Anyone be funny. Yes, really. It isn't what you say but how you say. There are five techniques to humor that we will apply in our first speech. It will be your task in the first speech to use a minimum of three of the five techniques one time.
The Five Techniques to Humor:
1. Using Yourself
2. Using Others
3. Pulling the Peg/Changing the Switch
4. Building Bridges
5. Element of Surprise
How many times do you hear one of more of these techniques being applied in the clip below? Please post your commentary to this clip by Friday, Sept,11 2009 class meeting. What kinds of techniques do you find yourself using when creating humor in your conversations?
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In the clip of Rob Paravonian he uses the five techniques we learned about in class today. Right from the start he uses himself and others to demonstrate his ideas and topics clearly. In the beginning he uses himself by saying “I’m a geek”. By doing this he is showing the audience that not only is it ok to laugh at him but that he is connecting with the audience by stating things that they possibly could be thinking. After this, he builds a bridge to his next idea and changes the peg from talking about music to talking about bullies. At this part, he brings others into the speech by saying how if you were a kid with a cello that “bullies could smell you coming a mile away”. He also changes the peg when he starts to talk about being at his nephew’s graduation. Rob Paravonian also brings in the element of surprise when he says that the same eight chords were played over and over again 54 times because he then pauses and says “I counted, I had nothing else to do”. These techniques can also work in everyday conversation. When I’m talking to a friend about my day or telling someone a story I catch myself using pauses for added effect and surprise. Also I’ve noticed that very often transitions are used very unconsciously to go from one topic to another and to also change the peg. Most of the time in everyday conversation people will bring themselves into the story. They make jokes at and laugh at themselves to make the person or people he or she is talking to feel more comfortable laughing at things he or she says.
After watching Rob Paravonian’s show I received a better interpretation of a stand up comedy. I related his show to my notes of which I took in class and I found a lot of similarities. The show was about a man named Pachelbel and how he came up with the same chords for the chello. Pachelbel was a composer who invented the D Major. I observed Rob use himself by playing the guitar he had on stage with him and singing. He used a bridge, or a transition, from the idea of playing a guitar to focus o how it began with him playing a chello. I thought it was hilarious when Rob compared how adults who play the chello are cool and children who play the chello are not cool because its not popular to play an instrument that is taller than you are. He used himself again when he called himself a geek. Rob used pauses ad the element of surprise. He also used natural pauses to catch the audience of guard. I noticed that he used a bridge between all his jokes and punch lines. Besides using a bridge to connect the guitar and the chello, he used a bridge to connect the idea of Pachelbel following everyone to punk music has the same exact chords. He accomplished that referring to his earlier joke that Pachelbel made the chello play the same exact chords. With my own musical experience and the fact that I, myself play acoustic guitar, I know for a fact that Vitamin C and Avril Lavigne along with the other songs Rob played on stage all play Pachelbel’s invented D Major. It’s the basic chord played by most punk music. The truth is very funny and Rob succeeded at making it so. What I liked most about the video clip was when Rob said “All punk music has the same damn chords”. Of course the way he said it, matter of fact, the way he sang it, made it funnier. He sang it in the D Major melody which uses the technique of changing the pegs. He used the same melody but created his own words to create a joke that went along with his stand up speech. Personally when I give speeches, I’m not that funny. I’m very shy. People occasionally laugh by the way I say things or my facial reactions. But when I’m around people that I am comfortable with, I find myself using changing the pegs technique. When my friends and I laugh about a funny quote or a very lame quote from a show or selection of reading, I change the words into my own and everyone finds me funny. I occasionally use the element of surprise. I do that when I want to build up the suspense. Usually I build suspense for something that isn’t that funny but when the crowd waits for it, they laugh because they can’t believe I didn’t have much to say. It’s funnier when I actually do it and not explain it in writing. Hopefully by the time that I deliver my speech, I can expand my usage of humor techniques to accomplish the goal of getting the laugh out my crowd like Rob did in the video clip that I just viewed.
After reviewing the two comedy videos I heard entertaining techniques incorporated into the comedy. Techniques which were discussed in today’s Speech class. They are: using yourself, using others, pulling the peg/changing the switch, building bridges, and the element of surprise. In the first video comedy by Ricky on Dave Letterman’s Show was about a list. The list on “Top ten stupid things Americans say to British (Brits)”. Before Ricky started his list I noticed a technique, element of surprise. When Dave introduced Ricky and when Ricky spoke he had a British accent. That caught the audience attention because they probably thought (like I did) that this is going to be good because Ricky is British and this is first hand information. Ricky used the technique of using yourself by his different facial expressions throughout his performance. The question number 9 when Ricky said, “Do you know the queen?” that was funny and had a memorable facial expression that flowed with his list. Another technique was using others and that was obvious because he used Americans and British. The other technique used was building bridges. During Ricky’s performance Dave Letterman was saying the numbers and they had a drum roll going before Ricky said his question.
