How do you roll your R's?

[Lt.blam]

As the title reads. I've never been able to roll my R's and I'd like to learn how. I've looked online and I haven't really been able to find something that helps too much.

Currently I can kind of roll an R but it ends up having a bit too much of a back of the throat german\french sound (think a pug hyper ventilating).

The kind of R that I want to learn how to roll is slavic, specifically polish (which I've heard is similar to Italian\spanish).

Thanks in advance.

[Dancso]

You have to hold your tongue on the top of your mouth just behind the upper line of your teeth and blow air out. The goal is to make your tongue resonate.

[Kostov]

Yeah, the tip of your tongue should be vibrating.

[Lt.blam]

Well, I can get the tip of my tongue to vibrate but only when I'm blowing air from the back of mouth, which gives it more of a throaty sound (think the "ch" sound in chutzpa). However when just blow air at my tongue it vibrates only a little and I end up sounding like a hissing cat. Aside from just practice and experimentation what would you guys suggest? How should I blow the air out?

[Kostov]

You roll an R by letting your voice go, like saying "aaah", and pressing the side of the tip of your tongue against the front part of your mouth. That's how I can describe it.

[Enjay]

You live in Scotland for a while. Eventually you can't help but do it.

There is a weird R rolling that some people around here do (like not many people and often in very rural places). The rolling comes from the back of the throat and not the tongue at all.

Aaaanyway, this video might help. He explains it quite well.



However, his Scottish accent sounds pretty awful and exactly like I would expect an American trying to "do a Scottish accent" to sound.


[edit]
Although not Scottish, this guy sort of does the other kind of back-of-the-throat R that I was talking about (he also does it with L):

Extreme lavatory humour (from an old UK TV series called Absolutely) ahead...

[TechnoDoomed1]

It is very weird for me, as a Spanish young man, that people don't know how to make the real "r" sound, and not the faint one that English-speaking people do.

In fact, it's very easy to accomplish: just pretend that you're a drill, like those that workers use for asphalt on the roads. Make the same vibrating constant sound. Just vibrate your teeth and mouth, but not opening your mouth at all. Once you do it, just open your mouth a little whilst doing the same sound. That's it! You just rolled an 'r'. Since you're not used to it, maybe you'll need some practice to get it done without all the preparation, but that's normal.

If you still find it hard, there's videos on Youtube to help you.

[scalliano]

Aw, man! I miss Absolutely. "Yes, I DO know how thw fellytone works!"

As a native Norn Ironer, rolling isn't that common in my neck of the woods. However, as a young'un I ended up inadvertently learning the throat variant trying to imitate the voice from Josh Wink's Higher State of Consciousness.

Don't ask.

[Lt.blam]

Welp, minor breakthrough, I can kind of roll my R's when saying words that have a B/P sound. Think the "br" in the word British.

I think the next step to figuring out how to roll my r's is relaxing my tongue. When I put my tongue in the proper r rolling position (tongue touching the alveolar(front part of the palate)) my tongue will not "flap", so I end up sounding like a hissing cat.

If you guys know any tongue relaxing excercises, toss em my way!

[leodoom85]

"R" letter sounds like a purring cat. Try imitating that sound with your tongue....practice it.

[Nevander]

When I try to do this I just end up making weird noises with my mouth. I can't do all this fancy shit.

[vólentiæn]

press your toung against the top of your mouth and breath. my native language requires you to roll your Rs