I have often wondered what an androgenous voice was supposed to sound like. Is it one that cannot readily be determined on the telephone? Or one that does not suggest a sex or gender? Or perhaps one that varies with the situation?
How does one's voice "pass" as androgenous? I don't know! I feel that my natural voice is in the higher end of the male range. I sort of "lucked out" and never developed an Adam's Apple. But I can lower the pitch and resonate from the chest, right there with James Earl Jones.
Anyway, I found this 37 minute video presentation on the androgenous voice. It is a little corny, but worth a listen when you have a some free time.
http://practicalandrogyny.com/2011/10/31/vocal-androgyny-in-speech-and-singing/ (http://practicalandrogyny.com/2011/10/31/vocal-androgyny-in-speech-and-singing/)
Bookmarked it. Voices are always fascinating, especially singing.
Generally I speak without the resonance.
But I can stop a small crowd with my low resonance, loud, you pissed me off, and had better listen voice.
Works well with the pissed look that move people out of my way just by looking them in the eye.
I'm such a nut at times... >:(
But for most of my life, my voice is pretty much in the androgynous range. And it does have a range.
One thing I notice right away when someone is trying a higher pitch or MTF kind of voice is that it lacks range.
That gives them away pretty fast. Range is good, just work on raising the pitch.
Jamie D!
Haven't seen you around here much lately. I hope things are well. Was missing you!
Ativan
http://soundcloud.com/jamiedelarosa/audio-recording-on-wednesday-1 (http://soundcloud.com/jamiedelarosa/audio-recording-on-wednesday-1)
Hope this works.
Quote from: Jamie D on October 17, 2012, 03:58:59 PM
http://soundcloud.com/jamiedelarosa/audio-recording-on-wednesday-1 (http://soundcloud.com/jamiedelarosa/audio-recording-on-wednesday-1)
Hope this works.
sexy voice ;D !
Quote from: Jamie D on October 17, 2012, 03:58:59 PM
http://soundcloud.com/jamiedelarosa/audio-recording-on-wednesday-1 (http://soundcloud.com/jamiedelarosa/audio-recording-on-wednesday-1)
Hope this works.
I enjoyed listening to your voice Jamie. It evokes in me a picture of either a confident mature woman or a
very sensitive and gentle man. Sounds remarkably like my cisgender female coworker who sits next to me, but also reminds me of my father who might have transitioned to female if he had lived in a different era, or had he not had health problems that prevented surgical and hormonal interventions. He never talked about his own gender issues.
I also hear in your voice a person dealing with some physical pain and not letting it get the better of them. You are an inspiration.
Quote from: Bailey on October 17, 2012, 04:51:34 PM
I would think Tilda Swinton has an androgynous voice or at least somewhere near borderline. Depending on what role she is in, it can be either male or female or somewhat indiscernible.
Tilda Swinton Interview for Teddy's (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgqbElAZAbY#)
Quote from: Jamie D on October 17, 2012, 03:58:59 PM
http://soundcloud.com/jamiedelarosa/audio-recording-on-wednesday-1 (http://soundcloud.com/jamiedelarosa/audio-recording-on-wednesday-1)
Hope this works.
this was interesting to listen to. and even more interesting because of some of the comments...
since i'm from norway, i'm not too used to hearing the typical american thick throaty voice. to me, your voice sounds very much like a middle aged man most of the time, because you speak from somewhere deep down in your throat (not talking about pitch here). but in other parts, you use more of your head voice, and that sounds really androgynous. one of the best parts is where you say "and i don't know if the androgyne voice is supposed to sound... typically female, with that sing-song quality". to me it would be impossible to gender your voice from how you spoke that sentence. it's a lot like how the video you posted described talking with chest voice and head voice at the same time.
maybe i should try to record my voice one of these days. it's kind of all over the place, i once had a funny telephone experience where i called my dad one day, and he asked if i was his sister (apparently didn't look at my number before answering). then the next day i called again, and he wondered if i were his brother...
Quote from: Jamie D on October 17, 2012, 03:58:59 PM
http://soundcloud.com/jamiedelarosa/audio-recording-on-wednesday-1 (http://soundcloud.com/jamiedelarosa/audio-recording-on-wednesday-1)
Hope this works.
Indeed it does. I used to do sound engineering for recording musicians, and my ears are tuned of a sort, to filter out unnecessary noises. I used to include some of the musicians voices from between tracks to include in the final recordings. Sort of an out take kind of thing. I especially looked for the animated remarks, as they are more true to life. It is difficult to get the same type of range that people usually use when they are aware of being recorded. I do the same thing, become self conscious about it, sounding nothing like when I am recorded using my normal speaking voice. Which I frequently did while talking to someone in the recording booth. Snips of conversation are where you will be able to hear yourself as others hear you. Happy or funny recordings are usually the best, I find. Serious moments never sound right without the visual cues.
I'm not ready to display my voice quite yet. It would be nice to hear all of your voices, though. I often wonder how far off I am when I read comments, that voice in my head that has become unique to some of you.
I don't think there is an androgynous voice, that stands on it's own. Just as there isn't a standard look.
The range is to great for both.
If you listen to voices in movies and such, the general tendency is towards a lower pitch. The voices of many female actors is quite low in some cases, yet retain feminine quality to it. There is a difference between male and female voices, but it isn't the pitch as much as you would think it is, and the range is a little wider for most females. The qualities that define each, overlap quite a bit. It's in that overlap that I think you could define the androgynous voice, but then you would also find that it too, overlaps into the more male or female voices.
Visual cues are often needed to recognize whether a voice is male or female.
I wouldn't worry about how your voices sound, although I do that too, as some of you also probably do, too.
