Get A Better Broadcast, Podcast and Voice-Over Voice
1,002 episodes - English - Latest episode: 9 months ago - ★★★★ - 4 ratingsYear THREE of short daily episodes to improve the quality of your speaking voice.
Through these around-5-minute episodes, you can build your confidence and competence with advice on breathing and reading, inflection and projection, the roles played by better scripting and better sitting, mic techniques and voice care tips... with exercises and anecdotes from a career spent in TV and radio studios. If you're wondering about how to start a podcast, or have had one for a while - download every episode!
And as themes develop over the weeks (that is, they are not random topics day-by-day), this is a free, course to help you GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VOICE OVER VOICE.
Look out for more details of the book during 2024.
Contacts: https://linktr.ee/Peter_Stewart
Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021, 2022, 2023 Peter Stewart
Peter has been around voice and audio all his working life and has trained hundreds of broadcasters in all styles of radio from pop music stations such as Capital FM and BBC Radio 1, the classical music station BBC Radio 3 and regional BBC stations. He’s trained news presenters on regional TV, the BBC News Channel and on flagship programmes such as the BBC’s Panorama.
He has written a number of books on audio and video presentation and production (see contacts clink above) and presented hundreds of radio shows (you may have heard him on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4, Virgin Radio or Kiss, as well as BBC regional radio) with various formats. He has read tens of thousands of news bulletins and hosted 3,000+ podcast episodes.
The podcast title refers to those who may wish to change their speaking voice in some way. It is not a suggestion that anyone should, or be pressured into needing to. We love accents and dialects, and are well aware that how we speak changes over time. The key is: is your voice successfully communicating your message, so it is being understood (and potentially being acted upon) by your target audience?
This podcast is London-based and examples are spoken in the RP (Received Pronunciation) / standard-English / BBC English pronunciation, although invariably applicable to other languages, accents and dialects.
The 'Peter Stewart' show is perhaps of great interest to those in broadcast voice overs, the broadcast voice, how to start a voice podcast, broadcasting voice training, your speaking voice, breathing technique, and conversational speaking. You may also find it useful if you are searching for information on voice coaching, voice training, voice overs, podcasting, broadcasting, presenting, being a voice over actor and newsreading, audio branding, public speaking, the recorded voice, vocal tips, performance, vocal health education, vocal technique and voice over training.
Music credits: all Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
"Beauty Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5025-beauty-flow
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Episodes
0251 - How To Sound Happy And Friendly… And Sad
September 07, 2021 23:01 - 4 minutes - 3.02 MB0251 - How To Sound Happy And Friendly… And Sad When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you. But what if they can't see you? What if they can just hear you? Smile and raise your eyebrows. That’s because smiling affects how we speak, to the point that listeners can identify the type of smile based on sound alone, according to a study by scientists at the University of Portsmouth.[1] The research suggests smiling and other expressions pack a strong informational punch an...
0250 - Tone and Your Mood
September 06, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.35 MB0250 - Tone and Your Mood Your natural unforced vocal tone at any moment (and tone is different from ‘pitch’ remember) is partly a reflection of how you are feeling, your general mood, and physical and mental state. If you feel positive and upbeat, so will your voice. If your car broke down, the dog’s been sick on the cat and your wife is threatening to leave you, such worries will also be reflected in your voice. Saying “leave your troubles at the studio door” is easier said than ...
0249 - A Change of Mood
September 05, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.57 MB0249 - A Change of Mood Those voicing commercials or longer presentations such as e-books or explainers will have to work to alter their ‘performance attitude’ during a script. That’s because: · The script will call for different ‘delivery feels’ to be reflected within the same read · A single ‘mood’ will be wearing on the presenter and the listener · A sometimes-subtle change of mood in the delivery aids understanding and the flow of the read Think of an advert ...
0248 - Brand Voices
September 04, 2021 23:01 - 1 minute - 1.12 MB0248 - Brand Voices Earlier we looked at the different kinds of emotional voice tones you may be required to replicate in your script-reading and also mentioned the ‘mood’ of the overall project. Brands often create a ‘tone-of-voice’ for their product or service, to better explain their marketing focus for certain demographics. That could be the design, font and colour of their logo, the celebrities associated with the item, their social media attitude and so on. The literal ‘tone of voice...
0247 - Script Direction
September 03, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.29 MB0247 - Script Direction More clues to your tone of voice will of course come from the direction both written in your script and from your human director in the studio. It should also set out who you are speaking to, the answer to the cliché actor’s question “what’s my motivation?” as well as the mood of the overall project (see below) and the demographic of the intended audience. You can use this information to help you visualise the scene and the situation, and in turn that will h...