In the second comedy video by Rob Paravonian at Penn State he used the entertaining techniques as well. Rob used the element of surprise first by playing a guitar throughout his performance, he lowered his voice at one point, and at the end of Rob’s performance when he began to play fast for the duration. Rob used a technique in his performance that Ricky did not and that was pulling the peg/changing the switch. Rob changed the instrument used for the classical song, Pocket bell, that he was referring to. He played the song using a guitar. Then when he described the connection between Pocket bell and Taco Bell (that was funny). Rob also used building bridges when he introduced his music ability in the beginning, when he changed his focus from the guitar to the cello, and when he described his experience with the cello; the same 8 notes played by the cello instruments (F sharp etc) in his school band. Rob used others when he began to talk about the composer of Pocket bell and why he wrote the boring parts for the cello section. Maybe because he was in a relationship with a girl who played the cello. The last technique was using yourself. Rob used his experience at his nephews graduation. The band was playing Vitamin C’s song but Rob noticed it had the same beat of the classical Pocket bell. All of these techniques, used by Ricky and Rob, helped them to create a better presentation and kept the audience’s attention and my attention.
From these videos and the techniques discussed in class today I notice which techniques I use in order to create humor in my conversations. I use myself, others, bridges, and the element of surprise the most. I am not usually funny when I am having conversations, but when I am trying to be funny I notice that I use these techniques to convey my points.
While watching the video I noticed all of the techniques. The first technique I noticed that he used was “Using Yourself”. He called himself a geek and talked about the instrument he played as a child. When he brought up the instruments this was building a bridge to his comedic act. He used real example and said things that were kind of unexpected. He also built a bridge to start making humor about popular songs and genres of music. He then combined all genres of songs and built a bridge to connect them to different notes of instruments and how much he hates Pachelbel. He just kept rambling on about it and tying it into songs which was Pulling the Peg because he switched the lyrics to have something to do with Pachelbel.
In my own conversations in my daily life, I find myself using most of these techniques without realizing it. For example, when I tell stories about something that happened that day to my friends, I am using myself. Especially when I tell embarrassing stories, I use myself or others when I compare our embarrassing situations. I’m not quite sure how I use “Pulling the Peg/Changing the Switch”. “Building Bridges” is pretty much the connections you make in humor. Therefore, I use this technique when having a casual conversation with someone and I could relate in a humorous or sarcastic way to make people laugh. When someone is talking about a topic and I could relate a joke to something similar, that is basically building a bridge. The fifth technique is “Element of Surprise”, like when you do something or say something spontaneous or shocking that it humorous. When you are socializing with a group of people and you say something or physically do something. When I am with my friends and I act something out that happened I would consider that an “Element of Surprise”.
After watching Rob Paravonian I saw that he interpreted all five elements that we discussed in class today. He used himself as an example a lot. In the beginning he referred to himself as a geek. He also talked about his experience with playing the guitar and the cello. He also talked about his experience in his music class and the Horton Festival. He used the element of others when he made little comments like “you know I’m funny”. He also talked about classical music and the artist of classical music such as Yohawn. Lastly, he talked about his step nephew in law’s graduation. Rob’s main source of pegging was when he changed up the speed and rhythm of songs to fit the same chord. Also when he made the joke about all classical music being pacobell music. He also used a lot of bridges for example he would say things such as “you know the song”. He also used bridges with some of the notes he was playing and when he talked about different instruments. Even though he used some bridges throughout his performance, he didn’t use bridges towards the end when he was singing the lyrics to different songs. Lastly, he used the element of surprise in a couple of places. He used the element of surprise by pausing a lot. He also used it when referring to things such as pocobell cannons, and playing the cello. He also surprised his audience every time he sang a different song with the same chord. In conclusion I think that the elements that Rob used were very successful and capture the audiences attention.
After I had watched the Rob Paravonian standup comedy routine, it gave me a better insight about the techniques used in these performances and how they are connected in one act to flow well with one another. I noticed that he had used all of these techniques, many of them several times. In the beginning of his routine he had spoken about himself and how he was a “geek” when he was younger and that he used to play the cello. He had made a reference to Pachelbel’s Cannon, which is a series of cords and notes to make a particular sound that has been used in many well known songs. His first technique was the “use yourself” technique and then he went into the “building a bridge” by making a connection through music to the cords he was referring to and the cello that he played when he was younger. He continued on by changing the peg of the routine when he transitioned from the topic about music and his cello to the bullies that would “smell him coming a mile away”. He used the “element of surprise” technique when he was speaking about how they only allowed him to play eight cords in Pachelbel’s cannon; he had stated they made him play it 54 times after which he made a comment about how he counted because he had nothing better to do. He used the element of surprise a few more times when he would play modern day songs that followed the same melody, these were unexpected and proved to be funny. It’s a technique that really pleases a crowd because its clever, subtle and funny. He built a bridge about how it followed him, everywhere such as at his nephew’s graduation, everyday life, new music he chose to listen to and how basically everything he attempted to listen to was the exact same. His pegs changed from himself, to his instrument, to Pachelbel, to modern music and how they are the same. He easily made transitions and bridges from one topic to the next and managed to keep the crowd entertained in the video. I learned from the video how everyday situations can be turned into humorous comedy routines. By simply interpreting them in a manner that the crowd can either relate to or easily keep up with, anything is funny. I personally do not feel that I possess these same qualities but am very observant of what goes on in my everyday life and could possibly do the same as this young man did. In my personal everyday interactions, I do realize now that I use some of these very same techniques, most of all I feel I incorporate myself because I know how I interpret what goes on around me as well as how to convey that same story to others so they could understand the humor behind it.