If you wish to change your voice to better match your presentation, look for the qualities that appeal to you. There you will find that voice you want. It will be uniquely yours, not an imitation of what you think others would expect. Pushing the range outside of the norm always sounds strange, forced. Intentional chest resonance or falsetto is always recognizable for what it is.
Ativan
Wow!! This is great!!
I'd say I have a bit of an androgynous voice, but I'd love to bring a wee bit more to a feminine level.
I love female voices that are androgynous and low. When I think of andro femme voices, Charlize Theron and Demi Moore come to mind. :D
Glad to see you got your avatar up, Hannahbellelecker.
Here is an interview with Demi Moore, circa 1988:
Demi Moore 1988 interview (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3tX7Ahs-AU#)
Quote from: Hannahbellelecker on November 16, 2012, 08:31:26 PM
I love female voices that are androgynous and low.
Me too. Emma Stone's is amazing. And I think my personal favourite is Kathryn Prescott. Something about that raspy softness is irresistible.
I wish my voice sounded more like that rather than my dorky valley-girl-ness.
You have a wonderful voice!
Quote from: Jamie D on October 18, 2012, 02:56:45 AM
Tilda Swinton Interview for Teddy's (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgqbElAZAbY#)
Voice seems to have been dubbed
Quote from: Jamie D on November 17, 2012, 03:56:48 PM
You have a wonderful voice!
I can't tell if you are lying or delusional. :P
Quote from: Jamie D on November 17, 2012, 01:25:09 AM
Glad to see you got your avatar up, Hannahbellelecker.
Here is an interview with Demi Moore, circa 1988:
Wow, pretty cool ^___^ & thank you Jamie
Quote from: Sarah7 on November 17, 2012, 01:57:33 PM
Me too. Emma Stone's is amazing. And I think my personal favourite is Kathryn Prescott. Something about that raspy softness is irresistible.
I wish my voice sounded more like that rather than my dorky valley-girl-ness.
I want to hear! :D
Quote from: Sarah7 on November 17, 2012, 07:02:24 PM
I can't tell if you are lying or delusional. :P
Neither (usually!)
I'm Genderqueer/Genderfluid/Androgynous!
I'm Genderqueer/Genderfluid/Androgynous! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7UfigKJLY0#)
Female assigned at birth
Whenever I tell people I'm transitioning they always seem to say, oh well your voice is androgynous and before transitioning no one ever mentioned it but I know my voice sounds the same obviously. I just found that odd and in hindsight I wonder what people thought about that, but anyways apparently you can have an androgynous voice and not even realize it. I guess that would make sense though, whenever I hear a recording of my voice, I always think "Who is this person talking?????"
does soundcloud allow you to upload wavs or mp3? i am gonna try my voice tonight
Shawn, I believe so. You can record your voice (assuming you have and internal or external microphone for you computer), and you can upload files.
Ok well I think i still sound pretty male, not sure if I sound androgynous or feminine at all, I still sound cartoony, but I could use your thoughts.
http://snd.sc/X8oard (http://snd.sc/X8oard)
Gee, was I that bad? Hmm well back to the drawing board then. I wasant at my best either, I have allergies
Quote from: Shawn Sunshine on February 14, 2013, 07:30:24 PM
Ok well I think i still sound pretty male, not sure if I sound androgynous or feminine at all, I still sound cartoony, but I could use your thoughts.
http://snd.sc/X8oard (http://snd.sc/X8oard)
When you hit that note at the 2:00 minute mark, my living room windows shattered. You have a talent for vocal effects, but you don't have androgyne or girl down yet. In time, no doubt. We had a moderator here who was similarly talented. I will find her YouTube channel link for you.
Voices (on the air) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9ef6u2WMK0#)
I find the West Coast American accent to be rather feminine anyway, I think because it dips up and down a lot more than many British accents which have a tendency towards monotony.
My own voice is pretty masculine, but I have a good relationship with my speaking voice and the idea of changing my voice on purpose is something I hate the idea of.
That said, I sing a lot of falsetto, I love singing falsetto.
Here's my voice the other week when I did a thing about Gulliver's Travels.
Gulliver Travels in a One Minute Nutshell (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDa5qJPFanM&list=UU6J_DSYpw9uzQjrU5ma9RCw&index=1#)
Listen to the voice of an iPhone -- pretty androgynous.
Your ears are tuned, so to speak, to hear the main frequencies of the human voice.
These are the loudest in the 1-3 KHz range, if I remember right.
In order to not distort small speakers with the lower frequencies, they use less of them.
Same with the higher ones, but not so much.
Lower frequencies take more strength or loudness in order to hear them.
Like hearing the thumping coming from a sound system, which usually will use a separate amplifier and speaker.
Finding ear buds that can handle lower frequencies will cost you.
iPhones and others usually won't spend the extra $ to give you a good speaker.
They use the same old system that Bell telephone used in the earliest phones, boosting the 1-3 KHz range.
They do have that androgynous quality of sorts, but it's pretty artificial sounding.
If you have an Eq or treble middle and bass controls, take out the bass, half the treble and crank the middle.
That's a good approximation of phones, etc.
But you aren't getting the real range of frequencies that voices carry.
Personally, I find that middle range between male and female (different for everyone) with a little breathy sound in it to be very appealing.
Most people do. It brings a smoothness and soothing feeling to the voice.
Unless your range is really on one end or the other, that helps to define an androgynous voice somewhat.
The key is to use it sparingly, otherwise it becomes distracting. Listen to radio jockey's.
Male or female, the best voices use that technique. Marilyn Monroe used it to the very edge of extreme.
When I hear her, it feels like chocolate milk being pour into your ear. :D
Some of the best feminine voices have a lower range and usually have either a little rasp or breathy sound.
They have always struck me as that androgynous voice.
Ativan :P