Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Did any of you have that "teen" sounding voice while your voice was/is changing? My voice is lower now, my typical range is about an A2~B2 if you know what I'm talking about.  It's well within the average male voice range. But it doesn't -sound- low or deep.  It sounds high and tinny. Anyone else experience this? Did it change over time to sounding more "adult" like?

This is how I feel about my voice. It's definitely in the male range but not exceptionally deep. My voice has become rather raspy as well, I don't know if that's on account of it still changing or not, but it's been like this ever since about the second month. But I often feel like I sound like a teen. I am hoping that within a couple years my voice will "mature".

Sorry I can't offer advice but just wanted to comment that you're not alone in this feeling haha

Good to know there's someone else! Here's to hoping!

Voice is also about intonation.
You might speak a bit more monotone ( a bit :) ), with less ups and downs.
And you might use more direct language, females often use epressions like might, could etc...

For more hints you could look here:

nyspeechandvoicelab dot net/transgender/voice-masculinization/


hugs

My voice was never very girly to begin with and I was able to pass on the phone as more of a teen rather than the 20 year old i was back then. Since being on T for 2 months, I pass all the time on the phone and no one questions my age like they used to before. Its pretty wonderful. I actually recently talked to my ex who knows I am on T and she was really impressed with how deep my voice sounded now haha

I am almost certain the tinniness will go away with age. A lot of guys sound tinny and thin after being on T for a while. You'll notice that old people, have more mellow, resonate voices than young people, and when they get really old, their voices are thin and kind of raspy. Part of it is lung/ribcage size, but people's voices do change a lot out as they get older, perhaps from vocal cord use. I don't think we would be the exception. It just seems more obvious with us for a while because we go through the tinny stage as adults rather than as teens. I think advice that tells you to avoid certain words or intonations is sexist nonsense, sorry.

Something for all of you to check on. Men speak in a chest voice and women speak in a mouth voice. The difference between the two is a woman keeps the area above the larynx tense. A man relaxes that area. For those of us going the other way, the first thing we learn in altering our voice is to talk with the area above the larynx tense. If you are still using a female speech pattern, you will be able to lower your voice without forcing it lower and you will change the resonance to a lower note. Should you have any questions about this, I will be happy to help you.

Dena, that's great advice.

My voice has dropped a lot on its own, but I still notice a definite difference depending on what I do with my larynx. What works for me, if I'm consciously trying to lower my voice, is to think of "pulling the larynx down" in my throat. Dunno if that's really what I'm doing, but it seems to open things up and produce a lower tone.

I had a ton of speech therapy and learned how to fix other speech problems as well but I was always curious if FTM dropped out of the mouth voice that they used all of their life. I first tried this on somebody else who wasn't on T yet and had a noticeable voice drop. With out T he ended up with more of a Karen Carpenter voice as she used the chest voice when singing.

My voice is definitely in the male range now, and when I get excited, yes the "teen" comes out! So I've been trying to speak calmly, seems to work.  ;D

As Dena said, a LOT of it has to do with resonance and where your voice is housed, so to speak.

I figured out how to deepen/thicken my speaking voice through singing, actually. Learning to open your throat (yes I know tee-hee) and making sure the air is being moved by your abdominal muscles rather than your chest muscles makes a HUGE difference in the "thickness" of your voice. I went from what I thought was a scrawny mezzo-soprano to a dark, heavy contralto which can convincingly pass as a tenor unless I'm belting.

Some of it may also be because of the effect that heavy doses of testosterone has on the voice but I'm sure learning proper vocal support can help immensely.

Mod edit: Sorry but you cannot post links to other sites without prior permission.

Quote from: ThePaper on June 24, 2015, 11:06:42 PM
I think advice that tells you to avoid certain words or intonations is sexist nonsense, sorry.

Well people are equal but they are not the same.
Statistically the majority of women uses more words than men.
They also tend to use more intonation, if listening conscioiusly to a few talks this should be apparent.

Of course not all people do that. But on average its behaviour that can be observed.
Knowing might simpy help to better blend in.

hugs

I'm in that 'teen voice' phase, too.
I can't talk too high or my voice will crack like crazy. Super embarrassing. u_u

I'm half deaf, so I can barely hear myself some of the time, but I still feel like I'm in that teen voice stage as well, and boy does it suck (or my ears are lying to me and there has been a bigger change than I'm able to notice).

If you think that teen voice "cracking" thing sucks... imagine how embarrassing it is when you're a geezer. (https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fthefiringline.com%2Fforums%2Fimages%2Fsmilies%2Ftongue.gif&hash=635dd8fbd198d13e75e7b21e12e5f405e686d654)

I see my parents about once a week, and for the past 3 weeks, my mother told me my voice changed/dropped every time we see each other.  I suppose it's a good thing?  >:-)

Quote from: tjack77 on July 14, 2015, 11:46:02 PM
I see my parents about once a week, and for the past 3 weeks, my mother told me my voice changed/dropped every time we see each other.  I suppose it's a good thing?  >:-)

I'd say so  :)


hugs

I didn't realize there were so many new posts until well after the fact! Thanks everyone for your input on this. I ended up deciding at the time to give my voice more time and see what happens. It's pretty well settled now and hasn't had any perceivable changes in the past few months. But this still seems to be an issue. People will say I sound very young, one person said I sounded like I was on helium haha. I'm at a loss. I'm planning to talk with my doctor about this later, but I'm not sure how seriously I'll be taken. I really don't think this is just dysphoria talking, but well, maybe it is. Here's a short clip to give you an idea.