In the youtube videos of David Letterman and Rob Paravonian they both were able to get their respective audiences to laugh at their jokes by using the 5 humor techniques. These techniques include using yourself, using others, pulling the peg/changing the switch, building bridges and the element of surprise. David Letterman was able to achieve “funny” because he used an actual British man in his famous top ten spoof entitled “The Top Ten Things Americans Say To Brits.” Not only was Ricky’s voice entertaining by itself but David was able to use the humor technique using others. As they counted down the list the drumroll added suspense onto what Ricky said, this led to the element of surprise. Ricky’s facial expressions were also a way to make the audience laugh while reading off the list. David Letterman saying the numbers off the list not only led to some suspense but also were used as a bridge into the jokes Ricky read. The tag-team of both Ricky and David put the audience in suspense and in a laughing mood due to the humor techniques we discussed.
The Rob Paravonian clip started with a funny bridge into his song. He talked about his past and used himself as comedy saying how he was a wounded gazelle in the Serengeti and bullies could smell him from a mile away with his cello and how much of a geek he was. When Rob explained how the cello was incorporated in his song he used the changing the peg humor technique because he continuously brought the “la di da da” from the cello into his other songs as if it was stuck in his head. He seemed a bit emotional about the cello in the Pachelbel song which made it hilarious. The song he sang was upbeat and rhymed somewhat. His facial expressions and anger toward the cello in the song made both the audience and me laugh. He began to change his pitch and deepness in his voice witch made him sound funnier and funnier. Rob also mixed popular songs that everyone in the audience knew in order to add more familiarity to what he was singing. Rob was able to use himself perfectly to seem as if the song Pachelbel had really affected his life. The faces he made while singing were unforgettable and were able to even make me laugh aloud. Both David Letterman and Rob Paravonian were able to make their audience laugh and entertain them using the humor techniques discussed in class.
Rob Parovonian’s standup about Pachelbels’ Canon was very funny, clever, and surprising. He used all five techniques to Humor which surly brought the audience on a guarenteed laughing trip. From what was taught in class today, these five techniques are what need to be used to connect to the audience and make them laugh. The first technique I noticed he used was “Using Yourself”. He made fun of himself by calling himself a geek which helped break the ice with the audience. Calling himself a geek could also fall under the technique of “Surprise” since it was not expected. He used the other technique, “Building Bridges” often. He kept his speech flowing by bridging his jokes with his guitar. His constant guitar was a bridge for the entire standup but he also used smaller bridges from joke to joke, for example when he went from playing the cello to bullies. He cleverly used the technique of “Changing the Peg” by changing the words of the songs he was singing that all sounded like Pachelbels’ Canon. His most effective technique however, I believe was his ability to consistently “surprise” the audience. He achieved this by combing all songs that we have heard before that all use Pachelbels’ Canon as a base.
Rob Parovonian’s standup about Pachelbels’ Canon was very funny, clever, and surprising. He used all five techniques to Humor which surly brought the audience on a guarenteed laughing trip. From what was taught in class today, these five techniques are what need to be used to connect to the audience and make them laugh. The first technique I noticed he used was “Using Yourself”. He made fun of himself by calling himself a geek which helped break the ice with the audience. Calling himself a geek could also fall under the technique of “Surprise” since it was not expected. He used the other technique, “Building Bridges” often. He kept his speech flowing by bridging his jokes with his guitar. His constant guitar was a bridge for the entire standup but he also used smaller bridges from joke to joke, for example when he went from playing the cello to bullies. He cleverly used the technique of “Changing the Peg” by changing the words of the songs he was singing that all sounded like Pachelbels’ Canon. His most effective technique however, I believe was his ability to consistently “surprise” the audience. He achieved this by combing all songs that we have heard before that all use Pachelbels’ Canon as a base.
After watching both video clips I was able to see an example of all five techniques to humor between both video clips. The techniques were obvious while watching the clips yet they were funny at the same time. Based on the reactions of the audiences it is obvious that the techniques prove to be successful when used properly. In the first video clip there were several techniques used that really grabbed the audience’s attention. For example, on The Late show when Ricky began listing the top ten stupid things Americans say to Brit’s the fact that he had an accent was the element of surprise being exercised. This immediately drew me in because I knew that his experience would give him credibility which made it even funnier. There were also very good bridges being used throughout the clip. Whenever Ricky would pause after listing another question it would cut back to Letterman who would say something followed by a drum roll along with other sound effects. This served as a good connection between questions because not only did it lead to what came next but it built up a sense of anticipation in the audience. I was even excited to hear what was coming next every time I heard this. The comedy techniques really pushed this skit and kept my interest the whole way through.
