Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Voice

Speak the speech trippingly. Or pitched low. Or with a mumble.

grumblebee — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:07:15 -0800

Is there a resource that lists and explains the various effects one can use to accessorized speech, such as altering pitch, speeding up, slowing down, etc.? As a director, I often have to help actors make vocal choices. My company regularly employs doubling -- that is using one actor to play multiple parts. So that the audience doesn't get confused, it's great if the actor makes each of his characters sound different.

Some actors are naturally gifted this way. Others need help.

Note: like most modern actors and directors, I take a psychological approach to character work. So I would never simply tell an actor something like "speak more quickly" or "raise your pitch." But once we've done the psychological work, it would be awesome to see an array of choices from which you could pick an appropriate set of effects.

The vocal instrument is flexible but not infinite. There are only so many things one can do while speaking: add gruffness/gravel, change the pitch, change the speed, change the degree of annunciation, try an accent, etc.

I would like a complete list. The perfect list would include effect, example (e.g. an actor who naturally talks with that effect, such as George C. Scott for gravel) and any hints/pitfalls to help create the effect without hurting your voice.

I have a bunch of Voice-For-The-Actor books, but none has the list I'm looking for. If such a list doesn't exist, maybe we could compile one together here.

Writer meets arthritis

grumblebee — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:18:40 -0800

Mac voice-recognition software for a writer with arthritis. My father's arthritis is making it more and more difficult for him to type. This is hard for him, because he's been a writer for decades (over 25 books and countless articles). He is considering switching to voice-recognition software.

Here are some things to note:

- He is originally from England but has lived in the US since the 1950s. He is a very clear speaker, but his accent is a mix of British (cockney originally) and American.

- He owns a Mac.

- He is not highly computer literate, but he lives in a university town and could find people to help him set things up if necessary. He probably will have trouble if the voice-recognition software itself is overly complicated to use.

I am looking for any advice and experiences with this. What is the state of the art these days? What's available for the Mac? What is the experience like for people who are heavy users?

Can I have my own black box?

tiamat — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:39:22 -0800

Is there such as thing as a personal audio recorder that has a rolling 'black box' feature where hitting the record button will start recording now, but also save the previous X minutes of recording data? I work in a job where it's often necessary to record conversations, and sometimes by the time you know you want to you've already missing something, which then causes a bit of a stilted pause as you get the recorder going and ask someone to repeat that last bit.....

So,

Is there an audio recorder that I could keep in my pocket, running all the time, which would only actually save data if I hit the button?

I've hit Google, but I'm not sure my terms are correct.

Thanks!

(and for the privacy nuts out there, don't worry, this is very legal in the context I do it.)

me me me ME me me meeee

2or3whiskeysodas — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:11:16 -0800

Vocal warm-up suggestions for a play that requires me to talk loudly for about an hour straight, and then sing loudly for another hour? I'm performing a (virtually) one-man show that has me speaking, sometimes yelling, for about an hour in Act I. In Act II I'm singing almost throughout, including one song where I have to go full-on high-pitched ROCK POWER.

Additionally, my character has a kind of pinched voice, even when singing, and doesn't sing from the diaphragm at all. I'm trying to work on getting the same effect without murdering my throat, but it's tricky.

I've read a bunch of threads here with general warm-up advice and some great recommendations for teas, lozenges and other stuff I can ingest, many of which I'm eager to try. However, can anyone point me at some specific warm-up exercises I could be trying? The show opens in (oh shit oh shit oh shit) a week and I don't want to go mute halfway in!

Help! Thanks!

Why do I have to clear my throat so much?

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:23:02 -0800

Why do I have to clear my throat all of the time? When I'm speaking, my voice often becomes croaky to the point where I can't speak normally without sounding like Tom Waits on his deathbed. This is normally resolved by me clearing my throat rather audibly (ahem-uh-huh-hem!), after which I can speak fine again. I might have to do this five or six times in an hour long presentation. I'm not spitting out or swallowing phlegm, my voice is just unusably scratchy until I clear my throat. Occassionally, clearing my throat does nothing, and I'm left with a voice that can barely speak. This happens with my normal conversations, too, not just presentations. My occupation sometimes requires extensive public speaking (hence the anonymous), but I still have the problem of having to clear my throat even when I don't have a lot of speaking to do.

