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"teen" voice

Started by Sir Real, May 09, 2015, 04:20:18 PM

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Sir Real

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?





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AeroZeppelin92

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
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Sir Real

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





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Laura_7

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
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wkly1269

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
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ThePaper

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.
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Dena

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.
Rebirth Date 1982 - PMs are welcome - Use [email]dena@susans.org[/email] or Discord if your unable to PM - Skype is available - My Transition
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Tysilio

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.
Never bring an umbrella to a coyote fight.
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Dena

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.
Rebirth Date 1982 - PMs are welcome - Use [email]dena@susans.org[/email] or Discord if your unable to PM - Skype is available - My Transition
If you are helped by this site, consider leaving a tip in the jar at the bottom of the page or become a subscriber
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tjack77

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

Nicodeme

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.
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Laura_7

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
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Sam Alexei

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
On T since early March 2015.
Expected Top Surgery: Summer 2016.
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Daydreamer

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).
"Stay tuned next for the sound of your own thoughts, broadcast live on the radio for all to hear." -- Cecil (Welcome to Night Vale)

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Tysilio

If you think that teen voice "cracking" thing sucks... imagine how embarrassing it is when you're a geezer.
Never bring an umbrella to a coyote fight.
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tjack77

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?  >:-)

Laura_7

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
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Sir Real

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.





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Dena

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.
Rebirth Date 1982 - PMs are welcome - Use [email]dena@susans.org[/email] or Discord if your unable to PM - Skype is available - My Transition
If you are helped by this site, consider leaving a tip in the jar at the bottom of the page or become a subscriber
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Sir Real

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?





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