ABSTRACT
The experience of hearing one’s voice comes as a surprise and often as a shock not only to students but also to lecturers and public speakers of many years’ standing. Opinions on the accuracy of recordings vary, but people are generally agreed that the instrument records faithfully all voices save their own, which are invariably quite unrecognisable. Much depends on the tact and understanding of the tutor who operates the machine. There is a great deal more in recording than merely plugging in the microphone, adjusting the knobs and setting the tape in motion. Most students are nervous, many painfully so. When students hear their first recordings they spontaneously pass judgment on their own regional accents, though in fact the accent may be the least unsatisfactory thing about the reading. A group of students recording a play-reading will discover in their voices potentialities of which they have hitherto been unaware.