Gargling with salt water seems to improve my ability to speak, as does drinking tea and sucking on lozenges. If I sleep well, there is a slight improvement, sometimes.

Is the throat-clearing serving the function of removing phlegm? Should I see a ENT? Have you had similar problems? How did you manage the problem?

Prepaid iPhone data plan in Mumbai?

jesseendahl — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:40:15 -0800

Hi, I will be living in Mumbai for 11 weeks next summer. I have an unlocked iPhone 3G. What is my best bet in terms of carrier and plan for the cheapest and most reliable data access? I plan to do local calls over the cell phone voice network and international calls via Skype on the iPhone. Thanks in advance!

Discipline the vocce!

yoyoceramic — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:38:05 -0800

Voice instructors in Las Vegas? I'm just a hobbiest... Hi everyone,

Wondering if any MeFites have any good recommendations for someone looking for a voice instructor. Gender and age do not matter to me. I am a male in mid 20's, if that matters.

I'm not looking to be the next American Idol. I took about 2 months worth of voice lessons then moved to a new city (Las Vegas). I'm looking for 45mins - 1 hour per week of instruction. I am interested in classical-type training I suppose (I was working through "The First Book of Tenor Solos"), leaning scales, MAYBE doing a recital etc...

Any thoughts? PM if you have a specific rec.. thanks!

Help Keep Me From Losing My Voice

Simon Barclay — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:48:26 -0800

I'm looking for advice to avoid losing my voice while speaking for a long time. Can anybody help me...? A couple of times a month, I need to give a presentation that lasts a whole day. The presentation mostly consists of me talking. Sometime after lunch, my voice starts losing its power and I find myself having to "push" harder to maintain the same volume. By the end of the day, my voice is almost gone. It takes a couple of days before I get it back.

Does anyone know of things I can do while speaking that will prevent me from losing my voice? Or, alternatively, what can I do to get it back quickly?

I don't know how frequently I can stop to drink, because I'm not usually standing behind a podium, but I can take a few gulps here and there. Last time this happened, I tried tea with honey during the evening, but that didn't seem to help.

Voice lessons in NYC?

learn to read — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:10:29 -0800

Can anyone recommend a decent voice coach in New York City? I'm a newbie to singing, but I'd like to learn. In case it matters, I'm a male baritone. Stylistically, I'm most interested in singers like David Bowie and Scott Walker.

Strange Voices

phrontist — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:02:16 -0800

Recommend some music like Bon Iver's Woods, Imogen Heap's Hide and Seek, Beardyman, and some of Jamie Lidell - which feature nothing (or very little) but the human voice modified by electronics. Augmented acapellas, if you will.

Is cheese bad like milk is for singing voices?

Quillcards — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:06:22 -0800

It is well-known that opera singers don't drink much milk because it makes phlegm and affects their voices, but what about cheese? Does that cause phlegm?

Altos and Contraltos

ms.codex — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:01:53 -0800

Female singers with low, rich alto voices? I'm a big fan of Heather Headley's voice. Headley (you can hear clips of her on Youtube) has this amazingly powerful, velvety voice that sounds especially luscious and resonant on the low end. I shiver when she sings in her contralto range. But I'm not the biggest fan of R&B, which is what she's been churning out for the last few years. Her songs from the Broadway production of Elton John's 'Aida' showcase her voice a bit better, but I'm not interested in listening to those on end either. Anyone know of more female singers-- either popular or classical performers-- who have similar voices? Rich, velvety timbre a must. If range matters, I'm interested in women whose most powerful sounds fall in D3 to G4.

Hey how's it going OH SHI.. I CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING!

Anonymous — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:21:13 -0800

Wacky ear question: Sometimes when I speak out loud one or both of my ears will pOp and I can't hear anything but my own voice. What the heck is going on and how can I get it to stop? To better describe the sound (or lack thereof): it's like when you wear earplugs; outside sound is greatly reduced and muffled, and all you can really hear is the vibrations of your own voice and breathing.

