Re: Hi and How?

Lumpy wrote:
Pogonip wrote:

My ex-husband's grandfather had been a professional baseball player in
Cuba, and when he retired, he moved to Key West. He got a job as a
reader in a cigar factory. Being a literate person, he was qualified
for the job. He sat at a table where the cigar makers sat and
hand-rolled cigars, and he started the day by reading the newspaper to
them, from cover to cover. When finished with that, he resumed
reading whatever novel he was reading to them at the time.


Wow! If it's anything like that pic that Tony posted,
that's a huge room. Reading aloud to that many
people, in that big of a room, that's no easy task.
Singing to a room that big would be easier than
speaking. But even then, singing an entire newspaper
is a physically demanting task.

Do you know any more specifics about how your Grandfather
spoke/shouted etc? What might the ambient noise level
been like in there?

Craig 'Lumpy' Lemke

The noise level in the room would be low -- just the rustle of tobacco leaves. The workers listened silently - I'm sure that anyone who dared to talk would have been hushed by his surrounding workers.

It is difficult to speak audibly in such a large room, but if you recall, actors and actresses used to be heard in the second balcony even though their was no amplification of their voices other than what the walls and ceiling of the theatre provided. I agree that it could be a taxing job, talking for 8 or 10 or 12 hours like they must have done, although I'm sure there must have been some breaks -- for water and bathroom at least. Like with singing, you can't speak from the throat and be heard or last, you must speak from the diaphragm.

It reminds me of teaching, which is only a 5 or 6 hour a day job, and you learn quickly that there is no point in shouting. You drop your voice to a lower register, and speak from the stomach. It's possible to speak somewhat softly and still be heard clearly in the back row. But it takes a bit of tweaking and finding that "sweet spot." Police officers often find it, too. For that "voice of authority."
--
Joanne
stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us.earth.milky-way.com
http://members.tripod.com/~bernardschopen/
.

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