Fundamentals of your Feminine Voice

[Melissa]

The only time when my voice sounds manly, is when I am REALLY REALLY mad.
Raging mad. Its not because of the pitch, it drops just a bit, its because my
voice becomes so incredibly loud and comes from the chest.

Whenever I yell, it's always in a head voice.  For instance, if my kids get lost in the store and I yell really loud, it still sounds female.  I'm not sure why that it.  Now that I'm paying more attention to my voice though, it can drop a bit low if I'm getting lazy.  The weird thing is, even though it sounds male to me many times, I still consistently get maamed.

Anyhow, my voice really is one of the least of my problems.  I do have other issues I am still dealing with (mostly self acceptance of physical features).  Also, I just got one of those body fat analyzer scales last night and I REALLY need to get that down, since it's high enough to start being dangerous to my health.  Maybe lowering that will help with my voice.  When I was buying the scale last night I got ma'amed (always a good feeling) and I was a bit animated at the time due to thinking something the customer in front of me's child was saying (it was adorable) and I'm sure no matter how good or bad my voice is that day, my looks help me pass, not to mention mannerisms. 

Also, to be quite honest though, now that I'm listening to my voice more carefully, I really don't like it very much.   Especially when I hear it recorded.  Rashelle tells me it's good (and she's usually quite honest with me).  However, perhaps I'll go in for more voice lessons eventually.  I have strengthened my vocal cords since the last time.

[Keira]

I've wanted to post audio files for awhile, but all the standard sites all go for visual storage: video, photos.

Only way I could see it work is if you post an audio file under a video extension or and audio file multiplexed with a static image.

[melissa90299]

You can post mp3s at my space
Just got ma'amed three times and missed twice on the phone, thank you Kathe Perez!

[melissa90299]

You can post mp3s at my space
Just got ma'amed three times and missed twice on the phone, thank you Kathe Perez!

Myspace is a good idea except that:

a) I can't stand Myspace,

b) I don't want to put something personal up on Myspace, have creepy ->-bleeped-<- ->-bleeped-<-s write me, psychopaths hastle me, yadda, yadda.

c) Did I say I can't stand Myspace.

Are there any other sites that aren't quite so public where you can post MP3s? I could find it out myself, but I'm being really passive and lazy.

thanks,
Gina M.

You could put up a totally fictitious page with no references to anything.

[Mattie]

Thats a great voice.  If I heard you over the phone I'd give you a ma'am.

[louise000]

Well.  I'm not sure if the thread started or not to post these in. (LINKS REMOVED)


That's a great feminine voice Rommie. Did you develop it yourself or did you work on it using an instructional CD or book?  I've already been told by my counsellor that my voice will require alot of work, but if it could be half as good as yours I'd be ecstatic!

[louise000]

Hi Rommie, Getting professional help really paid off in your case. I wish your coach was closer to England!!! Best wishes, Louise.

[Melissa]

Boohoo, I got my first "sir" of the year over the phone this morning.  I was probably relaxing too much (I haven't actually been trying in person, although I probably should).  I told the lady "I'm not a "sir", I'm a ma'am." To which she started apologizing profusely and said stuff like most of the callers were guys.  After that, I got ma'amed all the way, but still...  I guess my voice needs some more work done on it.

[Keira]

Regina,

I think that people work by themselves and for most, that's good enough to sound sort of female with a very nasal quality to their voice (with all the other visual clues), people will generally call you mam in person even if your voice is not perfect.

From what I've heard from talking to many TS on the phone, that their voice is absolutely not female enough to get mamed. But, I suspect that they prefer correcting the person instead of taking the extra effort of getting this done (which can be substantial). If your work is phone related, obviously you've got a greater motivation to do this right.

The usual TS voice of those that have done half the work is highly nasal, like someone with a stuffed nose, it also often lacks volume. I'm sad to say this but it often sounds like the stereotypical effiminate gay man. If people just recorded themselves while they speak and try to correct this, it would go a long way.