It happens often enough that I get jarred when it happens because suddenly all the sounds are off balance and my voice sounds so close and LOUD. Sometimes it "sticks" and I have trouble responding to people because I just can't hear a darn thing they're saying.

Strangely, this happens to my nose sometimes too. I'll be speaking then suddenly one nostril will seemingly close up and my voice becomes very nasal and odd sounding.

What the heck is happening here? Is this some earwax/booger issue? How can I fix it? It's driving me crazy!

For NPR, This is Daniel Schorr ... AGGGGH! leaps for dial

WCityMike — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:59:02 -0800

Whenever I listen to National Public Radio, I occasionally come across a news segment or op-ed by Daniel Schorr (he can be listened to here, and here's his Wikipedia article). I don't understand why, but his voice drives me up one wall and down the other. Why? The man has a voice for newspaper — so much so that I literally leap for the off switch or 'Next' button — and I'm not usually sensitive to such things. It's not him being an elderly man — it's something unique to his voice in particular that drives me nuts, but I can't quite figure out what quality it is. I know I'm not alone, though, as I've seen other comments on his voice. Anyone know what quality his voice has that drives so many (and me) nuts? And did it derive from something in his past development (i.e., stroke, etc.) or is it just a natural quality?

(And I'm definitely not belittling the man's achievements – which are many and impressive. Just trying to figure out what the auditory quality of his voice is that drives me up the wall – much as scientists have tried to figure out the auditory reasons behind the fingernails on chalkboard thing.)

Where can I find this documentary about the voice?

chorltonmeateater — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 03:05:57 -0800

I'm trying to find a DVD/watchable online version of a documentary I saw probably saw about five years or so ago about the history of the voice in popular music. I think it might have been simply called The Voice, and was probably shown on the BBC or Channel 4 (although I think it was American-made). One episode featured harmony groups like the Four Freshmen and the Beach Boys. With such a generic name, Google is failing to help me find any details on this one. Does anybody know what it was actually called, and where I can see this again?

Sing, sing a song, sing out loud, sing out strong!

crossoverman — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:56:49 -0800

Teach me how to sing. Before I investigate an actual singing teacher, are there any online tutorials or guides that could help me learn how to sing better? I like to sing, but like most people I limit this to my shower, my car and the very occasional karaoke night. Oh, and Sing Star. I'm not terrible, but I'm not great. Possibly, all I need is more confidence.

But before I fork out money for professional help, I wonder if there are things I can do/know/learn by myself to improve my singing ability. I have no particular career ambitions for this; let's consider this a hobby, an instrument I'd like to be able to play for fun.

Do you know any good voice control software?

dhacker — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 10:51:25 -0800

I'm looking for good, inexpensive voice control software for the PC. Nothing as fancy as Dragon Naturally Speaking. I just want my voice to fire keyboard commands. There used to be a great program out there called Game Commander that could do exactly this. You gave it an application name (say, MS Word), and then you trained it to listen to your voice when you said "New" and it would fire the keystroke to create a new document. Sadly, I can't get Game Commander to work on Vista.

The most credible voice in the world

zaebiz — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:07:50 -0800

Who is the guy who does the narration for the PBS Frontline series? I have always thought he has the most interesting and uniquely credible voice in the world. I know he is doing the Dos Equis commercials now, but has he done anything else? Any other presenters with voices I might like? I don't mean to offend, but in general I find American presenter voices to be sort of cartoonishly unreal - it's hard to describe. (I would also put Australian voices in the same category by the way.) But this guy's voice sounds like he takes his "measured consideration" pills for breakfast every day like noone else. Love it.

Voice-to-Speech Solutions?

14580 — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:32:17 -0800

I need to get some more writing done for the business I am trying to start. I spend a lot of time walking and driving so I have been thinking that a voice-activated voice recorder that creates WMA files might be useful. But choosing a digital recorder is not what I need help with. I am seeking recommendations for voice-to-speech software that can convert the voice files into text. I know that these programs are not completely accurate but I don't mind doing some editing. But I don't want to have to load a lot of software and click on a lot of prompts just to convert 5 to 15 minutes of audio each day. The ideal solution would automatically pop-up a file ready to edit after plugging the recorder into a USB port on a PC.