In the second video clip with Rob Paravonian right away he surprised the audience by playing the guitar for the duration of his performance. This was a nice touch. (Especially when he switched from song to song and began to slow down and speed up his pace accordingly) The fact that he played his guitar and sang whenever he made a different reference to a song really got me laughing. He also did a good job using himself as a source of humor. From the very beginning he got the audience laughing by saying “I’m a geek” this got people interested right away because not only did he use himself but he let his audience know that it was ok to laugh at or with him by laughing and joking himself. Throughout his dialogue he used bridges that helped his scenarios flow well together which made it easier to follow him. A good example of a bridge that he used was the introduction of his musical experience. This gave him room to discuss his particular instrument and his experience while playing it. It also opened up the opportunity for him to talk about the bullies that could “smell him from a mile away” (that was very funny). Another great bridge that he used was when he spoke about the “8 notes that they always played.” By mentioning this it allowed him to connect his story to all the different songs that he’s heard that reminded him of the Pachelbel song he played in grade school.
Seeing the techniques being used in both video clips reminds of the techniques that I use while making conversation with others. Some of the techniques I find myself using are building bridges, using the element of surprise, and more than any other I use myself as a source of humor. Most of the time I find it humorous and entertaining to share interesting stories about myself. I’ve never had a problem with laughing at myself and this really helps me relate to others while making conversation because not only is it a great ice breaker but it makes getting used to others that much easier.
Tiffany Ervin (2:20 class)
Today in class the lesson that was brought to my attention was how to entertain or create an entertainment speech. In the lesson the way to create humor, you must use three steps, which are using yourself, use other sources, change the peg/pulling the switch, building bridges, and the element of surprise. By using these steps it creates a better entertaining speech. There were two videos that uses these steps that caused a positive reaction from the audience. The first video called “The Stupid Things that Americans Say to British Citizens (Brits)” on the David Letterman’s Late Show was a great example of using the techniques for an entertaining speech. First of all the title “The Stupid Things that Americans Say to British Citizens (Brits) is changing the peg and talks about one topic or one theme. The show starts by saying “The category tonight is...” which is building a bridge for the next topic. As he goes on with the show he begins to explain the title of the show and stumbles on a word and comes back by saying “oh you know what I mean” which now becomes funny. Then David Letterman uses other people by having Ricky Gervais (who is British) on his show to say all the things that Americans say to the British. The show has different sayings that many people in the audience can connect to about Americans and British such as “do you know the Queen”, and “What language are you speaking? I don’t understand you” which makes the show funny. As Ricky Gervais was saying the “The Stupid Things that Americans Say to British Citizens (Brits)” he had wonderful facial expressions and hand gestures that went along with the statements. Using others, building bridges, and changing the peg are techniques that were used in David Letterman’s Late Show that aided it to become very amusing and entertaining to the audience and people at home.
The second video that was used to explain the lesson of an entertainment speech was a video by Rob Paravonian called Pachelbel Rant at Penn State. He starts the video with a story with a piece of music which builds on his topic of the video. The song that he plays on his guitar while he says his story is a song by Pachelbel that many people know which was an element of surprise. Using a song that many people are familiar with helps the speaker because the audience understood the humor that Rob Paravonian was talking about. Then out of no where Paravonion says that he is a greek. This was another element of surprise because the comment about himself was unexpected. Also talking about your self is a technique that is excellent to use when performing entertainment speeches. He keeps going and explaining how when his was younger he played the cello not the guitar. He didn’t like the cello because you “cant be cool with an instrument that is bigger than you”, which was a statement that most people can relate to because they know the size of a cello. He goes on by saying he loved everything about the cello but this song that he was playing at the moment by Pachelbel. When he played the cello for the song he only played eight quarter notes which were D, A,B,F sharp, G,D,G,A and he played it fifty four times which was a humorous memory to know. As he went on he then talks about his nephew’s eight grade graduation where they sang a song by Vitamin C and the song had Pachelbel melody was in it, which made him go on about how he could not get away from Pachelbel’s song. He ended his entertainment speech by making his own song that explained how he despises Pachelbel’s melody. This ended with so much applause because the melody that he despised was the melody used in his song which was an element of surprise. In this video using yourself, building bridges, and element of surprise was the techniques that were used to create a great entertainment speech.
After watching and re-watching Rob Paravonian's Pachelbel rant and relating it to what was discussed in class today, I've realized that the techniques are used, whether consciously or unconsciously, constantly. During the first time watching the clip, what came to my attention was how Rob used himself and other sources. The major "other source" was his guitar, which kept the audience's attention on him no matter what. Rob began his rant by telling a short story about his childhood and the cello. By doing that it made it all the more amusing as to why certain chords annoyed him. I consider it also a great bridge and a great lead way into the topic of cello chords instead of just bringing it out there. Other good bridges including singing at the beginning something that everyone knew, and also saying, "I haven’t always been this cool, I started out on the cello…” which allowed him to give a round of quick jokes and rounds of sarcasm one after the other. As for the nonverbal aspect of it, the guitar, as mentioned before, was a nice touch in order to make the audience feel his intense frustration with the said chords, especially because the chords that were mention most people have heard in a multitude of songs. This included the audience and because it held their attention, it was even funnier because it was indeed “true” that those chords followed not only him, but everyone around. His facial expressions like the scrunching up of his face was a great comical reaction because it was so exaggerated. Although it is sometimes difficult to see when "changing the peg" is happening, I noticed it occurring at least twice when talking about Pachelbel. Rob first does this in the beginning of his rant when he is wondering why Pachelbel would create such "crappy notes," and then moves on to giving quick jokes about the composer and his having a girlfriend who was a bad cellist then wrote terrible chords from that point on. Later, Rob produced even more quips about Pachelbel when he admitted that he didn't know what his first name was. Changing the peg was one of the great aspects of his rant because it allowed Rob to move through his comedic rant smoothly and get through one joke after another. Another, and what I thought to be the best, part of his rant was his elements of surprise, which consisted of short and subtle pauses and then a comment that was unexpected. He said things like, "I know you must be saying you can’t be a geek because you play the guitar and that’s cool…okay you weren’t thinking that but I was.” And also when he was naming the cords, all which were single letters and then came out with “F-sharp” was something unexpected and because it caught everyone off guard, it initiated laughter because it was such a random piece of information. I've realized that it doesn't have to be elaborately done, because even the smallest use of any of the techniques can produce laughter from the crowd. All in all, using those techniques efficiently brings out humor and it is clearly evident within the Rob Paravonian clip.
