Becoming Natural

[Guest Orva26]

Hello,

Now I know that voice training is a long and arduous task and if I do end up transitioning that I'll need to do it. I have read up on some topics in this board regarding how it is done, but that isn't the focus of this topic. Rather I'd like to know if/how long it takes or has taken for the female voice to become the natural one. I'm guessing it can and I'm hoping it can but I'd like to know because, as premature as this is, I have a creeping fear that I'll end up reverting to male voice involuntarily when amongst people I've known for a while/family.

Thanks

[Drea]

I would say about 8 or 9 months after going full time before it really seemed now question. I had howevern been working on it a year and a half before going full time so a few months more than over two years total.

I am sure it continued to develop after that.

I mention the 8 to 9 month after going full time because I really felt not being full time got in the way. Going back and forth and such.

[Guest Orva26]

Thanks, now I have an approximate time-line. Voice training will be something I start up with before therapy. One of those little things I can do that will test my conviction. I just hope I can get it down in a similar amount of time.

[Guest kelise]

I felt so awkward about my voice going up to full-time-hood. I think the trial-by-fire of going full time helped me a lot. I'd say even though my voice pretty much sucked going full-time, by about 6 months in I had it down pat, and now I have more difficulty reverting than maintaining my girl voice. I don't even remember what I used to sound like, so when I show people my old voice, it ends up sounding like a girl trying to sound like a boy.

[Guest Elizabeth K]

Well - my story:

I am just starting full time (since May) but I practiced my 'girl voice' for about two years (from when I just started transitioning).

It was really hard to train my voice to (1)all in the back of my throat, to (2) talk from the top of my lungs instead of my diaphram, and to (3) get my upper range working.

Timeline? Well, for me - I worked in my car as I commuted - which was about an hour each way, equalling two hours a day. FINALLY after about a year it started working. I had purchased two CDs on voice - so I borrowed techniques from both. BUT what helped most? I started singing and singing. It extended my upper range... so that worked best for me. I sang at just the highest upper range I could manage - hard work

And I caught a terrible cough last year - lasted about eight weeks. It caused me to develop the exact back throat muscles I had been trying to strengthen. Go figure. So 'cough" - and those are the muscles you use.

The CDs gave me hints on cadence and inflection - and lilt! GOOD - that is very much what is needed to pass - esecially on the telephone. Even with a lower range, that will usually allow you to pass.

Okay - so a year and a half? LONG TIME! So I was still male mode at work? I decided to go ahead and start introducing most of the girl voice - most of what I had developed - and what I learned - to do this AT WORK as well as at home.

So slowly it became what people considerd my natural voice - nobody seemed to notice much.

After a half-year of that - I raised my upper range and softened my voice even more. It became natural to me - and everyone around me. Then when I went full time I really could no longer remember much of my original voice, and if I tried, I sounded like a girl imitating a man. But is was still a bit gender neutral.

BUT

I am full time now... and I discovered if I just act like a woman, BECOME totally female - the voice naturally follows! Mainly by raising my voice about three notes, giving it a more female range YEAAAA...

And it DOES work, although I feel the voice isn't perfect yet, at least in my ears... I do pass everywhere... and I know it's getting better everyday.

Hope this helps

Lizzy

[Guest Orva26]

Such an informative post Lizzy! No doubt I'll have to follow some of those tips but I think I'll probably end up in the same trial by fire situation as Kelise. The whole thing seems like it'll be pretty tricky but I think I'll probably be able to get the parts that have to deal with muscle control first. Where I really anticipate myself struggling will be adjusting emphasis, pitch, and making the adjustments to my speech pattern. One thing is for sure, I'll probably be a whole lot better at singing.

[Guest Hood]

I find it interesting that many people take years figuring out their voice -- I practiced for about 3 months and just switched over one day and never went back. I've only had people "ma'am" me on the phone since. Perhaps the fact that I'm younger has something to do with it, though I'm pretty sure my voice had gotten as deep as it was going to get (which was a bit below the average male pitch) when I started.

