how did you do it? okay you reach falsetto then what just practice?

i hit falsetto in the past then shame kicked in, i live with others - worried about how far it travels in a hick town and how itll effect my normal guyish voice

that was 2 years ago...


  if only that could be me...minus the whole suicide part

Couple tips.

1. You most likely will sound crap when you first start trying, it's just how it seems to go, it doesn't mean what you're doing is 'wrong'. In fact it might well be you're on the right track, you've got to practice to give time for your vocal cords and stuff to adjust.

2. Keep an audio diary, maybe once every night or so record how you're feeling and whats been happening, play it back, see how you're progressing over time.

3. Don't push yourself too hard. You want to get into a pattern of talking as feminine sounding as you can without it actually being too hard on your voice. Try to keep it so you can talk in full volume as in normal speaking conversation.

4. Don't give up, it may well take time and in many ways I don't think there's any particular 'trick' to doing it. It's not that it's within your capabilities to sound great right now, it's that you need to practice so with time you will start to sound better. So even if it feels like you're missing something or not doing something right. It doesn't mean you're not on the right track.

Over time you'll hopefully start to hear yourself sounding better than you would have been capable when you first started, and after that you just start talking like that more and more and it hopefully will gradually smooth out.

Best of luck.

Quote from: maiyamaya on April 17, 2012, 03:08:01 AM
how did you do it? okay you reach falsetto then what just practice?

You don't use "falsetto".

It's more about resonance than pitch, it's also about intonation and using pitch rather than volume for emphasis. Close you eyes watching TV and listen to -why- women sound different.

Speech is a learned behavior and we learned to speak like our birth sex listening to other men. You have to unlearn how you speak and learn to speak basically all over and just practice it a lot. A personal voice recorder is a good thing to use. Sing and see software helped me find a pitch I could use, higher than my old one but not so high it strains my voice.

I do feel voice is one of the BIGGEST gender clues and still wonder why this area is where people want to spend no money, little time and some even ignore it altogether. If you plan to transition, budget some money for a good voice coach. It's not that expensive and well worth it.

I invested some money with Kathi Perez. I didn't spend a whole lot of money on it and my voice is perfect. The first mistake you are doing is talking in falsetto. That's not a girl. That's Mickey Mouse and Ms. Doubtfire. A male voice will clock you....no matter how much you physically pass...it will clock you.

You need to practice on resonance and pitch as well as inflection. I would recommend buying a spectograph and listen to your own voice. See where you are on pitch. Buy a tape recorder and listen to yourself. Practice practice practice.

And if you always wanted to crossdress to give guys ->-bleeped-<-s (I'm thinking that's what the picture is all about with you saying you wish that's me), then you really don't need to practice your voice. We don't become girls to give guys ->-bleeped-<-s. We become girls because that's who we are.

Quote from: Annah on April 17, 2012, 12:32:24 PMAnd if you always wanted to crossdress to give guys ->-bleeped-<-s (I'm thinking that's what the picture is all about with you saying you wish that's me), then you really don't need to practice your voice. We don't become girls to give guys ->-bleeped-<-s. We become girls because that's who we are.

LMAO!

Reaching falsetto worked for me. Obviously, one doesn't stay in falsetto. You slowly bring it down and that will eventually help you find your female voice like it did for me. But I'm terrible at explaining this.

 JenJen is referring to a method popularized by CandiFLA.



It's a good method. It was one of a few I used when re-developing my voice... though I had the advantage of having reached my voice years earlier. I also looked at recorded voice-therapy sessions to emulate the excercises, and peeked at some anecdotes from Andrea James and others.

The best part about it would be the fact that it's quick - while refining a voice to make it sound good just requires usage, which can take months if you're living as a guy, getting the first rough voice to springboard from is usually not hard if you do the falsetto method.

Quote from: Stephe on April 17, 2012, 12:16:02 PM
You don't use "falsetto".

It's more about resonance than pitch, it's also about intonation and using pitch rather than volume for emphasis. Close you eyes watching TV and listen to -why- women sound different.

Speech is a learned behavior and we learned to speak like our birth sex listening to other men. You have to unlearn how you speak and learn to speak basically all over and just practice it a lot. A personal voice recorder is a good thing to use. Sing and see software helped me find a pitch I could use, higher than my old one but not so high it strains my voice.

I do feel voice is one of the BIGGEST gender clues and still wonder why this area is where people want to spend no money, little time and some even ignore it altogether. If you plan to transition, budget some money for a good voice coach. It's not that expensive and well worth it.

It's especially cheap when you do it yourself.

I don't think most people really need a voice therapist. I didn't.

There's a lot of great resources on youtube that can help.
I agree with the falsetto method to the extent that I think you should try to raise your pitch to the extent you can do so and maintain comfortably without sacrificing volume, and practicing there.

Quote from: Asfsd4214 on April 18, 2012, 12:45:25 AM
It's especially cheap when you do it yourself.

I don't think most people really need a voice therapist. I didn't.

