Hello my friends!

I got such a positive response to my post about doing a vocal performance guide that I figured I'd get something up for all of you lovely people as quickly as I could. I've kept my tips as broad as possible in order to make them applicable to as many VA's as possible. But if there is something specific you would like advice on or something you feel I should add, please don't be shy in the comments. I'd be more than happy to keep this guide updated with more help, if there is enough demand for a certain subject. I may also eventually record some small audio clips to demonstrate the examples I talk about, if that would be of help.

Most of these tips are in mind towards creating more realistic performances. Even if you are playing a very fantastical character, understanding your own natural way of speaking and rooting your performance in reality can really make your audios come alive and help immerse your listeners ever further into the world you are creating. Put as much SFX and music and stereo effects in there as you like, but nothing will go as far for the listener as a convincing performance. That being said, I know realism isn't the goal for everybody in their audios, and even if you are going for something a little more exaggerated or cartoonish, I hope you'll still find value in some of these tips.

Once again, don't hesitate to leave any questions in the comments, or reach out any time for advice on performance. I'm happy to help in whatever ways I can. Happy weekend, my luvs!

-VV

The Vocal Vixen’s Vocal Performance Tips

Before you sit down to record your next audio, here’s some things you could do to give yourself a chance at getting the best take possible.

· Drink something. Water is the best thing you can do for your voice in general. Keep a glass nearby while recording so you can re-hydrate when needed. Are you feeling a little dry today? A hot beverage like tea, or a creamy drink like milk can help with lubrication. Feeling phlegmy? Try something acidic, like orange juice or coffee. Carbonated beverages are a bad idea in general, as they might give you the burps during your performance.

· Blow your nose. Even if you don’t think you need to, blow your nose before you begin. Maybe also cough to clear your throat.

· Warm-ups. There are millions upon millions of vocal warm-ups you can find online, which will help you as you get into your recording. Think of it like an athlete stretching before a big game. Tongue twisters are great for getting your mouth moving, but you can also do something as simple as saying the vowels “A E I O U” out loud while exaggerating the movement of your lips and tongue as much as you possibly can. Breathing exercises can also be very helpful, not only for all that panting you’re about to do, but also so you don’t lose your breath in the middle of a sentence, which can sound unnatural. Lots of elaborate breathing exercises can be found online, but you can also do something as simple as breathing in for a count of ten, and breathing out for a count of ten. Imagine pulling your breath from the lowest point of your body (literally, picture breathing in through your genitals. It works!) and filling up as much of the space inside your lungs as you can, even past the point where you think you can inhale no more. When you exhale, push every bit of that breath out slowly and keep pushing past the point where you think you’re empty.

Ready to record? Right. Here’s some tips to make your performance more believable.

· Understand your own natural way of speaking. Even though we are taking on characters in our audios, it’s important to understand what your own personal speaking baseline is. Are you a naturally expressive speaker, or are you more monotone? Do you talk fast, or slow? What do you sound like when you’re tired or when you’re excited? An easy way to study this is to record yourself having a conversation with someone, and then listen back to it and make notes. When does your voice go high and when does it go low? What sorts of noises do you make when you’re thinking of what to say next? Now that you understand your baseline, how does that differ from how you’re performing your scripts? Are those differences intentional? A lot of us tend to try and embody a character by starting from scratch with big changes to our voices, but a more realistic performance can be achieved by purposefully altering small things in our natural ways of speaking. Think of it as the difference between putting on a cheaply made store bought costume as opposed to putting together a costume of your own using your own clothing with the addition of high-quality accessories.

