12 February 2006
Hearing voices
It used to be that primary selection criteria for on-air jobs in broadcasting were beauty of voice and quality of vocal production. That has not been so for quite some time and it’s getting worse.
There are some beautiful voices on air in Australia. John Laws is probably the most famous (and whatever you think of his opinions, the voice is magnificent). But there are some really bad ones that I have heard, especially on TV.
These TV ‘personalities’ are probably chosen on their looks, such as Sandra Sully. Her voice is quite devoid of beauty, although its huskiness might be considered sexy by some people. But her technique is horrible: she seems to be trying to speak at a low pitch to sound more serious (she is a newsreader) and her intonation is a poorly modulated monotone. Johanna Griggs’s intonation is just as unmusical.
Some people sound like they are damaging their voices. Every time I watch Spicks and Specks I wince at the sound of Myf Warhurst lacerating her larynx whenever she speaks. At least she doesn’t get asked to sing! Monica Trapaga sounds similar, and she did sing a lot on Playschool (and you could hear her start to lose her voice, not surprisingly).
Some voices are just plain ugly. Rob Palmer, who works on Better Homes and Gardens TV show, makes a hideous, rasping noise when he speaks (perhaps in imitation of some of his carpentry tools).
Doesn’t anyone else hear how bad these people sound?
Comments(2)
Monica Trapaga is also a jazz singer and maybe that has had something to do with how she sounds. Too much vocal gymnastics and too many smoky bars.
That may explain Monica’s style, but you can be a jazz singer without damaging your voice. The people I’ve spoken to who know voices all think her vocal production is doing just that.