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Post by Brittany Ann Phillips on Jan 17, 2018 19:15:43 GMT -8
Would anyone happen to have any suggestions with how to reduce mouth noise?
Recently I have become more aware of the noise my mouth makes while recording (clicks, squeaks, and kssh noises from the back of the throat). They're very quiet, may only occur once or twice during a take, and only really noticeable during editing in post-production, but I keep finding myself having to re-record again and again. As a result auditions and recording lines takes way too long and I'd be lucky if I can churn out one audition a day.
I've tried various methods including keeping hydrated before and during recording, mic positioning, projecting/opening my mouth more, and even the popular granny smith apples. I also avoid dairy, caffeine, and sugar before recording as well.
Removing the mouth noise manually works sometimes, but it really depends on what is being said (e.g. the space between words or syllables, but not if it's in the middle of a word (words with -ing are particularly bad)). It's driving me nuts trying to figure this out on my own.
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Post by Lady Stardust ★ on Jan 17, 2018 19:56:31 GMT -8
I wish I could help, but I have this issue too and nothing really helps I also have a minor speech impediment/lispy sorta thing which I think contributes to it quite a bit as it always makes me sound "spitty" due to tongue positioning or whatever---people are always like "drink water" and like sure that helps a little but when it's just the way you talk it can't really be helped without fully retraining the way you say certain consonants (for me it's "s" and "l"). There's also the possibility that you may be hyper-aware of it at this point and it's not as noticeable to others as you may think. I know I get really self conscious about mine because of how much I've been called on it in-studio, but sometimes I'll think it's noticeable in a take only to find out it wasn't to others and they took it anyway. Being nervous and conscious about it actually makes it worse in my experience (Also keep in mind that unless it's REALLY bad, chances are your clients probably won't notice/care. I don't think I've ever had a client complain about it on my end or for anything I've done from home, but in-studio engineers complain about it because it's their job to make sure that everything sounds utterly perfect in terms of technical quality regardless.)
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Post by alexanderdoddy on Jan 18, 2018 2:22:37 GMT -8
Have you tested how often it occurs? Or is it every time?
You seem to have everything I can think of, except for warm ups (which you probably do anyway) but if it is occurring at specific times ie: later on in a session or on specific words/phrases then it may be possible to train it out. My jaw clicks after a few hours recording and I've found myself re-recording whole book chapters. At the end of the day, it forces me to take breaks so its not all bad
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Post by charly on Jan 18, 2018 2:53:30 GMT -8
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Post by LaurenAlyssa on Jan 18, 2018 8:39:41 GMT -8
I totally feel you, Brittany Ann. Mouth clicks are the bane of my existence. In addition to the things you've already mentioned, I've found that swishing with a rinse meant specifically for dry mouth helps me (I use Biotene, but there are others). I also have a cute little children's humidifier that I'll set up near me, and then I'll breathe in the cool steam for as long as I can before I start recording.
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Post by Brittany Ann Phillips on Jan 18, 2018 16:10:36 GMT -8
There's also the possibility that you may be hyper-aware of it at this point and it's not as noticeable to others as you may think. I know I get really self conscious about mine because of how much I've been called on it in-studio, but sometimes I'll think it's noticeable in a take only to find out it wasn't to others and they took it anyway. Being nervous and conscious about it actually makes it worse in my experience (Also keep in mind that unless it's REALLY bad, chances are your clients probably won't notice/care. I don't think I've ever had a client complain about it on my end or for anything I've done from home, but in-studio engineers complain about it because it's their job to make sure that everything sounds utterly perfect in terms of technical quality regardless.) That's a really good point. It's very possible that I am stressing about it way too much and as a result making it worse. It hadn't really been brought to my attention until about a year ago. It seems to occur in nearly every take, even when I find one that I think will work well, during the post-production and the volume is increased appropriately all of a sudden there it is. :/ I record anywhere between 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM daily, depending on the amount of recording but lately it seems like it takes an entire day to just get one done. :/ I have heard of programs and plug-ins that might help - maybe not this one due to the cost - but thank you for the tip! I'll also have to check out that FB group. That's actually a really good idea. Thank you for the tip!
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Post by benedict on Jan 18, 2018 18:53:16 GMT -8
You just switched to an AT4040, right? I'm going out on a limb, but I'm guessing you started noticing this after you made the switch. The AT4040 has a pretty broad peak in its frequency response out around 6500Hz. I can't remember what you were using before, but my guess is its presence peak was weaker, or peaked somewhere else. This ties back to what Kira said about maybe being hyper-aware of your mouth noise. My guess is the mouth noise has been there since day one, but with the new mic and interface you're just now noticing it. And now that you've noticed it it's hard to forget it's there.
This is not a bad thing, mind you. I remember some time last year you were having issues matching your sound to another actor's, and it came down to their using a microphone with more presence and clarity. The AT4040 provides both.
Welcome to presence and clarity!
Just for grins, listen to "Lullaby" by Shawn Mullins and enjoy all the mouth sounds he put in his vocals. (They're still playing that song on the radio twenty years after he first released it!) It won't help you solve the mouth noise issue, but it might make you smile while you work on a remedy.
Do you have a sample you could post in the clips and critiques? Might help to get another set of ears on it.
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Post by Lady Stardust ★ on Jan 18, 2018 21:30:43 GMT -8
Yes, certain mics can bring it out more than others.
I also keep hearing people talk about "dry mouth", but I actually have the opposite problem of "wet mouth" (ugh... that sounds gross, but I don't know how to describe it.) I don't have issues with my mouth getting dry at all but rather like, CONSTANTLY salivating.