I am aware of Dragon Naturally Speaking, but there seems to be a lot of different versions, some quite expensive, and I have no idea which one would be best for me; or if there are any other good solutions to my problem.

We Are The Very Expensive World

rokusan — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:13:47 -0800

Four iPhone users: USA, Canada, England, Mexico. All with different carriers. What free/cheap voice options are there? All right, we've got a little group of four friends. One in USA (AT&T, that's me), one in Canada (Rogers), one in England (O2), and one in Mexico (TelCel). All legit unbroken iPhones registered in their own countries and using the usual App Store(s).

Long distance is killing us all, and conference calls are worse.

With all the IP telephony out there, there must be a better way, so what are our best choices for at least one-to-one voice conversations (is iPhone Skype available in all these countries? Something else?) and ideally ad-hoc three- and fourway voice calls?

Lower priority: text messaging is also stupidly expensive, ranging from the 20¢/msg I seem to be paying for "international texting" (AT&T = whores) to about fifty cents, which is what the UK person is being charged. So a cheaper way to do that would be nice too.

Free is best, but anything cheaper than traditional long-distance is worth considering. Onetime costs or subscriptions... something to stop us from spending an extra $100+ per month each on phone calls to the same three people every time.

Most of us are on the move too much for land-line options, unless they're very portable in an ad-hoc way that forwards.

How can I have Google Voice send my SMS to an instant message service such as Google talk?

jesirose — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:50:12 -0800

How can I have Google Voice send my SMS to an instant message service such as Google talk? I have no text messaging plan, however I have a google voice account. (Formerly Grand Central). I also have the chat in Gmail and an AIM account. I have an app for my iPhone beejive IM which thanks to 3.0 can now push my messages to the phone.

So. If there is a number I can forward the SMS messages to which will send them to my GTalk chat or an AOL im screenname, I can then be notified instantly, instead of having to check the website for texts.

Googling turned up something about a 406 number for GTalk but I cannot find the info I apparently need.

Thanks!!

(No, I don't have any Google Voice invites, they're not doing them. Sorry :( )

Polish Speaking Part?

parmanparman — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:28:04 -0800

I was told that foreign films that entered Poland during Communist times were dubbed into Polish but all of the voice work for both genders was acted out by one man. Is this true?

Cheap Cell Phone Service in Europe

mahoganyslide — Mon, 25 May 2009 18:52:05 -0800

What is the cheapest option available for using my iPhone (AT&T) in Europe? I will be traveling to the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg in the coming summer and am curious what the best option is for voice and data usage on my (unlocked) iPhone. I would love to use Google maps to get around and be able to call family back home as well as friends coming along with me. However, if data prices are exorbitantly high, I can forgo my beloved Google maps and settle for voice usage alone.

So far, AT&T offers a $6/mo. + $1/min. under its World Traveler plan. Data is far worse at $25/mo. for 20MB and $0.005/KB thereafter. I do not know if incoming calls are free as they are under certain European plans (I doubt it).

Can I get anything cheaper if I were to use European providers? Would it be possible to use the same service/SIM/number throughout the 3 nations without having to switch with each one? I would like to purchase a non-contract only service (e.g. pre-paid).

Furthermore, if it is possible to get better voice/data rates using a European provider, where can I purchase service? I will be landing in Amsterdam Schipol Airport and will also be passing through Amsterdam Central Station.

Thank you so much for your help!

Can I transfer voice-mail messages to my PC ?

therealshell — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:34:45 -0800

I am curious to know if I can transfer phone mail messages to my PC as MP3 files ? We have QWEST phone-mail, and I have several voice messages that I would like to keep. Is it possible to transfer them to my PC ?

Audiobooks a gogo

ocherdraco — Fri, 08 May 2009 07:02:24 -0800

How does one become voice talent for audiobooks? I love reading aloud (in high school I read most of The Grapes of Wrath out loud to my classmates), and have often been told I'm good at it.

I'm not interested in voiceover for advertising or other kinds of voice acting, just audiobooks.