Melodious Manuscripts: Just Breathe...

I really struggled with deciding where to categorize this next post because this isn't something every voice-artist needs or uses, but for me personally...humidifiers have SERIOUSLY been a boon to me in and out of voice-acting. The space where I record has very dry air and I've noticed that my nose gets "stuffy" easily in this area. It hinders my vocal performance in multiple ways and it's just aggravating having to step away to 'breathe' when I could be spending that time focusing more on my craft!

What is a humidifier?

Basically, humidifiers are devices that add moisture to the air in a space. Think about all the symptoms caused by dry air such as dry sinuses, cracked lips, and nose bleeding (I used to get this one A LOT). But note particularly the 'dry sinuses' issues which is a pain in the tooshy for us voice-actors!...Please check out this link here to see if you're someone who suffers from this! Because if you are, one of the listed ways to counter it is a humidifier. I personally have two in my recording area as they're both small(saves space, yuh know?). You can definitely get larger ones if you have more space to cover but if you're really looking to only humidify a small area, then a little one is all you need! The ones I have are Smoko 200ml Elodie Unicorn Diffuser Ultrasonic and InnoGear Diffuser. InnoGear is a lot cheaper and good to start with if you're on a budget but it holds A LOT less water so you'll have to start it up frequently. However, there are many other choices to choose from at reasonable prices! I just recommended these two because I own them both and I'm very satisfied with them. However, if you do decide to get yourself a humidifier, I highly suggest getting yourself some oils!

What are the oils for?

These oils are designed to go inside humidifiers and other aromatherapy-esque devices (some all natural essential oils are good for consumption but make sure you do your research). Not only will they make your space smell really good but each oil has different effects. For example, if you're suffering from a cold, you would want to use Eucalyptus as this is a natural cold fighter. No, it won't poof Merlin your cold way, but it will make it much more tolerable and help get rid of it faster! One of my personal favorites is Lemongrass as it smells sweet and is a natural odor fighter, plus, I feel more energetic but relaxed when I smell it. There are so many choices so I highly suggest you get a bundle and try them all out depending on your needs and mood!

Voice-over is a tough job and sometimes, our bodies seem to want to make it even tougher on us. Humidifiers have really helped me in many ways that aren't just related to voice-acting. I'm able to go to sleep with one running on at night and when I wake up, I can breathe at ease while basking in the pleasant scent of lavender or lemongrass. I'm able to go about my day without having to worry about a random heavy nose bleed occurring... These oils don't just smell wonderful, they help bring out my energy, my inner peace, my eagerness to perform, and my confidence. Even if you don't suffer from dry sinuses, I still think you would benefit from a humidifier.

Blessed be my friends and remember...just breathe.

#voiceover #voiceacting #voiceactor #aromatherapy #humidifier #essentialoils #tools #oils #voiceactress

Melodious Manuscripts: Teach Me to Prey

Click this to be led to the book!

As a voice-actor, I wish to dabble in all things related to it, so that means audio-book narration! This was my very first audio-book so in order for me to perform the narration well, I had to get invested into the story and this definitely sucked me in! You'll get no spoilers from me but I'll supply the summary and tell you what I got from this book while reading it.

"Teach Me to Prey" is about a teacher named Rebecca Stewart and how she is emotionally and mentally abused by a few of her students. One of them even tries to make advances on her but through sheer will and dedication to her work, she turns him down and proceeds to graduation day! But it doesn't end there...oh no. One of her tormentors is found murdered and so she's hauled in for questioning...while pregnant. That's all you get from me, hehe!

This was an extremely enlightening read for me as it gave me a glimpse of the drama teachers have to go through all the time...What's worse? The situations that occur in this book are probably just a few examples of what educators have to deal with on a day to day basis. It made me think back to when I was in middle school and how often some of the students would give our teachers a bunch of grief. I will admit that sometimes I had to tell one of the other students to 'shut up' so the teacher could talk because some teachers are just SO nice. Because I was narrating this book, I've had many talks with the author and she's shared some stories with me on how she and other teachers she knew didn't get much respect from not only some students but from the administration. The story really opened my eyes to how underappreciated and devoted teachers are. Many of them put their own money into helping young ones learn! If you ask me, their job is one of the most important professions out there because they help shape young folk's futures. For some, they're like another parent or a really good friend, someone to aspire to or even simply talk to.

I hope that one day, we can give educators the respect, appreciation, and security they deserve!

(Book brushes/stamps used in decorative image at the top were created by the talented Lileya. All credit goes to her for those!)

#audiobooks #books #teachers #educators #reviews #blog #blogging #respect #appreciation #voiceover #narration

Melodious Manuscripts: The Tools

Every artist needs tools to succeed and voice-artists are no exception. In fact, I'd be inclined to say that we rely on tools more so than others (though that will strongly depend on the profession)! Most voice-actors have their preferences in microphones and it's a good idea to look into several reviews about different microphones so you can decide which one sounds the best to you! However, I've been using my MXL 4000 Multi-Pattern FET Studio Condenser Microphone for a couple of years now and if you've checked out my SoundCloud...well, you can see why I'm happy with it! I know a lot of voice-artists just starting off go for cheaper options such as the Blue Snowball iCE Condenser Microphone, Cardioid or the Blue Yeti USB Microphone! From what I've heard from fellow voice-actors, they're good little guys who do the job pretty well. But the difference in quality between a studio microphone and a USB one is extremely noticeable. It is important to note though, that if you do get yourself a studio mic, you get yourself an interface to go with it and the necessary cables! Myself? I've been using the Steinberg UR12 USB Audio Interface. Simple, easy to use and understand, plus this bundle gives you a nice little headset and appropriate wires! The next thing you'll need to get yourself is software. I personally have two! One is the oh so popular Audacity (It's free so this is an okay one to start with but eventually, you're going to want to upgrade to a different software such as Adobe Audition) and the other is the software I got with my Steinberg interface. Check out this voice-actor's sample on the difference between Audacity and Adobe Audition here! It's very enlightening. But as I said, there are plenty of good options out there, so make sure you check out the reviews, and see the pros/cons of different types of recording software (I know I will!). ❤

It is really important that you get a quality microphone because it wouldn't matter how beautiful your voice is or how incredible your acting is...if the sound quality is inadequate, you could be dismissed from potential roles just for that!

#microphones #voiceover #voiceacting #voiceactor #voiceactress #interface #software #audacity #acting #tools #recording #recordingsoftware