Never hurts to play a storytelling bard, if you can't sing or you're shy. :) Or, if you want, a bard that thinks they can sing but can't.. Or a bard that casts spells through interpretive dance.. Dungeons and Dragons is the best kind of game to go nuts
"I'm such a bad singer, I can't even hit the wrong notes." Sometimes, one comes across a gem on RU-vid purely by chance. This video, and this quote in particular, is one of them. Although technically, it's two of them (video + quote)...
This is by far the best RPG voice acting video that I've seen. So many focus on theory or getting into character, but your tips get straight to the heart how to actually form the noises.
Dude this is brilliant... seriously the BEST video to break this down for DMs I’ve seen probably 100 videos on stuff while trying to improve myself... this... is the BEST
So an “accent-less” American accent with a barely-there Southern twang that you can *just* hear if you know what to listen for but otherwise makes Californians say, “You’re from Alabama? Where’s your accent?” :)
I’m currently playing a Wild Western styled character and I was making him speak in the Ozark English dialect because it sounded like something the “cowboys” would use, I didn’t know it had a name until I watched your video and now I can look up new phrases for him to use so he isn’t reusing the same 3 phrases over and over
I used to have a REALLY bad stutter, to the point where I wouldn't be able to communicate past the first three words of my sentences. I went to speech therapy, and since I've gotten into DnD I've decided to try DMing. I have several characters who have stutters, stammers and clutters. I personally don't find other people imitating speech impediments offensive, I like that they're somewhat normalized in DnD. I'm delighted that you demonstrated speech impediments.
Quite aside from the fact that this video gives practical tips that anyone can use, I just love that you realise that "voice acting" is a different thing from "roleplaying". Just a really practical video. Though with Baron Vallakivich, I personally went for more of a manic screech. "All will be well!"
Thank you! Yeah, there's a lot of different ways to play the Baron. I went for someone who *feels* in control and acts like it, even though that's far from the reality of the situation. It worked well for him, right up until he and his wife were hung over the town walls.
I have a stutter, but I never try to do one for a character of mine. Not because I or anyone at my table finds it offensive, I just can't remember where to stutter. I think of my own stutter is random, so it's very hard for me to fake my own without being dramatic. Btw, great video. Should've probably said that at the beginning, but seriously great! Most video are gender specific, so it's hard for me to just find basic tips.
i personally will never do a stutter in my game, because the shit pisses me off enough. Plus i might start the stutter voluntarily and end up stuttering either way. So a lot of not fun for me.
Yeah, I got to that part in the video and was like _yeah I'm not gonna touch that_ because I used to have a stutter and I have an irrational fear that if I reteach myself to stutter I will not be able to stop :S I also agree that for me and my brother (who still has one) it feels a little more random than that.
Me: Can sing, plays as a bard, likes music Also me: *I REFUSE TO SING, IF YOU ASK ME TO SING ONE MORE TIME I WILL NEVER GIVE YOU INSPIRATION FOR AS LONG AS I LIVE.*
As someone with chronic stammer, that tutorial was incredibly accurate. Typically, the consonants which require a lot of air or breath will be the ones where the vocal cords will tense up ig. H, M, S, T or P also known as Her Royal Majesty's Toilet Paper. Really nice video, well done!
Amazing video. Now that I'm DMing over video it's become a lot more comfortable to use voices. Controlling breathing is also a good tool especially for monsters. Undead sound great on an inhale. Maybe someone nervous is not taking pauses and always at the end of a breath. Someone holding back secrets takes a deep breath and speaks slowly hardly exhaling at all.
I would like to add something to your list: Airway control. Using your lungs, throat and the back of your tounge, you can create a sort of raspy voice, which I love to impliment. If you sharply cut off and force your air out of your throat, you get a voice that kinda sounds like Tiberius Stormwind from Critical role. Using the back of your tounge and your lungs and a faint Australian accent, you get a variation of Grog Strong-jaw. Doing all three and forcing your words out can make any voice sound like they're severely injured. I did this with one of my characters when he was dying. (His death caught the entire table except for one off-guard.)