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Post by BeauVO on Jan 19, 2018 0:28:16 GMT -8
I'm sorry to hear you have problems with this, I do too. I also totally feel your pain about hearing simplistic "oh just do this this" type solutions, such as sips of water or Granny Smith Apples (which I love and are my favourite but I feel don't really help much) but it still being a big issue. I've kind of resigned myself to the fact that it's always going to be a bit of an issue, though it's been a bit of a relief reading this thread and seeing others having similar issues too, knowing it's okay.
One thing I do believe is that I care about it much more than the people listening to me. I've never had complaints about the times I've had to leave clicks in (when they're in the middle of words). I try to keep that in mind, so that I don't sweat it too much. I think being too self-conscious about it doesn't help in my experience. I also think different microphones and interfaces can bring out the noises more/less.
You said about projecting/opening your mouth more, which is something the other day I particularly found useful, improving my enunciation. But may I please ask, do you do any vocal exercises each day (or regularly)? I feel like working on enunciation and being less lazy with my mouth in general, as opposed to in the moment once I notice mouth noise, is something that has also helped me a bit. I notice after a while talking my mouth can get a bit tired and lazy and building up some vocal endurance, not just in terms of my throat but in terms of my lips, tongue and facial muscles, is also something that has helped a little.
My voice dries out more when I'm nervous and it's when it dries that then leads to more clicks, so generally as I get more confident, the issue occurs a bit less also.
But I know how frustrating it can be. I feel despite a few marginal improvements, it's always going to be an issue to some extent. I think just based on the shapes of our mouths and our accents, there are words and phrases that are inevitably going to cause issues for each person. For me, "L" in a "luh" sound (such as in the phrase "lovely luck") often results in clicks. Even saying the word "click" result in a massive *CLICK* right in the middle thanks to the "L". Plus when I do an American accent and have an R pronounced as the letter "r" it can be trouble. The other day I literally recorded a bit "arr" *CLICK* "arr" *CLICK* "arr" *CLICK* determined to not click and still did repeatedly. I had no control over it.
If I ever have to record an American pirate, it will be a nightmare for the engineer. "Arghhhhh!" *CLICK*
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Post by charly on Jan 19, 2018 3:11:11 GMT -8
My voice dries out more when I'm nervous and it's when it dries that then leads to more clicks, so generally as I get more confident, the issue occurs a bit less also. I have an idea what could help with that. If you have 20 minutes to spend, please watch this: If you don't have the time: Doing a posture of power for at least 2 minutes changes the hormones in your body; it lowers the cortisol and enhances the testosterone in your body, which causes you to feel more confident and less nervous.
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Post by Brittany Ann Phillips on Jan 19, 2018 15:58:16 GMT -8
You just switched to an AT4040, right? I'm going out on a limb, but I'm guessing you started noticing this after you made the switch. The AT4040 has a pretty broad peak in its frequency response out around 6500Hz. I can't remember what you were using before, but my guess is its presence peak was weaker, or peaked somewhere else. This ties back to what Kira said about maybe being hyper-aware of your mouth noise. My guess is the mouth noise has been there since day one, but with the new mic and interface you're just now noticing it. And now that you've noticed it it's hard to forget it's there. This is not a bad thing, mind you. I remember some time last year you were having issues matching your sound to another actor's, and it came down to their using a microphone with more presence and clarity. The AT4040 provides both. Welco here.me to presence and clarity! Just for grins, listen to "Lullaby" by Shawn Mullins and enjoy all the mouth sounds he put in his vocals. (They're still playing that song on the radio twenty years after he first released it!) It won't help you solve the mouth noise issue, but it might make you smile while you work on a remedy. Do you have a sample you could post in the clips and critiques? Might help to get another set of ears on it. Hi Benedict! I actually noticed this with the previous microphone I had as well (M-Audio Producer USB), but not until about a year ago (I guess my hearing became more sensitive to it?) As for the presence problem that I was working on, that has been solved (I hope, at least. Now it's just a matter of keeping it consistent). I have two samples that I can show you. The first is the most common that I run into here. The second one is much shorter, but it contains what I can best describe as a "squeaky door?" sound here.
Hi BeauVO! I don't really feel nervous when it comes to recording (after about 8 years it doesn't bother me). In regards to the warm up question, I do vocal warm ups every day for about 30 minutes. I actually follow everybody's contributions that was put on this thread. Followed by some more singing as well. I'm naturally soft-spoken so projection is always something that I am working on, especially when it comes to getting angry.
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Post by charly on Feb 6, 2018 12:12:04 GMT -8
Today I learned something at a linklater seminar. It's a method for jaw relaxation that also increases saliva production. As I don't know how to describe it by my own words, I quote a line of Kristin Linklater's book "Freeing the natural voice" (p. 132) The exact area is pretty sensitive and pressing the heel of the hand onto it kinda hurts. But it also causes quite some saliva to come quickly. Hope it helps anyone
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Post by benedict on Feb 6, 2018 17:26:34 GMT -8
That's weird! I just tried it, and it works! Thanks, charly.
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Post by Lady Stardust ★ on Feb 7, 2018 1:07:41 GMT -8
Aaaa...I have the rare opposite problem about it and need to REDUCE saliva production! I asked my dentist about it and they said it's not a concern (that dry mouth would actually be the much more concerning problem) but it kind of IS a concern for me when it affects my work I think some of it is the lisp and I can never fully get rid of it but if it's really noticeable in a particular word I just redo that sentence. :/
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Post by Kyotosomo on Feb 7, 2018 9:47:08 GMT -8
If you edit your audio in spectral mode rather than waveform mode you don't need to reduce mouth noises since you can easily cut them out; they're the bright vertical lines that seem out of place.
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