In the video with Dave Letterman he discusses a list of the Top Ten Stupid Things Americans Say to Britains. He uses a few gestures, which catches the attention of the audience even more and connects the two ideas by showing both the similarities and differences by using pegs. He also used the techniques: “element of surprise” and “using others”. With the use of these techniques, he was able to grasp the audience and bring humor into his performance by relating the topic in a comedic manner. Not only was he able to obtain the attention of his audience, but also he was able to interact with them in the sense of entertainment. He just had the right attitude
In the video with the performer, Rob Paravonian it illustrates the numerous amounts of techniques that can be used in the field of entertainment as discussed in class. I had never realized that to be a comedian it actually requires some type of skill. For instance there is an actual technique to being funny and I had never truly realized it until the lecture that we had received today in class. As stated before Rob Paravonian had illustrated many of the techniques that we had discussed in class. For instance, he used the following techniques: he used himself, others, a couple pegs and a couple unexpected moments. He used himself by calling himself names such as geek, thus giving the audience a sense of comfort to laugh and enjoy themselves. He then uses a peg to connect his geeky style to music and how a certain type of melody is found in many different songs. He used the element of surprise by saying how can such a guy such as him be able to notice this music annoyance and that he took the time to find out just how many chords were truly repeated. This video strongly illustrated much of the discussed lecture.
During the first video the Top Ten Things Americans say to the British uses three techniques: Using himself, using others and the Element of surprise. During the Top Ten List Ricky uses himself to discuss the encounters that he endures during his times with Americans. With the same situation he also uses the stupidity of Americans to provide humor to the audience. These techniques provide ways for the audience to connect with him and find him humorous. Also lastly the Element of Surprise is constantly used. During the Top ten countdown as he switches from one number to the next he provides us with a slight pause that dramatizes what is to come. Then he lets the audience have it with the joke. During the Second Video Rob uses the himself as well to make fun. This is a very easy strategy to use because its the safest way to create humor. He also uses Pulling the Peg to interchange between the two subject, the first about music and the second about bulling. Also he uses the element of surprise as well.
During my humorous stories I use myself constantly to make funny situations and other sources. These ways seem the easiest way to create funny situations. I find in conversations that is the most humorous because nothing is funnier than when someone points out the flaws of themselves or others. Also I think I use Pulling the Peg, I am kind of confused of what it is but from my understanding its a comparison between two situations. I would use this only to allow the audience to better understand and find a connection to the topic.
Rob Paravonian put on a good show. He was an excellent comedian who used all the five key points of making the crowd laugh. Soon as he started he introduced his self in a funny way, which made a statement that he was introducing comedy to the crowd. After he established his intro he did really good at relating to the audience by putting everyday situations and things that don’t happen but can likely happen at any giving time. When he connected with the crowd, he did a good job at keeping the connection. He built the bridge and made a smooth transition when he started to talk about him going to school with his instrument and bullies picking on him with his cello. After he was done talking about school, he made another smooth transition from him being at high school to his relative’s graduation music. This then set it up the punch line which made the crowd laugh when they were repeating the same notes. It was even funnier because he said what he said in a funny way. He made it seem like he was bored so he had no other choice but to count the notes. As he winded down the show he put himself in the skit by playing the guitar and singing the songs with the same chord from the graduation song and finished it off with that. Overall I think that it was a well preformed show. He had everything he needed in that stand to make the crowd keep laughing.
The video with Dave Letterman showed one of his segments called, “Top Ten Stupid Things Americans Say to Brits.” This “top ten” technique is used in many ways to help bring humor into comedic performances. With using this technique Letterman also combined it with others. He included ways like using other people and using elements of surprise. He used element of surprise by repeating a couple of the ten lines more than once. It was unexpected to have one of things on the list repeated. He did this to make the segment even funnier. Using the “top ten” technique is useful because the performer twists an idea in a way that would be funny.
The second video was a performer named Rob Pravonian. This performer used a lot of different techniques to engage the audience. His comedic performance was about how there’s this same tune of music in many different kinds of songs and how he was sick of hearing it. Throughout his speech he gives examples of these different songs by singing the melody of them in his speech. He connects all the songs together and makes them into one to prove his point. Provonian also uses non-verbal techniques. He uses a guitar to keep the audience enthralled which also drives the point home about this same certain melody. It acts as a sound aid so the audience could connect with what he’s talking about right away. He also uses facial expressions to show the emotion he feels in the songs. Not to mention the pitch in his voice varies according to what he’s saying; he is not monotone.
