Hey Nate, I found your newsletter from Ness Labs! Really enjoyed this issue- the uncertainty of pandemic life has prompted me to home in on my "order of operations" and really focus on the priorities/projects that will be most impactful for my mental and physical health, and then be OK with not getting to everything else.
That's a great insight into uncertainty. Strangely, this year has allowed me to slow down a bit and think about priorities in the same way. Thus, Ness Labs!
Sounding great Nate! And yeah, finding your voice is a real challenge, but you're most of the way there. A suggestion I've given a lot of clients is to make a "rule" to never say the word "podcast" nor to ever refer to the fact that you're doing a podcast while recording. Make it all about the subject at hand, and never make that subject "the podcast" or "podcasts" or "this medium". Another really helpful trick is to use a music bed. I find that non-broadcasters are quick to develop a steady cadence, if they're tracking with the music bed. And that can not only help with cadence and flow, it also gives you a natural sense of tone and dynamic - your voice will tend to stay in key, and won't spike with inflections. Keep up the great work, and thank you!
That's a great tip. The natural tendency is to think that talking about it makes it feel more authentic, but to the listener, they don't truly give a damn. Something to keep in mind.
I've never heard the term music bed before, but I love it. Do you have a good example of this?
Cathy Wurzer cutting in and out of Morning Edition? My suggestion can go both ways, you can work the music bed into the recording, and have it as soft backdrop to your voice (climbing up in volume during long pauses and segues) - or you can listen to a track while you record, just to use it as a metronome and modulation reference for yourself - and leave it off the final program.
Love to see you teaming up with Reza!!
Enjoyed the audio version today
Hey Nate, I found your newsletter from Ness Labs! Really enjoyed this issue- the uncertainty of pandemic life has prompted me to home in on my "order of operations" and really focus on the priorities/projects that will be most impactful for my mental and physical health, and then be OK with not getting to everything else.
Hey, Janel! Appreciate the kind words.
That's a great insight into uncertainty. Strangely, this year has allowed me to slow down a bit and think about priorities in the same way. Thus, Ness Labs!
Sounding great Nate! And yeah, finding your voice is a real challenge, but you're most of the way there. A suggestion I've given a lot of clients is to make a "rule" to never say the word "podcast" nor to ever refer to the fact that you're doing a podcast while recording. Make it all about the subject at hand, and never make that subject "the podcast" or "podcasts" or "this medium". Another really helpful trick is to use a music bed. I find that non-broadcasters are quick to develop a steady cadence, if they're tracking with the music bed. And that can not only help with cadence and flow, it also gives you a natural sense of tone and dynamic - your voice will tend to stay in key, and won't spike with inflections. Keep up the great work, and thank you!
That's a great tip. The natural tendency is to think that talking about it makes it feel more authentic, but to the listener, they don't truly give a damn. Something to keep in mind.
I've never heard the term music bed before, but I love it. Do you have a good example of this?
Cathy Wurzer cutting in and out of Morning Edition? My suggestion can go both ways, you can work the music bed into the recording, and have it as soft backdrop to your voice (climbing up in volume during long pauses and segues) - or you can listen to a track while you record, just to use it as a metronome and modulation reference for yourself - and leave it off the final program.