Is my voice passable? / Considering FVS

[bailey_jess]

Hi everyone I decided to record myself in order to ask how my voice sounds. I'm considering VFS but it's quite expensive ($5,200 with Dr. Haben in NY)

I know most people recommend it only as a last resource but I just feel like it sounds "forced" or fake even though i can speak on a range of 170-230 hz which is about the normal for a cis woman, I am really insecure about my voice especially since an incident that happen while on the phone with a guy last december.

So i recorded myself and have uploaded the recordings to Soundcloud, would you mind hearing them and tell me what you think? I would really appreciate it.


Thank you and Hugs to eveyone :* - Bailey

1.- Just a random talk about my hair lol        https://soundcloud.com/baeeley/record-0009

2.- A little explaining about this post             https://soundcloud.com/baeeley/record-0011

[Miss Lux]

Sounds feminine enough to me... Feminine latina... Personally if that was my voice I wouldn't have VFS... Just me....

[Dena]

At this point, pitch isn't the issue but inflection is. You are limiting the frequency range you are using and if you where to have VFS, the same problem would be there. I suggest you consider a few visits with a speech therapist and work on a more feminine speech pattern. A woman uses both a larger frequency range and they shift frequencies sometimes several times in a word. This is what's missing though I suspect your voice would be gendered female with the telephone test.

[Miss Lux]

I totally agree with Dena... I have worse inflection and lower pitch voice than yours and i can't remember being sir'd on the phone... But I still consider my voice as my achilles heel ... Some people specially most Asians are pretty good at clocking via voice/ inflection....

[Virginia Hall]

Yeson Voice Center in South Korea produces some amazing results. The details are available on line.

[spx_1112]

Yes passable practice over the phone. Hugs Shannon

[Sophia Sage]

I agree with Dena, some work on varying your inflection would certainly help.  In the second sample, you also seem to settle into a lower pitch range.  Overall, though, you should be happy with your progress!

There's a delicate balance to achieve between the tension of holding your larynx higher in your throat, which tightens the vocal cords to produce a higher pitch, and being relaxed enough that you don't sound pinched or forced in how you speak. 

Keep practicing, you're really doing well! 

[Amy Rachel]

I've considered VFS but cost-wise it's not really in the cards anyway, but voice coaching can help a lot. The points one voice coach works on with the client are:


* pitch
* quality (gravelly, hoarse, tremor)
* loudness (do it softly and at higher volumes)
* resonance (where the sound is coming from in your body—this is how a man and woman singing the same note can sound so different)
* articulation (speaking clearly—men can tend to mumble and slur)
* phrasing
* pacing (speaking at a natural tempo)
* melodic intonation ("sing-song")
* fluency

(I copied these from notes from my voice therapist.) I believe pitch, resonance, and melodic intonation are the big ones, but they all play a part, especially if you feel you're straining to get to the sound you want. There used to be some trans voice coaches online but I haven't looked for them lately. They had online courses, mostly free, trying to help others out. One person I found very helpful, though she had a hard time explaining it. She had a big influence at the time (last century). Another person who was popular I felt was off base and encouraging bad habits, but I'm no expert. Maybe there are some good ones to be found out there.

I'm actually enjoying the exercises.

Also, I too was very impressed by the many videos posted by women who went to Yeson. It's almost like magic. But even with the surgery, as they will tell you, there's still a lot of work to get there.