolation

As I said before, mastering the Alveolar Tap "Spanish R" sound will be the biggest challenge for you. Compared to other sounds, it requires more coordination and strength to articulate. The difficulty magnifies since this is one of the most common sounds in Spanish. 

Making this sound many times per second is physically challenging. With repetition and drills, like the thousands of other students I've seen, you can bring your taps up to speed.

/&/ Awareness

The first step in this process is developing an awareness of the Spanish R sound. This means discovering where it occurs in the mouth as well as the manner of articulation.​

Let's start by taking the English consonants /d/ /t/ and /n/. Take your tongue and make each of these sounds and note where you put the tip of your tongue (it's the alveolar ridge). The Spanish R sound is made at this exact spot, too (hence the term Alveolar Tap).

There is one major difference between the /d/ and /l/ sounds and the Spanish R sound: length. 

For /d/ /l/ and /n/, there is a certain amount of time required to make the sound. If you create a /d/ /l/ or /n/ movement in less than that time, you are effectively making an Alveolar Tap.

In other words, making the /d/ /t/ or /l/ sounds really fast and you will create a tap sound.

To show you, repeat after me in the audio below. Eventually, your tongue will be moving so fast that the consonant will evolve into an alveolar tap /&/.

Build Awareness

'Cheer' and 'Beat' Drills

You will probably not be able to move your tongue this fast for now, but you can build your speed with practice. To help, I've created the following two drills.  

The audio files below represent one "set" each. Complete 5 sets per training session and at least one set per day (ideally morning and night). The more you push yourself to burnout, the faster your tongue muscles and neural connections will build.

Build Strength

  • Make the sound /&a/
  • Repeat the sound over and over again
  • Gradually build the speed until you are unable to go any faster
  • Repeat five times

Build Endurance

  • Start by saying the sound "&a" once per beat
  • Double the speed for two measures
  • Double the speed again for two measures
  • Return to the original speed
  • Do this five times continuously without dropping the beat
  • Once you can do this easily, increase the tempo slightly
After a session of doing these drills, your mouth will feel fatigued. This is how you know you did enough work. Any fatigue you feel today will translate to new ability tomorrow.

Once you build the speed on your tap in isolation, your next task is to practice combining the tap with other Spanish consonants. Remember, you can refer back to any page in this bootcamp whenever you like.

<<<Tap Drill TOC                  Easy Combos>>>

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.