The "Does my voice pass?" thread

[Jamie D]

I still have a ways to go. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Most people tell me now it's genderless (better than deep male I suppose), but wanted other people's opinion.

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1NgfEoXrJf9

I seem to start off OK, but towards the end I start to hear more maleness in the voice. Although sometimes even at a lower pitch, I can still detect a feminine resonance to seems to work but not all the time. I've only been practicing for 3 months and I'm 6'7" (age 43). Well the rest I talk about in the recording. Despite practicing for 3 months, it only in the last week or two that things seem to be clicking better. (And according to other people.)

I do not recall hearing your natural male voice, so it is difficult to assess progress.  I can tell you, having a 6' 7" son, that if your starting point was like him, you have made a lot of gains.

[txwnl]

I think I still have a while to go, does anyone have any tips for how I could improve my voice?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3s9q9kybwtfx30n/untitled.wav

(for reference I have a British accent)

[ganjina]

Hey there,

TO txwnl: I think it does not sound bad! I think it's pretty androgynous, had a couple friends here to blind test one said male, one said female, I could not be sure what would be my reaction if I heard it in a blindtest sort of way.

I think there's some slight resonance when you speak, especifically with the O (in particular the one in voice broke up a bit) and the "teen" in fourteen. I am not sure if resonance is the right name but i definitely hear some kind of deeper background noise in those parts.

Here's mine, very simple and repetitive, is what I manage at the moment after heating up my throat and singing a bit. Hopefully it's going somewhere in the rightish direction? (and no I do not really think it's sounding proper). Thanks for your time!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/oxv1u464j8meeh1/untitled.m4a

[Auroramarianna]

Hey there,

TO txwnl: I think it does not sound bad! I think it's pretty androgynous, had a couple friends here to blind test one said male, one said female, I could not be sure what would be my reaction if I heard it in a blindtest sort of way.

I think there's some slight resonance when you speak, especifically with the O (in particular the one in voice broke up a bit) and the "teen" in fourteen. I am not sure if resonance is the right name but i definitely hear some kind of deeper background noise in those parts.

Here's mine, very simple and repetitive, is what I manage at the moment after heating up my throat and singing a bit. Hopefully it's going somewhere in the rightish direction? (and no I do not really think it's sounding proper). Thanks for your time!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/oxv1u464j8meeh1/untitled.m4a

Lol, omg, your voice is awesome! I don't think there's anything male about it

https://soundcloud.com/auroramariana/voz-058

What do you think about mine? It's recorded in my native language, which is Portuguese.

[Jamie D]

Here's mine, very simple and repetitive, is what I manage at the moment after heating up my throat and singing a bit. Hopefully it's going somewhere in the rightish direction? (and no I do not really think it's sounding proper). Thanks for your time!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/oxv1u464j8meeh1/untitled.m4a

How long have you been practicing?  I'd say rather than repeat a phrase, just tell us something about yourself, as if you were having a natural conversation.  That way we can assess inflection, cadence, etc.

First impression is certainly female.

[Jamie D]

Lol, omg, your voice is awesome! I don't think there's anything male about it

https://soundcloud.com/auroramariana/voz-058

What do you think about mine? It's recorded in my native language, which is Portuguese.

A six-second recording is not sufficient to really comment.  Again, definitely on the female-ish side, but somewhat falsetto.

[Boca.Lisa]

Can someone tell me how to add a file to my reply?  I feel like an idiot not being able to figure it out.

Thanks!

[ganjina]

Thanks a lot Jamie and Aurora  ! I will certainly do as Jamie said... I just wanted to make sure the first impression as you call it is sort of OK to start practicing more continuously from there.

I've have not been practicing really seriously as it should be :/, maybe try to get the pitch and resonance right by singing a few hours a week for the last 4 months. I will soon get the tuner and start practicing seriously every day, get more feedback and maybe in a couple months I can talk something sort of decent!

Can someone tell me how to add a file to my reply?  I feel like an idiot not being able to figure it out.

I used Dropbox (easy, free, big files sharing software), which lets you upload files from your PC to some remote server and it will give you links to download those files straight to you.

To Aurora, I second Jamie about the length, and I do hear some falsetto or a tense throat/cords I think... maybe try to relax the throat and use your abs to create a stronger wind current to make up for the lost of power through relaxing and not forcing your throat?

[Boca.Lisa]

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1Tpbp0FsWub

Hopefully this worked!

