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More from dragon-architect
Excerpt from Richard Feynman's "The Meaning of it All"
This is just a quick test recording with my not-quite-so-new condenser mic that I acquired sometime last year or the year before (I can't remember exactly when I ordered it and I couldn't be arsed to look it up on Amazon right now). Unfortunately I hadn't been able to properly use the mic because silly me with all my amateur electrical engineering knowledge and complete lack of sound and audio engineering knowledge didn't realize that this being a proper condenser mic its output level is on the order of millivolts RMS that requires some significant preamplification to boost it up to a usable, recordable level. Otherwise its output signal is so weak it's buried down in the noise.
Whoops.
Fast forward a year (possibly more), and a long, protracted attempt to design and build my own mic preamp (to some limited success, but also learning that it's a lot harder than I expected it to be!), I finally got off my arse and ordered a relatively cheap-ish USB interface that apparently uses a C-Media HS-100B USB Audio interface chip as its all-in-one does-everything-on-one-silicon-die internal solution. It's obviously not the best quality out there (my sights are set on a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 for that~), but it does good enough for me to start out! Hooray for cheap Chinese shit that actually does a better job than you'd expect for its price point!
I can do some nice audiobooking of my stories now with this! :D
Recorded using a Neewer NW-700 condenser mic through a Bengoo USB sound card adapter.
Transcript of the recording is as follows (source):
This is a sample voice recording by Calyo Delphi.
From Richard Feynman's book, "The Meaning of it All".
An excerpt from Chapter 1, "The Uncertainty of Science".
Is science of any value?
I think a power to do something is of value. Whether the result is a good thing or a bad thing depends on how it is used, but the power is a value.
Once in Hawaii I was taken to see a Buddhist temple. In the temple a man said, "I am going to tell you something that you will never forget." And then he said, "To every man is given the key to the gates of heaven. The same key opens the gates of hell."
And so it is with science. In a way it is a key to the gates of heaven, and the same key opens the gates of hell, and we do not have any instructions as to which is which gate. Shall we throw away the key and never have a way to enter the gates of heaven? Or shall we struggle with the problem of which is the best way to use the key? That is, of course, a very serious question, but I think that we cannot deny the value of the key to the gates of heaven.
If you got this far in reading all of this, I commend you! o7 And I also have a request to make: PLEASE take a few minutes of your time to critique this small sample! I want to do proper audiobook recordings of my stories, so I wanna know where you think I might need to improve my narration technique, and where I'm already doing it right so I know to do it more! :)
I'll move this over to scraps after a bit of time. I just wanted to make sure my watchers saw this so I could get as much critique as possible!
Title Legend:
< $X $Name = $X From $Name
$X > $Name = $X For $Name
Where $X =
> C: Commission
> Y: YCH
> G: Gift
> R: Raffle Prize
> A: Adopt
> Q: Request
By all means, leave a comment! I love to see what thoughts I inspire! ^_^
CreepyCommentsWelcome
Whoops.
Fast forward a year (possibly more), and a long, protracted attempt to design and build my own mic preamp (to some limited success, but also learning that it's a lot harder than I expected it to be!), I finally got off my arse and ordered a relatively cheap-ish USB interface that apparently uses a C-Media HS-100B USB Audio interface chip as its all-in-one does-everything-on-one-silicon-die internal solution. It's obviously not the best quality out there (my sights are set on a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 for that~), but it does good enough for me to start out! Hooray for cheap Chinese shit that actually does a better job than you'd expect for its price point!
I can do some nice audiobooking of my stories now with this! :D
Recorded using a Neewer NW-700 condenser mic through a Bengoo USB sound card adapter.
Transcript of the recording is as follows (source):
This is a sample voice recording by Calyo Delphi.
From Richard Feynman's book, "The Meaning of it All".
An excerpt from Chapter 1, "The Uncertainty of Science".
Is science of any value?
I think a power to do something is of value. Whether the result is a good thing or a bad thing depends on how it is used, but the power is a value.
Once in Hawaii I was taken to see a Buddhist temple. In the temple a man said, "I am going to tell you something that you will never forget." And then he said, "To every man is given the key to the gates of heaven. The same key opens the gates of hell."
And so it is with science. In a way it is a key to the gates of heaven, and the same key opens the gates of hell, and we do not have any instructions as to which is which gate. Shall we throw away the key and never have a way to enter the gates of heaven? Or shall we struggle with the problem of which is the best way to use the key? That is, of course, a very serious question, but I think that we cannot deny the value of the key to the gates of heaven.