0246 - The Gravity > Levity Tonal Scale
September 02, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.49 MB0246 - The Gravity > Levity Tonal Scale THE GRAVITY > LEVITY TONAL SCALE Let’s take that inexhaustive list again and re-work it so the emotions progress over time from a serious to a lighter emotion on our Gravity>Levity Scale. This is of course only my interpretation and you may have other thoughts. You will get further indication of the tone not just from the content but also the context of the script, also from directions on the script, and also from an in-studio producer of the ...
0245 – Onomatopoeia
September 01, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.57 MB2021.09.02-0245 – Onomatopoeia Occasionally you will find it appropriate to use words which, when you say them, sound like what they mean. “So why don’t you zzzzip up your new winter coat and…” “… and all fresssshhhhly delivered to your door.” “… with the smell of crisssp green apples.” “… relax in the luxurious bubbles and your tension will soak away” “…if it’s a tough job, this is the digger to do it” I’m exaggerating a bit in the text, but you get the idea. Take the sentence “wit...
0244 – I Love You
August 31, 2021 23:01 - 4 minutes - 2.74 MB0244 – I Love You “I love you” can be said in many different ways, but if you say it with the wrong tone for the moment, you may be in trouble… There will be clues in the script and the direction. If the intention is to excite someone, then sound excited. If you are talking about a miserable event, then say it in a downbeat tone. If you are using the actual words “passion”, “excitement”, “adventure”, match your tone and volume with how the words are intended to make the listener feel. For ...
0243 - The Message Gives The Voice
August 30, 2021 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.03 MB0243 - The Message Gives The Voice Singing coach Judy Rodman suggests this exercise.[1] Sing or say the phrase “you're the reason I feel this way” and with the same seven words, intend to send these different messages to the listener: · “you're the reason I feel this way” (you make me happy) · “you're the reason I feel this way” (you made me angry) · “you're the reason I feel this way” (you left me lonely) · “you're the reason I feel this way” (you gave me t...
0242 – When Tonal Emotions Clash
August 29, 2021 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.26 MB0242 – When tonal emotions clash Previously we looked at how a good understanding of vocabulary will help you as a broadcaster/podcaster, so you are better able to speak a script with significance – and we’ll come to much more about intonation and inflection later. But being a bit of a wordsmith will help you here as well: if you are in a recording session and a director asks you to read, for example, “more ominously” – will you know what they mean and how to replicate it vocally? What i...
0241 - Twenty-Two Tonal Emotions
August 28, 2021 23:01 - 4 minutes - 2.74 MB0241 - Twenty-Two Tonal Emotions These aren’t by any means the only emotions which may be prompted by a script, but are here as a sample you can use in various rehearsal readings to explore your range. They are in alphabetical order. 1. bemused 2. bright 3. corporate 4. cynicism / doubt 5. discovery – “I just found this / had this thought!” 6. energetic 7. friendly 8. intrigued 9. irritated 10. luxury 11. ominous 12. optimist...
0240 - Tone In Voice Acting
August 27, 2021 23:01 - 1 minute - 924 KB-0240 - TONE IN VOICE ACTING Whereas in newsreading you have to be more impartial, with commercials you are quite the opposite: most definitely partial! You want to persuade people to your point of view, to get them to, for example, buy the product or buy into your idea. The trouble is that many people get so focussed on reading a script that they forget the ‘emotional understanding’ of the character. That ends up with them saying words in a nice voice rather than conveying authentic me...
0239 - More on Changing ‘Tonal Tracks’
August 26, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.66 MB0239 - More on changing ‘tonal tracks’ A TV game show or shopping channel may also have to ‘turn on a sixpence’ with the presenter’s tone: · “Congratulations! You’ve just won 50-thousand pounds!” (cheers, applause, music sting) “Now, are you ready to gamble that… for the chance to win 100-thousand pounds, by answering just one question correctly..?” (heartbeat effect) · “Lines are open… NOW! Our operatives are standing by! Don’t miss your chance to buy this limited-edition d...
0238 -The Tonal Construct for a Presenter
August 25, 2021 23:01 - 4 minutes - 2.82 MB0238 -The tonal construct for a presenter There are then certain parameters for a news reader, but not so for a presenter. Those on the radio, TV or fronting a video will benefit from showing more, authentic emotional tone in their voice. But there again there are tricks and techniques in doing so. First, don’t forget what the emotion is that you want to convey to your audience. It’s easily said, but so many presenters have that disconnect that we talked about earlier when they get in f...
