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The Biggest Misconception about Learning & Performing Accents & Dialects (Video #1)

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17 responses to “2024 Accents Class, Video #1”

  1. I haven’t performed in film, but stage and audiobooks. Especially appreciated the differences in how to perform the accent beyond just knowing the intonation. Character switching for narration results in a lot of additional editing (and lost synergy) for me.
    Eager to hear more. Hoping to step up my game for audiobook narration.

    Reply

    • We get into Intonation because it’s essential, but we also delve into Placement in addition to sound differences. We hit on the key sounds that tend to have variations in accents – the ones to pay the most attention to – without turning it into something overwhelming. The course is laid out to build from one accent to the next, reinforcing some things while moving on to learning new elements. If you have specific questions, we could dive into those during Q&As next week!

      Reply

  2. I am one who just feels I am not good at accents. On stage I have done New Jersey/British (proper), Cockney and Southern (with no particular dialect). I was booed at a rehearsal when I tried Irish, not comfortable with Italian and Oh I sort of did a bit of German in Cabaret. All,I think, not very well. Kind of like Dick VanDyke in Mary Poppins.

    Reply

    • I’m going to boo the booing at your Irish. Not terribly useful feedback for anyone… It can be hard to know how well you’re doing with an accent in the beginning, especially if you (or the listeners) are only able to say “not right” but not be able to narrow it down. What’s important is learning techniques for observing and doing, which is what we work on, and then working on the little elements that need work. The moment someone “doesn’t get it” then they don’t – unless they narrow it down to what they specifically aren’t getting.

      I know that’s all convoluted feedback on what you shared – and thank you for sharing that – but I hope you get the gist of it.

      And keep in mind that Dick Van Dyke later said that his dialect coach was Irish and couldn’t help him to figure out what to do to get the Cockney accent!

      Reply

      • I had a grad assistant in college for one of my drama classes who had an accent I have never heard since. It was a Bronx-Irish brogue. I was fascinated but for the life of me couldn’t figure out how he got it!

        Reply

  3. As an on again, off again would-be audio book narrator, I always thought that having a bag full of different dialects would be an attractive advantage to those considering me as their voice talent of choice. However, in my own private thoughts, I probably did not have a talented enough ear for the work. Fear is absolutely a great deterrent to motivation.

    Reply

    • Little known secret: We all have that when it comes to learning something completely new to us.

      In this case, it’s not a matter of talent; it’s a matter of learning.

      A friend of mine is famous in the audiobook world for her extraordinary ability to create lots of characters with lots of different accents in a single project, each one sounding fully formed and completely different from the others. That’s great — but it is not required to be able to do virtually any accents needed for an audiobook.

      Remember, you don’t need to learn to speak the language. You need only to be able to drop tell-tale hints toward the character’s native language.

      Most sounds are the same in any language. It’s the telltale differences that communicate, “Ah, this person originally is from (Country).”

      Example (attention, America’s neighbors to the North): I can’t help it. If I’m watching a show or a movie in which one of the characters says, “I’ve still got a cold, but my doctor says it should completely disappear in a-boat 3 days…,” I leap from the sofa or the movie theatre seat and exclaim, “Aha! He’s Canadian!”

      No, that doesn’t apply to every Canadian. But it’s an exceptionally frequent “hint” of the person’s origin. All the other words in that sentence are pronounced exactly as Americans pronounce them.

      Another example: If you’re an American and you’re having a pleasant (aren’t they all?) conversation with someone whose speech patterns sound no different than yours…

      …but that person uses the word “sorry” and pronounces it as “so-ree,” it’s a pretty safe bet that person originally hails from Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba or parts of Quebec.

      And what fascinates me: Some of those people aren’t able to hear the difference.

      As a native New Englander, I vividly recall walking to school with a fellow 10-year old and having that friend correct me:

      “It’s ‘idea,’ not ‘eye-dear.'”

      I was quite surprised to learn that, and I’m proud to say I’ve again never pronounced it as “eye-dear.”

      Reply

    • What we do in the class is work on the things that allow you to hear and replicate the various elements of an accent, so we’re working on developing the ear. It’s hard to learn something without guidance to help you to know what it is you need to learn – so much of accent work can feel overwhelming to people and they don’t know where to begin. I work to teach you concepts that we then embody in the coaching work we do so that you understand an idea in your brain, and then we get it into action so that you can hear it and feel it. Basically, we’re developing your ear – but we need your mind and mouth to come along as well. Thanks for sharing your big fear about it, James. I hear you.

      Reply

  7. I love learning foreign languages and studying accents. I have performed some on stage and want to learn process and consistency and also learn them for audiobooks. I find one of the most difficult is an Australian accent. Also l always thought learning Klingon would be fun! 🙂

    Reply

    • Aussie can be challenging for a lot of folks. One thing we get into in the class is how Aussie and Cockney are actually incredibly alike in the sounds, but if you shift placement and intonation, that’s what makes them very distinct from one another. It’s all about knowing the various building blocks of an accent and putting it all together.

      I haven’t coaching Kingon, but I did have to coach High Valyrian and Dothraki, which was a lot of work – but the outcome had great effect!

      Reply

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