Melissa, once or twice a year isn't too bad for a neophyte like you :-). Of course you'll work on it, your so dilligent that I don't doubt it.

[louise000]

Tirade:

I wish more people would take Romie's example to heart... if you're having a hard time getting your voice to where you want it, don't just rely on a video or a cd. I suspect the majority of people can't teach themselves using either of those two methods and certainly not from a book. Try to get a voice therapist who has experience with transwomen. Call around and ask other voice therapists if they know someone in your area. Even if you can only afford to see them once a month, you're going to be way better off than working on it yourself.

Voice work requires repeated objective knowledgeable feedback on both the sound and mechanics of what you're doing and you can't get that on here and certainly not from yourself. I understand how tight people's financial situations get when they transition, but it does amaze me that people who will spend lots of money on surgeries, clothes and hair removal won't put the same resources into developing a reasonable voice. People need to be realistic about their voices and, for most, it's a complicated skill that takes a lot of time and practice and knowing what you're doing without hurting yourself. There really aren't a lot of shortcuts.

Tirade over.

Gina M.

I'm sure you are right Gina. But where I live there's unlikely to be a suitable voice therapist within 100 miles (or more), but it's something I intend to talk to my counsellor about. My belief is that if someone is dressed somewhat tomboyish, or even downright male, if their voice is feminine and the body language is right they will be identified as female. I would go so far as to say that perhaps it is important to tackle the voice issue first (along with electrolysis) before getting too far into transition. But I'm just a humble novice and I accept that others may have more informed opinions than me.

[Keira]

Regina, the nasality I was talking about is by doing a head voice with changing anything else in the voice path from vocal cords to the mouth, this does increase higher harmonics, but not in a pleasant way, a lot of those harmonics don't come from the mouth, but the nose!!


Speach therapist recommend to increase higher harmonics to talk while smiling, keep the tongue as low in the mouth as possible, keep the tongue forward and the tip close to the teeth. All of this has to be done without affecting speach, you have to work on it.

[melissa90299]

One doesn't have to live near a voice therapist, it can be done just as effectively (maybe more effectively) over the phone.

I think the key, whether one on one or using a course, is to work on it every day. I taught myself so many things without formal classes that I feel I can master this without formal training. However, if I don't get the results I expect, I will try formal training, perhaps with Kathe Perez.

[melissa90299]

I got ma'amed on the phone again today. Just got an e-mail form Kathe that CD II is on the way, I was also singing along with Billie Holliday and Tori Amos, my voice becomes thin in the upper registers but I can match both of them note for note without going to falsetto.

Posted on: June 28, 2007, 05:21:18 PM=======================================
=======================================

Wow! I had left myself a message yesterday on my home telephone, I had forgetten that I had and just heard it, I thought at first it was Charlene then maybe Cassandra, then no...who was it...then I realized it was me!

Posted on: July 07, 2007, 07:59:16 PMWorked on my voice extensively while traveling, it's getting there but I need to work on consistency.

[Melissa]

Being in a musical, I've been working on my singing voice.  It seems the upper limit of my singing range is about D5 (587 Hz) when it starts to break up, but I can stabilize it, but then on E5 (the next whole step up) it either sounds horrible or no sound comes out.  Fortunately I'm not the only alto in the group where it gets uncomfortable being at the upper limit.

[gothique11]

If people want to hear my voice, it's on my Vlog. It drops sometimes, depending on the subject, etc. I find that I talk differently to men and women, friends and strangers. Other girls do that too, and their voice will drop accordingly, although I don't know if I'm dropping too low. I don't notice it until I play back my videos.

A tuner might be a good idea. My Mac comes with Garageband that has a tuner, but it doesn't say the octaves or Hz.

I still can't figure out that program I found. And then I think I sorta got it working, but I don't know how the dots all over work.

