The title of this post is Let it Go (obviously enough). So just exactly what does that mean? About a bazillion things actually.

1) First thing’s first: when you make a mistake, let it go. If you’re recording in your studio and you keep making the same mistake over and over (not only might you need to refer to my last post) but you need to just stop, take a breath, grab a sip of water (you have it in your hand don’t you?) and then keep on truckin’.

2) When you’ve just finished your eleventy-seventh audition and you’ve just gotten you’re eleventy-eighth rejection notice… that’s right… let it go! The one thing that is not too pleasant about being a VO person (the average kind, anyways) is that you don’t always win. I read in James Alburger’s The Art of Voice Acting (a GREAT book, by the way) that you don’t win everyone, but that doesn’t mean you are a terrible voice actor, it just means there was someone else who had the voice that the client had in their heads. Sometimes (and this is a sometimes I hope you never experience) you get the call to do a gig and it NEVER happens. This has happened to me twice. I just had to… you guessed it… let it go, even though it hurt like heck.

3) You might think to yourself, “Man, this takes a lot of money to get a VO career started!” Yeah it takes a little (less if you read my previous posts!) but you have to… say it with me… let it go! Unfortunately, in business (that’s what we are in, by the way, is business) you have to spend money before you can make money. No exceptions, especially in our line of work.

This is just part one of this post. I still have some juicy morsels of knowledge brewing in the pot of my mind. Subscribe to have updates to the blog delivered to your e-mail! You can do so in the new and improved right hand column.

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Let’s just say it: sometimes one is just TIRED. It happens to everyone for various reasons. I would venture to say that fatigue is the main reason for an uncooperative mind. Believe it or not, the best antidote for tiredness is physical activity. It’s hard to initiate, but once you start moving around and being active, your heartbeat increases and your juices start flowing, and soon thereafter your mind is back in gear. Physical activity can be as simple as stretching. You don’t have to run a mile, just move around. It really does help.

Deep breathing also helps, not only with the tired voice, but the tired mind. An oxygen increase in the brain helps with the sharpening of the mind.

Something else that not only helps with the voice as well as the mind is lots of water.. Research has shown that drinking lots of water not only helps decrease fatigue, it also has lots of other health benefits as well. I recommend taking a sip of water or two every other paragraph or so (as long as you’re doing the editing on your own and not on the clock, otherwise, look for angry editors or clients).

If all else fails, take a power nap. I find naps of 15 minutes or so to be most refreshing. If you can, nap for one sleep cycle (1.5 hours) this way you are the most refreshed. Just don’t forget to set an alarm! You might miss a deadline! (Thank goodness this isn’t coming from personal experience!)

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1. What Happens When It Doesn’t Happen? Pt. 1 What do you do when you get behind the mic...

Believe me, if you do enough voice work, this WILL happen. For example, earlier today, I was working on an audio book for a client,  I got behind the mic and ALL of my energy disappeared. All of the sudden, I wanted to lay down and take a nap. So, I got up from my stool, stopped the recording and did something else for a little bit.

Often, getting your mind off the task at hand is the best way to get things done faster. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but  honestly, if your mind is not focused upon what you have to do, and you still go through with it, you’re making a BIG mistake.

A couple of chapters earlier in the book, I woke up an hour earlier, just so I could get an early start on the book. Big mistake! NEVER use your voice heavily in the morning! You’re setting yourself up for failure later in the day. After lying dormant all evening, your vocal cords are not prepared for constant vibration right away. Give your voice some time to warm up. Drink a warm fluid like coffee or tea. Hum some tunes. Take a shower and breathe in the hot steam from the water. All of these things can and should be done BEFORE a proper warm up. Your voice is just like an instrument, it’s not going to be in tune if you just start playing it. Warm up first!! Always! Not warming up is often one of the reasons my voice “doesn’t happen” later in the day.

If you do all of these things and your voice STILL doesn’t want to cooperate, there are still things that can be done. Find ways of clearing your throat without clearing your throat. Yet again, counterintuitive, but totally necessary. Clearing your throat helps nothing, it only agitates your vocal cords and makes things worse. The remedy that helps me more than anything is deep breathing through the nose and LOTS of water. Swallowing harder than normal has often helped me as well. This is often best accomplished with some water at room temperature. Avoid grease, dairy, and heavy sugar. All of these will dry you out or create a mucus issue.

If your voice still doesn’t work, just stop. Sometimes the best thing for your voice is complete and total rest. Continuing to work through voice trouble only causes more trouble. Sometimes there is no other option. Clients will understand in most cases, but make sure you notify them!  As long as there is not a swiftly approaching deadline or a hint of client dissatisfaction, you should be in the green.

Next time: tips on what to do when your VOICE is working but your brain isn’t! It happens to EVERYONE. My tips for success when your brain becomes a failure.

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