Exceptional Voice, inc.

[Ms Bev]

I received my Exceptional Voice CD, Part II two days ago.  I went through the exercises just once, before going to werk, and for the first time ever, have been greeted on the phone as ma'am.  This was pretty consistent, all day long, the exception being the no-gender reference phone calls.  At the drive through window..."yes ma'am".
I thought the CD's would give me marginal results at best, without seeing a voice therapist, but, like many other times in my life, I was wrong again!  The first CD seemed like it would take me tiny steps over a long time, but not so.  CD one was important prep, and the second CD pops you directly into the voice.  Marcy likes my new version voice over the gender-neutral voice I was using, and certainly better than the Marilyn Munroe "whisper voice"
Happy day, CD II of Exceptional Voice has freed me from "voice prison", and given me a genuine voice that I can project without fear.

Bev

[gothique11]

That's awesome. I'm so happy for you!


I just started with a voice therapist. Getting the feed back was really good. I've only had one lesson so far, which was learning good breath control for better voice quality, learning to relax my voice box, and resonance.

Through habit, I've been straining my voice for years which has caused it to be lower when it shouldn't be. And then I've been doing the same thing to bring them up, which doesn't help much. When I went in to visit her, we recorded my average voice pitch and it was around 170hz, and my voice quality was bad. After the first lesson it was at 196hz and my voice quality was good. My voice box didn't hurt at all and my challange was not to strain and not to "try" to make my voice higher, because doing that was acting oppositely. According to her the average females pitch is 200hz.

I have homework to do and I have to learn to relax my voice when I speak and not strain. My voice didn't drop when I hit puberty, which meant that I was made fun of for years because of it. So, for years I tried to make my voice lower to make very one else happy. So, I basically have to unlearn that now.

And when I transitioned I was still in the habit of straining my voice to be lower, and then on top of that trying to make it high-pitched (so, it didn't work well in other words, maybe some pitch change). And then my voice had little quality from the straining and I'd go in and out of being quiet and not using enough air support for my vocal cords, making more strain and brining it down again. All stuff I have to unlearn.

Other than that, my intonation, inflection and all of that are good. She says that my voice is good, and I'm just a case of fine tuning and learning to relax so I don't end up damaging my voice.

All of this also explains why when I drink I sound very feminine and my pitch is much higher -- cause I don't care and I'm just using my normal voice and not the strain voiced I learned while trying to be a guy.

Anyway, The CDs sound interesting and it sounds like few people really got a lot out of it. So, congrats on being ma'med.

It sounds like a good option for people for a lot of people, as not everyone has a voice therapist and so on. It took me a year to see my voice therapist... long wait lists, I had to first wait for to see my GID doctor (8 mnts) and then have him refer me and go into the speech wait list (4 mnth. I think a therapist is good for me because I have different voice issues that I'm not sure a CD can help me with. But I think the CD could probably help the majority of people. I have a lot of friends that would do good with what the CD offers.

[Annie Social]

Do you have a link or any information as to where to obtain the CDs?

[Ms Bev]

Do you have a link or any information as to where to obtain the CDs?

Sure.....The CD order page is  http://www.exceptionalvoice.com/Feminine%20Fundamentals%20CD.html
and the homepage is www.exceptionalvoice.com

Kathe Perez is great to deal with, helpful, courteous, quick delivery.  A mistake was made in mailing my second CD....she sent the first one by mistake, corrected it right away, and told me to keep the incorrectly mailed CD to share.  I took it to my gender therapist today, and she was very happy to have it to loan other clients.


The excercises are carefully explained, and seem silly sometimes, but are all teaching you to change the shape/size of your larynx and other resonating anatomy.

Worth the time, and every penny in my case!  I have no choice but improve my female voice, being a saleswoman.  The hardest part, is hearing a new voice in your head, and having the nerve to sound that way in your head while speaking to a stranger.  It works, believe me.  Yes ma'am on the phone now, consistently, after trying everything else in my power that never worked.  And women customers as well as male customers respond to it as a natural, friendly female voice.  My coworkers are listening, not saying anything, but have a look like....hey....where did that come from?

LOL.....sounds like I work for Kathe........no, but when someone helps me so effectively, I talk about it.



Bev

[Hazumu]

I just finished a block of 6 lessons by phone with Kathe.  I recorded each of the lessons, and the CDs are in my car.  My resonance was improved greatly -- enough so that being sirred on the phone now happens less than half the time.  I liked the one-on-one coaching, as Kathe would try different exercises and, with immediate feedback, would zero in on the ones that really helped me improve my female resonance.

If you wish further information, please PM or e-mail me.

Karen

[Bobbie]

Does anyone know if they do a downloadable version?
...or do you know of anyone else that does?
I have a little problem with receiving 'sensitive' mail at the moment?

Bobby xx

[MichelleT]

I have the first CD. I found it very difficult to speak in a natural manner and get the tuner to register a pitch.

[Ms Bev]

I have the first CD. I found it very difficult to speak in a natural manner and get the tuner to register a pitch.

The tuner frustrated me to the point of not using it throughout the whole 1st CD and into the second, until I learned it did not work while I was driving, as the motor sounds interfered with the function.  In any case, I really didn't need the mechanical feedback.  I would do the program and ignore the tuner.

Bev

Posted on: October 03, 2007, 10:26:12 AM

I have a little problem with receiving 'sensitive' mail at the moment?

Before I was 'out' long ago, I got a post office box in another town. 
The post office is your friend, and cheap 

Bev

[Hazumu]

Before I was 'out' long ago, I got a post office box in another town. 
The post office is your friend, and cheap 

The P.O. Box was one of the first things I got.  I just recently closed it.  It was a big help when receiving things like meds and my new clothes...

Karen

[kalt]

That sounds way kewl!
"Exceptional Voice."

Haha, does it work for other languages too?  I mean, it'd be nice to be able to speak more than just english in a passable way, especially a difficult one to learn like Japanese or German, those are pretty gutteral.

[ketti]

Haha, does it work for other languages too?  I mean, it'd be nice to be able to speak more than just english in a passable way, especially a difficult one to learn like Japanese or German, those are pretty gutteral.

Good question. I know my english is less passable than my swedish, maybe because i don't get much practise speaking english. Also, in what way is japanese gutteral? It has no gutteral consonants as in german.

[kalt]

Haha, does it work for other languages too?  I mean, it'd be nice to be able to speak more than just english in a passable way, especially a difficult one to learn like Japanese or German, those are pretty gutteral.

Good question. I know my english is less passable than my swedish, maybe because i don't get much practise speaking english. Also, in what way is japanese gutteral? It has no gutteral consonants as in german.

The way it's spoken by males is harsh, low in the throat like a loud-spoken whisper and then projected.
The japanese make a point of lowering their voices, as genetically they're somewhat high-pitched.

[Lucy]

Does anyone know if they do a downloadable version?

Bobby xx

[ketti]

The way it's spoken by males is harsh, low in the throat like a loud-spoken whisper and then projected.
The japanese make a point of lowering their voices, as genetically they're somewhat high-pitched.

Yes, i recognize that. There is alot of hard consonants in japanese. Although if you watch a japanese soap or something, you'll notice a lot of males don't lower their voices. But yes, some do. A fun example is the singer in Kagrra. He has an extreamly high pitched voice when he sings, maybe high even for a girl. But when he speaks he use a very very low voice. The contrast is quite cool ^^. I think japnese girls often do the same in reverse (heightening their voices). Even though hard consonants are common (k and t) they can both be formed in the front part of the mouth, which make them sound female.