All Things Vocal Blog & Podcast by Judy Rodman: May 2022

Training & insights for stage and studio singers, speakers, vocal coaches and producers from professional vocal coach and author of "Power, Path & Performance" vocal training method. Download All Things Vocal podcast on your fav app!

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Chat With Lachi - Recording Artist, Disabled Inclusion Advocate

NOTE: The audio player should appear below, if not, please click the title of this post and go online to hear. You can also  listen & subscribe on iTunes, TuneIn Radio, Stitcher, Spotify, Amazon, Podbean, most other podcast apps

                                         PLEASE REVIEW at ratethispodcast.com/atv

NOTE: If you prefer to watch, here's a YouTube video of the interview https://youtu.be/fDWHxCvJmlk

Have you ever felt like there was something about you that would keep your voice from certain opportunities, careers or stages? Maybe you're the wrong race, wrong gender, wrong size, too old, too young, too dark, too light, too weird, too loud, too shy. How about being... too blind? Today I talk with Lachi - a highly successful force of nature who fully embraces and USES her blindness to make the entertainment industry a place where the disabled are successful and where universal access is the norm. Wait til you hear where HER voice is successfully performing! After listening, don't be surprised if you feel a fire in your own gut to think outside the box of your perceived limitations, and go after some dream you may have tucked away.

Things we talk about include:

  • How her early successful but unfulfilling occupations led her into making a risky but much more satisfying journey into the creative arts.
  • Her journey from low-vision to no-vision, and why she asked 'how can I use this?'
  • The formation of her amazing foundation 'RAMPD'.
  • Why we should all embrace universal access.
  • Her award-winning Youtube series 'Off-Beat - Going Blind and Just Trying To Stay Fabulous' where she does things like sky dive!
  • How that led to hosting the PBS series 'Renegades', where she filmed the pilot about deaf stuntwoman Kitty O'Neil.
  • I asked her why where others get stopped, seems to be right where she begins her best work. She tells me how she finds her north star in being exactly who she is.

More about Lachi:

Lachi is an award-winning recording artist, songwriter, speaker and inclusion advocate who's collaborated with major and international labels, brands and some of the biggest names in Dance music. Boasting millions of streams, Lachi's music has debuted on national charts, aired on TV, radio and film, and has been featured in Billboard, Forbes, NY Times, Hollywood Reporter and Essence to name a few. 

Legally blind, Lachi advocates to amplify disability culture and promote inclusion, visibility and accessibility in the Music Industry. She co-chairs GRAMMY Advocacy (NY), founded 'RAMPD' (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities) and independently keynotes and consults major firms, productions and non-profits on Disability inclusion, including the White House, and the Kennedy Center.

Lachi's links:


Want to find your voice for what you want to do? Schedule a lesson by contacting me and we'll dive into your strengths and weaknesses, and raise your vocal ability and communication skill to another level.

Prefer to watch? 

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posted by Judy Rodman @ 5:30 AM   3 Comments

Monday, May 2, 2022

Improving Vocal Attributes for Communicating Well

NOTE: The audio player should appear below, if not, please click the title of this post and go online to hear. You can also  listen & subscribe on iTunes, TuneIn Radio, Stitcher, Spotify, Amazon, Podbean, most other podcast apps

PLEASE REVIEW at ratethispodcast.com/atv

First of all, just to let you know... I'm baaaaaack!
My apologies for going missing these last couple of months! I had a lot of recording production work and other front-burner things to do, and couldn't get to this blog and podcast til now. 

To get the ball rolling again, the following episode was written by Lawrence Blackwell of  Matinee Multiligual voiceover and subtitling agency which is based in the UK. I hardly ever allow guest posts on All Things Vocal, but this one is really good and important information for voices that I agree with, so my thanks to him for sharing it exclusively with me for you! Let's dive in: 

The human voice is incredibly complex – for instance, did you know it’s able to make in the region of 800+ unique sounds? From a technical perspective, sound is produced when air is blown over the vocal folds at about 110 cycles per second in men, 180-220 cycles in women and 300 cycles or more in children. Combine this with rich words and language, and the result is our ability to communicate vocally with others. That being said, some people are naturally better communicators than others. So, what can we do to improve our vocal communications skills? Let's talk about improving some... 

