Can anybody reach the 220 hz / A3 range and maintain a decent quality?

[Stephe]

The other handy thing to have is a pitch generator. It gives you a tone/pitch to aim for. I'm sure there is a smart phone app for that. I got one off ebay for $8 that generates tones and also measures them. It's purpose was for instrument tuning but works with voice too.

[Kelly J. P.]

 I can reach the 220Hz mark. I have reached the 300Hz mark, though that is not a place that I am comfortable with, and it doesn't sound right on me anyway. I mostly hover around the 200Hz mark, because it's effortless for one, and for two because I come from a family of women who speak in a lower register.

Oddly enough, on mic and over the phone, I apparently sound the same as my mom to many people.

[pretty]

If it makes you feel better:

http://soundcloud.com/user963959415/10412-2



I have never formally trained my voice, just kind of switched one day, so it is pretty doable I think. But like I said in the clip I do not really think 220 absolutely must be the goal 

[Apples Mk.II]

Currently using a Korg TM-40 tuner.  Maybe it is my computer microphone, but on the tuner it is easier to reach the G/A3, or even get to B3 without breaking. Unless I am screwing with the calibration... I have set it at 440hz, half of the range it can be set to (410-489). Compared to the readings playing a piano keyboard, it seems OK.


Anyway, all of this music and scales things, makes me want to learn how to play an instrument again. So in the end, it looks like I can start forgetting about a physical unbreakable barrier. I'd better use this nifty gadget whenever I can, it should help a lot.

[A]

Hmm, my voice is usually around 200 Hz, from what my computer says. It's not hard to go up to 220 Hz or 250 Hz, but then it's a voice that sounds like i'm trying to speak high. :p

[A]

Here are two little recordings~ (dunno how much you hear it in that, but my voice is brooooken.)
http://soundcloud.com/letter-a/sets/two-short-voice-recordings

As for checking the frequency, I:

1. Create a mono Wav file in Adobe Audition (or any program whatsoever, really; it's just that Audition is the only one I was taught to work with).
2. Open it in WaveSurfer, a free program.
3. Select the whole clip.
4. Right click - Create pane - Pitch contour.

And, if I want the average of the recording or a selection:
5. Right click - Statistics.

[Ave]

Here are two little recordings~ (dunno how much you hear it in that, but my voice is brooooken.)
http://soundcloud.com/letter-a/sets/two-short-voice-recordings

As for checking the frequency, I:

1. Create a mono Wav file in Adobe Audition (or any program whatsoever, really; it's just that Audition is the only one I was taught to work with).
2. Open it in WaveSurfer, a free program.
3. Select the whole clip.
4. Right click - Create pane - Pitch contour.

And, if I want the average of the recording or a selection:
5. Right click - Statistics.

You sound pretty :3

*awkward moment*

[A]

Heh, not sure what it means to sound pretty, but thank you.

As a side note, doing these tests tells me just how much my voice has been degrading. This summer, that trans girl I used to be in contact with through the Internet told me she was jealous of how I had a high voice and hers, despite totally passable (more so than mine IMO) was pretty low. She has absolute pitch, which means she can tell what note a sound is just by hearing it (AND she can use programs just like me), so she can't have had a false impression.

Well, I compare old recordings of her that I have to mine, and I'm sitting just at the same frequencies - even lower depending on the recording. Even if I use my "really trying to speak high" recording. I did notice that lately, I'm barely able to sing anything at all, but I hadn't compared speaking.

Not cool, seriously. ._. I mean, I feel bad for those who really struggle with their voice, but I feel it's really painful to have something like that and then see it die, maybe as much as never having it. Without any logical cause. Without a diagnosis to explain it. Without the money to pay a speech therapist. I always liked to sing and had some hidden ambition to become a sort of amateur singer. Had. >_>

Sorry, that complaining wasn't exactly needed.

[Ave]

Heh, not sure what it means to sound pretty, but thank you.

As a side note, doing these tests tells me just how much my voice has been degrading. This summer, that trans girl I used to be in contact with through the Internet told me she was jealous of how I had a high voice and hers, despite totally passable (more so than mine IMO) was pretty low. She has absolute pitch, which means she can tell what note a sound is just by hearing it (AND she can use programs just like me), so she can't have had a false impression.

Well, I compare old recordings of her that I have to mine, and I'm sitting just at the same frequencies - even lower depending on the recording. Even if I use my "really trying to speak high" recording. I did notice that lately, I'm barely able to sing anything at all, but I hadn't compared speaking.

Not cool, seriously. ._. I mean, I feel bad for those who really struggle with their voice, but I feel it's really painful to have something like that and then see it die, maybe as much as never having it. Without any logical cause. Without a diagnosis to explain it. Without the money to pay a speech therapist. I always liked to sing and had some hidden ambition to become a sort of amateur singer. Had. >_>

Sorry, that complaining wasn't exactly needed.

Your voice still sounds anything but male to me, maybe the hormones are doing something funky there and you need time to adjust? I doubt it's masculinization, Androcur is pretty potent at stopping that.

[A]

Well, it's something that started about 2-3 years ago, before I started HRT, and has continued since, in fits and starts. So probably it's neither, unless it's some masculinisation that's immune to androcur - and even then, it would be surprising that it would start at 18 years old.

The ENT, after seeing me for a big 5 minutes (>.>) declared "functional dysphonia" with his explanation being that I put "bad tension" on my vocal cords. I think it's a sort of all-around diagnosis for a patient who reports problems but whose vocal cords seem fine. I don't reckon I've been changing the way I speak to induce such a problem in the last 3 years, since trying to have a good, feminine voice is something I've been doing for about 10 years if I remember well, but...

