We regularly receive enquiries about message banking and voice banking so an update on how to go about this seems timely.
Voice banking and message banking are of interest to people with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), although people with different diagnoses may also benefit from understanding and implementing these strategies.
First I would direct you to our Selection Guide on Message Banking which was first posted in February 2014. The situation with available technology has not changed very much but it seems that in Australia we are seeing an increased interest in implementation.
So where do you start?
First it would seem logical to start with learning about the difference between message banking and voice banking. Please read Our Selection Guide on Message Banking And Voice Banking for an overview.
Next my suggestion would be to consider your goals of the exercise. Keep in mind the capabilities of the technology. Voice banking or voice building will provide a synthesised speech version of your voice. It still retains the robotic qualities of synthesised speech, but it is your voice with your accent and vocal quality. This may be important for your identity or it may be different to what you have in mind.
To check this out further please view our Blog where Emma Road Tests ModelTalker. Once she has completed her synthesised voice you can hear the difference between her natural speech and synthesised speech. (2021 note: the technology has improved since this blog)
If you decide to embark upon voice banking (voice building) there are a couple of avenues to pursue. ModelTalker remains a no cost process as they operate under research grants. They have a very comprehensive FAQ webpage which is worth a read. Other commercialised voice building is available, but the final voice production costs thousands of dollars.
To begin the ModelTalker process there is an evaluation of your speech through a recording exercise. A certain standard of recording quality is required to qualify for building your own voice. It would be important to see if you qualify for the process before ‘putting all your eggs in this basket’.
Message Banking
Message banking is the readily available process of recording your own words, phrases and sentences using a portable microphone with on-board storage and USB computer connection. Hopefully you have read about this process in our selection guide mentioned above.
There is a YouTube with John Costello who pioneered Message Banking. Click this link to go to this video which provides an overview.
Message banking has the advantage of preserving natural intonation and expression.
Anyone can start this process independently in the portable microphone that seems to be readily available is this one:
The model of microphone suggested by John Costello and featuring in the YouTube is this one:
ZOOM H1 HANDY RECORDER & ACCESSORY PACK USB MIC VER 2.0* AUDIO STEREO + 2GB SD
This can be purchased easily online, or we also offer this for purchase.
The microphone is also available without the accessories pack. The accessories pack provides a tripod, a case and a power adapter.
There is also a YouTube video to watch a demonstration of the microphone.