JayBeacham.com-A Voice as an Instrument

I was going through my documents files today and found this piece I’d forgotten about.

Pioneer Day was last Sunday with activities for it the week and day before and on Monday the 25th.

It’s still a good time to remember and ponder.

This past few days the temperature has been 112 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit  and the pioneer  song lyrics came to mind, “the hot winds swirl around me and take my breath away.”  we have cooling devises, fans, shade, so much that the pioneer didn’t have here in Southern Utah.

So Here’s the article I found:

“Sunday June 29,2014

Today, my daughter Karen called me on the telephone.

She said that her sons Mathieu and Joshua had just been on a youth pioneer trek to Wyoming.

That’s great as they had Swiss pioneer ancestors who traveled through Wyoming by handcart.

So often folks only think of the ill-fated cart companies and forget all about the many who traveled very

well by handcart to the Great Basin.

The only thing that could have been construed as bad was that the old grandfather of the Kellers

died on the way and was buried on an island in the Sweetwater River.

But they weren’t sad because he was an old man who was happy to be on his way to Zion.

“And should we die before our journey’s through, all is well, we then are free from toil and sorrow too.”

Karen and Alan went on a handcart trek west of Gunlock, Utah when teenagers.

Later James as a teen was the cinematographer for another Ivins Stake handcart trek.

Back doing what the ancestors did to gain a small idea of what they went through to get here.

The one thing I don’t think would be much fun would be to be a passenger in the hold of the

Mayflower’s first North American voyage.

I’m glad they did it and I don’t have to.

I suppose a little air sickness or car sickness which doesn’t last for weeks isn’t so bad after all.

And walking from Central, Utah to St. George, Utah (26 miles) carrying a car starter is not as bad as walking 1000 miles across Iowa,

Nebraska, Wyoming and Utah to get to St. George.

Pioneer Day is soon approaching.

What did your ancestors do for you so you don’t have to?”

Josh Ford as Mormon Battalion Member June 4, 2011

 Natalie Gotcher as Handcart pioneer June 4, 2011

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Yesterday Google + notified me that I had a comment on one of my You tube videos.

Here it is and my response.

beja hadid’s COMMENT 2/7/2015 on My Journey Into VO Land video

Jay, can you please explain how you developed your voice and can you share a few tips on how to narrate stories. I noticed you have a normal sounding voice and it switches into narrator style tone when your pitch drops.
·

My answer:

Sure.
In another video, Five Steps for Better Speaking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMA2TGrq2_E
Not only do I tell some tricks to develop the voice but in the description, I have links to other instructions and books about the subject.
Most people want conversational story telling.
If you know or learn the story, then when you narrate or tell it, get animated. Put life into it. Don’t try to be like someone else but like your self. People like that because it sounds real. Different styles of speech makes it conversational or like a narration.
Dropping one’s pitch may help but isn’t necessary.
I do volunteer work in a local historical tour program where I do a script, first person, of two Utah pioneers. Doing it several times daily, 5 days a week, to a different audience each time. This practice in storytelling really helps. Listen and copy those you like doing narration.
Check out the links on my main site http://jaybeacham.com
The voice sites have some different styles of speech from narration to commercials in the demo sections.
I hope this has helped answer your question.
If not write me at beachamj82@yahoo.com with attention in the subject section and I’ll respond again.
thank you for asking.
Jay

What do you do to narrate a story?

Now for some Tips:

-Read copy out loud.

copy is anything written, newspapers, books, magazine articles, etc.

-Listen to others narrate

an audio book will be read differently if it is a novel than if it is a technical piece

-Practice the style that will fit the subject matter

-Start

you can’t narrate anything if you don’t start doing it

Good luck.

Jay

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