If you got this far in reading all of this, I commend you! o7 And I also have a request to make: PLEASE take a few minutes of your time to critique this small sample! I want to do proper audiobook recordings of my stories, so I wanna know where you think I might need to improve my narration technique, and where I'm already doing it right so I know to do it more! :)
I'll move this over to scraps after a bit of time. I just wanted to make sure my watchers saw this so I could get as much critique as possible!
Title Legend:
< $X $Name = $X From $Name
$X > $Name = $X For $Name
Where $X =
> C: Commission
> Y: YCH
> G: Gift
> R: Raffle Prize
> A: Adopt
> Q: Request
By all means, leave a comment! I love to see what thoughts I inspire! ^_^
CreepyCommentsWelcome Category Music / Miscellaneous
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 50 x 50px
File Size 2.99 MB
Pretty good!
The possibility of you narrating your stories sounds...very exciting actually. I approve! In the interest of seeing this actually done, I'm happy to give some critique!
Your narration style is very scientific. That's great for a scientific or philosophical text, but is probably too dry for all the very interesting, provocative scenes in your own fiction.
Specific thoughts:
-You don't need to annunciate as much.
-Vary your pitch and tone more, throughout sentences. I noticed you increased pitch on "good thing" and decreased pitch on "bad thing". That's good, but you can also vary your pitch across parts of sentences, or even across several sentences or paragraphs at a time, depending on mood.
-Exaggerate quotations more. I noticed you were using a different voice for the Buddhist monk, but the difference could be a bit more clear.
-Depending on the context, read faster and louder, or slower and softer; faster for exciting parts, slower for, say, sensual moments.
-In general, speak louder! (Quiet-voice parts excluded) Pretend as if someone is across the room, and you are having an energetic conversation with them, in the middle of the day, with a good supply of coffee. This will allow you to put more volume in your voice, obviously, but will also make it easier to adjust speed and pitch, and speak more naturally.
-Record a few takes of each passage. This lets you practice it to sound more natural (I noticed you had a couple moments of hesitation in this recording, like "I am going to tell you some--thing"), and obviously also allows you to choose the best one.
The possibility of you narrating your stories sounds...very exciting actually. I approve! In the interest of seeing this actually done, I'm happy to give some critique!
Your narration style is very scientific. That's great for a scientific or philosophical text, but is probably too dry for all the very interesting, provocative scenes in your own fiction.
Specific thoughts:
-You don't need to annunciate as much.
-Vary your pitch and tone more, throughout sentences. I noticed you increased pitch on "good thing" and decreased pitch on "bad thing". That's good, but you can also vary your pitch across parts of sentences, or even across several sentences or paragraphs at a time, depending on mood.
-Exaggerate quotations more. I noticed you were using a different voice for the Buddhist monk, but the difference could be a bit more clear.
-Depending on the context, read faster and louder, or slower and softer; faster for exciting parts, slower for, say, sensual moments.
-In general, speak louder! (Quiet-voice parts excluded) Pretend as if someone is across the room, and you are having an energetic conversation with them, in the middle of the day, with a good supply of coffee. This will allow you to put more volume in your voice, obviously, but will also make it easier to adjust speed and pitch, and speak more naturally.
-Record a few takes of each passage. This lets you practice it to sound more natural (I noticed you had a couple moments of hesitation in this recording, like "I am going to tell you some--thing"), and obviously also allows you to choose the best one.
*takes notes*
- enunciate a bit less, sound a bit more casual
- modulate more
- exaggerate quotations more to make them stand out
- larger speed variation
- speak up (for this one I was actually sitting back about a foot away from the mic and talking at a below conversational voice, if that gives any idea of how sensitive this mic is when properly boosted!)
- that's the plan! c: I did this sample in one take just to get it recorded real quick while I had an opportunity of relative quietness in the house.
Aaaaaa!! Thank you for the feedback and encouragement!! /)>w<(\
- enunciate a bit less, sound a bit more casual
- modulate more
- exaggerate quotations more to make them stand out
- larger speed variation
- speak up (for this one I was actually sitting back about a foot away from the mic and talking at a below conversational voice, if that gives any idea of how sensitive this mic is when properly boosted!)
- that's the plan! c: I did this sample in one take just to get it recorded real quick while I had an opportunity of relative quietness in the house.
Aaaaaa!! Thank you for the feedback and encouragement!! /)>w<(\
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