Voice Work
Art and Science in Changing Voices
Chapter One
The voice work continuum
Background music
A woman is walking down the street. You recognise her as a famous fashion model and
are impressed with her grace and beauty. As she passes, she takes out her glamorous mobile
phone and you hear her speak. Her voice is tight, rough, nasal and monotonous, and suddenly
she seems far less appealing.
A man stands up to speak at a conference. He is unprepossessing in appearance; his face
is round and shining, thick spectacles obscure his eyes, his dull grey clothes are rumpled
and ill-fitting, and he looks nervous. But, when he starts to speak, you are captivated by
the warmth and energy of his voice; his deep, resonant sound somehow draws you in. 'What
an interesting person,' you think, 'I'd like to know him better.'
We can change the gender of the speaker in both these examples, and it will still work.
The point is that, although consumer society is obsessed by the visual image, and we are
bombarded every day by pictures of the boy beautiful and the girl luscio ... read full excerpt from Voice Work: Art and Science in Changing Voices ebook
