Voice

[stephanie]

So how does one ultimately make their voice sound more naturally feminine?  I've tried practicing while in the car and on my computer's microphone, but I don't sound anything like a woman, rather a guy with a voice problem.

I've read a little about voice surgeries, but they're not very reliable or effective, from what I know.  Maybe a few years down the line when I start really having to look into this they'll be better, but who knows?  Is it possible to train your voice up and actually sound female?  I'm not exactly baritone, but pretty deep nonetheless.

Just a question for now, because I don't plan on being in any situations where I need it for a long time.

[Cassandra]

Stephanie,

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice! It takes a long time to train your voice. It takes hours every day and although you may not be planning to use a femminine voice right now it won't hurt you to start training. Don't worry should you change your mind down the road you won't be stuck with a female voice. You can return to your old voice if necessary so ther is no harm in it.

Okay there is some potential harm. If you over do it you can strain your voice and end up hoarse for a day or two. Trust me on this one I have personal experience.

There are some great voice training DVD's available which can help. Some folks like the computer programs but most people I've talked to say thier assistance is dubious at best. It is interesting to see the voice frequencies but in the final analysis you really need to learn to feel the frequency.

I use a lot of different tricks both before during and after I speak. Throat clearing, humming in a higher key than normal, hydrating the throat etc. My voice has always been rather high pitched anyway and if I get agitated it really goes up, so it does give me a slight advantage.
On top of that my wife has a really deep voice so when were standing next to each other if your back is turned you'd be sore pressed to figure out who's the gg and who's the TS.

There are other things beside speaking you need to learn; coughing, sneezing, laughing. Any one of those can give you away.  Your right about the voice surgery. I've read a lot on the subject and it usually has limited results and is very risky. You can end up with a voice worse than the one you had. Okay I'm rambling on again so I'll stop now.

Good Journey,

Cassie

[AmyNYC]

I haven't practiced my voice very much.  I bought a DVD and I did a little with it, but with all the other stresses coming from transition, it got to the point where even thinking about sitting down for an hour to practice would make me want to bang my head on the coffetable.

So I figured I would get by with the girl's voice I had for the time being... until some of the other headaches eased off (like ELECTROLYSIS!!! and the name change), & then I could concentrate more on the voice.

I've found just the simple act of living as a girl has done a lot for my voice.  Obviously I make a serious effort whenever I talk to someone I don't know, & it's usually passable.  Whenever I spend lots of time with people who never knew me as a guy, it gets a lot better, until I get around a group that knows my status and then I get lazy.  I'm going on the road with a band next weekend for 5 days, and I've never met a bunch of the guys, so I'm looking forward to how comfortable I'll be with my voice by the end of the tour.

It's a process, just like everything else.  Practice will help, but don't think you're going to sit in a practice room for a month and come out sounding like you will eventually.  From living as Amy for 5 months, my natural speaking voice has changed a lot.  I called an old friend the other night and he didn't know who it was.  Everyone tells me my voice is very different.  It's not necessarily naturally girly yet, but it's different.  I can see how with just a little more practice, and more time living as a girl, how your voice changes on it's own.  I really can't sound like I used to, even if I try (not that I'd want to!).

So for those of you just starting your transition, remember that everything happens slowly, over time.  Your body doesn't change overnight.  Hair doesn't grow overnight.  Mannerisms take time to become natural.  And with some practice and enough time, your voice should settle into something very natural sounding.

Hope this helps someone!

Amy

[stephanie_craxford]

Hello Stephanie,

I think that the voice is one of the hardest things to change.  It takes practice and after you have developed it you have to ensure that it becomes your normal voice, for example if you are startled and blurt out your surprise it should be done in your female voice.

For myself I know that it will be the hardest thing to accomplish.  I have a very soft voice, but I should be practicing, although my wife said it doesn't sound too bad as it is.  I know that I pass in public very well, it is only when i have to speak that I worry that I may be discovreed.  But then it wouldn't be the first time that my mouth has got me in trouble.

As you have probably read, there are lots of very good points and advice, and while I have not tried the DVD/CD method, it may be worth a try.  Maybe someone who has actually tried one of them can comment here.

Steph

[Cassandra]

Steph,

I use "Finding your Voice" by Stealth videos. I believe there is a link on Susan's homepage. I believe that's how I found it. It is very good. It was done by a couple of post-ops. I did two sessions and while speaking into a recorder a perfectly femminine voice popped out. It was just two words in a long sentence but there it was and I got very excited. Had to celebrate with a glass of wine and I kept playing back over and over, I was so pleased.

Unfortunately I have not devoted myself to it and have not sat down for a good session with it in some time. Like AmyNYC having to sit down for an hour to do this is hard to make yourself do. Like Jack Nicholson said in Terms of Endearment "I'd Rather stick a hot needle in my eye."

I do use many of the tuning teqhniques from the video on a daily basis and it helps to keep my voice relatively passable, but there are some exercises you need the video for. It is a good video and I think you would find it worthwhile.

Good Journey,

Cassie