Vocal Analysis Assignment
- Record 1-2 conversations that you have (either on the phone or in person). Each conversation should include someone with whom you have a different power dynamic. Some options to choose from:
- Peer/friend
- Family member
- Authority figure (you can come to my Monday office hours if you would like)
- Subordinate (for example, if you work at a job in which you have to manage people)
- Stranger (the barista at your coffee shop, etc.)
- Conversations can be 30 sec - 2 minutes
- You can use your smart phone, laptop or if need be, recorders can be check out at the library (more on this http://library.du.edu/services/computers-tech-availability.html at the bottom of the page)
- IMPORTANT: All sound files must be in .wav format to be compatible with the program. You may either follow the below directions to convert your files yourself (most recordings created with the voice memo app on the iPhone will be in .m4a format) OR you can email me your files by 10pm Tuesday night and I will convert them for you. I will not convert any files I receive after 10pm on Tuesday and you will be unable to participate in the class exercise. To convert your file yourself:
- Email the file to yourself (if you recorded it on your phone, do this by hitting the "share" button and select "mail" then mail it to yourself)
- Download the file on your computer, and then save it in a location that is easily accessible
- Go to the website http://media.io/
- Hit "Select Files to Upload" and then select your sound file
- Select WAV as your Output Format
- Hit "Convert"
- After it is done converting, you will see a "download" button underneath your file name with the .wav ending. Click "download"
- Be sure to email the .wav file to yourself so you can easily access it from another person's computer
In the first recording, I was alone in the living room of our house with my sister Julia. In the second recording, I was in the front yard conversing with my mom, and my three sisters were coming and going. Both conversations were with a family member, but one with an authority figure in the form of a parent and another with a younger sibling who could be considered an equal or a subordinate depending on the situation. For my Elevator pitch, it was my first speech in front of the class and I was extremely nervous.
ReplyDeleteDuring my conversation with Julia, my pitch ranged from 54 to 72 with an average of 57, and my loudness was between -29 and -19 with an average of -27. During my conversation with my Mom, the pitch was between 57 and 75 with an average pitch of 58 and the loudness was between -28 and -20 with an average of -25. My speech had a pitch range of 64 to 114 with an average of 64, and loudness between -14 and -29 with an average of -23. I seem to talk much higher when I am nervous, and my voice is down at the normal level when conversing with my family. The biggest difference is how high and how much louder my voice was during my speech as opposed to during the conversations. I speak quietly, that just seems to be normal for me, and so speaking louder during the speech I could hear my voice trembling because I was nervous. Both my mom and my sister have lower voices than I do, and they speak louder than I do. That makes sense, though, because they are both very extroverted people.
I am not really sure what specific suggestions I could give myself based on the date becauseI don't know what a successful speech looks like when put through the vocal analysis program. I did notice that my pitch range was really high, as was my loudness range, so it might be beneficial to try to remain more consistent in both.
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