Vocal Attributes For Communication

It’s important to understand that there is a huge range of vocal attributes that can come into play here, often described differently depending on who’s referring to them and in what context, and they can also change depending on lots of different factors. However, here’s a basic overview of some of the more common vocal qualities that you could be thinking about:
  • Aphonic - Whisper
  • Biphonic - Two pitches at the same time
  • Breathy - Air in the voice is heard
  • Covered - Muffled
  • Creaky - Sound of friction between surfaces
  • Flutter Or Bleat - Sounds like the bleating of a lamb
  • Glottalised - Low clicking, seen in Kim Kardashian's voice
  • Raspy - Dry and grating
  • Pressed - Loud and harsh
  • Twangy - Sharp
  • Wobble - Variations in sound
  • Yawny - Sounds like a yawn in the voice
This is a small section of a list by just one physiologist, but in reality, many of these table types exist and they all differ in many ways.

As a vocal performer, you don’t need to know about all of these and other attributes, but you should at least have a basic understanding of the most important attributes when it comes to vocal communication. By understanding these, you can work on developing and improving them to ultimately improve your craft. Here are some key vocal attributes to consider:

Tone

When you speak to people and convey a message, the tone of voice you use applies meaning to words. For example, the phrase “I don’t know” can have many meanings. Emphasis on the “I” could suggest defensiveness or that you know somebody else does know. Going pointedly down at the end of “know” could suggest that you are putting an end to the point and you really don’t know. If you go higher on “don’t” and then slope down on “know” from high to low, it could be more of a questioning sentence, that suggests whilst you don’t know, you’re curious to know who does know.

Understanding how tone of voice impacts the words you say gives you huge control over the meanings you apply to your words.

Volume

This might seem like an obvious one, but it really is so important. Speak too loudly and you’ll come across as brash, harsh and overly confident or perhaps even aggressive. Speak too quietly and you could sound not very confident, sheepish and unsure. Listening back to your voice will help you understand microphone control and where to position yourself for the very best volume. Playback features in professional voice recording studios are also useful for this practice.

If you’re struggling to project you might want to work on breathing from the pelvic floor, which can help a lot with getting your voice out clearly so your audience can hear you better.

Pitch

Generally, lower-pitched voices are considered nicer or easier on the ear. Whilst this doesn’t mean you need to radically change your voice, it does allow you to be mindful of placing your voice within lower AND MID ranges so that it might appeal to your listeners/audience than if you constantly speak in your higher range.
"We often refuse to accept an idea merely because the tone of voice in which it has been expressed is unsympathetic to us." - Friedrich Nietzsche
The topic of vocal attributes is a complex one, but one that it’s important to get your head around if you plan to pursue a career as an actor, voiceover artist, podcaster, singer or one of the many hundreds of professions that rely heavily on the voice and vocal communication. Once you understand the key vocal attributes and how they can be used and modified to help you communicate, you’ll realize you have the power to improve how you come across to your listeners and ultimately present your message. This is particularly the case if English isn’t your native language – many of the attributes noted above will be used entirely differently in other languages such as French or Spanish so it’s important to make sure your approach is appropriate for the message you’re trying to convey.

Ultimately, understanding how to better use your vocal attributes is a skill that won’t just benefit you in your career, but ultimately all aspects of your life. Think about it... almost all of us use our voices for reasons - every single day! 

And shhhh... here's a sneak peek for you:
Here's my very first mention of what I have coming up: in the next few weeks I'll be launching my first video vocal training course on Teachable! This video course will be... on the Speaking Voice! Stay tuned...

posted by Judy Rodman @ 8:01 PM   0 Comments