I apologize if this is the wrong place for this, I wasn't sure where else to post it though.
I've been trying hard to get my voice to be more feminine, since it's way to deep for my tastes, and I've heard that practicing a falsetto was my best bet. Is this true, or is there a better/easier solution?
I'd like to try and stay away from anything really expensive though, or something that would be a permanent change at this time.
Hi there, just have a look on youtube. Try searching something like Voice feminization or Feminine voice. There are loads of totally free advice videos.
Some are very poor but some are excellent.
Samantha K
It's so hard being me
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
[SIZE="1"]Now I shout it from the highest hill,
Even told the golden daffodil.
At last my hearts an open door,
And my secret love's no secret anymore.[/SIZE]
See Sams pics at;
http://cid-b4480c99b9b4cdd9.skydrive...e.aspx?lc=1033
I agree there is heaps of advice on youtube. One thing I do is find good girl singer and sing along, (I like Annie Lennox cuz she has a great voice and sings all thru the range so its great practice) while it hasn't made me a better singer (?????!!!! I can't understand why!) it has helped me practice my femm voice. A lot of advice out there cautions against using falsetto as it just makes you sound like a guy with a high pitched voice. You also have to work on your resonance, which makes a HUGE difference to your ability to pass when talking. There are also heaps of posts and links on here that are a great help
IF IT FEELS GOOD, DO IT!!
I was more curious if there were other ways to affect the pitch of my voice. I've looked at quite a few YouTube video's before, in fact I've been practicing my falsetto randomly for about 6 months now (Although I've probably only practiced maybe two weeks total, lol).
there are numerous websites on feminisation of ones voice and falsetto is just one. YouTube suggests a few and googling reveals more so like much research look through a range of ideas and select those that help you. A voice recorder is good, so too a chromatic tuner, scales and numerous recordings of female voices. Identify and differentiate between the sounds of a female voice, nasal, roundness, resonance etc. see how words sound different via tongue placement, lips and mouth position. One thing that does poke out is that the "feminine sound" is just a lil pitch higher but how, and what they select in words and phrases is the difference. Try some nasal and Roundness in the pronounciation of words and record so there is some point for reference. Also think that the voice is just a musical instrument and it too needs tuning.
Sucking helium from a balloon might help. J/K
(okay sorry, I had just gotten through reading the "there's a lack of sense of humor" thread... couldn't help it)
"Oh f*ckkk!! Chick's a dude!" - from textsfromlastnight
me: I wonder what it'd be like to play golf en femme.
wifey: It's hotter and sweatier.
Ideal, if you want to pass as a transgendered member of the lollipop guild!Originally Posted by cindym5_04
I was thinking either "follow the yellow brick road", oompa loompa, or maybe one of the chipmunks...
"Oh f*ckkk!! Chick's a dude!" - from textsfromlastnight
me: I wonder what it'd be like to play golf en femme.
wifey: It's hotter and sweatier.
Try this site exceptionalvoice.com , Kathy also has some introductory videos on youtube, they are worth checking out
"Every day, I learn something new about what it means to be a woman."
Hi Snugs-
You might check out Calpernia Addams website, she has some tips there. As far as it being permanent, there's only one way of doing that which is having surgery done on your larnyx, otherwise you can switch back and forth as you choose. I hate to say this, but practicing a falsetto voice won't really change anything, it just sounds...false...which is what the word means.
Doing a girl voice is, to me anyway, just about the hardest thing there is. Nearly everything else, makeup, clothes sense, walk, mannerisms, expressions, gestures, etc you can manage through observation and a lot of practice but the voice is something else entirely. I have tried and tried and have gotten a little better but still have a long ways to go. Most of the time I sound like some cartoon character sired by Michael Jackson on Minnie Mouse. Here are a couple of tips, though, for what they're worth.
For one thing, it isn't just about raising the pitch of your voice over all, girls use more of their vocal range when they talk, their voices are more melodic and when they want to emphasize something they raise the pitch/intonation of their voice. When a guy wants to emphasize something he just talks louder. Not that girls can't yell, of course!<lol> Women typically use about a half octave or so of their voice range, men use way less and tend to be kind of monotonous in the literal meaning of the word. The first two notes of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" are a full octave jump, so if you can manage even getting somewhere near that, then you have enough range to do a passable femme voice.
There are other things, too, that factor into doing a good girl voice (not a good girl, a good voice, you know what I mean) like vocabulary, ending sentences on a rising note a lot of times, and so on. There's an interesting book called Father Time, Mother Tongue (I think that's it, something like that) and while it's primarily about socio/linguistics it has some really good stuff about how women's speech patterns differ from men's.
