Voice concerns

[Stephanie_b]

Well, I was practising my voice and listened back to it on my phones recorder app (all I've got).  Its sounding really good, for the most part I think but its so darned raspy!  I don't know how to eliminate this rasp from my voice...

Have you experienced this?

[azSam]

Maybe your girl voice is just raspy. Practice though, that's all I can say; at least without hearing an example.

[Stephanie_b]

Maybe your girl voice is just raspy. Practice though, that's all I can say; at least without hearing an example.

I would be willing to provide a sample of my voice for you to hear, if I knew how.
Am not sure how to do that

[azSam]

Oh Blah then - Can you record it on your computer?

[Stephanie_b]

Oh Blah then - Can you record it on your computer?

I would do that, but its not running atm- needs new video card.
All I have to use right now is my android phone.  I can upload stuff, but am not sure about what kind of file my phone recordings are

[azSam]

Well if you figure out a way to do it, I'll listen and offer whatever support I can.

[Stephanie_b]

How bout this?  I will make a youtube account and upload a video of me, but you won't see me in the video, but you will hear me speak.  I would just feel embarrassed looking like a guy atm and speaking in a female voice.  Lol
just give me a day or two to make it and I will post a link on here

[azSam]

Ok

[pretty]

Depends on what specifically you mean by raspy but maybe it could be your voice wanting to jump between your modal and falsetto register 

[Ashazti]

Mine has been getting raspy as well, but more so after I've been practicing for a while in one shot... I'm guessing in my case it's just because my vocal chords aren't used to it yet and I just have to keep practicing.

[Assoluta]

Also, you don't want to be talking in falsetto at all, if you do speak in a higher range, you want to be using mixed or head voice so your voice will sound louder, clearer and less breathy, and less sounding like a "man attempting to sound like a woman". You can read many articles on mixed and head voice, although in fact youtube videos may be better to hear the demonstration to get a feel of the concepts, as descrobing it can sound confusing.
It basically means having falsetto with vocal chord closure - the best analogy I can make is to try and impersonate a soprano opera singer - that kind of tone. Mixed voice, as it suggests, mixes modal/chest voice with the 'operatic' head voice - with this, you can speak louder and even shout in a much higher and feminine range.

And yes, this improves hugely with time and vocal muscle memory.

[azSam]

It's all about that muscle memory as Assoluta just said. You have to train your muscles to hold your throat at that position, it's a form of strength training. Really all you can do is practice.

[Stephanie_b]

Yes, they say practice makes perfect and I do need to practice more.
I am going to post my link a little later on this afternoon, but I have caught a cold; its a bad one.

It will be a little tougher today to get my voice sounding good.

[Stephanie_b]

Well, it took forever to get a video to upload to youtube from my phone, but it finally worked.

Please keep in mind that I have just barely begun to work on my voice.  I am open to suggestions and comments, please be kind?  I realize it needs soooooo much work bit its a start.

Here's the link of the video:

[apple pie]

Stephanie I think that sounds pretty good! How long have you been practising?

And from your video, I think I know what you mean by raspy. I was like that in the beginning too. But as I used my voice more and more, the raspiness kind of slowly went away without me doing anything about it.

Actually, that's only true for the range I usually talk in (I generally talk in a fairly low voice with a baseline of around 165 Hz extending up to around 330 Hz in normal conversations), and above that range (e.g. if I have to shout down the street) it still sounds somewhat raspy! So maybe it just takes time for your voice to condition to it. So keep using it! (I used to practise my voice by chatting with online friends before I transitioned, it's very good practice)

[Stephe]

It still sounds like your voice is more from your chest rather than up in your head. Parts of a sentence will sound OK, then it dips back into male resonance. For starting out it sounds pretty good. I really think something like -sing and see- software where you can visually see what your voice is doing while you practice is a huge help.

Also a raspy voice after you practice for a while is a clue to stop practicing and rest your voice. I would nly practice about 5-10 minutes a day at first. After 6-8 months I still can't really talk all day and it stay smooth but can talk as much as I normally need to and it stays nice.