In the video, Rob Paravonian uses the techniques to humor that we discussed in class today. In the video I realized how he used the techniques to gain the audience’s attention. He starts off by using himself. By mentioning how he’s a geek he was bringing in examples of himself. He wasn’t afraid to make a joke about himself to get other people to laugh. Throughout the video Rob Paravonian made fun of others, he was making fun of Pachelbels chords and how they are played for everything . He was talking about how the chords for pachelbel are the same for so many songs. He used his guitar to play the songs and play along in a humorous way, every time it came to the part that was the same he would just sing ‘la la la’ in the way it was supposed to sound. Throughout the video Rob Paravonian also used the bridge technique often, he used this to help switch from topic to topic. Rob Paravonian was using something that was truth to make jokes and get his audience to laugh. He mentions songs people actually know so that they understand the humor he is trying to get out. I think the most common technique used by many people is probable building bridges. This is something people can do in everyday conversations without even realizing.
After viewing and analyzing the video of Rob Paravonia’s stand up I began to notice on how “The Five Techniques to Humor” are used. Rob begins with a joke of himself by saying that he was once a geek and how playing the cello was not trendy in his grammar school days. The he uses the follow techniques such as sourcing someone else by saying his conductor hated cellists because he once dated one that’s why he was stuck playing the same eight cords. Rob changed the peg a lot during his performance and his guitar was the reason why because it also was his element of surprise. Rob had a creative way of building bridges because the guitar playing and changing of the song led him into his flowing joke and personally I was intrigued by it. His constant jokes of hating Pachelbel for being the founder and establishing the D Major. Rob’ s rant of the D major lead to making fun of the songs that all sound the same and he kept the audience in tears because he showed his emotion of hatred towards Pachelbel . He states that how much he hates Pachelbel, although he never got to meet him because Pachelbel was in the 1700’s. Rob closing of his performance was the most memorable because he began to sing all his jokes which had me on the edge of my seat. Today’s class thought me a lot because it showed me that humor is all technique, I never really noticed how much work goes into making people laugh. I use all five techniques in my ways of speaking I realized today when I was joking around in Daily’s. I made a joke about me being chubby , I mentioned my family and friends in my jokes, I transitioned my jokes well by building bridges, I changed the peg style of the way I was communicating my jokes and finally I used a lot of dramatic pauses to validate my element of surprise which kept my friends in stitches. I will no longer take a comedians job for granted or the writers of a joke for granted because it is hard work and lots of practice. To be honest I thought Jay Leno would just go up there and just randomly ramble about a topic but now I give him credit for his hard work and effort to his profession.
Rob Paravonian uses all five elements of humor that we learned in class today. The first important element is “Using your self.” He did this very well during the whole presentation. He played his guitar the whole time which made it interesting and it helped get his point across to everyone. I had no idea what Pachelbel’s melody sounded like and I would not have known that so many songs use the same cords. Without the guitar, I would not have understood most of the jokes so it was a brilliant idea that he played it. He also did a good job using himself through his facial expressions. They were exaggerated but not over used. He made faces to emphasizes his annoyance for that melody and spend up his strumming to make the melody match his emotions. Another element that he used is “other sources”. He talked about his nephew’s graduation and how they played a song that fell in the same category and used the same cords. This is a good outside source that he brought me and incorporated into his presentation. Another thing that he did very well is “changing the peg”. One really good example that I liked was, “I cant even go to taco bell anymore because it sounds too damn close”. Another example in which he used this technique is “its not cool to play the cello when you’re a kid. It’s not cool when your instrument is bigger than you are” and “where’s VH1 I love the 1790’s?” He did a really nice job “building bridges” also. In the beginning, he started off by naming the playing the melody, and even saying what the cords are. Between each point there were nice transition that made everything flow very well. The last element in which he used very nicely was the “element of surprise”. The example that really had people laughing was when he said, “…Rob you can’t be a geek; you play the guitar, your cool… Okay you weren’t thinking that but I was”. Over all Paravonian, did a good job entertaining the crowd and making everyone laugh. I don’t consider myself a funny person but I would think that when I do make a joke I don’t do it consciously. My jokes are probably in the lines of “changing the peg” because to me it sounds the funniest and it’s the easiest to do naturally.