One nice thing is that there are genetic women with voices down in the male range who still sound quite feminine, Bea Arthur and Cher come to mind. Of course I'd rather look like Cher than Bea, even though I admire them both.
Good luck, hon.
Hugs...Joni Mari
Last edited by Joni Marie Cruz; 06-04-2009 at 11:59 AM.
"Because equality is not a concept. It's not something we should be striving for. It's a necessity. Equality is like gravity. We need it to stand on this earth as men and women. And the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part of the human condition. It is life out of balance, and that imbalance is sucking something out of the soul of every man and woman who's confronted with it."
--Joss Whedon, to a reporter who asked, "So why do you create these strong women characters?"
most GGs don't talk in a falsetto and those that do sound foolish, like grown women pretending to be little girls---drop the falsetto and take some voice lessons on tape like reccomended above.
[SIZE="4"][/SIZE]
or nitrous oxide... seriously, falsetto is of limited value other than to loosen up a bit before laying one down(musician jargon).
Instead work on(and sing) the upper range of your full voice with emphasis on slight pitch variations, volume and inflections.
For example, listen to a female speak a "musical" language you may not speak or understand, maybe that would be the Italian language. It's better if you don't understand it as you will not be "distracted" by the meaning of the words. and listen to the sound of it, the music in the words, or the "sing song" aspect of it. Once you tune in on that, you will hear it in your native language when you listen to a female voice, and you can an practice emulating that in the higher natural range of your voice.
dd
Skateboarding could prove an excellent way to raise your voice a few octaves:
other advice...try singing or talking like Michael Jackson.
or play some soccer with a rather dirty-playing opponent:
"Oh f*ckkk!! Chick's a dude!" - from textsfromlastnight
me: I wonder what it'd be like to play golf en femme.
wifey: It's hotter and sweatier.
Or really tight panties.
Hugs...Joni Mari
"Because equality is not a concept. It's not something we should be striving for. It's a necessity. Equality is like gravity. We need it to stand on this earth as men and women. And the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part of the human condition. It is life out of balance, and that imbalance is sucking something out of the soul of every man and woman who's confronted with it."
--Joss Whedon, to a reporter who asked, "So why do you create these strong women characters?"
Many women have quite low voices. Speech patterns, choices of words and phrases, lightening the "timber" (speaking from higher up in the "voice box"), speaking more softly and less authoritatively all aid in sounding more like a woman. A falesetto will probably draw more attention as it is hard to get it to sound "natural". A person can raise the pitch of his/her voice a few steps with just a little paractice.
Hugs, Carole
OMG. Freekin hilarious. Oh wait...sorry, my girlside just kicked in. Oh no, how awful. Oh hell, my bitchside wants a turn, oh how effin funny, I love it.
Hugs...Joni Mari
"Because equality is not a concept. It's not something we should be striving for. It's a necessity. Equality is like gravity. We need it to stand on this earth as men and women. And the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part of the human condition. It is life out of balance, and that imbalance is sucking something out of the soul of every man and woman who's confronted with it."
--Joss Whedon, to a reporter who asked, "So why do you create these strong women characters?"
Exactly.
Using your falsetto is practice. It is not the voice you use to pass when you are going out trying to pass. It is not your female voice. It is practice.
There are two different sets of muscles controlling pitch - one high, one low. Most men use the low set almost exclusively, most women use the high set, almost exclusively. If you want to learn to use the high set, if you want to get them in shape, then you have to use them. Practicing in falsetto, to strengthen those muscles is a great way to do it. But if you use that squeaky voice when you go out - don't plan on passing. Once you have built strength in your upper mechanism, then you want to lower your voice to where you can speak normally, still in your chest, but at a significantly higher pitch than what you do as a guy. Then you will be closer to having a femme voice.
This takes practice - like any other muscles, if you don't use them regularly they will atrophy.
And of course - convincingly raising the pitch of your voice is only the first step. You also need to learn to speak like a woman. Learn to construct your sentences using female vocabulary vocabulary and syntax. Some of us do that naturally, but many of us need to be made aware of our speech patterns and how to change them. That of course is a WHOLE different post.
"I don't mind living in a man's world, as long as I can be a woman in it." — Marilyn Monroe
Good advise from all of you. Thank you
As others have noted, falsetto is NOT something you want to use in public. If you have any doubts, watch a few Monty Python sketches where the guys pretend to be women. Unless you're deliberately trying for laughs, don't even consider that method beyond using it in the privacy of your home to extend your natural range and exercise your vocal cords.
ralph
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