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Creating Diverse Distinctive Voices

Oct 7, 2024

Improve Your Voice: Creating Distinctive Voices

Introduction

  • Host: Darren McStay
  • Goal: Teach how to create 100 distinct voices
  • Audience: Experienced voice actors, beginners, and curious individuals
  • Preparation: Warm up your voice before practicing

Methodology

Laban Efforts

  • Developed by Rudolf Laban, originally for dancers and actors
  • Used to change voice characteristics
  • 8 Efforts: Each can create a different voice
    • Dabbing: Light, direct, sudden
    • Flicking: Light, indirect, sudden
    • Pressing: Strong, sustained, direct
    • Floating: Light, sustained, indirect
    • Ringing: Strong, direct, sustained
    • Slashing: Strong, indirect, sudden
    • Gliding: Light, sustained, direct
    • Thrusting: Strong, direct, sudden

Additional Voice Characteristics

  • Nasal Quality: Nasally, throaty, normal
  • Breathiness: Breathy or dry
  • Age Range: Child, adult, old
  • Gender Perception: Male or female version
  • Size Perception: Small, medium, large
  • Tempo: Slow, medium, fast
  • Volume: Quiet, medium, loud
  • Tone/Attitude: Friendly, impartial, aggressive

Calculating Different Voices

  • Start with 8 Laban Efforts
  • Multiply by 3 nasal qualities: 24 voices
  • Multiply by 2 breathiness levels: 48 voices
  • Multiply by 3 age ranges: 144 voices
  • Multiply by 2 gender perceptions: 288 voices
  • Multiply by 3 size perceptions: 864 voices
  • Multiply by 3 tempos: 2,592 voices
  • Multiply by 3 volumes: 7,776 voices
  • Multiply by 3 tones/attitudes: 23,328 voices

Further Expansion

  • Accents: 10 examples (e.g., American, Irish, RP)
  • Potential variations: 233,280
  • Additional features: Lisp, hard of hearing, specific sound changes
  • Total possibilities: 699,840 distinct voices

Practical Application

  • Importance of daily exercises and practice
  • Maintaining a flexible and powerful voice is crucial
  • Encouragement to take online voice courses for improvement

Conclusion

  • Over half a million possible voice variations
  • Importance of maintaining vocal health
  • Invitation to join Darren McStay's online voice course
  • Final recommendations: Stay hydrated, sleep well, enjoy nature

These notes cover the key points and methods discussed by Darren McStay on creating diverse character voices using Laban Efforts, various voice characteristics, and practical exercises for voice improvement.

Full transcript