Voice Work!

[Guest Kristine]

Okay! So I've only been working on my voice for two days, and thanks to a few online video tutorials(Karmatic1110 was fantastic help), I've been met with some early success. However, I've got some issues.

First of all, my boy voice is already kind of light and higher than average anyway, which I thought was going to be a boon, but may not actually be a good thing after all. It's definitely a lot easier to practice at higher ranges, but basically... I'm having difficulty finding a natural sounding female voice that also fits my face/body shape. The trick seems to be largely throat constriction, and indeed, the more I constrict my throat, the more girly I sound. Unfortunately, by the time I get to a voice that sounds genuinely feminine, I think it's a bit too high for me. =(

I'll link to a couple. I'd love some advice and critiquing, because I've been recording and listening to myself so much that I'm not sure I'm hearing it objectively anymore.

First, for the sake of comparison, here's my boy voice.

Boy voice?! Nooooo

This was done earlier on, it's half decent I think, but I think it sounds too much like my boy voice.

First girly voice!

And this one was on of my latest attempts, and I was really happy with it until I thought about how high pitched it is. Somehow I don't think it'd match my appearance. Though the first four seconds or so are really nice(at least to my ears).

Second girly voice!

So yeah, I guess really I'm trying to sound girly without going so high pitched, and I'm having trouble finding a middle ground(feminine like the second clip but more in the range of the first clip). I think I had it in those first four seconds of the first clip, but I haven't been able to get that sound back.

Anyway, I suppose it's a little difficult to get an idea of whether or not the voice fits without a picture to go with it, so...

Not a great picture, but it will do. (And no, I'm not attempting to pass in that picture, that's just me as boyish as I tend to get. It's just for reference)

Thanks for any advice!

[Guest Nelly]

Hello,

nice result. I love the first girl voice more than the second. The second one sounds to high. Of course the picture helps to see if the voice is right. I think that a higher voice belongs to a smaller person. So a big girl e.g. a discus-thrower will not pass with a voice to high. Maybe some more data to your body would help and a picture in girl mode.

I also try to train my female voice. But how to check that training is okay? I get the idea to use the help of special software. As an engineer I would use a frequency analyzer. It is available as free software. It shows the used frequencies in a signal as an diagram. A man has more lower frequencies and a girl more high as it is known. You can use your boy voice and a real girl voice as an reference. Than you can train the voice to a higher frequency level and the software will show you if it is working or not.

There is also a software for playstation I think. It is called singstar (?). You must sing a song similar to karaokee. After the song you get a report of it. I think it is also with a statistic of the used frequencies.

If I found a good software for free and made some test, I will post here the result.

Greetings

Nelly

[Guest Kristine]

Thanks so much for the input! I think you pretty much confirmed what I suspected myself, so that helps a lot. I'll try and practice closer to the first attempt.

Just for the sake of it, I'm about 5'8" and I weigh just under 160lbs, so I'm not really large, but unfortunately I have broader shoulders than I'd like, so it makes me appear a big bigger than I am. I don't qualify for a cute little squeaky girl at any rate(as much as I'd like to D=).

So yeah, I really need to try and match my voice to my size, and I think the first one is much better. Now to just try and make it sound natural.

Thanks again! If you figure out that software let me know; every bit helps!

[Guest Snow Angel]

I basically have the same problem as you. My boy voice and girl voice are so similar that I can't even tell if I'm doing it sometimes, and sometimes I've gotten ma'am on the phone while using boy voice, so the training is a bit frustrating for me.

I like both of your voices and I think they both pass. As you said, just practice talking in them to make them more natural.

[Guest RainBird]

Wow great work! Your voice sounds good

My voice is terrible, especially on recordings. I'm finding it soo hard to find my voice..

Well Done!

[Guest theEND]

I think the first one sounds better because the second one almost sounds a little falsetto [no offense intended ]. If I heard you talking the way you talk in the first girl one though, I wouldn't think you used to be a guy or anything. Even though it does sounds quite similar to your male voice, the difference between male and female voices is quite subtle anyway. In the second one I think you're exaggerating that difference, so it doesn't work as well.

You look really good in your picture to be honest, if that's as boyish as you get then I reckon you will pass pretty well

[Guest Emily1]

if i'm remembering correctly, there's only something like a 2 step difference between male and female speaking voices, and I've known plenty of low pitched women or high pitched men, so pitch isn't the main thing you need to focus on. What does matter is monotony (monotonous for men), men speak more from the chest, while women speak from the head, and when the throat is constricted, it sounds more feminine.