0237 – Tonal Changes From Heavy to Light
August 24, 2021 23:01 - 5 minutes - 3.56 MB0237 – Tonal changes from heavy to light Serious/sad – another sad story from the ‘universal emotions’ file. A serious tone, perhaps tinged with a hint of resignation as if to say “everyone had not dare fear the worse but…”. If you were reading this on a station closer to this event, and perhaps had this story as a lead in the bulletin, the tone may become slightly more serious as friends and relatives of the family concerned may be hearing the news for the first time. A body has been fou...
0236 – Rehearse Your Tone With These Real Scripts
August 23, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.69 MB0236 – Rehearse your tone with these real scripts Straightforward tone – Be careful. This is a political story, and even though it may look on the face of it as ‘good news’, it may be that the ‘devil is in the detail’ that the money has already been announced or there are caveats to the scheme. The government has announced a 172-million pound funding package to train 8-thousand more nurses on degree apprenticeships in England over the next 4 years. At the moment, the NHS and social care...
0235 - Marking up a Script for Tonal Changes
August 22, 2021 23:01 - 4 minutes - 3.17 MB0235 - Marking up a script for tonal changes You can mark your scripts with smiling or frowning emojis to remind you the kind of tone you need to adopt as you read it. Practicing appropriate tone As I said previously, one of your greatest assets in getting a better voice are your ears, so open your earlids and use them to listen to people around you in normal conversation and the tonal variety they use to engage and explain Here are several real news scripts, with notes on each regard...
0234 - Working Out Appropriate Emotional Tone
August 21, 2021 23:01 - 1 minute - 998 KB0234 - Working out appropriate emotional tone When you pre-read your script, work out the appropriate tone for the delivery of each story by asking yourself “How would I communicate this information if I was telling it to a friend in an interesting and committed way?” That goes for each item, and the tone may be substantially or subtly different for each one, but each one will be appropriate. Doing this will make: · each story, different · your delivery, diverse ...
0233 - Your Start-of-Bulletin Tone
August 20, 2021 23:01 - 1 minute - 874 KB0233 - Your start-of-bulletin tone And a quick thought: many news bulletins start with the reader saying “good morning” (or something similar), and all bulletins start with the most important story. As the most important is often also the most serious, possibly involving the loss of or threat to human life, be careful not to begin your update crassly with a smiley “Good morning” and then a dramatic gear change “100 people are dead after…” Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021 P...
0232 - Emotional Tone in the News as a Story Develops Over Time
August 19, 2021 23:01 - 4 minutes - 2.54 MB0232 - Emotional tone in the news as a story develops over time Let’s take another example. A toddler has been mauled by an out-of-control dog, and has died. You would likely read that with concern. Then a week later, something similar happens to another child. Is your concern more or less than previously. It’s happened again so do that make it more serious that nothing was done? Good news / bad news and your appropriate tone Also consider, what may be good news for one listener may b...
0231 - Emotional Tone Within a Story
August 18, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.78 MB0231 - Emotional tone within a story Beware of tonal shifts within a script. A story that starts “300-million pounds is being given to…” sounds a ‘good news’ story, but how it continues may require a slight tonal change by the reader: · “street parties for the king’s coronation…” · “abattoirs to dispose of diseased cattle…” Or one that starts off as ‘good news’ but later takes a turn, or two: 300-million pounds is being given to provide more police for the region...
0230 - Tonal changes within a bulletin
August 17, 2021 23:01 - 1 minute - 825 KB0230 - Tonal changes within a bulletin Tone also affects how you read each different story. The top one usually has more seriousness, and the last one a lighter tone. A well-constructed bulletin usually has this kind of flow to it, with a variety of hard, middle and lighter stories.[1] But not always. It may be that your news format is to have sports stories at the end of a bulletin. In that case your running order may start with a serious story and then become lighter as it progre...
0229 - Changing ‘tonal tracks’
August 16, 2021 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.26 MB0229 - Changing ‘tonal tracks’ As a presenter you may be required to present a story about a singing parrot one moment and then deliver breaking news of a terrorist attack. Each of these stories needs to be read in a different tone, which require you to swap tracks or gear from one tone to another, not only over the course of a bulletin, from one story to another, but also within a headline sequence. In this situation you may have just a half-second beat between stories in which to re-set y...
