Hey there, voice coach Gabriel Berfato here from GB Voice Academy, and today I want to show you a simple trick on how to sound much more American.
These are two specific American sounds that a lot of foreigners get incorrect.
Now I've probably taught almost every accent on this planet and this is an ongoing issue from accent to accent.
Now we're going to fix it today.
And I'm not going to just talk about it and you can hear it and you can hear how it sounds.
We can work on sound and you can hear it all day.
We've got to get practical.
We've got to get down to the nitty gritty.
We've got to work the muscle so your body knows how to produce these sounds on demand.
And stay tuned, because at the end of this video I'm going to show you exactly what exercises you could do to master this trick and sound so much more American.
So what I'm talking about is the EE sound, which in my patent-pending target system is number four EE, and the IH sound, which in my system is number seven.
I, So seven, i for ee.
You see how different they sound?
Believe it or not, many accents get these mixed up.
For example, ease versus is eat versus it.
You see, when you mistake in one target with the other, it becomes a totally different word this is eat, this is it.
Other words like which versus which did, versus deed, and a lot of my clients complain saying well gabriel, i don't know the difference, i can't tell.
Well, if we, like i said earlier, if we get down to the nitty-gritty, if we really try to find out how to produce these sounds physically, we're going to know.
Your body will tell you, because these are two different, complete different muscles we're using here.
When i'm going e, i'm feeling it vibrate back here in my throat and I'm feeling a lot of tension under my jaw muscles.
So I want you to do me a favor.
I want you to put your hands right here in the mushy part of the bottom of your chin here, and I want you to go .
Now, do you see how tense everything gets?
You see how everything just sort of flexes? and produces that sound?
Well, that's very, very specific, isn't it?
You have to be very conscious of creating that sound.
Now, if we do the seventh sound, which is the sound, you notice everything is relaxed.
Try it.
The I vibrates, I always say this, in front of your teeth.
I, industry, this is it.
Illustration, insistent, listen.
Versus the E is back here.
Eat, feel, tree.
A lot of foreigners get this target wrong.
Two different worlds.
So when you put your hand under your throat here and you've produced the four and the seven sound, you really feel the difference physically.
Try it.
You see how everything is flexing on that four and relaxing on that seven.
Now, I don't want you to walk around the street going they're going to think you're kind of crazy.
But this is what we're doing now.
This is sort of like considered like training wheels to really get your body used to making these two different sounds.
I see a lot of videos out there that show you examples.
Sit, seat, bit, beat, lid, lead.
But they just talk about it.
You could talk about it and you could watch YouTube videos all day long and hear it, but if you don't physically do it and train your body to produce this sound on demand, you're never going to get it.
So this is the exercise I want you to do on a daily basis.
Every day.
I want you to put your hands here and try the minimal pair exercise, meaning putting words with a seven and a four next to them.
So, for example, did deed phil feel and see how i'm making?
I'm making a physical gesture for these two different sounds?
So your body starts associating hey, wait a minute, these are two physically different sounds.
It's like choreography of sound is what i like to call it, And that's the exact same approach for my sound mapping system.
Moving on.
Fit, feet.
Grin, green.
Still, steel.
Knit, neat.
Pick, peak.
Hip heap.
So when you train yourself to approach these two different sounds like this, you're going to associate specific physicality to create these sounds.
So the next time you're speaking, listen to me, wait a minute, Listen to me.
That doesn't feel right.
That doesn't sound American.
Let me try relaxing that.
Listen.
Listen to me.
Oh, that's good.
That feels more American.
All of a sudden, the trigger is going to go off and say bingo, you hit the right target is what I call them.
I'm going to put a list on the description of specific minimal pairs we could use to practice with on a daily basis.
I promise you, if you do these every day, it's going to make a huge difference.
In the description I've also put a link to my five-star rated best-selling action reduction technique that is taking the world by storm.
And it's different in the sense that it's like a workout.
I want you to think of this as a workout.
And I'm your personal trainer.
People want quick results.
They want to master the American accent today.
You got to work on it like you do in the gym.
You got to really work the muscles.
And this particular combination, four and seven, you really feel it, don't you?
It's huge.
So no more will you be like, I don't see the difference.
Well, if you keep up with these practices, not only will you see the difference, but you'll feel the difference and you'll sound a lot more American.
Thanks so much for tuning in.
Subscribe to my YouTube channel and hit the notification bell.
I'm going to be uploading regular accent reduction videos specifically for mastering the American accent.
Also follow me on Instagram so you can get a first-hand look of my one-on-one work with specific clients and you can literally see the development happen in front of your eyes.
Remember, we're on this journey together.
Talk to you soon.
Thank you.
