Last week I recorded the audiobook narration for The Dead Don’t Dance by Charles Martin and published by Thomas Nelson, an imprint of Harper Collins. This is how it went down.
Nashville Audio Productions’ John Behrens
John Behrens is a Nashville musician/producer/engineer extroidanaire. He would sub sometimes for our audio engineer at The Table. It turns out that eight years ago he started an audiobook business called Nashville Audio Productions. As I understand it, last fall the Spirit moved him to think “I wonder if that guy at The Table would ever like to read an audiobook?” and he gave me a call. I’m so glad he did!
He took me into his studio for an audition where I read some fiction and nonfiction samples, he said he’d keep me on file for prospective clients, and we called it a day. He emailed earlier this year to say I had my first audiobook booking! I checked out the Kindle version of The Dead Don’t Dance from the library right away. I’m a slow reader and an auditory learner so when I read silently I’m still “listening” and it’s only slightly faster than when I read it outloud. Fortunately, I was moved by the book and immediately related to the main character Dylan Styles.
with engineer Kevin Morris
I went into the studio with engineer Kevin Morris and recorded the book in three days. In case you’re wondering, we spent about 18 hours capturing between eight and nine hours of final audio. I don’t yet know if that’s fast or slow but we finished it by the deadline, so I’m calling it a “win.”
Here are more BTS pictures. Click to expand.
Here’s what I learned.
- If at all possible, read the book ahead of time.
This may be especially true for fiction. It’s a great help to know where the story is going when performing. I experimented with jotting some notes on the different characters and even found pictures from Google, Flickr, and iStock Photo that looked like my characters. I had their pictures in front of me while I read. I found that it helped me connect to the story and keep the characters straight! - Take care of the voice.
I could probably write a whole blog post on just this, but suffice it to say this is a big lesson. It is exhausting to speak for so long. I took my friend Reen’s advice and drank a liter of water first thing in the morning, followed by a Contigo-full of herbal tea (no caffeine and not black tea), and a thermos-full of Singer’s Tea*. And I always had room-temperature water with me in the recording booth. I warmed-up my voice using the same excercises I use before singing (thanks Judy!). The biggest lesson was probably knowing when to be silent. After the first day, I learned that I needed to be completely quiet during our lunch break. This is difficult for me because I’m a social person, but the rest a silent hour provided my voice as well as the emotional break from the story gave me the energy I needed for the rest of the afternoon. After the second day, I learned to take a break in between the chapters. Just taking a minute or two in the booth to swallow, hydrate, relax, scan the upcoming chapter, and get my pictures ready helped to get a better performance.Even with all of that maintenance, I was pretty wiped when I got home each day and was pretty useless to my family. I hope my stamina will improve. - Focus.
The bulk of my reading-out-loud experience was to my four kids. This bedtime routine was overwhelmingly rewarding, but I confess there were times when I would read whole pages with my voice while considering something else entirely in my mind. This is no good. Not for reading with my kids and not for reading for hire. But seven hours is a long time to keep that focus. I learned to stop when I needed to and ask to re-read a passage again just because I wasn’t “connected” to it the first time.
Another fun thing I’ll mention was that we recorded in the studios of Kingswood Productions. Some of my earliest and most consistent work as a studio singer was at Kingswood singing for the United Methodist children’s Sunday School curriculum in the late ’90s. Oh, Nashville. It really does come back around.
*Singer’s Tea
1 bag of chamomile tea
2 bags of Throat Coat
fresh mint
fresh ginger root, sliced
1/2 lemon squeezed
some honey
a thermos full of boiling water
Steep for at least ten minutes and let cool before drinking
This is from my friend Kim Parent via Carole King. I make it in the morning and keep it in the thermos for a couple of hours. I will also add a couple of “donks” of Stevia. And I forgot the mint. And maybe I used 2 bags of chamomile and 1 bag of Throat Coat, what’s it to ya?
What audiobooks do you enjoy?
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I am addicted to audio books and so excited to know you are reading them! Great work, Jonathan!
Thanks, Carol. And so good to hear from you! My first music teacher. I’m grateful to you!
I agree with the prior comment. Your voice is absolutely perfect for any Charles Martin book. I find myself looking to see which of his books you narrate and I am listening to them first. Brilliant match-up!
Thanks, Connie! I’d be happy to book some more. May I ask where you’re located?
I didn’t think I liked audio books until I discovered your narration of Wrapped in Rain by Charles Martin. I loved it! Your voice is perfect for that author, whose books I love. I’ll be listening to more, believe me. Thanks so much!
Thank you so much, Jo. How sweet of you to say!