How to achieve a female voice

[Lynne]

I am trying to get a study group together to work on voice training. I plan to start the first of the year.  I am using the training material I got from Emily, my voice trainer. The idea is to gather weekly for about ten weeks. Since Susan's has a base from around the world we will more than likely shoot for 10 A.M. here which translates to 6:00 P.M. London time. I live in the Pacific Time Zone. Right now we have five participants who have expressed interest. I plan to start a blog in the next week or so to post more information such as Agenda, references, Skype information. Q and A.  I want to make sure we all know I am not a Speech Pathologist but I did stay at the Holiday Express. Seriously, I spent quite a bit of time with Emily over the last year. Besides voice, I plan to cover presentation, mannerisms, confidence and putting it all together.  Please send a PM if you want to be included. Before you consider surgery, why not give this a try. 

Dawn

6 P.M. London time would be great for me at weekends but really early for me on weekdays. Count me in if we can arrange weekends. Thank you!

[Linde]

My voice cracks at low levels but I don't like to use it. The train how you fight and you fight how you train. That was something my Captain told me in high school Naval NJROTC and it stuck with me. If you keep using the male voice pattern it becomes more difficult for the feminine voice to be the muscle memory.

I was out and about the entire day, stuffing my face with greasy food, and doing some shopping.
But... and that is far more important, I was able to talk the entire day in my natural voice, without slipping once into the male stuff.  I just was all woman, from clothing to voice!  The whole 10 yards!  This shows that I can do it, I just have to do it!
If that continues, the to of us can start to sing as a duet, you as soprano, and I am as mezzo soprano!
We could go around doing Christmas corralling!   

[DawnOday]

Yes. Singing Bohemian Rhapsody helps make a girly voice, just watch this three year old.

[Linde]

The kid seems to have no problem with the typical male speech pattern slipping into low notes at the end of phrases!

[NatalieRene]

Yes. Singing Bohemian Rhapsody helps make a girly voice, just watch this three year old.

that was adorable

[Lynne]

Something strange happened today and it's not the first time. I've got a bit of a cold and I'm feeling a little weak, my throat is a little sore but for an hour or so I could easily speak at higher than usual frequencies without seemingly any strain at all and with very little effort I could make sounds that I would gender female any time. Also my voice was a lot less raspy than usual.
Why? Why now? How?

[Linde]

Something strange happened today and it's not the first time. I've got a bit of a cold and I'm feeling a little weak, my throat is a little sore but for an hour or so I could easily speak at higher than usual frequencies without seemingly any strain at all and with very little effort I could make sounds that I would gender female any time. Also my voice was a lot less raspy than usual.
Why? Why now? How?

Probably mucous on your vocal cords acted like shortening them, while, at the same time, kept them lubricated?

[NatalieRene]

Something strange happened today and it's not the first time. I've got a bit of a cold and I'm feeling a little weak, my throat is a little sore but for an hour or so I could easily speak at higher than usual frequencies without seemingly any strain at all and with very little effort I could make sounds that I would gender female any time. Also my voice was a lot less raspy than usual.
Why? Why now? How?

Enjoy your voice while you have it and build up your muscles so you can retain it.

[Lynne]

Enjoy your voice while you have it and build up your muscles so you can retain it.

I'm doing just that, having great fun, can't believe I can make these sounds! I hope I won't forget how to do that.

[Linde]

I'm doing just that, having great fun, can't believe I can make these sounds! I hope I won't forget how to do that.

How about taking a picture of your Adams Apple to see in which position it is, when you get the hih pitch.  later you might want to try to reach that position again?

[Lynne]

How about taking a picture of your Adams Apple to see in which position it is, when you get the hih pitch.  later you might want to try to reach that position again?

I thought about setting up a camera pointing at my neck to see the differences, the only 'problem' is that my neck is quite short and my Adams Apple is not really visible. It might still be worthwhile because some differences should still be visible.

[ChrissyRyan]

I am doing my daily scales and triads.

