Bake big batches of bitter brown bread
Six words starting with B, two of them with BR. It sounds like an instruction from a busy bakery, and it trains a strong, voiced B that keeps its punch from the first word to the last.
Bake big batches of bitter brown bread.
More tongue twisters for the same sounds
- Proud Paul paid for both bags, but Bob put both bags back.
- A pelican flapped past the boat, then flew back to the foggy bay.
- Olivia prefers plain vanilla, but Felix favors fresh blueberry pie.
- Bob's brave brother brought a bright blue balloon to the big parade.
- Phoebe brings five fresh violets to her favorite aunt every February.
- Philip's favorite fabric was velvet, but his father preferred fine flannel.
Other famous tongue twisters for these sounds
Where to breathe
- Bake big batches
- of bitter brown bread.
Where the B loses its punch
B is a voiced lip sound. After several in a row, it tends to weaken: the lips close loosely and the sound turns into something between B and W. The end of the line, “brown bread”, is where most people lose it.
The vowels change on every word: “bake” with long A, “big” with short I, “batches” with short A, “bitter” with short I, “brown” with OW, “bread” with short E. The jaw has to move a lot while the lips stay on B. That is the training.
Two other spots are tricky. “Batches” has a CH and a Z ending. “Bitter” has a T that, in American English, usually becomes a light tap, close to a D; that is normal. If you rush, the tap disappears, “bitter” shrinks to “bi'er” and “batches” loses its ending.
How to practice it
Say each word separately and pay attention to the B. Press the lips together, build a little pressure and release with voice. If you feel the lips barely touching, press harder.
Then drill the BR words: “brown bread, brown bread”. For BR, the lips release B while the tongue is already pulled back for R. Many people drop the R and say “bown bed”.
Breathe after “batches” at first. When both halves are clean, say the whole line on one breath, three times in a row. Then speed up, keeping every B as strong as the first.
Questions about this tongue twister
- Why does my B sound weak by the end?
- The lips get tired and stop closing fully. It is the same as running out of breath: you need steady pressure. Slow down, make the lips meet firmly on every B and only then add speed.
Keep practicing
Practice with a timer
In DramaLab, the speed ladder is an exercise: it gives you tongue twisters one by one, walks you up the five steps and keeps time. No sign-up needed.