Going over how things literally work is left out of a lot of tutorials in general, even thought it helps so much. This is a really good video and I appreciate the work that went into it.
I'm glad you found it instructive! It's very frustrating when the person giving instruction makes assumptions that some things are already known or axiomatic. Then it ends up being a "rest of the ***king owl" sort of thing.
Solid, practical tips and clear explanations for how and why people speaking the same language can sound unique! Like you said, the variations we call impediments should be used sparingly and not for laughs, and I think you did a good job of showing how they actually work 👍🏻
Nice video. Remember articulators and resonating chambers/parts of the mechanism are slightly different and should be addressed separately before putting both together. Nice video. As professional actor, opera singer, and VO artist, It is nice to actually see a video with solid info and not bullshit.
Time for the notorious Australian accent and if you're feeling brave the similar-to-an-outsider-but-completely-different-and-distinguishable-to-a-native-user-of-either New Zealand accent.
@@LunchBreakHeroes if you do a follow up to this video,, maybe about how to find and implement the "core" of an accent i.e. what makes Australian Australian, I'd like to hear it. Matt Mercer's is surprisingly good and Dev Patel in the movie 'Lion' pretty much nails it and is the only time I've seen a non-Australian actor do it convincingly.
Great video man! So summing up and adding a couple: 1. Dialect 2. Pitch 3. Speed 4. Crackly noise or clear 5. Stutters & disabilities 6. Position of lips, jaw, tongue 7. More/less Rhinal
As a singer who matches voices I naturally shift accents and actually most of these other techniques depending on the voice im singing to. Like when singing Queen you can litterally just throw your top jaw forward to mimic Freddys overbite and it actually naturally makes your voice sound more like his in terms of both pitch and pronunciation/accent.
"You probably already know how, this is something everybody does." Mate I'm sorry to disappoint, I've never been able to reach any pitch other than the one I talk at, I tend to sound very monotone due to it.
Now this is what I call content... there is actual technique and knowledge that's being shared. A Wealth of Knowledge for those of us starting in this field. A true gem 💎
A more accurate way to do a stammer is to restart or slow down words halfway through. It's most often about the sounds trying to fall out of your mouth all at once and having to correct yourself instead of just repeating a single letter at the beginning. "Let's op- ..opeN the dooor and get, get under the tAble" is a very natural way to stutter through the example in the video. (Caps for possible emphasis) People stammer more when they're under pressure or trying new/too elaborate words and phrases. Imagine trying to read a longer drug name with no practice and rushing before anyone can correct you (people with speech issues are constantly talked over so there's pressure to hurry through). A way to make this work is mispronouncing something halfway through and restarting either the syllable, word, or whole phrase to get a clean take. "I found something called 'bensa-zo-benzodiazeph-' - I found a bottle of 'benzo dia zepine' in the other room." Is a convincing and considerate portrayal of a common type of speech impediment. (Yes it's broken into 2 syllable chunks on purpose)
I started a campaign in December where my players started out helping to build up a small village. The village was founded by a couple people who were half-elf/half-orc, and thus both elves and orcs hated them. The leader is a guy named Sheg, who's a bit of a noble type, so I gave him a sort of British-sounding voice with a slight lisp. I also lowered the pitch of the voice and shoved my tongue as far back in my mouth as I could, along with moving my jaw to the side slightly. The result was a character who sounds like a cross between Sean Connery, Jimmy Stewart, and Grog Strongjaw. Lol.
Smiling or just talking with your math wider is kind of fun, I like doing it to sound more different then my regular speaking voice if I don’t want to do anything specific. Or if I just want an NPc to seem happy/ jolly
This was so much fun to watch, the extra time you spent on each specific voice gave me time to position my mouth and try the same techniques along with you! There's so much I didn't realize you could do for voice acting through altering these little things; I can't wait to try it in my next session
You know... This is actually really useful. I look at a ton of other video's on a similar premise and it usually just sums up to 'be more confident, and use mannerisms' rather than any actual voice control. Neat!
