This voice thing is discouraging

[Jessica15]

I don't get it.  Everyone is always going on and on about the CandiFLA videos.  I watched the video, practiced a lot...Then rewatched them again and again.  Spent hours...days...weeks practicing.  Recorded countless audio clips of myself on my computer and listened back to them.  After all that I literally got nothing to show for it.  No matter what I do, I just sound like I'm trying to force something totally unnatural...a voice that never even sounds remotely female, regardless of what I do.

[BunnyBee]

Not all methods work for all people.  Try more things!  Here are a couple video series that I found pretty helpful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbTtASux7ys&list=UU1NUlpGxudou4qYKuf1eFgA

https://www.youtube.com/user/tgvoice/videos?shelf_id=0&view=0&sort=p

Many others out there!

PS it can take months and months of hard work to see any improvement at all.  The hardest thing is to not get discouraged.

[warlockmaker]

Living in the closet I have two voices. I have a male voice and a femele voice and its kinda strange as once I'm in either male or female mode its hard to get out of it without a forced concious effort. If anything, I tend at times, to bring the female inflections into my male voice range. Its just pratice practice practice and it will sound strange to begin with but listen to a voice recording of yourself, it will sound strange to begin with but soon it becomes normal.

[Eva Marie]

voice is the easiest thing to do. the hardest part about voice is just the sheer persistence required.

if you persist you will get there.

This is true.

Also, it helps if you find a source of voice training that works for you. I tried several methods that did not work, but I finally had success with a voice coach that did online sessions in a group setting thru a webex. She gave us training tools that we could use in the car or anytime we were alone and that helped. One of the exercises she gave us helped raise and strengthen the adam's apple which automatically shifts your voice higher. You swallow and hold a few times for an increasingly longer period of time.

Practice is very important too, as is recording yourself and listening to what you sound like. Its very hard to do that but it helps.

For me, coming out and getting out into the real world where I had no choice but to use my voice was a real motivator to get it into the female range posthaste.

[JustASeq]

voice is the easiest thing to do. the hardest part about voice is just the sheer persistence required.

if you persist you will get there.

This is so true. While my voice is still not ideal in my eyes, I have had improvement. I try to move in baby steps towards my goal, making sure to use the closest voice to my goal that I can comfortably in everyday use. It must be working, my mom thought hormones were changing my voice....