Many people have problems with an overly sibilant “S” that hisses or whistles in a distracting manner.
A hissing “s” can be especially troublesome for voice over artists when a sensitive microphone picks up every nuance of your speech.
Sibilance that may barely be noticeable in casual conversation can become a real issue in the recording studio.
Minimizing sibilance takes a two-step approach. The first step happens in the recording studio. The second step involves some easy exercises you can do at home. Doing these exercises on a regular basis will strengthen the muscles that produce the letter “s” and minimize the problem
Here’s my prescription for minimizing a noisy S:
THE D-ESSER
Sibillance is such a common problem that there is actually a piece of studio equipment that minimizes it. It’s called a D-Esser. A D-Esser is helpful for light to moderate sibilance, but its not a miracle device or substitute for good voice control .
MIC PLACEMENT
An experienced recording engineer will know how to position the microphone to minimize sibilance. Generally speaking the closer you are to the mic, the more noticeable your sibilance.
TALK TO YOUR DENTIST
Gaps in the teeth or ill-fitting dentures, bridges or braces can contribute to a whistling “S”. Sometimes a few minor adjustments or some cosmetic dentistry to minimize the gaps can improve the situation.
BEGIN A VOCAL WORK-OUT PROGRAM
An imperfectly shaped mouth or tongue can affect the sound of your “s,”and because few of us are perfectly shaped anyway, it’s likely you will have to learn to make some adjustments to compensate for the shape of your particular mouth. Just as you need a work-out program to keep your body in shape, many successful voice actors follow a work-out program for their speech muscles
STRENGTHEN YOUR TONGUE
Strengthen the tongue by working the “S” and “T” sound together. Repeat these word pairs slowly. Stage/space Stable/spade Staff/spat Stagger/span Stair/spill
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