Finding my voice

[Riley Skye]

So far i've been having a month of practice with working on my voice, thusfar I've only really succeeded in softening it but sounds distinctly male to me. I've read up of what to do such as speaking in falsetto which I think sounds really funny. Overall I don't feel don't feel like I'm making progress. It's been quite annoying working on it since I feel as if I'm at a stand still with my voice and that I won't be able to change it

[andy_pap]

I have the same problem I thought it was going to be easy but I can not find a good voice if I do find a voice I can never keep it up or re-find if. The only one I can find fast is like the worms games

I guess it tacks time and lots of practice to get a good voice

[Beverly]

Andy & Julia...

The basics are these:

1. This will take time. Six months seems to be a typical time frame

2. Initially you have to do this is short bursts or you will strain your voice

3. There is no substitute for practice

4. The BIG killer topic is resonance. Men resonate in their chest and you need to lose that.

5. Intonation is vitally important. After resonance it is next...

6. Pitch helps, but anything over 170Hz will do. 220Hz is the ideal

Falsetto will help increase your vocal range and that is important but no women talks in falsetto so it is not the answer. To move resonance out of your chest, try adjusting your Adam's Apple (AA) by lifting it. Put your fingers on it and swallow and you will feel your AA move up. You need to keep it up. Try forcing your tongue forward and down and see if that moves your AA. Keep moving your tongue around until your AA moves up then practice keeping it there. This will change the properties of your airways (and eliminate the need for a trachael shave if you are lucky). The trick is to keep that AA up when talking.

Here endth the first lesson....

[Riley Skye]

Andy & Julia...

The basics are these:

1. This will take time. Six months seems to be a typical time frame

2. Initially you have to do this is short bursts or you will strain your voice

3. There is no substitute for practice

4. The BIG killer topic is resonance. Men resonate in their chest and you need to lose that.

5. Intonation is vitally important. After resonance it is next...

6. Pitch helps, but anything over 170Hz will do. 220Hz is the ideal

Falsetto will help increase your vocal range and that is important but no women talks in falsetto so it is not the answer. To move resonance out of your chest, try adjusting your Adam's Apple (AA) by lifting it. Put your fingers on it and swallow and you will feel your AA move up. You need to keep it up. Try forcing your tongue forward and down and see if that moves your AA. Keep moving your tongue around until your AA moves up then practice keeping it there. This will change the properties of your airways (and eliminate the need for a trachael shave if you are lucky). The trick is to keep that AA up when talking.

Here endth the first lesson....

My biggest killer is intonation, naturally i dont have a low pitched voice. once i get the intonation down for me it'll fall into place.

[Beverly]

My biggest killer is intonation, naturally i dont have a low pitched voice. once i get the intonation down for me it'll fall into place.

In that case, listen to women saying short phrases or ideally, tape women on TV or radio and mimic how they speak. Record yourself and play it back to yourself and keep changing your intonation until it clicks into place.

Also, record some, put it up on SoundCloud and the rest of us will critique it. I have about half a dozen up there myself....

[Alexis R]

I don't have a very large Adams Apple, it's not at all visible, so every time I try to move it up, I feel like I'm choking myself.  I will eventually figure it out, but, till then, I'll keep practicing.