[Guest LottieZero]

Hmm... if you ask me, it just takes practice. Once you get to the stage where your voice has no chest resonance and it's at the pitch you want it at, you might think it sounds a bit forced... but keep using it as much as possible (while drinking as much as possible, so you don't damage your vocal cords!), and you'll soon find it starts to sound more natural. Basically, keep at it: everyone's voice box is different, but if you try it out as much as possible, it's bound to become more and more natural.

Charlotte x

[Guest chibi_usa]

I'd say a month. The only hard part is when you go outside. XD Then you forget and mess up... T.T LOL!

[Guest Orva26]

A month? Wow... I will not be getting it that fast. It is probably going to take me a while. Guess I should start up soon! Oh, its actually something I can try even before therapy. That's good something else to test the waters with. Kind of bugs me that its needed, we should just be able to present female and talk in a feminine manner not have to re-train our entire voice-box! >_< But I'm going to try my best, if I can't at least set aside the discipline for this then transitioning will really be out the window.

My plan of attack so far is to concentrate on working my muscles more by beginning to sing with minimal concentration on feminizing my voice. After I get confident with that then I'll move onto the step of trying to emulate female singers. That will probably take a while. Then I'll start trying things like reading aloud in a feminine voice, things that would entail speaking normally. Sound like a good plan? I think so but... but... are there any resource sites out there specifically for female/TS voice training? Or any sites for voice training in general so I can get a better grasp of all these dang terms. I have an idea of what people are talking about but I don't want to end up hurting myself with a misunderstanding.

Also, this is a bit early to ask but who are some good female rock or metal artist/singers to start out with. That's really the type of music I listen to and I think I'll have more success emulating a female voice in styles I like than forcing myself to listen to other styles just for the voice. Though I'm not quite as fond of it punk would work too.

[Guest Hood]

A month? Wow... I will not be getting it that fast. It is probably going to take me a while. Guess I should start up soon! Oh, its actually something I can try even before therapy. That's good something else to test the waters with. Kind of bugs me that its needed, we should just be able to present female and talk in a feminine manner not have to re-train our entire voice-box! >_< But I'm going to try my best, if I can't at least set aside the discipline for this then transitioning will really be out the window.

My plan of attack so far is to concentrate on working my muscles more by beginning to sing with minimal concentration on feminizing my voice. After I get confident with that then I'll move onto the step of trying to emulate female singers. That will probably take a while. Then I'll start trying things like reading aloud in a feminine voice, things that would entail speaking normally. Sound like a good plan? I think so but... but... are there any resource sites out there specifically for female/TS voice training? Or any sites for voice training in general so I can get a better grasp of all these dang terms. I have an idea of what people are talking about but I don't want to end up hurting myself with a misunderstanding.

Also, this is a bit early to ask but who are some good female rock or metal artist/singers to start out with. That's really the type of music I listen to and I think I'll have more success emulating a female voice in styles I like than forcing myself to listen to other styles just for the voice. Though I'm not quite as fond of it punk would work too.

Honestly, I think singing (though it may work) is a much less precise way of going about it that takes much longer to boot. If you'd like, I'd be willing to offer a little bit of help either in the form of PMs (with recordings of course) back and forth or something like Skype.

[Guest Orva26]

Honestly, I think singing (though it may work) is a much less precise way of going about it that takes much longer to boot. If you'd like, I'd be willing to offer a little bit of help either in the form of PMs (with recordings of course) back and forth or something like Skype.

First, thanks for offering to help. Its a bit early and I'm still a tad to shy to take you up on it off the bat though.

Also, I understand what you are saying. Singing would be less direct since first I would learn to sing like a girl then I would have to figure out how to transfer that to normal speech. But there is one advantage for me personally. For a while in school I took chorus and the instructor was female. She taught everyone to form words in the back of the throat and in the sinuses while singing. From what I read some of the same muscle groups will need to be used/built up in strength for a successful female voice. I won't make singing a primary method but I think it might be a good idea for me to use it to assist in finding certain muscle groups at first. Other than that I'll try out some of the exercises posted up here.