In this clip Rob Paravonian talks about Pachelbel and the Cello. He uses all of the five techniques of creating humor. He started off by using other sources to explain his main idea , this source was music and how he was playing the melody of Pachelbel Canon with his guitar. His attention grabber was introducing the sound of the piece of music that he was going to explain. Then incorporated himself by saying that “ I was a geek” because he played the cello. This made his audience feel more comfortable and made them laugh even though their were laughing about his own experience. When he said “ You guys may think I’m cool cause I play the guitar.” He compromised his audience by assuming what they may think about him which made that part very funny. Then he changed the peg and included himself at the same time by mentioning how bullies can smell the geeks from a mile away and how it sucked to play the cello. He build a bridge when he said “ I pulled up with all of the abuse cause I loved the music” and then he jumped on to say that he hated Pachelbel Canon with a passion. Here is where he gets into his main point. When he includes himself into the joke or story he uses examples to illustrate his point or idea. He incorporate humor when he included himself in the story and said that he repeated the notes 54 times. He uses all of the techniques in a way that all his information flows. He also incorporates other people in his speech mentioning Pachelbel what was the reasons why he made that melody. His element of surprise was when he mention Taco Bell and how it has a similar sound, nobody expected him to come up with that example. When I am having a conversation with and my intention is to say a joke most of the time I use myself and some personal experiences in my conversations and I have noticed that I use transitions to pass from one point to the other. Many people use these techniques in a daily basis and most of them unconsciously use these techniques. It is very interesting the way how I can build bridges in my conversations without knowing that I am doing so.
As part of the assignment I was able to watch two comedy shows. The first video was called “Stupid things Americans say to Brits” hosted by David Letterman. In this show the audience was entertained by Ricky whom verbally went through a hilarious list as part of the show. Question number nine was definitely one that the audience will never forget, “Do you know the queen?” The questions in general were not funny but Ricky used and embodied his physical abilities to make the joke powerful and impactful. In this specific video the viewers were allowed to hear some techniques which are: Using others and pulling the Peg/Changing the Switch. Ricky used his facial expressions as a way to grab the viewer’s humor and support for his jokes. In the second video Rob Paravonian exercised the five techniques we learned in class. He begins by indicating on how he is a geek, “I’m a geek.” During his performance he also incorporates other techniques. He uses the “changing the switch” by informing the crowed on how if you were a kid with a cello the “bullies could smell you coming a mile away.” Rob used himself as a way to entertain as well. He brought an additional piece to his performance which was the guitar. He used it as a way to project his jokes while singing. In addition, Rob used natural pauses to grab his viewer’s attention. He made a pause before he introduced the Pachelbel and how they played the exact chords in chello. Rob stated “All punk music has the same damn chords.” Again, the joke is not funny but he sang the joke which was really funny. Rob used Rob used the element of surprise by playing a guitar throughout his performance. He built bridges as a way to introduce Pocket bell and Taco Bell which was also funny. In my opinion, the element of surprise was when he informed the audience on how he was only able to play eight cords in Pachelbel’s cannon. Overall, both videos were interesting and entertaining. I didn’t laugh at the jokes but at the way they produce and supported the joke. Each comedian used their body language to make everyone laugh. Watching these two videos gave me a good understanding on how to use the five different techniques we learned in class. These videos will also be beneficial when I’m doing another speech.
In both videos, the comedians used most, if not all, the techniques of humor. In the David Letterman video, his quest speaker, Ricky, used “The Stupidest Things Americans Say to Britains”. This theme is Changing the Peg. He took ordinary sayings and made them funny putting them in a different surrounding. I also found that, in this video he used Himself and Others. Because he was British it made it funnier. If an American had said it, it wouldn’t be funny. I didn’t really see any other techniques being used in this video. But in Rob Paravonian’s video I saw all five of the techniques being used. When he spoke about playing the Cello in the orchestra, he used Himself. He also used Others, when he talked about Pachelbel and his the way he writes music. Another reason why he was so funny was because he Pulled the Peg. He changed the switch by playing all those different songs with the same melody. Rob was very hilarious. I had to watch the video a second time because he did a great job using Bridges, that I didn’t even notice them. To transition from playing the cello to Pachelbel following him, he used his nephew’s graduation. Rob also used the Element of Surprise. In the beginning, when he was describing himself, he took a pause and then said “Because I’m a geek”. These two videos were funny because they used the techniques of humor. These five techniques are also used in everyday conversation. When I introduce myself, I might poke fun at the surrounding we are in or make fun of myself. Around my friends I catch myself using the element of surprise and I use myself a lot.
To be honest, I lost count of the number of times he used the five techniques of humor that we went over in class today. He effectively used each technique including: Creating bridges, changing the peg, using himself, using others, and using the element of surprise. Within the first ten seconds the comedian created a bridge. He literally said, “I’m going to leave you with…….” Of course, this led into the major bridge to his gag about the eight cords he made fun of. By making fun of all the different songs with that chord pattern he was able to “change the peg”, and create humorous takes on each song. Although he used his take on the all the songs as the back bone of his closing joke, he incorporated the other four techniques in the process.
Near the beginning he “made fun of himself” by saying that he was a nerd, because he listens to classical music. Then later he used his facial expression as a source of comedic value. He really used his facial expressions to his advantage, because, for lack of better words, they were ridiculous. Then he used the thoughts of “other” people as a common ground to poke fun. For instance, he talked about the people that used to think about “breaking him like a hurt animal on the safari”. He also twisted the thoughts of the audience to make a funny joke about how he thought one thing, and they thought something completely different.
The way he slipped surprising statements and words within his “peg changes” was the reason his stand-up as funny as it was. I remember one part where he was listing the notes he had to play and he threw in the silly “f–sharp”. Another memorable throw-in was when he said that one composer’s name sounded too much like Tacobell, and that is why he refused to go there. The joke that actually made me laugh was the “VH1 I love the 1700’s” line. In my opinion that was his best joke.