--natalie

Posted on: July 11, 2007, 01:05:33 PMI found a tuner thingy for my computer. It seems to work okay, and I try to talk into it and the numbers go up and down like crazy with a huge range. I can sing a note in, but how do I know my average range and if it's actually a female range?

[louise000]

If people want to hear my voice, it's on my Vlog. It drops sometimes, depending on the subject, etc. I find that I talk differently to men and women, friends and strangers. Other girls do that too, and their voice will drop accordingly, although I don't know if I'm dropping too low. I don't notice it until I play back my videos.

Hi Natalie,
On one of my voice training programs (can't remember which) it is said that girls tend to use a higher pitch when speaking to men, but a slightly lower pitch when chatting to other women. Something else to remember as I try to perfect my "feminine voice"!!
I've just bought a Korg CA-30 Chromatic Tuner, I haven't tried it yet as it came without batteries.
I've just checked out your Vlog, it's great - hope you won't mind me subscribing (my login is "patsytime" on there, you're welcome to check out my channel).
Best wishes, Louise

[melissa90299]

My natural voice seems to fall somewhere between C4 (262Hz) and D4 (294Hz)  It's difficult for me to go below A3 (233Hz), which seems to be about as low as it goes now.  I'm not sure why it went up there.  It was either hormones, practice, or both.  It didn't used to be that high.

Hmmm...that would be seem highly unusual even for a genetic female. Interesting though, I will check the vocal ranges of alto, sopranos,

EDIT:

In music, an alto or contralto is a singer with a vocal range somewhere between a tenor and a mezzo-soprano. The term is used to refer to the lowest female singing voice, or to a kind of male singing voice utilizing falsetto called a countertenor. Alto pieces normally span between G below middle C to the E a tenth above middle C (i.e. G3-E5). At the bottom of their range, male altos sound almost like tenors. Some altos have even larger ranges; from the C below middle C to the C two octaves above (C3-C6 if middle C is C4), but like all singers, their vocal type is defined mostly by their "vocal center" and not by their range (a soprano for instance could technically possess the lower range of an alto, but would not be comfortable singing it). In four part choral harmony, the alto is the second highest voice. Alto pieces were originally written in the alto clef, but now use the treble clef.

Although both men and women may have voices in the alto range, the word is usually used to mean a female singer. The word "contralto" can be used to refer specifically to a female alto singer, versus alto male singers or instruments or clefs. However, choirs singing early music frequently include adult male altos, also called countertenors. If a singer is a man and a natural tenor, if they choose to sing using falsetto they are referred to as a countertenor, whereas a male alto's true vocal weight usually is that of a baritone or bass.

A soprano is a singer with a voice range from approximately middle C (C4) to "high A" (A5) in choral music, or to "soprano C" (C6, two octaves above middle C) or higher in operatic music. In four part chorale style harmony the soprano takes the highest part which usually encompasses the melody.

So though unusual for a genetic male, it's not for a genetic female, I saw a male on American Idol who sang soprano.

Female singing ranges above, I have been working on my upper ranges, improving timbre somewhat, I can match Bille Holliday note for note, of course, the timbre is not as good on the very high notes, it it were, I'd be on Broadway (well, actually I should be anyway)

[lighting]

melissa
thank you for the link to this post

i dont understand all this about voice in c4 and d4 to be honest i am not into music that way so i dont understand it all but i am willing to learn so i can make my voice more in the female range

once again thank you

amanda

[Rachael]

IMO, concentrating on pitch can make a voice sound entirely false and synthesised, i have natal female friends with voices far deeper than mine and others. and who you would never mistake for a male vocally... harmonics, and speach patters are more important imo.

[gina_taylor]

Seven years ago, when I had started to understand who I was, and I started taking my dressing more seriously, I knew that to be taken seriously as a woman, that I would need to alter my voice, so I dropped it a notch or two to almost a whisper, and it's worked out really fine for me.

Gina