Anyway. He prescribed speech therapy, but the hospital's free one has a three-year waiting list (guess what? I'm moving away in 2 years), and the private ones are definitely not something I can afford.

Ideally, I'd see another doctor who'd take more time with me and either make a different diagnosis or make the effort of explaining it more, but seeing how long it took to see the ENT and how the doctor only referred me because I insisted, I doubt I'll get more.

I know it sounds silly that it's me who complains when so many are stuggling really hard, and my own girlfriend had a surgery for that, but voice was always something really important to me, and I can't help but feel really distressed by this.

(Feel free to cut my topic hijacking off anytime! ^^')

[Jamie D]

@Pretty - your voice is marvelous, and with no training. Wow!

@A - I agree with Ave that there is no male to be found in your voice.

Actually Pretty and A, you both have sexy, sultry voices.

[pretty]

Heh, not sure what it means to sound pretty, but thank you.

As a side note, doing these tests tells me just how much my voice has been degrading. This summer, that trans girl I used to be in contact with through the Internet told me she was jealous of how I had a high voice and hers, despite totally passable (more so than mine IMO) was pretty low. She has absolute pitch, which means she can tell what note a sound is just by hearing it (AND she can use programs just like me), so she can't have had a false impression.

Well, I compare old recordings of her that I have to mine, and I'm sitting just at the same frequencies - even lower depending on the recording. Even if I use my "really trying to speak high" recording. I did notice that lately, I'm barely able to sing anything at all, but I hadn't compared speaking.

Not cool, seriously. ._. I mean, I feel bad for those who really struggle with their voice, but I feel it's really painful to have something like that and then see it die, maybe as much as never having it. Without any logical cause. Without a diagnosis to explain it. Without the money to pay a speech therapist. I always liked to sing and had some hidden ambition to become a sort of amateur singer. Had. >_>

Sorry, that complaining wasn't exactly needed.

As far as the singing, maybe you just became more pitch-aware...

Like sometimes before I would sing a song and think I did well, not realizing I was singing it in a lower key. Then when I sung at the right pitch some other time I would break into falsetto and it would be like... what happened? Because my voice sound so much less full.

[A]

Hmm, I wouldn't believe so. I really, really can tell how bad the very same songs sound. And how I'm mostly unable to cry or moan or sigh in my usual range anymore. I mean, I'm far from absolute pitch, but it's so flagrant; I could tell if I were changing the key. And to be clear, it's not just that I can't sing high anymore. I can't sing anymore, period, or almost can't. My range has been more than halved. And the "coolest" thing is that it's not stable at all. Sometimes there's a big "hole" in the middle pitches that I can't do; sometimes I can't do the higher ones; sometimes I can't do the lower ones. Always a combination of all that. And my head voice, I can barely use it anymore at all.

And well, if singing isn't enough of a clue, I'm having a lot of trouble speaking, a lot of the time. I have to force myself because my usual ranges don't work at my usual volumes anymore. Some days/for some hours, sometimes, I just have to stop speaking because when I do, it's nothing but air through a pipe and an occasional sound depending on pitch and volume variation as I speak. And as I said, software and absolute pitch people don't lie...

And uhm Jamie, thank you, but that's really not where the issue lies. My voice passes all right, but I'm having trouble speaking and singing. Basically, my voice as a whole is the problem, not its passing ability. x_x

[pretty]

Well IMO at 18 years old it is probably not more masculinization so it's probably reversible. Unless you actually damaged your vocal cords from over use or straining or something. But I doubt you would damage them that much. 

[pretty]

Why cant I hear you guys? Do I have to become a member?

Idk if this helps but it didn't work in opera for me so I had to use firefox.

[Ave]

Idk if this helps but it didn't work in opera for me so I had to use firefox.

or google chrome, maybe some plug in of yours isn't working?

People still use opera as a web browser?

[pretty]

or google chrome, maybe some plug in of yours isn't working?

People still use opera as a web browser?

Yes afaik 

I like the tabs it has where you can see like a site preview in the tab.

Im using firefox... maybe because im using a mac?

Adblock or something? Not sure about mac.

[Nicolette]

I have to resort to Internet Explorer. Firefox on my Windows desktop and laptop fails to play.

[A]

SoundCloud seems to use HTML5, so maybe it would have issues if your browser isn't up to date. The recordings are also played with Flash Player, so maybe there's an issue with the plugin. As a last resort, just try another browser like Safari or something.

If it's still not working, well, Macs are evil, so it's always a pleasure to unfairly blame them. So it's Mac OS' fault!

Edit: Oh yeah, I heard Chrome has a built-in Flash player; it's not the Adobe plugin. So it sounds like a good thing to try if yoyu're having issues with Flash stuff. (Actually, since my plugin keeps crashing, that's something I should try myself, but I just despise Chrome's interface, so.)

[Apples Mk.II]

Agh, nothing. I think I have managed to remove the chest resonance, but even like that the range is stuck at 100-150. I can get to 220 on sustained vowels and raw sounds, but I keep talking as usual. And people can't understand me very well without the resonance. Wondering if there could be something with my teeth, my tongue  seems to get hit most of the time. It can't be that big...


I can get to something like this, but without any volume, and sounding really really bad:



It is the highest I can on normal talking Hearing it is completely hideous.


On raw sound with "Hi", I can get up to this:



Still, quality is really bad, but my voice has never been very good or melodical to start with, even for a man. Sinuses x-rays and allergies test next week. My throat is almost always filled with mucosity constantly, at all times.