· Pitch, pacing, and volume. So now that you understand what you’re working with, what kinds of small changes can be made to transform your voice into that of the character’s? Pitch, pacing, and volume are the most useful tools in your arsenal. Does this character’s voice sit higher or lower than your natural speaking voice? Do they talk at a faster or slower pace than you? Are they more boisterous than you, or are they a little more on the meek side? Altering your baseline in even just one of these three areas can drastically change your performance. And don’t be afraid to experiment with tiny changes as opposed to overall changes. Reading an entire script with the same cadence over and over again won’t sound realistic and can get boring to listen to. Find places in the script where maybe your character is getting excited, so they talk faster, or they go from talking in their normal voice to whispering as they confess something to the listener. A passionate moment can mean they’re speaking through gritted teeth, whereas seduction may mean they’re drawing out the ends of their words just a little bit longer than natural. Just like you, your character has a baseline way of speaking, so once you’ve found that, you can play with shifting that baseline up or down to give color to the performance.

· Where are you in relationship to the listener? Those using more advanced stereo mics or who like to experiment with panning in editing will probably already be used to thinking in these terms, but even if you’re just using your phone to record and doing minimal editing, it’s still something you can play with. If your character is farther away from the listener, try doing those lines further away from your phone/mic for a more realistic sense of space. Are things getting more intimate as the scene goes on? Pick certain points to maybe lean in closer to whisper, murmur, or growl. An unexpected shift in closeness can cause some real tingles for the listeners!

· Don’t be afraid of using your breath, pauses, or silence. When we talk off the cuff, most of us pause or stumble for words or say things like, “um,” as we try to think of what to say next. Your character is no different (unless they’re an improv comedian or an accomplished motivational speaker). Let your character pause in the middle of sentences to try and find the right phrasing. Let them trail off mid thought. Let them stutter and then laugh at themselves for stuttering. Did you say the wrong word while recording? If you don’t want to edit it out, acknowledge it as something your character did, and correct yourself as you would in real life. Example: “Your lips are so lush… sorry, I meant luscious. But also lush!” This becomes especially important for dialogue happening whilst in the throws of pleasure. Most of us, while engaged in sexual activities, tend to babble a bunch of nonsense in between moans because our brains are being short circuited by physical stimulation. If you’re saying something important, make it clear that your character is trying hard to concentrate on what they are saying despite the external stimulation by doing something like pausing every few words.

Making realistic sexy sounds

· Don’t. Emulate. Porn actors. We all know porn voice when we hear it. And yes, there is an audience for it, but if we’re talking about realistic performances, that classic high pitched "oooo yeah!" can pull some listeners out of the moment. If porn voice works for you, then keep on keeping on with your Oh Babies and Yes Right There’s. But if you’re trying to achieve a degree of realism, don’t use porn actors as your example of what to sound like during sex. Should you try to emulate sex scenes in mainstream movies or television, I hear you ask. Yes and no. Those tend to be TOO quiet, where as porn tends to be too verbose. Find a nice middle ground and you’ll be golden.

· Moans. Moaning is where you can really play with your voice and all it’s capabilities, so don’t be afraid to explore your range! Get in some highs, some lows, some growls, and some grunts. Make some of them loud and some of them quieter. Try stifling them, as though you’re trying to hold back. One of my favorite things to do it to have a pillow on hand and to moan into that for some variation.

· Breath. For me, variation in breath is what really sells a realistic performance. Sighing on exhales and whimpering on inhales, or letting your breath illustrate the rhythm of the scene are easy ways to enhance the experience. Keep in mind that your breath is going to change drastically the more excited you’re getting, but that doesn’t mean you have to end up panting like a puppy after a long walk. When you’re out of breath, your natural instinct is to try and slow your breath back to normal, not hyperventilate. There should be lots of gulping for air and gasping as you do so, so don’t try to talk like normal through all of that. Make your breath catch in your throat occasionally, or maybe take stuttering breaths to create variety. Do be careful of getting light headed though! This is why breathing exercises before you record are so important.

· Orgasms. Everyone’s different, obviously. Some people are screamers. Some are growlers. Some are completely silent. You probably know what you sound like when you cum, but how does your character sound? Change things up for each audio to make every character distinct. Was this a big one, or just a normal one? Was this a rolling full-bodied orgasm, or was it a quick, intense, centrally located one? Did it take your character by surprise, or had they felt the build every step of the way? Not every single orgasm has to be the best one of your life, but it also doesn’t have to be totally mundane.