[Carrie Liz]

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1Tpbp0FsWub

Hopefully this worked!

Pretty good.

Your pitch is excellent! It's near the 190 hz range, which is basically squarely within the female range. I would gender you female if I heard your voice.

In terms of suggestions...

You could have used just a bit more pitch variation. You definitely did a few of the slides and upward inflections, but the bulk of your sentences tended to be a tad monotone.

Also, and this is my only legitimate advice, you need to relax and "let it go" a bit more. It just sounded a bit forced, like you were deliberately trying to speak in a certain voice rather than just speaking naturally, and you didn't sound very relaxed. Your speaking pattern was a bit staccato.

These are all nitpicks and minor suggestions, by the way. On a fundamental level, because of the excellent pitch that you have, your voice definitely sounds female to me. You just need to work on making it sound a bit more natural.

[KittyKat]

Hey all, trying to get some opinions on my normal voice because I do seem to get gendered female a lot over the phone. Did it as a video because I wanted to know what people thought while seeing me talk.

[KittyKat]

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1Tpbp0FsWub

Hopefully this worked!

I think your voice sounds just like a girl. No maleness there.

[Calder Smith]

Hey all, trying to get some opinions on my normal voice because I do seem to get gendered female a lot over the phone. Did it as a video because I wanted to know what people thought while seeing me talk.

I think you sound like a female.

[KittyKat]

@txwnl sounds feminine to me, but I could see it working as a male voice if you were presenting that way.

@ganjina your voice also sounds feminine but would like to hear more

@Aurora I couldn't really catch any thing you said and its hard to tell

[Auroramarianna]

Thanks for the feedback people! I realize I might seem to be in "falsetto", but when the recording started I was pretending to be calling someone so I tried to add a little expressivity. Anyway, here are two more recordings.
https://soundcloud.com/auroramariana/voz-057
https://soundcloud.com/auroramariana/voz-054

In one of those I think I actually tried to sound a little deeper than I usually do. Tell me what you think!!
Also, does anyone know any voice software programme downloadable for free, which can be used to analyze pitch and resonance? Thank you ))

[Roni1992]

Thought I could use some feedback before I go full-time! Thanks in advance.

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1xIMBvJl4S5

[Auroramarianna]

Thought I could use some feedback before I go full-time! Thanks in advance.

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1xIMBvJl4S5

Never in a million years I would say that's a male voice! Good job, congratulations : )))

[Zoe Snow]

I think I'm starting to get the resonance thing figured out.  How does this sound?

https://soundcloud.com/zoe-snow/mar2

[Alaia]

I think I'm starting to get the resonance thing figured out.  How does this sound?

https://soundcloud.com/zoe-snow/mar2

I think your pitch and resonance are pretty good. What sounds odd to me is the intonations (changes in pitch) that occur at unusual places, putting emphasis on words that I don't really think needed it.
This will go away if you practice a lot by listening to ciswomen speak and then try to repeat what they said with the same intonations and inflections.

Thought I could use some feedback before I go full-time! Thanks in advance.

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1xIMBvJl4S5

This is just my opinion and I'm no voice expert, so take it with a grain of salt. First off, your pitch and resonance sound spot on for the female register. What sounds off to me is the inflections you are placing, specifically on the ending of some words which you are also dragging out a little. Examples:

(Exaggerated emphasis on the vowel sounds I'm talking about.)
Hey everybodeee
...in Mexicooo this Juuune
if you guys could give me suggestioons

The result to me ends up sounding a bit valley girl and edging towards gay male. I hope I'm not upsetting you by saying that as I'm not trying to be mean. I'm just trying to give you some constructive feedback because I think you are very close to having a fantastic female voice.  As I said before, your pitch and resonance sound pretty good. It's just the inflections that was bothering me.



Okay, so having said those things, I think it's only fair to put my own voice out there for constructive criticism. I need to work on intonation and inflection as well. I'm curious to know if others think I have any resonance or pitch issues though. My femme voice still sounds very fake to me, but I'm not sure if that's just because I'm not used to hearing myself speak that way all the time or what.

Here's my sample, which has me starting out with my female voice, transitioning to my male voice for comparison, and then back to female:
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0eGdxYsKkjb

[sad panda]

hey guys can someone tell me If I sound ok reallyquick? :s i am sick, my throat feels so bad and i have to use my voice a lot today... I don't want to sound weird thanks!!!

http://soundcloud.com/user882899060/sick/s-kyCE7