0228 - Appropriate emotional tone in the news
August 15, 2021 23:01 - 6 minutes - 4.39 MB0228 - Appropriate emotional tone in the news You would appear to be a robot or psychopath if you read every story with the same amount of ‘tone of voice’ – from a landslide burying children in a school to a tap-dancing ferret. You need to give appropriate emotional weight to the script, depending on its content and context. Although you should not be wailing in grief over a royal death, or announce with anger the latest unemployment figures, you can and should usually show some unders...
0227 - Too little emotional tone in the news
August 14, 2021 23:01 - 1 minute - 662 KB0227 - Too little emotional tone in the news The requirement of balance leads to many news readers or broadcast journalists putting an emotional chasm between themselves and their story and such disassociation can signal to the listeners: · that the reader doesn’t care about the content - so they can be similarly indifferent to the information · that the reader doesn’t understand the content – so why should they work to understand it themselves Audio recording script an...
0226 - Tone In the News
August 13, 2021 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.35 MB0226 - Tone In the News TONE IN THE NEWS In the UK and many other countries, broadcast news is different from the printed press in that news has to be fair, balanced and impartial. That even-handedness is not just what you say, but how you say it. Suggesting a personal view on what you are reading, by your tone of voice could be called editorialising. We will touch on this later when we look at the words you intonate to signpost meaning of the story and how some mis-intonations can...
0225 - Auditory Disconnections
August 12, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.57 MB0225 - Auditory Disconnections We’ll look at the amount of tone and emotion a little later, but for now let’s examine a bit more, the claim that the words you say and the tone in which they are said, have to be congruent. Think of the phrase “I’m happy” and you’d expect it to be said in a happy tone, bright, light, smiling, laughing. If it’s said slowly, in a flat dull tone, it may not fit with the context and make you sound dull, bored, disinterested, fake, rude, sarcastic or even ...
0224 – Tone And Emotion
August 11, 2021 23:01 - 5 minutes - 3.32 MB0224 – Tone And Emotion “We often refuse to accept an idea merely because the tone of voice in which it has been expressed is unsympathetic to us.” Friedrich Nietzsche - German philosopher The right words alone won’t necessarily persuade. The tone of your voice matters too if your listeners are to believe what it is you are telling them. Some people use the term ‘tone’ when they mean ‘pitch’. Again, this can be confusing, as the English phrase ‘tone of voice’ means something quite...
0223 - Pitch and Politicians
August 10, 2021 23:01 - 4 minutes - 2.7 MB223 - Pitch and Politicians That having been said, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) found that political leaders with lower voices were perceived as more dominant and attractive. Conversely, those who spoke with higher frequencies were viewed as submissive and benevolent.[1] Participants rated politicians’ voices with 67 adjectives such as dishonest, scary, dynamic, attractive, convincing and fair. What made a voice sound charismatic was viewed differently...
0222 – Pitch And Perception
August 09, 2021 23:01 - 4 minutes - 2.91 MB0222 – Pitch And Perception Pitch and perception In the past, society has judged people according to the pitch of their voice. Hopefully the days are gone, but even in the recent past, women with a high pitch may have been perceived by some as an ‘airhead’, a man with a lighter voice perhaps as effeminate. Conversely, a woman with a low voice was often seen as sexy, or indeed overly ‘masculine’. Several studies[1] have found that in general, women prefer lower-pitched men's voices to ...
0221 – Pitch Variety
August 08, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.29 MB0221 – Pitch Variety Try and use a wide vocal range when speaking to make what you say more interesting. Some broadcasters compress their range (say, 4,5 and 6 in our example above), thinking that that gives them more authority. It actually makes them sound flat, boring, monotonous and without feeling, reducing their ability to convey a message appropriately. Using natural pitch diversity (as most people use in natural everyday conversation) and you will come over as more real and authe...
0220 – What A Carry On! Kenneth Williams On How His Comic Voice Caused Serious Injury
August 07, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.82 MB0220 – What A Carry On! Kenneth Williams On How His Comic Voice Caused Serious Injury Forcing your voice to do anything unusual is not good, as the British comic actor Kenneth Williams recounted about the over-the-top ‘cowboy drawl’ voice he adopted, together with a misaligned jaw, when he played the part of Judge Burke in ‘Carry On Cowboy’ (1965): (AUDIO) “…and I was doing all this on the first day of the film, and at the end of the day I was in agony. And my jaw… it had strained all t...
