Tuner specifically for voice?

[Guest Jo-88]

So I have Kathe Perez's voice feminization program and I am trying to really get going on this (up until this point all I have done is try to talk "softer"... but no real voice feminization). Anyway I have downloaded several chromatic tuner applications for both my computer and my phone... they all seem to work great for most sounds, however not a single one of them can properly detect the "Sssss" sound or the "Sssshhhh" sound. They either don't recognize it all or they bounce between impossibly low frequencies (like 5-15 Hz) to impossibly high frequencies (5000 Hz). I don't know why they are like this, all of them were designed for instruments not voice but that shouldn't matter right? Any suggestions on finding an application that can detect these sounds?

[VickySGV]

First question is where you are holding or placing your pick up microphone, and what quality it is.

From my radio work, the mic needs to be at least a wrist to elbow length from your mouth or those sounds are the ones that are going to blast you out of the water on the analysis program. A microphone on a stand will also help you out, since fingering the mic can also get in to those and cause trouble. You can get a good recording mic for around $80 which will help you out and be sure it plugs into your sound system securely. Give that a try before destroying the software.

[Guest Jo-88]

I am using the built in mic on both because I am kinda broke. My laptop has a mic "array" which is actually two mics, one on each side of the webcam (for stereo sound). I have tried messing around with the intake settings changing the bit rate, sampling rate, and toggling between stereo and mono... no dice. The mics are about ~2 ft away from me, but I have tried them closer (~1 ft) as well and no change. As far as my phone goes I am holding it out in front of my face 10-12in away from my mouth (like I would if I was using speaker phone). If I am going to have to spend money on something I will probably purchase the same tuner she uses in the demonstrations (its like $20) but I would like to try to get the phone or computer to work first.

[Guest Julie1957]

Jodie,

The ssss and sshhh sounds are "unvoiced" sounds so they don't have a real frequency. You will need to look at the frequency of your vowels. The best program I've found is Praat. It is difficult to use but gives frequency and 3rd formant frequency (which is a measure of resonance).

Good luck.

Lori

[Guest Jo-88]

Jodie,

The ssss and sshhh sounds are "unvoiced" sounds so they don't have a real frequency. You will need to look at the frequency of your vowels. The best program I've found is Praat. It is difficult to use but gives frequency and 3rd formant frequency (which is a measure of resonance).

Good luck.

Lori

Its still sound though so it has to have a frequency... just curious why those noises aren't picked up. Or does the frequency just not matter except for vowels?

[Guest Julie1957]

Unvoiced consonant sounds like s, sh, t are made up of basically "noise" - they contain a broad range of frequencies across the spectrum and thus don't have a single frequency.

Voiced sounds like vowels and some consonants have a frequency generated by your vocal cords. They contain many frequencies too but one frequency is dominant. This is what is measured.

In addition to this, your vocal tract has resonances that emphasize some frequencies more than others. It is these resonances that distinguish between different vowels and also help distinguish between male and female sounding voices.

So that's the long answer - the short answer is only the frequency of the vowels matter.

Lori

[Guest KathleenMarie27]

U need to go to your local music store or to a guitar center, u will want to get an acoustic tuner w built in pick up. The highrr end ones will detect even ambient noise from lights and what not. They also make vocal tuners. Just ask, guitar center would be your best bet, or call the people at sweetwater, I get all my music gear from them and there super helpful