10 Mistakes I see over and over again
I’ve been doing this for a long time you guys. Coming up on 19 years of coaching. (SO OLD!) And these are the most common mistakes I’ve noticed throughout that time.
Be sure you’re paying attention to the movement of the mouth and body. As you may have heard me say on a number of occasions, turn the sound off, and watch without listening. No subtitles. Observe the movement. Try imitating it not knowing what you’re saying! Make it a game. This will make a huge difference in how natural you sound later.
Google ‘actors from x’. Wikipedia the accent and check out the list of speakers. Youtube and google tutorials with teachers from different places (ex yoga teacher Australia). Most famous people from x. Online radio from around the world. For more resources, be sure you’re a member of the Accent Challenge part of this site!
Warm up warm up warm up. For a free full-length class head over here! This is possibly the most important part of working on accents. Don’t skip this step!
Your character speaks with that accent. So don’t practice as if they were two separate things. If you want to focus on the accent separately, use a different text until you’re confident.
Another one that’s super important. Know that you’ll never sound perfect to your own ear, but it’s good for you to get used to that! Try recording the voice of someone else who has the accent you’re working on, and then record yourself immediately after. Then train your ear to compare individual things at a time, such as a specific sound, an intonation pattern, rhythm etc.
I know it’s uncomfortable. Your family, your housemates, your neighbours… but do it anyway! Believe me, your accent is not going to sound the same unless you vary your volume as you practice. Be loud, be quiet, get angry, get nervous, play with volume and emotion a lot.
They are not to be trusted! Our brains filter sound according to what we expect to hear. Think of it as getting desensitized to details because of familiarity. They’ll never hear it the way someone who doesn’t know you will!
Just don’t! There’s nothing worse than throwing American on your CV and then heading to an audition, doing it in your own accent, and having the director say ‘I see you’ve got American here. Can we hear that?’ And then you proceed to poo yourself a little, or simply end up sounding all over the map or making excuses. Don’t do it!
Like anything acting related, we have to build self-awareness! How do you speak? What sounds are specific to you or to your accent? What muscles are you using? Get really curious about this because it’s very hard get to the finish line if you don’t know where you’re starting!
Have you made any of these mistakes? What do you think is the hardest part of learning a new accent? I’d love to know!