0219 – What Accents Are The Most Sexy?
August 06, 2021 23:01 - 6 minutes - 4.04 MB0219 – What Accents Are The Most Sexy? Interested in this? Watch this video to find out more on what accents are considered sexy: https://www.bbc.co.uk/reel/playlist/the-laws-of-attraction?vpid=p09f7crq Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021 Peter Stewart Through these around-5-minute episodes, you can build your confidence and competence with advice on breathing and reading, inflection and projection, the roles played by better scripting and better sitting, mic techniques a...
0218 – Research: Men With Deeper Voices Are More Attractive – But Cheat More
August 05, 2021 23:01 - 1 minute - 1.12 MB0218 – Research: Men With Deeper Voices Are More Attractive – But Cheat More In October 2020, Chinese researchers[1] claimed that although men with deep voices are more likely to attract a partner, they are also more likely to cheat on them The team said that women are often attracted to men with low, rich voices because they are associated with high testosterone levels which, in evolutionary terms, suggests the speaker will be a good mate for producing healthy children. However, men w...
0217 – How Imperfect Pitch Got Jamal Into A Jam
August 04, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.92 MB0217 – How Imperfect Pitch Got Jamal Into A Jam Forcing your voice into a ‘false pitch’, can literally cramp your style. A voice that is deliberately pushed low can sound unnaturally strained and can cause physical harm to the speaker. Additionally, if you start speaking at an enforced low pitch you will restrict your ability for natural nuance when it is necessary for selected words, leading to a voice that sounds monotonous. Oh and some people deliberately speak in a high register i...
0216 – Margaret Thatcher’s Pitch Profile
August 03, 2021 23:01 - 1 minute - 1.2 MB0216 – Margaret Thatcher’s Pitch Profile “From tape recordings of speeches made before and after receiving tuition a marked difference can be very hear. When there are played through an electronic pitch analyser, it emerges that she achieved a reduction in pitch of 46 Hz, a figure which is almost half the average difference in pitch between male and female voices.”[1] But forcing your voice into a lower pitch can be damaging. In the short term it can be tiring: you are unnecessarily ...
0215 – Lowering Your Pitch
August 02, 2021 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.08 MB0215 – Lowering Your Pitch Lowering your pitch Your register is not only dictated by the speed your vocal folds vibrate, but also how taught they are. So, it stands to reason that to lower it, your folds need to be less-taught. They cannot be relaxed by themselves, but only with the rest of the body. So, less stress, better posture and breathing, will all contribute to a more relaxed state overall … and so slightly lower the pitch of your voice. Refer back to the 1-10 range mentioned ...
0214 - Politicians’ Different Pitches For Different People And Different Policies
August 01, 2021 23:01 - 1 minute - 875 KB0214 Politicians’ Different Pitches For Different People And Different Policies A study at UCLA[1] found that the best speakers, usually politicians, varied their voice within a single speech to appeal to listeners of different ages, genders and backgrounds, and depending on the topic being talked about. A savvy politician may sound authoritarian when discussing foreign policy, for example, and more caring when addressing health issues. [1] https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/got-charis...
0213 - The ‘Higher And Louder’ Pitfall
July 31, 2021 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.1 MB0213 - The ‘Higher And Louder’ Pitfall We look at the volume of a voice a little later, but for now let’s take a glance its relationship with pitch, because there is a potential pitfall of using volume for emphasis, instead of pitch. Doing this might cause people to perceive your voice as shrill, and you as hysterical (something that Hillary Clinton was accused of[1]). Both in a studio and in an auditorium, you should usually be letting the microphone do the work of boosting your volume...
0212 - Your Pitch Range
July 30, 2021 23:01 - 4 minutes - 2.75 MB0212 - Your Pitch Range If you use a wide pitch range when speaking will help engage your audience. That’s not to say it should be super-wide: swooping up and down from sentence to sentence will make you sound very odd indeed, at best patronising at worse, manic. No, the range needs to be appropriately engagingly expressive. Now that you have found your natural pitch, you will realise that you vary from it in normal conversation, a few notes up and a few notes down. And when y...
0211 - Your Actual Natural Voice Pitch
July 29, 2021 23:01 - 5 minutes - 3.3 MB0211 - Your Actual Natural Voice Pitch Now you are stress-free, and belly-breathing, simply say your name, as though you have been asked it by as new acquaintance. The pitch you use when you say that in a stress-free state is your natural pitch. Another technique is to agree with me, yes? “Uh-huh” you reply and the pitch at which you say that is likely your home note. Another is to sigh. All of these should produce a note that is comfortable and natural for you to start your ‘pitch...
