5.4 Soothing the Pipes

When you start recording voiceovers, you may notice some strange mouth noises. This can be avoided with a bit of clever hydration, and in this lesson you'll find out how. Like I mentioned before, you may be working on the voiceover for a while, so make sure you've created a comfortable work environment. Another thing to have on hand is some kind of mouth lubricant. I know, that sounds a little bit funny but it's critical that the mouth not be dry when you record. A dry mouth causes all manner of clicks, clacks and other rather off-putting mouth noises. I've found that having a room temperature beverage that is a little bit tart works really well for me. When I take a sip, it causes my mouth to water and really helps with the mouth noises. Tea with honey and other tart fruit juices can work as well, as long as the fruit juices are pretty diluted in water. Anything carbonated should be avoided for obvious reasons. Other super sugary drinks can actually make the mouth feel more dry, so they should be avoided as well. There are also some throat coat sprays that contain some glycerin that may help to keep the mouth and throat nice and wet. My personal favorite is berry flavored Propel powdered mix, mixed in with some water. This is nothing more than a water flavoring, but I like the taste of it, and it's just tart enough to get the juices in my mouth flowing. Another thing to be aware of is the general humidity in the space. Many places around the world experience seasons where the humidity can fluctuate wildly. Forced air systems can also feel very dry to the mouth and throat, so you may want to consider setting up a humidifier to bump up the moisture content in your space. This isn't something that you can have running while you record, but it can make a big difference to the comfort level of your space and your pipes. Now that you know about proper mouth lubrication you are ready to move on to the next lesson where you are going to learn about recording silence.