I still find it funny people insist on doing this on their own and willing to risk possibly damaging their voice (plus ended up with sub optimal results) for what amounts to the cost of one doctor HRT visit and blood test cost of voice therapy. Given how many absolutely horrible MTF voices I have seen in videos, this is clearly a place people skimp on.

Clearly if you are broke, by all means, work on this the best you can. And yes people have "done it on their own". But before you spend $20,000+ in FFS etc, consider some voice therapy. Trying to do this, at least getting started, without any sort of feedback and help is hard for most people. I've seen the u tube videos, they have some good tips but that is a one way learning experience. I would say, even people who feel they have a good voice could be improved with some speech therapy.

 I wholeheartedly agree that speech therapy is a great idea. It is often more efficient than trying to find your voice on your own, unless you're some sort of voice-prodigy.

I tried speech therapy and it did nothing for me. They made me feel very uncomfortable by having me use certain words or move a certain way while speaking. After the 3rd session, I was done. If I was able to find my female voice on my own, then certainly others can as well. It may be harder or take longer but with a lot of practice you can find it and for free. I'm a call center operator and have never gotten sir'd.

Quote from: Stephe on April 18, 2012, 08:00:15 AM
I still find it funny people insist on doing this on their own and willing to risk possibly damaging their voice (plus ended up with sub optimal results) for what amounts to the cost of one doctor HRT visit and blood test cost of voice therapy. Given how many absolutely horrible MTF voices I have seen in videos, this is clearly a place people skimp on.

Clearly if you are broke, by all means, work on this the best you can. And yes people have "done it on their own". But before you spend $20,000+ in FFS etc, consider some voice therapy. Trying to do this, at least getting started, without any sort of feedback and help is hard for most people. I've seen the u tube videos, they have some good tips but that is a one way learning experience. I would say, even people who feel they have a good voice could be improved with some speech therapy.

I pay nothing for blood tests or doctors, I live in Australia.

I've also never needed to have FFS, or voice therapy.

I'm glad you had good results with your voice therapist, and I'm glad it worked for you. But it's not a "you must do it this way or you're making a mistake" kinda deal.

Quote from: Annah on April 17, 2012, 12:32:24 PM
I invested some money with Kathe Perez.

I'm working with her now and she's AMAZING!  Voice is (as mentioned) not about just pitch.  It's about tone, resonance (IMPORTANT!), inflection, melody, etc.

Yes, you can damage your chords doing it the wrong way.  I do a lot of voiceover work, so I know breathing, speaking, etc, but as Kathe says, "This is about Aubrey learning how to do this, because it will be different", and it is.  Even knowing about proper technique, working with a coach is the way to go.  And yes, you can switch between voices if you  choose.  It's a matter of training.

yeah this is my voice after everything

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0qZWSG8g5JD

Quote from: Annah on April 21, 2012, 01:23:22 PM
yeah this is my voice after everything

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0qZWSG8g5JD

Very nice!!  That reminds me, I still need to practice today! LOL.  I don't know if you saw that "before and after" video of Marion, but my voice is / was about that deep, maybe a little deeper actually...  I know i'll get there... just takes work!  for me, it was more important for technique, because the ear is deceiving to hear one's self.  I'm a much better learner of something like this with a coach.... because I'm a frickin perfectionist to begin with.  I totally understand people doing it by themselves, and everyone's situation is their own, but I'm glad to be working with Kathe.  Voice is just so darn intricate!

yeah it is very intricate. Takes a LOT of patience and practice!!

Hey guys how do I even find a voice therapist?

Quote from: alyx. on April 21, 2012, 02:10:02 PM
Hey guys how do I even find a voice therapist?

You can start in your area with just a google search...  or visit a support group in your area and see if they have resources... or ask your therapist if you have one.  I was suprised that there are not a lot of voice therapists that "specialize" in TG voice.  I was also suprised that in South Florida, there were not more resources available for changing voice to a feminine register.  Do some research, and see if the therapist works with the TG community, or what their experience is.  As mentioned before, you can look at Kathe Perez on google and see her work.  You can work with her one on one, or part of a group, or with her CD's.  I'm working with her and I LOVE her!  But that is just my opinion.  Do your research and make the best informed decision you can.  Good luck!

Quote from: Annah on April 21, 2012, 01:34:19 PM
yeah it is very intricate. Takes a LOT of patience and practice!!

This. + 1000000000.

My best advice is to practice, practice, practice... and listen.

Quote from: alyx. on April 21, 2012, 02:10:02 PM
Hey guys how do I even find a voice therapist?

I did google search for voice therapy, harvested a list of emails and sent out a big blanket email to all of them explaining I am a male to female transgendered woman looking for someone who can help me feminize my voice. I got about 5 responses and interviewed 2 of them before I picked on.

Quote from: auburnaubrey on April 21, 2012, 02:17:59 PM
I was suprised that there are not a lot of voice therapists that "specialize" in TG voice.

+1 for this. I was shocked that in a BIG metropolitan area, there we only a couple who had any real experience. I think it getys back to most trans people just ignore this and see it as no big deal to look great but sound mostly like a guy speaking in a squeaky voice.