Practice makes a man perfect; we have all grown up being reminded of this quote repeatedly. Whether you are a child or a grown-up professional, practice is an incumbent part of our lives, a habit that stays with us until the end of time.
In a lucrative industry like voice over and voice acting, the importance of practice cannot be undermined. Constant practice is the ultimate key to mastering the skill of voice acting, as is attested by many affluent voice over artists across the world.
Voice acting practice must be a part of your daily ritual as a voice actor, even more so if you are still a rookie. Because with practice comes experience, which is simply the way to success.
But suppose the voice acting practice is not something you are habituated to, acquainted with, or are wondering how to get started. In that case, this article could be your first step as we explore different, absolutely simple techniques to practice voice acting.
Without any delay, let’s get started!
What is voice acting?
Voice acting practice is a part of the voice acting toolkit you must possess if you want to become a voice over artist or voice actor. But what is voice acting, though? One must be acquainted with the art of voice acting first before understanding voice acting practices.
Simply put, the voice acting is the art or skill of doing or performing voice overs. It is a skill possessed by people generally addressed as voice actors, voice artists, or voice talent that allows them to use just their voices to portray a character or tell a story.
Voice acting is in rage these days and is used for a multitude of purposes, such as in the entertainment industry, marketing purposes, educational purposes, gaming industry, infotainment, etc., to name a few.
With such rapid growth in the voice acting industry over the last few years, voice acting is quickly becoming a sought-after career choice for many. For anyone with a knack for creativity, innovation, and a job that doesn’t feel mundane, voice acting is an excellent way to go. But as appealing as this may sound, like every other profession, voice acting also comes with its own challenges. And this is where we get into the integral aspect of the voice acting toolkit: voice acting practice.
How to practice voice acting?
Voice acting practice should be a part of your daily schedule as an aspiring or professional voice actor, especially if you are in the former category. This is no uphill task; if you simply follow the steps mentioned below, you are already there.
Step 1: The Voice
There will be no voice acting without a voice, obviously. Hence, the first and most integral step is to understand your voice. Sitting with your voice for a few minutes, not literally, of course, but more meditatively every day to know how your voice sounds, how it works at different frequencies and pitches, etc., is an excellent way to start.
As a voice actor, taking care of the voice is extremely important, along with having a thorough grasp and understanding of it. Because, ultimately, your voice is an instrument.
Step 2: Vocal resonation
When athletes practice, they aim all their strength and focus on their bodies. A baseball player might do a hundred swinging practices daily to improve batting, while a basketball player might practice doing baskets from different points. All these practices aim mostly at refining that one skill or working up the parts of their bodies that are most leveraged.
The same goes for voice acting, where your voice is the leverage, and hence it needs training and practice. Vocal resonation and breathing practices are the best way to do that.
One might now wonder what vocal resonation is.Bunnystudio.com describe vocal resonation asthe bones and air passages in your body as resonance chambers. When air passes through them without obstruction, they produce a sound that’s better in tonal qualities; that’s pitch, intensity, timbre, etc. The body itself is producing a natural amplification.
It basically looks like this:
- The sound is produced by the passage of air through the vocal cords, which makes them vibrate.
- It then vibrates through the resonant, open ducts and chambers.
This voice amplification gives birth to different sounds and pitches. As voice acting involves dealing with all kinds of sounds, pitches, and frequencies, practicing voice resonation gives you an idea of how to work with them.
Step 3: Breathing Practices
Breathing skills are another integral part of voice acting. If you are anxious, you will notice a change in your breathing, making your voice sound different, most of the time unstable and shaky. If you have been running, breathing faster than average, then again, your voice will sound different. The point is that your breathing and voice are closely related.
Breath work has been an incumbent part of yogic practices, known to reduce several ailments from the body and ensure the proper functioning of various organs. As a voice actor, you must know how to relax yourself and learn how to breathe through the diaphragm to ensure you are relaxed, in control, and happy.
Practicing different breathing techniques is the key to that.
Step 4: Practicing sample scripts and reading techniques.
The next step in voice acting practice is practicing how to read and articulate sample scripts and various reading techniques. Your job as a voice actor is all about reading from scripts, so it is always a good idea to get the hang of how to do it. When you read the same scripts out loud, it allows you to listen to your voice and evaluate whether the way you sound is precisely what the character demands. Cold reading technique, or the skill of understanding and acting out a script right on the spot, is another essential voice acting practice that you must be acquainted with as a voice actor.
Voice acting practices are essential to your routine as a voice actor. Practicing the techniques mentioned above will help you a long way as a voice actor because, as we gathered earlier: practice makes a man perfect
