Female Voice

[Guest Lesliesoto...]

Thanks miss Rachel I was going to suggest candi's YouTube page as well not that I have the most fem voice yet but her videos have been really silly, fun, and most importantly extremely helpful

xoxoxo

Leslie

[Guest GinaInside]

Hi,

For a long time, I struggled with my voice, slowly trying this and that, figuring if I ever did make it to a serious level of Transition, it would somehow just "come", if I was hormones long enough.

I tried the programs from Melanie Speaks, Andrea James, and Kathy Perez, and I still sounded only a lil better than mickey Mouse...

Well, I was surfing one day, and found a Yahoo group called VoiceTS, and participated in one of the call ins. I sifted through the forwarded email tips as they continued to come in later, then, one day, the one came that clicked.

Place your fingers lightly on the adams apple area, and listen to yourself speak. A male voice is low in the throat, and in the upper chest.

Now, keeping your fingers there, pull your adams apple, back, and up, and project your voice up from your chest, and into the sinus area of your forehead. You should notice a marked difference in voice quality, and resonance, and is really the starting point for voice work.

Another one that helped was very simple. "Talk from the back of your Larynx." It is a good place to start, and once you feel it, it becomes easier to pull the adams apple back further and up, and you can adjust the quality of resonance from there.

I hope this helps.

Hugz,

Gina Renee

[Guest cassie51]

Thanks Lacey, another thing I have to worry about now. I was a supervisor at a phone co (before the economy tanked and I fell victim to company belt tightening HA). I spoke on the phone with a lot of customers every day. I always got comments from them that I had a "radio voice", had all kinds of women flirting with me over the phone. Sighs.....well I still gotta try, darn it!

{{Huggs}}

Cassie

[KathrynJulia]

Look up Kathy Perez a Speech Language Pathologist and vocal therapist for TG TS woman the world over. Her website is www.exceptionalvoice.com She was one of the first vocal therapist to specialize working with TG TS woman to develop a feminine voice.

[Guest LizMarie]

The impression that voice surgery is inadvisable mostly stems from a study by Dr. Anne Lawrence that was completed in 2004. However, since that time, as Lizzy notes, there have been huge strides in voice surgery. Dr. Thomas, at VoiceDoctor,Net even has sound samples on his website of how the new voice surgery techniques helped his patients. Since I have one paralyzed vocal cord that only vibrates at a fixed pitch due to an implant, I am definitely considering voice surgery further along in my transition.

[Guest Zeda]

@Those with deeper voices:

My voice is one of those that gets deeper as I go louder. I can hit a bass with no problem and go lower. It's crazy how deep my voice goes (sometimes I think I am part whale). However, I also speak on the phone a lot for my job and on occasion I like to tweak my voice and I can bypass falsetto and reach the female voice.

A few more ideas for feminizing your voice:

Be subservient. It has been shown, that when a male is speaking to a dominant male, their voice is naturally higher than normal in an attempt to not be deeper than the dominant male. It is like breathing-- if you don't think about it, it happens, otherwise, you have to concentrate to stop it. My idea? Concentrate on what your voice does in that natural situation and then try to replicate it.

I'm on the phone asking for donations, I don't want to be threatening to dominant types '

The more you are around women, the easier you will pick up on social styles. Our brains are wired to pick up patterns without thinking about it. Picking up the patterns will help strengthen the appearance of a feminine voice and it will feel more natural to you when you practice.

[Guest Andrea85]

Wow, what amazing information. Very helpful. I'll be taking it to heart. I've managed a little on my voice but I probably need much more practice.

[Guest Lexi_^-^]

I think the youtube video "016 transgender voice-3" has by far been the most helpful tool for making my voice sound more girly. It's also helped me expand my vocal range for singing too Unfortunately I'm still stuck somewhere between sounding like "Daisy" and a true girl.

[Guest sophia.gentry58]

Thanks Elizabeth for all your tips, very important!!!

Sophia

[Guest DeborahTS]

I've tried in the past but gave up. I speak moslty from the throat is seems. Any attempt at a female voice and i sound like Mickey Mouse.

[Guest Amber Lynn]

I have a question for anyone who can help:

I have heard a few times before that, like Elizabeth says, the female voice is a step below male falsetto (this is also talked about in CandiFLA's videos). I have noticed that there are 2 registers that exist in my voice, a higher one (falsetto), and a lower one (normal male voice), and that the 2 actually have a few notes that they both can hit within their respective ranges. My question is, does a believable female voice come from the lower register (in its higher range) or the higher/falsetto register (in its lower range)? Talking in a very high, pinched, falsetto voice isn't too difficult for me, but when I slowly lower my voice, should I stay in that same register or slip into the lower one, while trying to maintain the same resonance?

Hopefully that makes sense...

