/&/ 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.
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 /&/.
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
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'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.
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
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Build Endurance
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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.
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.
