Paul Edson – Page 2 – The Gauntlet G+ Archives

The very first Gauntlet Con panel, on OSR gaming, with Slade Stolar,Maria Rivera, and Jason Hobbs, is up on YouTube for your viewing pleasure. It was super!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P9dqSxA0R0

A few tips for voice self-care during the Con.

A few tips for voice self-care during the Con. We’re gonna be talking a LOT, and I’ve been a professional singer for 30 years, singing in opera choruses and big choral things and doing recitals and roles. I’m also a choir director that’s worked with amateur singers for just as long. These are a few things, mostly common sense, that I recommend for folks doing a long gig (recording, or Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, or… playing a TON of games in a row!)

#1: hydrate. Like, water. Juice or herbal tea that’s not astringent is okay, but water is best. Caffeine by itself dehydrates… it’s a diuretic. Add to that the tannic acid and other astringents in “regular” tea and even decaf coffee, and well… the first step to keeping them vocal folds working is lubrication, and that means water. It’s the oil in your voices engine. Sodas and energy drinks tend to have a lot of sodium, which also dries you out.

#2: other things you already know. Take a shower! In addition to helping you be alert and FEEL like you’ve taken care of yourself, the steam and the water is good for your throat. Also, stand up when you can, take a walk when you can. Your body in a chair doesn’t support the lungs or voice the best way it can, and it’s good to remind the body of how it’s MEANT to work as often as you can. Also also, don’t just eat snacks and power bars… and even if you do, try to keep them not too salty (see sodium above).

#3: body stuff. Be aware of your posture. This has benefits beyond the vocal, if you’re going to be gaming for 12 hours (you know who you are!), but it specifically applies. Imagine a string attached to where the very center of your “bald spot” would be, if you had one, and feel it tugging upwards. This will align your throat and spine both, giving full range of motion to your vocal mechanism and reducing stress on that ol’ skeleton of yours. Also, maybe take a walk or do some jumping jacks or whatever before you jump into your game?

#4: “expert delve”. If you feel like watching the video I’ve linked, featuring Jessica Hansen, NPR’s vocal coach, the three “exercises” will be good for you. I promise! The first segment with Susan Stamberg, in particular, is something I’ve been doing with choirs for a long time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSTqKi7Wuq4

For the folks that do Gauntlet Hangout game play, or are planning on participating in Gauntlet Con, or whatever.

For the folks that do Gauntlet Hangout game play, or are planning on participating in Gauntlet Con, or whatever… one of these might be useful:

MicMute is a a little open source Windows app that will mute your internal or USB mic with a hot-key, regardless of what application you’re in. It can be set to toggle muted/unmuted, or in push-to-talk mode (hold down the key when you’re speaking). https://sourceforge.net/projects/micmute/

There’s a (not free, but cheap) Mac equivalent, Shush. http://mizage.com/shush/

https://sourceforge.net/projects/micmute/

Came across this and thought it might be of interest to some.

Jason Cordova Tom McGrenery Ray Otus

I am very proud to be involved in my small way in The Gauntlet’s newest podcast effort, Fear of a Black Dragon.

I am very proud to be involved in my small way in The Gauntlet’s newest podcast effort, Fear of a Black Dragon. The most recent episode examined the Dungeon Crawl Classics funnel, Sailors on the Starless Sea, which is featured in the Goodman Games Hurricane Harvey Relief Bundle. Check it out! The bundle, that is. The ‘cast is already done linked.

http://goodman-games.com/blog/2017/09/07/harvey-relief-bundle/