All in all, he effectively used all five of the comedic techniques to continuously entertain his audience. The comedian used a musical prop to make better and more fashionable transitions or bridges between his jokes. Although I specifically did not think he was funny, he most definitely kept his audience laughing. I guess anyone really ‘can’ be funny.
In Rob Paravonian”s comedic skit he talked about Pachelbel and his hatred of his childhood instrument, the cello. He began by poking fun at himself by calling himself a geek, which allowed the audience to be comfortable with him so they could feel more easier at laughing at his jokes. He built a bridge when he tried to tie Pachelbel’s melody to the music he hears all around him. Such as going to his step-nephew-in-law’s graduation. He heard the song by Vitamin C, a popular graduation song and recognized the pachelbel tune and on the ride home he decided to listen to a new type of music and still heard the same melody of Pachelbel‘s. He describes how everywhere he turns he hears that same tune incorporated in every genre of music. I thought the most funniest part of the skit was when he related Pachelbel to Taco Bell. In the beginning of the act I was just thinking that Pachelbel sounded exactly like something I knew of, it did not click until he said Taco Bell, which made me laugh even harder. I liked the skit and I liked the used of his guitar in his act. It had a positive effect on the audience. And he knew exactly how to use his prop and knew when to pause and build his bridges to make his act extremely enjoyable.
In order to produce a good laugh comics use a mixture of or all five humor techniques as introduced in class to do so. These techniques include Using Yourself, Using Others, Pulling the Peg/Changing the Switch, Building Bridges and the Element of Surprise. Rob Paravonian uses all of these techniques numerous times within his performance called the “Pachelbel Rant.”
From the very beginning the techniques are utilized. At first, Paravonian builds a bridge to his skit of Pachelbel by saying that he is going to tell the audience a little story of a piece of music that he was sure the audience was familiar with named “Canon in D.” Then, he uses himself by singing the melody of that particular piece of music and says that he knows it because he is “a geek.” Afterwards, he uses others by saying that he is sure he knows that the audience is thinking that it is impossible for him to be a geek because he plays “the guitar and is so cool” but then uses the element of surprise by saying, “ Okay. You weren’t thinking that but I was.” Finally, he introduces his next few topics through various bridges. Even though Paravonian uses 4 of the 5 techniques right away in his performance, he does not forget to pull the peg later on in his skit. One such example of pulling the peg was when he exclaimed that he did not even want go to Taco Bell anymore because of how closely the sound of the name resembled Pachelbel, a man whose music had haunted Paravonian his whole life.
If I had to count how many times Paravonian used each technique, I would say he used himself, the element of surprise and building bridges 5+ times, others 3+ times and pulling the peg 4+ times.
Last but not least, when I think about my comic ways I feel I use myself, the building of bridges and the element of surprise the most when it comes to producing laughter amongst my peers. Though as proven through Rob Paravonian’s skit and many others, maximizing all five techniques is most efficient in trying to produce laughter among one’s audience and I should really try it myself.
In the video clips I was able to see, I was able to distinguish the five techniques to humor. The videos showed that comedy has different techniques. The audience laughed at everything they said because the elements to humor were used properly. In the first video, we saw Ricky’s top ten list of things Americans say to British people. When he came out with his accent that was one element that showed that he was using himself in this part of the humor. It gave Ricky credibility because he was from England and what he was telling the audience didn’t offend him. In between the lines, Letterman built bridges for Ricky so the comedy seemed to run smooth and with the flow. Letterman’s band also helped as bridges. They would make sound effect that would emphasis the comedy. I was able to pick out the techniques he used in his ten-line skit because they were simple and they weren’t so complex. In the second clip with Rob Paravonian he dazzled the audience by always having musical effect from the audience. He played his guitar for his whole performance. The way he played his guitar and changed his rhythm caught everyone’s attention. The used another source to get attention and build his humor on that. Rob used himself a lot through out his performance by say he was a geek, and the audience laughed at that because it was cool to see him talk about himself calmly. He let the audience know that it was okay to laugh with him. Rob used many bridges that got him from joke to joke. One example he used was how he mentioned that he always played 8 notes and it reminded him of a song he played in grammar school. His performance contained many of the elements needed to create humor. I found it simple to distinguish and I noticed that I used many of the steps to creating humor in my everyday tongue. I enjoy being around people who are funny and who have a great sense of humor. Knowing these elements will help me be funnier and it will help me in the long run the same way it helps these comedians.
In Rob’s comedy skit he discussed Pachelbel and his hatered of his childhood instrument, the chello. He made fun of himself by saying he was a geek, which gave the audience a chance to get comfortable with him and that made it easier for the audience to laugh at his jokes. He made a bridge when he tried to tie Pachelbel’s melody to the music he hears all around him. For example going to his step-newphew-in-law’s graduation, when he heard the Vitamin C song, which was popular and recognized the pachelbel tune and on the ride home he decided to listen to a new type of music and still heard the same melody of Pachelbel‘s. Then he described how he heard the same tune incorporated in every genre of musice. In my opinion the funniest part of the skit was when he related Pachelbel to Taco Bell and he used the guitar. He knew exactly how to use his prop and knew when to pause and build his bridges to make his act extremely enjoyable.
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