Plosives

[Clintonnobles]

I have searched a lot on the forums and have read on the subject but cannot find anything really informative as to how to train yourself. They all say "Amateur do that . . . Pros don't" but they never tell you how to train yourself not to. So what is the method of learning not to plosive on your words. I am horrible on "P's" Thank you very much.

[Brad Venable]

The way I do it is to smile through the plosive when at all possible. It disperses the burst of air that normally would pop the diaphragm.

[Clintonnobles]

Thanks Brad. That is what I have been doing. Turned my mic, used scotch pads, but Those things are elements. There has to be a way to train your mouth not to do that. Anyway, I will just have to learn how to smile more . . . blasted that ruins my naturally nasty attitude haha

[jsgilbert]

Avoid saying "P's" and "B's" as much as possible.

Replace all of p's and b's in your script with r's and g's.

OKAY SERIOUSLY now.

1. Use a pop filter and set it up correctly. Many talent shove the pop filter right uyp against the microphone. Depending upon the type of filter, nylon mesh, metal grate, etc. you will find that postiioning it around 1.5 - 3 inches from the mic is most effective. play aropund with placement

2. develop microphone technique. Spend some time regularly and speak into the microphone in a normal conversational tone, such as "Now I am standing about 3 inches to the left and speaking across the microphone to my right" and then a few lines of copy with plosives and esses and then move a little and read again. You will discover microphone proximity effects that make your voice sound deeper to some extent as you move closer to the microphone and you'll aslo see that popping can be largely mitigated by working across the microphone. The pop is a rush of air going into the microphone. The pop filter dissipates the rush of air and spreads it out and also by not speaking straight into the microphone you eliminate much of the issue.

This excercise also has the benefit of honing mic technique so that you become more effective at utilizing whispers or know where to stand when you need to get louder and so on.

Some other aspects of popping may be sticking of your lips, whihc chapstick may help. Other mouth noises can be lessened by drinking 16 ounces of water 30 - 45 minutes befoer a record session. Some people believe that sucking on black licorice in the booth is more effective than drinking water in removing mouth noises than continually drinking water in the booth. Others find apples help. (I know you didn't mention an issue with mouth noise, but I thought it bore mentioning).

I also don't know what setup you have, but some microphones are notorious for picking up pops and amplifying them. This may be a contributing factor.

[Clintonnobles]

Thanks to Brad and JS, I think my latest recordings were my best yet as far as plosives go. I had several p words and I think I nailed them. Now if I can just get "Pintailed Tree Shrew Should" down pay I am golden hahaha Say that one three times fast.

[Julie Williams]

Use pop filter... and slightly turn away from mic. Sometimes., depending on mic, you can talk under mic and be heard well without hitting it with air.