I'm quite used to doing voices, be it for whatever but usually D&D and I kinda ran out of ideas. That is until I found this video. Simply by revisiting a few basics I've got a whole new cast of characters ready to go for my next campaigns. This was nice.
From the Ozarks, at first I was going to say you were off, but after re-listening to it, I can think of at least 4 people who sound almost exactly like that. Its a minority that sound that thick accented but there's still plenty.
Thank you very much for this video. As a beginning DM who's never been great at doing voices, this is incredibly useful to me. I've tried all the techniques and wrote them down. Accents and dialects are a bit tricky because we speak a different language; a tough guy western voice sounds like a silly farmer when you use it in Dutch. Now if I could just keep myself from using the wrong voice after I've switched characters a few times..
This is great and has given me thoughts on how to refine my character’s voice since I play a male tiefling sorcerer but being female I can’t reach the really low notes so I tend to make you for that with changing up how I speak and using a rather exotic sounding accent and dialect trips to help make the voice have a bit of perception of being male though I have a lot of work to do and often you’ll find as you do one particular voice more and more it will change and develop into its own thing overtime which is a benefit of having only one character to worry about unlike dms but practice makes perfect.
My boy, you are great! I know Chris Perkins too is a great fan of accents. He makes drows like french accents character. I liked your comunication style very much. I'm a DM too (here in Italu) I'm sure you recognized where my nick belongs
Your 'even the evil ones' voice is the kind of NPC I would fall for in every campaign LMAO Thanks for the advice! I'm gonna DM for the first time in a few weeks and I'm a nervous wreck!
At about 17:00 about accents it’s not instinctual at first but after you do it a certain amount then it does. For anyone trying to practice accents I recommend using it in normal conversation so you get the experience of having to do the accent without a script
9:56 I'm almost certain that If you don't have a tongue, you can't speak at all (or at least your phonemic inventory will be DRASTICALLY reduced) and by the way you also don't need your lips for all plosives, just bilabial ones
Definitely subbing. Top notch work. I feel like I learned more from this video than hours upon hours of others. Can't wait for the video about accents, I seriously want to expand my talents in that area.
Ngl this has been pretty educational, super helpful since I've had issues making character's voices unique recently (have a list of character voices that follow these but formed by chance, ie deep, old slowly speaking man with a shaky voice). Thanks for the video!!! Edit: If you happen upon this you could totally make content related to creating character voices, say write a small description of a character/NPC and assign a voice accordingly.
Suppressing air in different portions of your mouth or throat is another great technique. It will avoid the strain of pushing on your throat and vocal chords if you're doing a gravelly tabor, and can be used to achieve sounds like 'helium'. Run a bit of controlled air through your nasal passages and atypical 'snob' tone is achieved. This is an excellent video- basics are perfect building blocks for more complex sounds. I salute you, Sir! Your DMing is clearly accompanied by a vast and diverse cast.
I've added quite a few accents to my altered personas. When I think region, I automatically switch into the accent. Practice is definitely key. The accent easiest for me is Scots, to the point that I often slip into it accidentally when trying other accents from the British Isles. I cannot do a Welsh accent to save my life. More practice :)
Great video! Please more of it. :) I love playing rpgs but one thing that kinda take the fun out of it is the fact that my characters sound and act all the same even if their personality is completly different. An evil warrior feels the same as a shy little girl. I try my best to bring some differencec in it but it is hard.
One thing you can do for that is to talk slower when voicing evil characters. Often when I voice evil characters, especially highly intelligent ones, I have them talk slower and more drawn out than my other NPCs. It gives them the feel of the narcissistic entity who believes like they're better than everyone else.
Good, practical advice that covers the linguistic side of the craft? Where have you been lurking all this time? Your writing and editing on this (my first video of yours) are really succinct without leaving out anything important. You seem like a natural teacher, and the hobby ALWAYS needs more of those. Nice work, man. Subbed.