0210 – Michael Caine on How Your Voice Pitch Can Be Affected By Nerves
July 28, 2021 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.2 MB0210 – Michael Caine on How Your Voice Pitch Can Be Affected By Nerves Nerves and Pitch When you are nervous and your body is tense it has little breath support, and you will tend to start a sentence in the upper half of your natural pitch range, which restricts your ‘intonational ability’: you simply have less ‘vocal head room’ in which you can give words and phrases their due inflection. Even the most illustrious of names can have nerves affect their voice pitch: (AUDIO) “I was...
0209 – Stressful Sally’s Story
July 27, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.56 MB0209 – Stressful Sally’s Story Sally worked as a TV presenter out of a small and busy newsroom where everyone was expected to do everything. She loved her job but was concerned about the pitch of her voice, and wanted to know ways to lower it because she thought it too shrill. Would smoking help, she wondered, or maybe more late nights with friends? On visiting Sally in her office, the cause of her concern was apparent. Even though she was the presenter of the evening news show, she a...
0208 – Your Resting Pitch
July 26, 2021 23:01 - 4 minutes - 3.24 MB0208 – Your Resting Pitch Your resting pitch Your pitch will have a centre note, a ‘home’ from which you will be able to inflect words and sentences up and down within a range. It’s where your natural speaking voice mostly sits, in the centre of your vocal range, that gives you optimal resonance, the sound that you will produce without force or strain, and will make you feel and sound confident and focussed. There are several tricks to finding this note and you should do this once you ...
0207 – Why You Sound Different To You
July 25, 2021 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.17 MB0207 – Why You Sound Different To You The reason your voice sounds different to you rather than how everyone else hears it, is because of acoustics. Everyone else hears exactly the same ‘end result’ of sound from your mouth as it is heard within the situation that you are speaking – a sound-conditioned studio, the reflective surfaces of a bathroom or whatever. (At least we presume everyone hears the same thing, we have no way of knowing that specifically!) You hear the sound you make, wit...
0206 - So what is ‘pitch’?
July 24, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.63 MB0206 - So what is ‘pitch’? Whether a voice is high or low in tone is determined by: · the rate of vibration of the vocal cords as air passes over them - the more vibrations per second, the higher the pitch. And as we saw earlier, the rate of vibration is to do with: · the length, thickness and degree of tension of the vocal folds, so slow-moving short, thick, relaxed folds make a lower pitch. Cartilage can almost imperceptibly re-adjust how the vocal folds are held. ...
0205 – An Introduction to Pitch
July 23, 2021 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.35 MB0205 – An Introduction to Pitch “Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning” Maya Angelou - Poet and civil rights activist Definitions I try to be very careful when using language around voice, because of how terms have been used over time and the effects that’s had on people’s perceptions of explanations. Pitch, tone and intonation all refer to different aspects of our voice. Pitch is the degree of highness or lowne...
0204 – Don’t Be Too Much
July 22, 2021 23:01 - 1 minute - 926 KB0204 – Don’t Be Too Much 1. Too much punch – you will be running short of breath 2. Too extreme use of upward inflection – you will sound like a child 3. Too slow on long phrases – you will sound patronising 4. Too many obvious pauses – you will sound jerky 5. Too many changes in projection – you will sound too dramatic Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021 Peter Stewart Through these around-5-minute episodes, you can build yo...
0203 – Reading Out Loud
July 21, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.94 MB0203 – Reading Out Loud Of course on radio and podcasts, when you aren’t seen, sound is all that you have to create visuals. That may be music or sound effects, and also the words that you utter, but it is your disembodied voice that creates much of the ‘picture’ on the kind of the listener. Let’s be honest, reading is an unnatural process. We have evolved over millions of years communicating via grunts and then quite recently, by using words. Our ancestors told each other stories and pass...
0202 – The Story So Far
July 20, 2021 23:01 - 4 minutes - 2.77 MB0202 – The Story So Far “The tongue can paint what the eyes can’t see.” Chinese proverb You can see how our ‘voyage of the voice’ continues; let’s chart the progress we have made so far: · We started off talking about the basics of how to sit and breath to give the voice support · Then we tracked the journey of air from our lungs to the larynx and into the mouth and nose. There we talked about the resonators which help give your voice ‘body’ – whatever the tone. · ...