Tips For Building Your Skills As A Freelance Voice Over Artist

By Debra Sanders


Becoming a great vocal performer isn't as easy as it seems, even if one was born with a great voice. As any freelance voice over artist Los Angeles will tell you, it takes years of practice and hard work to reach any level of success. With that in mind, why not take a look at some of the techniques you could use to fortify your talent?

Just like your muscles need warming up prior to exercise, stretching your vocal cords before practicing is also crucial. Exploring a wide range of sounds and scales will help you cover this, but don't forget to include different mouth openings in your warm ups. With such a comprehensive preparation routine, your chances of straining your voice will be minimal.

Tweaking your breathing technique to ensure your lungs are properly inflated will give you more control over your voice when singing or performing. Experts recommend breathing from the diaphragm to make the bottom part of the belly expand, rather than the rib cage. Adopting this fully will obviously take a bit of practice, but it should help you develop more stamina and capacity.

Recording yourself when practicing will not only boost your confidence, but also help you identify areas that need improvement. A decent USB microphone plugged into your PC should be enough for this, but you could also use your smartphone or an online recorder. Other than that, it's worth practicing speech with different variations and comparing these clips to see where your strengths lie.

Perfecting a skill in isolation is always easier said than done, and vocal training isn't any different. Besides, it's possible to end up hurting your voice if you keep practicing the wrong methods. The involvement of a professional coach in your strategy could be the difference between success and its lack thereof. Online tutorials can also be of help if you can't afford to hire a trainer.

Your voice is a product of the vibration of the membranes in your vocal cords, and these function best when they're sufficiently hydrated. And it's not enough to drink water only when you're performing; hydration has to be practiced round the clock to make it effective. This goes hand-in-hand with eating foods that contain lots of moisture, as well as the minimal consumption of diuretics (coffee, soda, alcohol, etc).

There's a good reason why experts often stress the need to get enough sleep every night. Simply put, nothing can substitute the role sleep plays in restoring balance throughout the body. Getting a full eight hours of slumber every night will also facilitate the growth of your vocal cords as well. If that proves daunting or inadequate, make an appointment with your doctor as soon as you can.

Maintaining a healthy physical shape is a must if you're going to get the most out of your voice. Think of your entire body as an instrument that requires constant honing to keep performing optimally. And while physical training won't improve your vocal abilities per se, this doesn't diminish its significance in comparison to other elements.




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