My stammer happens mainly when I'm having an anxiety attack. I'll repeat whole words several times before I can say the next word. I stutter on consanants like S and T as well as the harder ones like F, M, P. Sometimes I just give up talking when that happens. When I try to duplicate it it doesn't sound anywhere near as bad as the real deal. I also don't stammer in German. Only English. Sadly, while great advice, some of these techniques (specifically with the lips) don't change my voice that because my lips don't move near as much as the average person...especially the left side of my mouth. I've also instinctively practiced a lot of these techniques to pull off different voices for years. I used to want to be a voice actor. Still do, to an extent.
Thanks for sharing, I don't know much about stammers and this was interesting to read, please don't take that the wrong way. Out of curiosity, which is your native tongue, German or English?
Personally I used slip into an accent naturally when I talked to some people, I didn't realise it at all. I don't see those friends anymore, and I think it might not be natural for me nowadays.
I have always struggled with making voices in my games but these tips are helping me out quite a bit! I'm genuinely taking notes on this as though I were in school. That said, my note taking did lead to me having one gripe: it doesn't feel like speech disorders are really in the same category as articulations and pitch. Like, doing a lisp sounds like an articulation done for a single sound, whereas stuttering sounds more like a mannerism. Different speech disorders don't really have anything physically in common with each other aside from the fact that they get in the way of communication. Compare that to articulations in which every articulation follows the same basic idea. Feels to me like speech disorders are more useful as an inspiration of how to utilize the other techniques rather than a building block. Anyway, thank you for the great video!
Thank you so much for this. Love this video and I am very impressed you are breaking this all down without cuts in the video presentation. Definitely will use these techniques in my games. Keep up the good work :)
A good tip for people that want to voice monsters demons or A very edgy orc, if you want to try growling, inhaling or any metal technique, please learn to do it correctly and practice it until you can do it for A good period of time without being exhausted If you try to force yourself you may injure Your vocal chords. If it hurts - you are doing it wrong
A trick I've found useful for accents is to pick a specific person and copy them. Watch some of their stuff, especially interviews, and practice sounding at least somewhat like them. It's fine if you don't mimic them perfectly, you just want their general sound without players figuring out exactly who it is. Exception: don't use Sean Connery for Scottish. Even a bad Connery impersonation sounds exactly like him. Use Billy Connelly instead. These people don't have to be famous actors - sometimes using RU-vidrs works even better. Want an over-the-top but still accurate Irish accent? Check out LeatherJacketGuy. Want casual Australian? Ozzy Man is great for that. Tennessee Southern? Trae Crowder's your man. If you think your impersonation sounds too ridiculous or off, just dial it back somewhat so it's a "lighter" attempt at mimicking them. But keeping that person in mind helps to keep you from drifting into a different accent entirely otherwise going off the rails with it. It's usually easier to mimic a specific person than an "accent" overall. And even if you do it kinda badly it'll still work fine for your purposes.
This is excellent advice. Doing this while honing in on their accent's key sounds (Irish "I", Scottish "O", etc.) will take you far. And dialing it back just a bit goes a long way to making you sound natural.
I've definitely used this tactic before! I'm not sure what it is about imitating voices that's not only easier for me, but it can also sort of inform how you or your players interpret a character? It's like the difference between Trae Crowder and say, Steve Shell, or Tom Waits (the latter of whom I'm actually saving for a villain I'm introducing to my game soon), both are all very southern but their vast differences in tone all suit them for very different character types.
If any of my players at the table put on a lisp I’d have to ask them to stop. I had a lisp that is mostly gone due to speech therapy but it comes back when I remember that I used to have one e.g. whenever I’m doing public speaking
I just found this in my recommended and thank you. All of this was clear and easy to follow. I struggled on some things so I’ll keep practicing on those so I can sound better for future games
I saw Christian artist Jason Gray in concert and he actually talked about this. He was stuttering like crazy the whole time he talked, but as soon as he started singing the stutter was gone.
Watched this video, immediately hit like, subscribe and bell icon. Went into other room, watched it again while trying to do the voices along with you.