Gina

[Guest Sarah Faith]

I have a question for anyone who can help:

I have heard a few times before that, like Elizabeth says, the female voice is a step below male falsetto (this is also talked about in CandiFLA's videos). I have noticed that there are 2 registers that exist in my voice, a higher one (falsetto), and a lower one (normal male voice), and that the 2 actually have a few notes that they both can hit within their respective ranges. My question is, does a believable female voice come from the lower register (in its higher range) or the higher/falsetto register (in its lower range)? Talking in a very high, pinched, falsetto voice isn't too difficult for me, but when I slowly lower my voice, should I stay in that same register or slip into the lower one, while trying to maintain the same resonance?

Hopefully that makes sense...

Gina

I wouldn't say its really the same area as Falsetto its close but not quite. Falsetto usually involves really over tightening the vocal cords I believe. One good technique that I used when I was starting my voice training years ago was by feeling my adams apple. By placing your index finger just above the apple and your middle or ring finger just below it and then speaking.. with the male voice you should feel heavy vibration on both sides, with the female voice the vibration should be minimal on top and about the same on the bottom, with falsetto vibration would be heavily reduced on both sides.

Resonance is really the big difference between male and female, your voice should be slightly higher in pitch but it doesnt have to be vastly higher the key is getting the resonance under control. The Female voice comes more from the throat while the male voice is projected from the chest area.

So no it shouldn't be in the exact same register as the Falsetto.

[Guest JazzySmurf]

Hi Gina :-) In many ways, a step below can be thought as a two-dimensional way. There's the usual higher pitch/lower pitch mode but there's also a lots of resonance/not much resonance mode. The latter (not much resonance mode) is ultimately the stage you wish to have; the higher pitch/lower pitch doesn't quite matter much in the end (for example, girls who talk normally vs excitedly generally have different levels of pitch). The not much resonance mode can be trained by... well, put your finger on your adam's apple and swallow; the adam's apple should go up. Now, practice simulating that upwards movement when you speak; that will get the not much resonance mode. After this stage, one then adds "breathiness" to your speech and that basically completes the voice :-) Good luck!!

[Guest JazzySmurf]

Sarah.... jinx!

[Guest Sarah Faith]

Jazzy, great minds..

I'm actually still trying to work the breathiness into my voice it's been only the last few months when I started using it pretty much exclusively and I do alright. I'm pretty happy with where Im at already with it though.

[Guest Amber Lynn]

Megan, Sarah, Jazzy: thank you!

I actually don't know that my vocal range is too stellar, I'm still unconvinced that my high falsetto sounds like a girl's falsetto rather than a guy's falsetto. I'm early in voice training, and because the slow-to-no progress makes it hard to measure results, I just wanted to know that I was at least practicing right!

Those are great tips, I will definitely try that method of controlling resonance!

Thanks again,

Gina

[Charlize]

I think i have to spend some more time working on my voice. I thought i was doing ok but the other day i young man pulled me to the side in a meeting and said, "you really had me fooled until i heard you talking". Oops... I often don't care but at times i do like to pass as it is safer than being too out there. I need to develop a way of speaking that feels comfortable and me but is feminine as well. When i simply go up a few notches i don't like what i hear and am concerned it might sound fake or perhaps contrived. I have also noticed that once my mind starts to frame thoughts it forgets that it also needs to present them as a woman if that makes sense. Then the pitch goes down and the male rises up.

Hugs,

Charlie

[Guest LauraJen]

is there any latest update in the technology of having surgery the voice to make it sound like a female for mtf? I am tired of practicing... I want a voice that i could use anytime that wont require me to pinch my throat... i sound lazy but it would be better if there is already something like this... *praying*

(Also noting Elizabeth K's post after the one quoted)

I have to admit, I am inclined to this option as well. It's not a case of being lazy or anything. I'm not afraid of a bit of hard work to achieve something through practice, but the idea of pinching the throat the way you have to in order to speak in the right voice, and to consciously do this every time you need to speak, doesn't sound at all practical. I worked on my voice quie a lot a few years ago, and actually made some limited progress, but since I started university I relapsed to where I was before as I was always around people and the walls in the accommodation had the acoustic properties of paper - I would certainly have been heard. Sometimes when I practiced I felt like I was about to swallow my own larynx!

I am aware of the risks and have actually thought about it quite a lot. Plus as other people have said, it has improved dramatically as a medical practice. It probably will a lot more by the time I get to that stage. But this is all years away yet for me so I probably shouldn't be worrying excessively about it yet. I will, of course, need a short term solution because a surgical procedure doesnt happen overnight, so the practice routines are still worth noting and I am very appreciative of a great thread here. So thank you for the wonderful info.

Laura Jen

[Guest LauraJen]

Hi Laura Jen,

I know a person who had the surgery. Her voice ended up about two octaves too high, really worse than before.

I can't say what went wrong, but really felt bad for her.

