I've been doing my voice training here at home and when driving in the car but I think it's time to start practising talking to others and making conversation.

Would anyone here be interested in starting an weekly or bi-weekly voice chat room where we can practice, give tips, constructive criticism, etc?

In case such a group already exists, I feel really silly but would appreciate a link to it.

Thats a great idea!!  I may be interested.

OMG that would be cool

I think that would be really useful

I love the idea!

Beyond cool idea!

Cool id join just for fun
cause I have no interest in voice practice 

How would it work? Sorry if it is obvious, I am having a slow day.

Glad to see there is interest, so here is a brain-dump, these are just my raw thought so comments, suggestions and recommendations are encouraged.

1. Time/Day - We are an international community and therefore it's going to be impossible to find a time that is good for everyone, my suggestion is Sundays @ 17:00 (5 PM) GMT, 13:00 (1 PM) EST, 10:00 (10 AM) PST. I know this is not ideal for members in East Asia, Australia or New Zealand, if there is enough interest we can schedule another session at a time more convenient for your time zones.

2. We limit each group size to 5 speakers, any member is free to join and listen in but we want to practise and any more than 5 won't work. If a 6th speaker joins we split into 2 groups, and so on and on and on.

3. I suggest using Google hangouts, their voice works well, it's free and easy to share the reading material, etc. I know some would prefer Skype but their group calls cost money that I and you would rather not part with.

4. The sessions will be 1 hour

• Each session will have a designated coach, only the coach can interact with the speaker and announce new speakers
• 5 minutes warm up where everyone can participate at the same time, This is to get you used to speaking/singing in A3+ tones
• 5 minutes each where one person at a time speaks Harvard sentences, see: http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~hgs/audio/harvard.html
• Free talk for the rest of the session, try to invite guests and have Q and A, pick a relevant topic, etc

If there is enough interest we can also do an alternative languages, feel free to comment, request.
I'll look into somehow hooking up a spectral analyser into the group chat so we can all watch a visualization and make comparisons.
For the first session I'm going to see If I can get Andrea James to be our coach

In the meantime everyone should watch these and practise:
https://www.youtube.com/user/deepstealth/videos

Cool, I'm in!

A wonderful idea!! I'd join.

The only issue is laptop and phone microphones are pretty terrible. IRL people think my voice is good enough (still think it could be better,) but it doesn't even sound like I'm trying when I'm on the phone/skype/whatever.

Quote from: antonia on April 01, 2014, 05:48:22 AMI know some would prefer Skype but their group calls cost money that I and you would rather not part with.

Only group video calls cost, group voice calls are free, IIRC.

Personally I have two pairs of Wireless Logitech G930 Headsets, one for work and one for home.

Once you get used to wireless headphones they become a necessity. I can practice my voice while doing dishes, cleaning, etc. My computer records and plays back, then I can look at the recording and analyse the spectrum after to see what I can fix. Also enables me to listen to audio books, music and what ever else while going about my business.

Any headset with a microphone is better than a laptop though, the poor separation between speakers and microphone combined with the noise from the laptop makes for very poor quality indeed.

For those of you who commute by car there are also after-market Bluetooth systems that attach to car stereo systems, they come with a mic and allow you to use your smartphone to practise while driving, all hands free.

Thanks for pointing out that Skype has free group voice, been a while since I used it due to these and other issues.

I've sent a message to Andrea James via her website and I'm evaluating methods to do a shared spectrum analyser and clipboard for the sessions. If I don't get any comments on the timing I'll send out invites and calendar events for Sunday.

Quote from: Lauren5 on April 01, 2014, 11:34:11 AM
The only issue is laptop and phone microphones are pretty terrible. IRL people think my voice is good enough (still think it could be better,) but it doesn't even sound like I'm trying when I'm on the phone/skype/whatever.Only group video calls cost, group voice calls are free, IIRC.

The only headset I have is the one in the earbuds that came with my phone. Not a very good microphone. So I'll have to politely sit out until I can afford a headset. Should be about a month until school is over and I start working, so I should be able to join within 6 months, should probably be able to set aside money for a headset then.

Why not try it out with your current earbuds, whats the worst thing that could happen? We are all looking to do this to improve ourselves and even if the audio is not perfect I'm sure it will be beneficial and fun, the only requirement is that we can understand you, which I presume we will be able to 

Quote from: Lauren5 on April 01, 2014, 09:25:41 PM
The only headset I have is the one in the earbuds that came with my phone. Not a very good microphone. So I'll have to politely sit out until I can afford a headset. Should be about a month until school is over and I start working, so I should be able to join within 6 months, should probably be able to set aside money for a headset then.

sounds cool, in addition, if someone is in NY, i will be happy to meet and practice one one one

Quote from: antonia on April 01, 2014, 09:35:52 PMWhy not try it out with your current earbuds, whats the worst thing that could happen? We are all looking to do this to improve ourselves and even if the audio is not perfect I'm sure it will be beneficial and fun, the only requirement is that we can understand you, which I presume we will be able to 

They work very horridly, I've used them with my phone for hands free and the mike is worse than the phone but better than the computer.

I might be in, if I can make the times

Depending on which system/app we use you might also be able to use an app on your phone if the quality is better.

Quote from: Lauren5 on April 01, 2014, 10:13:45 PM
They work very horridly, I've used them with my phone for hands free and the mike is worse than the phone but better than the computer.

I would really like to join this. I hope to hear from you, and chat with you all on Sundays