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0cZ8vFX0jCT

Doing a frequency analysis on it, my voice is low enough. The average is 97 Hz which is roughly a G2 with a high of ~A2 and low of ~D2 (115-76 Hz). I really don't wanna be stuck sounding like a 13yo or on helium forever  ::)

If anyone has some suggestions I'm all ears and would be very grateful.


Edit: Forgot to mention I'll be getting bloodwork done tomorrow to check levels. So I should have an idea of what that looks like in a couple days.

I am not exactly sure what is happening but I know what it sounds like. It sounds like you haven't fully relaxed your larynx muscles when you are speaking. The vocal cords generate sound rich in harmonics (all different frequencies) and the neck area and mouth filter out the desired sounds. If the cavity is small, you get higher pitched sounds. If the cavity is large, you get the lower pitch sounds. The area above your larynx needs to be as large as possible and your tongue needs to be as far forward as possible. If that isn't the solution, then it might be do to a smaller physical size resulting in the area above the larynx being to small for proper filtering.

Thank you, Dena, for your insight. I really appreciate this.

It's also good to know this isn't just all in my head, haha.

While I feel as though I'm being as relaxed and open as is comfortable, and doing more than that doesn't help much in the resonance, I can't help but be worried it's the latter of your two ideas. If it's just simply I need to speak in a physically different way, perhaps I could see a knowledgeable singing teacher to help with that... If it's not that, am I basically just... stuck?

Quote from: Asa Spades on December 06, 2015, 04:45:14 PM
Thank you, Dena, for your insight. I really appreciate this.

It's also good to know this isn't just all in my head, haha.

While I feel as though I'm being as relaxed and open as is comfortable, and doing more than that doesn't help much in the resonance, I can't help but be worried it's the latter of your two ideas. If it's just simply I need to speak in a physically different way, perhaps I could see a knowledgeable singing teacher to help with that... If it's not that, am I basically just... stuck?

A singing teacher might teach you how to use the chest voice but the other option is a speech therapist who deals with transsexuals. It's a matter of undoing what we do to speak in a feminine voice. Simply put your hand on you upper neck when you are relaxed and then try speaking. You don't want that area to tense up and if it does, you need to work on it. Males don't tense that area but I learned how to do it so well that it's hard for me to relax the area to drop into the lower voice.

Your voice actually sounds fine to me and if it's 97 Hz it's 20 to 30 Hz lower than my normal male speaking voice.  If you ever listen to GEN George Patton speak his voice was higher than yours too.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/G9DpKDwCJcM?autoplay=1&FORM=VIRE5

You maybe can improve your speech pattern to sound older and more authoritative but the rest really just comes down to personal presence, a relaxed and confident look. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

All of this ends up being really confusing to me, because I don't think I speak primarily from the area that many cis females do.  I've always spoken from my chest area, and even though I recognized my voice was "guy-ish" I always assumed that other girls spoke from that area, too, when they were in private, because I find talking in the higher, more "sweety-sweet voice" (that's what I used to call it back in the day) really exhausting.  The only time I would use that voice when I was presenting female was in work situations as a teacher where I was supposed to fit a certain mold of the feminine teacher.  Do most females really speak from the top of their throat all the time?  Even at home or with friends?

Can you guys listen and tell me if I am correct in thinking I already speak from the chest?  I honestly have no clue, but I don't feel anything at the top of my throat when I speak....  Note that I haven't had any voice changes from T, so it definitely sounds female.

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0l5GBkI75mb

Edit:  Wow, listening to that I had no idea how "bored with you and everything you are" I sound, lol.  No wonder people sometimes think I'm a word that starts with a donkey and ends with a pit.

Well the voice is good.... I'd say speaking a bit faster and more even might make a better effect... and maybe a bit more monotone still...


hugs

It's not easy telling from the sound where you are speaking, but place your fingers lightly on your larynx (about half way down your neck and then try speaking. If you feel it move up from a relaxed state, your not using the chest voice. To remain in the chest voice, the larynx should change position from a relaxed to a speaking voice.

The voice sample sounds like it's the lower end of the feminine range which could be a male voice shifted to the female range or a female pushing the lower end of the range. Test your voice with your fingers and you should be able to tell which it is.

I just want to say, thank you so much Dena and everyone else who gave their insights.

After playing around with what you said, Dena, I found that it was easiest to think of it like singing my speech. I've got a musical background so I know a -little- about singing. This seemed to help take the "edge" off of my voice. I still sound the same, but without that tinny edge. So it helps a bit, at least. I'd give an example, but my throat is quite sore at the moment (fighting something off, I guess).

I may end up talking to the SLP here in my city. They have a free consultation, so I figure it wouldn't hurt to at least talk to them.