If you're going for the surgery, please do your research, ask the questions about potential outcomes.

Love, Megan

Hi Megan,

Two octaves? My goodness :-( I guess it's one of those things that can go one of two ways, really well or really badly, and there is nothing between. It's a bit of a gamble. Fortunately I have a lot of time to think about it. I should probably do what a lot of people do on here and post some recordings to get an opinion of where I am now and if things are as bad as I think.

Thanks Megan, love and hugs,

Laura Jen

[Guest Brea]

Thank you I've always wanted to know if singing was a good way to help <3

I've been desperate and even baught a voice changing program before~

It was fun to play with but it really cant do great with mtf voices.

[Guest Sarah Faith]

Hi Laura Jen,

I know a person who had the surgery. Her voice ended up about two octaves too high, really worse than before.

I can't say what went wrong, but really felt bad for her.

If you're going for the surgery, please do your research, ask the questions about potential outcomes.

Love, Megan

I've heard of some girls who lost most of the range in their voice entirely due to that surgery. The voice is the area I think your best option is just to work on it consistently untill you get it where you want, wayyyy to many risks with surgery. I think surgery here should be an option of last resort.

Sarah

[ChristinaDryadstar]

I have heard some very good voices yet when I try their techniques it just doesn't work for me.

[Amanda Thomas]

On ‎2‎/‎9‎/‎2010 at 1:04 PM, Guest nymphblossom said:

I know how frustrating it can be, Shannon. Deep Stealth has a free on-line brochure at:

http://www.deepstealth.com/freebook

They give very specific phonetic exercises that over the course of several months will begin to develop female resonance.

I started with a low baritone voice, so it has taken alot of practice to develop the muscles in my throat and soft pallet. They atrophy tremendously after puberty. I have been working on my voice for nearly a year and it has only been the last few months I can actually tell the contour of the back of my mouth is changing when I speak. The best way to describe it is that it feels a lot like when I yawn. Learning to decrease the size of the voice box to get to the proper frequency range comes first. Developing the shape of the throat & soft pallet for the proper resonance so you don't sound like Mickey Mouse takes a looong time.

There are several free voice analysis programs available on line. I give an intro on using the software at:

http://www.lauras-playground.com/forums/in...opic=4765&st=20

I think the reason you may not be able to find what you are looking for it because there is such a wide range to the human voice. It is extremely hard to say what is uniquely female or male. An objective voice coach can be a help, but just as when you were developing your male voice when you were a child, it comes down to finding a female voice that is comfortable and feels right for you.

Blossom

I haven't even started voice training yet but, like you, I have a low baritone voice. It frightens me to think that I may never be able to attain a reasonably female tone of voice.

[Amanda Thomas]

On ‎2‎/‎9‎/‎2010 at 1:04 PM, Guest nymphblossom said:

I know how frustrating it can be, Shannon. Deep Stealth has a free on-line brochure at:

http://www.deepstealth.com/freebook

They give very specific phonetic exercises that over the course of several months will begin to develop female resonance.

I started with a low baritone voice, so it has taken alot of practice to develop the muscles in my throat and soft pallet. They atrophy tremendously after puberty. I have been working on my voice for nearly a year and it has only been the last few months I can actually tell the contour of the back of my mouth is changing when I speak. The best way to describe it is that it feels a lot like when I yawn. Learning to decrease the size of the voice box to get to the proper frequency range comes first. Developing the shape of the throat & soft pallet for the proper resonance so you don't sound like Mickey Mouse takes a looong time.

There are several free voice analysis programs available on line. I give an intro on using the software at:

http://www.lauras-playground.com/forums/in...opic=4765&st=20

I think the reason you may not be able to find what you are looking for it because there is such a wide range to the human voice. It is extremely hard to say what is uniquely female or male. An objective voice coach can be a help, but just as when you were developing your male voice when you were a child, it comes down to finding a female voice that is comfortable and feels right for you.

Blossom

Like you, I have a low baritone voice and I'm frightened that I'll never be able to attain a passable female voice.

[ShawnaLeigh]

A lot of great info here.  Thank you ladies.  I look forward to starting this step.  I have tons of commute time in my job so in the car I can practice daily and privately without fear of sounding like a during wildebeest. 

My question is this.

Your voice sounds different to yourself then it does to others.  Your hearing it in your head, sinuses, and inner ear as well as through normal hearing. 

I remember back when you would record something on tape a replay it, and your like.  "That's not me talking.. Is that what I really sound like?!?"

OK so fast forward to practicing.  How do you tell if your getting results? Sounding female or just some guy who was just kicked in the biscuits?   

Id hate think I nailed it, put myself out there trying it here and there, only to find out I am embarrassing myself.  (I suppose that will happen regardless.)

The obvious answer is to record yourself and listen but this can be problematic while driving.  

How do you practice?