Dry Mouth Problems when Recording?

Stephanie Ciccarelli Email I want bi-weekly blog digest updates for clients I want bi-weekly blog digest updates for voice actors Subscribe Submit ×

In VOX Talk Episode 5, correspondent Julie Williams shared some tips on how to get rid of dry mouth when recording. One of the tips was to have water close by and the other was to have an apple on hand for yourself each time you record a voiceover.

To test this theory myself when recording for a recent podcast, I kept a freshly sliced Granny Smith apple at my desk and ate a couple of slices before I started recording the intro and news.



Some apples are more acidic than others, and from what I understand, Granny Smith, also known as malus sp., is at or very near the top of the list in that department. Logic would lead us to believe that the more acidic an apple, the better job it will do to act as an equalizer to balance wetness or how as the chemists might say, bases (remember acids and bases?). So far as I can tell, dry mouth and wet mouth are the same thing but bear different names. There are similar clacking noises and saliva sounds associated with both voiceover ‘conditions’.

What else are apples good for?

Apples also have a soothing, calming aroma so having a bowl of them around is a good idea anyway, not to mention hospitable, particularly if you have other voiceover colleagues over to record during a session. So, now the floor is yours:

Do you subscribe to the Apple a Day theory? If so, which type of apple works best for you? Looking forward to hearing your stories!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

P.S. If you’d like to send in an audio clip instead of typing in a comment, send your audio to media@voices.com

P.P.S. To read an article by David Houston about similar ways to get rid of unwanted mouth noise, learn how to clean your instrument here.