Training
New talent preparing to enter the voiceover industry are commonly allured into parting with relatively sizable payments for lessons with prominent, established artists and coaches.
I was fortunate enough to pursue such an education while developing a home-based voiceover business. The business afforded me the opportunity to put what I was learning into practice and that all helped in the developing of technique, however, it dawned on me that my education has become somewhat indiscriminate, a merry-go-round of tuition that was failing me of finding my specific niche’ in the market place. You can be a general all rounder in this industry, or you can become a specialist. To specialise in a genre or range of genres, makes you the ‘go-to-person’ for that particular area of voiceover and in turn, wins you respect that equates to business. To find your niche,’ you have to be astutely aware of your strengths and how they correspond to the demands of the market place.
Settling on a good coach isn’t just about locating a prominent artist to train under but about determining the one that’s right for your particular voice profile. The combination of an artist’s vocal range and unique skill set is what defines their ability to perform particularly well within a specific genre of voiceover.
A coach that’s worth their price should be as keen to assist you to identify your strengths as what they are to point out your weaknesses.
Mastering any genre can be duly facilitated by learning under someone who is recognised as a specialist in that field but ultimately, mastering the art is best learnt from a master.
Irrespective of how pedantic a coach may be about standards, their first responsibility is to instil confidence in their student by commending them on good performance, skill acquisitions and talent. Confidence is the wind that billows the sails of every successful performer.
A good coach will be able to point a student to their appropriate niche’ in the marketplace and should be prepared to send them elsewhere for training should it become apparent that the student’s voice profile demands such specialist training.
While professional coaching comes at significant expense, one of the oldest and most proven training methods costs little more than the investment of some persistence and practice. It involves you imitating other professionals and has long been recognised as one of the most effective methods of developing the art, however, if you’re going to pattern yourself on leading talents you should probably also be aware that it will be to your advantage if you develop something of your own unique style somewhere along the way. Having something unique to offer gives you an advantage in this ever increasingly competitive business.
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