FtMs taking testosterone

[AidenAlexander]

[Brand new to this forum, just thought i'd mention.]

I was considering taking testosterone, but one of the only reasons why I don't think I would is because i'm a musician and a singer.
I want to know if the rumors are true or not that your voice changes so much that you really CAN'T sing after taking testosterone.

I figure that it's such a gradual change that if I continually train my voice as the tone changes I could keep control over it and continue to sing decently. Even if I have to train my voice all over again, I think I would do it, just as long as I knew I would be able to sing again.

What do you think? any answers or links to information and videos appreciated.

[JonasCarminis]

well... think of how many singers are male.  its basically the same except they get their testosterone from their nuts at puberty.

not like only eunuchs or women can sing ya know.

[Jamie-o]

I think it's a combination of luck, genetics, and training.  Just like with bio-guys, some guys squeak and squawk for months on end, unable to even talk effectively, while others gradually slide down in tone with only the occasional break.  So far mine has been the latter, thank goodness, and I have managed to maintain a decent singing voice, with my range slowly dropping out some of the higher notes, and adding some lower ones.  But it hasn't made a dramatic drop yet. (I've only been on T for about 9 weeks.)

Hopefully Dennis will be along shortly to tell his story.  He went from an alto/tenor to a bass, and passed the audition to get into a pretty exclusive singing group, post T. 

On the other hand, there are plenty of examples of guys who always sound as if they are sucking helium.  My theory is that they continue to try to talk in the range they are accustomed to, even after their vocal cords thicken, but I may be wrong about that.  I have known guys who had trouble with their voices after a year or more of T, and they were helped immensely by vocal training.

So, yeah, I guess the answer is it's possible, but not inevitable that you will lose your singing voice.
Post Merge: June 25, 2009, 06:00:59 AM

well... think of how many singers are male.  its basically the same except they get their testosterone from their nuts at puberty.

not like only eunuchs or women can sing ya know.

Yes, but our "puberty" goes a lot faster, and starts after our bodies are in a more "fixed" state than a pre-pubescent boy's.  That can make a difference in how things change.

[Lachlann]

You're not going to lose the ability to sing, however you might have to retrain your choice to adjust, just like both Men and Women do.

A grown man can still sing soprano if he trains his voice that way, it's not some amazing feat, it just takes time. There are FTM singing videos on youtube if you're interested.

[Mister]

I'm glad this finally came up because I have a very unscientific personal theory on it.

For a little while, you can't sing.  Your voice is too unstable, it's cracks and squeaks and hurts.  Talking feels like yelling, so singing is absolutely out of the question.  Once your voice levels off, you can sing.  Only problem is, your brain hasn't quite realized that your range is different.  If you hear the same song you've been singing along with in the car for years, you'll try to sing it in the same old pitch you always did.  It takes a lot longer for your brain to adjust to your new voice than you'd think.  I think this is the whole bit on T making it so you 'can't' sing.

[Lachlann]

I'm glad this finally came up because I have a very unscientific personal theory on it.

For a little while, you can't sing.  Your voice is too unstable, it's cracks and squeaks and hurts.  Talking feels like yelling, so singing is absolutely out of the question.  Once your voice levels off, you can sing.  Only problem is, your brain hasn't quite realized that your range is different.  If you hear the same song you've been singing along with in the car for years, you'll try to sing it in the same old pitch you always did.  It takes a lot longer for your brain to adjust to your new voice than you'd think.  I think this is the whole bit on T making it so you 'can't' sing.

This seems like the most plausible answer. It's not that you can't sing, it's just that you need to get used to it.

I've had to train my voice to sing different kinds of songs just to get it right. The concept isn't any different than what you can do now with your voice. You just need to get used to singing in certain ranges.

[Flameboy]

There's one guys who's done quite a bit of research around this - you can read his paper here.

Personally, I couldn't sing very well pre-T, and I'm even worse. As Mister says, I really have trouble pitching my voice at all now when I attempt to sing - maybe I'll get better at it the more used to it I become.

[Vancha]

If you're an exceptionally good singer, you should have learned to sing in different pitches, lower and higher.  As your voice deepens, you should be able to retain that knowledge as well as teach yourself to sing lower – which, as a singer, shouldn't be too hard.  If need be, you could get vocal training, but to be honest, most retain their ability to sing after being on T.