Voice Sounds Different Face To Face Than Over Electronics.

[Guest Katrina_Carter]

I do not know how, but I pass 80 to 100% on the phone, and over ventrillo, team speak, and other online voice chat. I pass 100% over the speaker at work. My problem is that my voice only sounds feminine over electronics. Face to face my voice is lucky to pass 10% of the time. I have even been told I sound completely different over say the speaker at work, or on the phone than I do when I am just talking to someone face to face.

So anyone have any thoughts as to why? My only guesses have been that I change my voice to a higher pitch without realizing it when talking over the phone or whatever, or perhaps it is an issue with how the electronics broadcast my voice (I'd be lying if I said I knew how all of that stuff worked).

I've been practicing for almost a year now and even though I am to the point that I can't talk deep anymore without my voice cracking, I still feel like I am doing something wrong.

[Guest e319]

Conventional telephones, at least, are intentionally tuned to drop a lot of both the high and low audio frequencies, as most human speech requencies fall into the midrange. That's why phone calls sound "canned."

Over ventrillo and such, it might be the case you're using a cheap/lousy microphone, and it is dropping a lot of the lows for you, but I am not familiar with your software/hardware setup.

[JJ]

It may also be that you are more self conscious in person and unintentionally dropping into a default lower mode.

Try listening to yourself on a recorder of some sort. Record other noises so you know how it perform and the listen to yourself just talk-maybe record a conversation w/ someone and then record your end of a phone conversation. It should give you a clue anyway.

JJ

[Guest Donna Jean]

.

It's a point of fact that very few people can recognize their own voices on a recording...

You have to "learn" it hearing it that way...

I'm a musician and played on recordings over the years...if I didn't recocognize the harmony part that I was singing, I wouldn't of known it was me...

Donna Jean

[Guest Elizabeth K]

You may be selfconscious trying to use a female voice in front of a person - looking at their reaction too closely can cause you a problem.

Trick - look slightly past them for a half minute - no eye contact at first until you can settle into your voice. That might help.

Elizabeth Anne

[Guest Katrina_Carter]

I am thinking it is a self confidence issue. I have found myself slowly being able to keep it face to face. Thank you everyone for the advice and thoughts

[Guest harvester52]

Sound engineer's perspective on this:

Systems like telephones and intercoms, i.e. your speaker at work, often change the tone of your voice by compressing the signal and eliminating low frequencies. The low-quality speakers used in such systems tend to not be able to handle low-end frequencies very well, and thus produce a more 'tinny' or high-ended sound.

As for voice chat... I've found it to be rather transparent (meaning, not changing the sound of one's voice). Granted, I use my whole recording setup (large diaphragm condenser microphone through a mixing console, etc.) that is made to produce high-quality recordings. If you are using one of those cheap desktop mics, odds are it will change the tone of your voice a little bit. Likely not enough to decide whether you pass or not, however. As others have said, perhaps you're finding it intimidating or uncomfortable using your female voice face-to-face with somebody.

One thing I highly recommend to anybody trying to train their voice: use a monitor system! Basically, just a speaker turned back at you so you can hear yourself through the microphone. Before I was on T, and before my voice changed, I trained my voice to be in normal tenor-male register, and hearing it back at me as I spoke or sang was extremely helpful. It will also help you to match pitches. If the note you're singing doesn't match with the note sang by whomever you're singing with, it'll be blatantly obvious and will train your mind to hear your voice as it sounds outside your head.

-BC

[Guest XanderMJ]

ahhhh, the cursed 'electronic voice' again. I get that too much. Though i get it the other way around, usually i pass in person and phone (dont know how on the phone) but on other electronics it makes my voice sound high. If only they made technology able to reproduce the actual voice better to help with these situations >.< maybe i should ask my telecom class next year XD

[Guest Jenth]

Things I'm discovering playing with my voice. I actually had to train a male voice. It hurts for me to hear but sounds really deep, anyways I hate it and don't except when playing tricks on people heh. Anyhow I know my female voice passes. People have told me I have a girl's voice, if their not looking at me and barely paying attention I'll get ma'am'd on my voice alone. So my voice passes. It's always passed electronically as well, but I'm not constantly ma'am'd and stranger's don't look at me funny for having a girl's voice until after I've used the deep voice. Why? I've discovered people can trick themselves into thinking I have a passable male voice because I look male. I'm not saying you look male as I haven't seen you but maybe you don't pass face to face because people are prehearing your voice. In other words listening to an expected voice rather than one you're actually using where as they don't get that 'advantage' over electronic devices. I've also discovered that if I allow myself to feel or act a certain way my voice becomes the gender I want it to. Like I got called out (switching from my deep voice to my girly voice) doing a very feminine flirty standing hip sort of thing. Sorry I can't really describe it. I do it and see it hundreds of times during the day but the point is when I switched back to my girl voice I also switched back to a girlier mode.

Heathy