How does a kid who survives the rain of V-2 rockets on London in the waning years of World War II, end up in Hollywood announcing the Diamond Jubilee of Oscar? Veteran Hollywood voice actor Neil Ross tells the amazing story of his life, and fifty-plus year career, in two exciting, highly competitive professions in his autobiography: Vocal Recall; A Life in Radio and Voiceovers Driving cross-country to New York at 17, Neil learns how to survive in the Big Apple on $38.06 a week, and then lives the life of a radio gypsy: Arizona, Salt Lake City, Honolulu and Saigon, where, as a Navy Journalist, Neil reports on one of the major disasters of the Viet Nam War. Then on to San Diego, San Francisco and finally, Hollywood. Neil tells of his struggle breaking into voiceovers, one of the most competitive fields in the industry. Then describes in fascinating detail what it was like to work on iconic 80's and 90's TV cartoon shows including: Transformers, G.I. Joe, Voltron and Spider-Man. As well as a slew of popular video games including: Metal Gear Solid, Call of Duty, Command and Conquer, Doom 3 and Mass Effect. Neil spins the tale of his 30-plus years in voiceovers including major motion pictures and television shows, and encounters with Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Steven Spielberg and Jerry Seinfeld. In addition to announcing the Diamond Jubilee of Oscar, Neil also works on the Primetime Emmy Awards and seven AFI Life Achievement Award telecasts. He describes in vivid detail the adrenaline pumping experience of working on live, celebrity-studded events. As Neil's story unfolds, we meet an amazing cast of characters: from Gene Autry to Jim Morrison, Little Richard to Jonathan Winters. Neil also shares his experiences with the many colorful, talented voice actors and directors he's worked with over the years, and shares stories of hilarious in-studio hijinks. Readers curious about the life of a top 40 radio DJ in the heyday of that format, fans of the many cartoon shows and games Neil has worked on, and the many beloved characters he's voiced, and folks dying to know the inside scoop on the golden age of the voiceover business will want to read this fascinating story.

This book addresses various aspects of acoustic–phonetic analysis, including voice quality and fundamental frequency, and the effects of speech fluency and non-native accents, by examining read speech, public speech, and conversations. Voice is a sexually dimorphic trait that can convey important biological and social information about the speaker, and empirical findings suggest that voice characteristics and preferences play an important role in both intra- and intersexual selection, such as competition and mating, and social evaluation. Discussing evaluation criteria like physical attractiveness, pleasantness, likability, and even persuasiveness and charisma, the book bridges the gap between social and biological views on voice attractiveness. It presents conceptual, methodological and empirical work applying methods such as passive listening tests, psychoacoustic rating experiments, and crowd-sourced and interactive scenarios and highlights the diversity not only of the methods used when studying voice attractiveness, but also of the domains investigated, such as politicians’ speech, experimental speed dating, speech synthesis, vocal pathology, and voice preferences in human interactions as well as in human–computer and human–robot interactions. By doing so, it identifies widespread and complementary approaches and establishes common ground for further research.

Vocal Technique is a practical, easy-to-read guide to better singing. This new edition offers a stylistically flexible approach that allows soloists and choral singers to vary the elements of technique to sing virtually any style—classical through contemporary (musical theatre, pop/rock, jazz, and more). It is a comprehensive yet concise book covering all aspects of technique, including body alignment, breath control, initiation of sound, vocal fold closure, resonance, register use, vowels, pitch control, articulation, and vibrato. It also features expanded treatment of vocal health and development. Conductors and teachers will appreciate the numerous practical exercises. Grounded in the latest pedagogical and scientific research, Vocal Technique, Second Edition will expand the horizons of both amateur and professional singers.

Vocal Traditions: Training in the Performing Arts explores the 18 most influential voice training techniques and methodologies of the past 100 years. This extensive international collection highlights historically important voice teachers, contemporary leaders in the field, and rising schools of thought. Each vocal tradition showcases its instructional perspective, offering backgrounds on the founder(s), key concepts, example exercises, and further resources. The text’s systematic approach allows a unique pedagogical evaluation of the vast voice training field, which not only includes university and conservatory training but also private session and workshop coaching as well. Covering a global range of voice training systems, this book will be of interest to those studying voice, singing, speech, and accents, as well as researchers from the fields of communication, music education, and performance. This book was originally published as a series in the Voice and Speech Review journal.