Buzz & Hmmmm: weekly tips! contributors wanted

[Cloud Mountain]

Think this should be called

Pop! Buzzz! Hummmm!

.

[Cloud Mountain]

Thanks Harvey. Good.

It's often a difficult to discuss, but through experience we can develop consistency. The two constencies I try to keep in mind are volume and breath. Actually, I've found that they are often the same thing.

I've developed what you might call an "awareness practice" of riding my breath outward as I speak. I found this to be very important in singing as well. If I feel my breath going out and ride it out beyond my lips until it mixes with the air just beyond me, all sorts of problems are solved, including maintaining a consistent volume. I can sound angry or sad or sullen or hyperkinetic, and the breath remains the same and the volume remains the same, but the emotions are anyway revealed and the listener can feel them. This is an antidote to lots of problems.

[Kristen]

Pop! Buzzz! Hummmm!

I promise Buzz & Hmmmm won't "all be plosives all the time", though the first few seem to be. There are many other topics to cover and hints to share - at least as many has we have volunteers.

May I please use your text about breathing and volume in an upcoming issue?

[kristin]

I would be interested to hear about the Compressor, Equalization and Normalize functions. How people use these, if they use them or if they recommend using them. In general, I suppose, the processing after recording. Though that would include noise reduction which is a monster topic in itself. Also, if using more than one of these, what is the ideal order to perform them in.

[tina]

I was listening to an audiobook last night, and I noticed a couple of chapters by one of my favorite readers. I suspect this may have been one of his/her (deliberately being vague) first recordings, because the reading was much faster than I had usually noticed his/her readings being. It actually made me a little tense, because I found myself unconsciously holding my breath and breathing when they did!

I think reading too fast is a new reader problem that works itself out with practice, but it made me wonder how many people read a chapter or two and give it up because it seems so exhausting to them, when if they read at a slower pace and were able to breathe it would be more enjoyable to them?

I'm afraid I'm too extended at the moment to write that out into a proper column, but if someone else wants to take these thoughts and run with them, please feel free.

[thistlechick]

Tina, that is an excellent topic...

Here is a suggestion for whoever may write an article on this topic:

Practice reading a piece that does not require concentration on the content, such as a string of numbers (as in the Primes or Golden Mean projects) or a list of words (as in the Fifteen Useful Phrases project)... while reading from a work of this nature focus on slowing down and establishing a rhythm or cadence and concentrate on articulating each syllable... this type of practice will prepare the new reader for reading a more in depth work.

[harvey]

I was listening to an audiobook last night, and I noticed a couple of
chapters by one of my favorite readers. I suspect this may have been
one of his/her (deliberately being vague) first recordings, because
the reading was much faster than I had usually noticed his/her
readings being.

I think reading too fast is a new reader problem that works itself out
with practice, ...

I don't mean to imply that I'm Tina's reader; however, what she
describes does apply to one of my contributions. I read four chapters
of Pinocchio. Chapter 24 is the first of my chapters in chapter order,
but the last of the four in the order in which I recorded them. It was
an orphaned chapter, and I was feeling behind schedule in getting it
done, so I appear to have been in a hurry to finish it. I only became
aware of this when I listened to the whole book. Compared to the other
readers and to my other three chapters, I did find I'd read Chapter 24
too fast.

Prior to reading Tina's post, it had occurred to me there's a
straightforward technical fix. Cool Edit 2000 (the audio editor I use)
has a filter to change the speed / tempo of a recording without
changing the pitch -- thanks to the wonders of digital audio. I'm
willing to do this to Chapter 24 -- that is, slow it down -- and
re-submit it. Any opinion from Meta Coordinators reading this?

Kristen, this looks like a topic for B&H, yes? I can see if Audacity
has a tempo filter like Cool Edit's.

Is reading too fast something that should be on the list of what
proof-listeners listen for?

[harvey]

I would be interested to hear about the Compressor, Equalization and
Normalize functions. How people use these, if they use them or if
they recommend using them.

All my recordings are run through a software compressor and then
processed with MP3Gain to adjust the volume (which uses a special type
of normalization). This is described in Audio Processing and Filtering Concepts.

[Deeger]

I would be interested in contributing an article on "How to reduce plosives" for "Buzz & Hmmm." I've worked in radio for 24 years and have found a few techniques for eliminating this common audio problem.

Another article that might be helpful is how to prevent sibilance distortion (that's the whistle sound sometimes produced with words that start with "s.")

Deege