User talk:Voicemarketer

The correct verbal placement is essential to a good delivery when you’re recording a script, whether it’s a simple tag or a lengthy narration. It’s always a good idea to practice the various placements to discover which one works best for whatever project you may be working on.

The ten vocal placements are as follows:

1. The diaphragm gives you more strength and depth than any other placement. If your script calls for a powerful delivery, this is the placement that you want to use. 2. Chest placement centers your voice in your chest. This is a wonderful placement when sincerity is your goal. 3. Throat placement can be accessed through a growl. Growl like a villain and you’ll feel your voice emerging from the front of your throat. 4. Back of the throat is the vocal placement that you need to use when you’re doing a certain type of character voice, like a cartoon character or a puppet. Drop your words to the back of your throat and you’ll know what this placement feels and sounds like. 5. Lower mouth placement involves a loosening of your cheeks and jaw. Aim for a “mushy” sound. Again, this is a wonderful placement when you’re doing character voices. 6. Nasal placement is forward speaking – through the nose. Try to sound like you “hab a bad cold”. Aachoo. 7. Adenoidal placement sounds like your cold has gotten much worse! Reach as far back in your nasal cavity as you can go with your voice. 8. The eyes – this one’s tricky. While you might be able to speak through your nose, speaking ‘through’ your eyes is a bit more difficult! You’re not actually talking through your eyes, but you want to place your voice high in your face. The results are upbeat and innocent sounding. 9. Near the ears placement is a light, airy vocalization that works extremely well for adorable characters! Think Elmo and giggle! 10. Heady placement involves a voice that literally fills your head and then resounds off the walls. Robin Williams used a heady placement when he created Mrs. Doubtfire.

Practice the above vocal placements and familiarize yourself with how they feel and how they sound. Eventually you’ll be able to use whichever one is appropriate at the drop of a hat! This will prove to be especially useful during an audition.

Another advantage to understanding vocal placements is in the reading of audio books. When you have to quickly switch from character to character throughout the book, having different vocal placements will help your audience differentiate between the protagonist and the other characters in the book.