I have no idea if I am at the right pitch when I start them, but I do try to go up and down an equal "interval" between each "tone" to sing.  So I may be singing "too low" but I am singing higher than the usual.  I figure this has got to be helping me.

Thank you NatalieRene.

Chrissy

[NatalieRene]

I am doing my daily scales and triads.

I have no idea if I am at the right pitch when I start them, but I do try to go up and down an equal "interval" between each "tone" to sing.  So I may be singing "too low" but I am singing higher than the usual.  I figure this has got to be helping me.

Thank you NatalieRene.

Chrissy

You're welcome. You can track your pitch with a pitch recording software program on your computer ardor phone.

[ChrissyRyan]

You're welcome. You can track your pitch with a pitch recording software program on your computer ardor phone.

Would that software be able to tell me what pitch each of the tones are at on that scales and triads video you posted?  That is so I can try to match the same pitches for each tone on the video.

Chrissy

[NatalieRene]

The voice analyst app on the iPhone will show the frequency and while playing there is a time indicator on the chart. You would have to figure out what notes the frequencies represent though.

[ChrissyRyan]

I guess I could eventually get higher and higher with the pitch while doing the scales and triads video. If I go up and down the same interval while doing the video, that would help overall.  If I use the actual pitches in the video, that gives me the goal for each tone.  It would be nice if that video showed the pitch for each tone. 

I probably could get by with knowing the actual pitch for about the first few seconds of each sequence on the video, so I will start each sequence, if possible, at the right pitch.  I cannot tell by ear if I match the pitch of the video as I sing the tones.  If I sing at too low a pitch, that may not help, at least not until I get the pitch higher and higher over time, which is the goal.  Measuring my evolving pitch with the tool you mentioned earlier would be good.

With that said, I will need to work on inflection and resonance also. 

Thank you for your help, you are very thoughtful.

Chrissy

[ChrissyRyan]

The triads are the hardest part of the daily training video for me to do, as my voice can crack if I try to keep up with the singing pace of the tones.

I have found that drinking something occasionally helps while I try to sing the tones.

I noticed that there is a daily video number two, scales and pentachords. 

Chrissy

[Linde]

The triads are the hardest part of the daily training video for me to do, as my voice can crack if I try to keep up with the singing pace of the tones.

I have found that drinking something occasionally helps while I try to sing the tones.

I noticed that there is a daily video number two, scales and pentachords. 

Chrissy

You are talking way over my head!  I am the person who the family did not allow to even sing while in the shower, because they were afraid that the neighbors still could hear me.  With other words, music/singing and I were not made for each other, and now you come with pentachords, of which I have no idea what they are!
What is a pentachord pretty please?

[ChrissyRyan]

You are talking way over my head!  I am the person who the family did not allow to even sing while in the shower, because they were afraid that the neighbors still could hear me.  With other words, music/singing and I were not made for each other, and now you come with pentachords, of which I have no idea what they are!
What is a pentachord pretty please?

Well I take pentachord to mean as a series of five notes.  Practically speaking, in context of the practice videos, you work with a series of five tones instead of three.  You go up and down five instead of three steps or tones.  The videos do not show "sheet music" it just goes through whole or partial tonal scales.

There are more definitions you can look-up online but they do get a bit complicated unless you are well versed in a significant amount of music theory.  Someone here may correct me if I misstated.

[Linde]

Well I take pentachord to mean as a series of five notes.  Practically speaking, in context of the practice videos, you work with a series of five tones instead of three.  You go up and down five instead of three steps or tones.  The videos do not show "sheet music" it just goes through whole or partial tonal scales.

There are more definitions you can look-up online but they do get a bit complicated unless you are well versed in a significant amount of music theory.  Someone here may correct me if I misstated.

Thank you for the explanation.  I do not need any more detail, I have a hard time to comprehend what you are telling me!  You have to understand that I have about the same music knowledge like a new born.
Music instruments are mysterious devices for me.  I am way better versed with a sternum saw or a cauterizer!