the tough part: the voice

[CharleneT]

Hi all,

So ... anyone have suggestions for a way to learn to speak in a feminine voice ? I have a pretty good sounding voice, but quite masculine and fairly low pitched. Help !!

[KandisTX]

Try slowing down your speech pattern and raising your octave just a bit higher than normal. You don't want to sound like Eric Idle of Monty Python fame with that high pitched screechy voice. If you have an exceptionally deep voice (like I do), you can get it to sound softer and more femme by doing these two things. It works for me.

The other option is find a voice coach and pay them to teach you to train your voice.

Kandis

[JeriGrant]

There are several techniques that will help to de-masculinize the voice. One way to take advantage of the lower pitch males usually have is to inject substantially more breath into the vocalization. This requires some practice to do naturally and in a sustained manner but is quite doable. Much of the additional breath will accompany the "plosive" sounds rather than voiced vowels, but even the vowels can be modified a bit.

Yet another technique is to tighten the muscles in the front of the neck. These muscles control the pivoting of the larynx which, in part determines pitch. Some additinal muscle tension can also be learned and sustained but will require more practice than the incresed breath quotient.

The previous advice about speaking a bit more slowly is very on target as well.

Hope this is helpful. I just wish there was a way to trim my middle-age paunch (I am back at teh gym!) and generally larger bone structure, but...

[victoriamwilliams1]

Yet another technique is to tighten the muscles in the front of the neck. These muscles control the pivoting of the larynx which, in part determines pitch. Some additinal muscle tension can also be learned and sustained but will require more practice than the incresed breath quotient.

I just tried that and it works! I just have to practice more.

[SweetCaroline]

Several things that worked for me. First off, try talking more "through your nose" or nasily if that makes sense. Women I'm told talk this way. Also practive talking from the bottom of your voice box, again if that makes sense.

Another suggestion is, if you have a deep or raspy voice, try to find an actress with deep and raspy voice and impersonate her. I started practicing my femme voice by impresonating Jodie Foster. I'm not sure it I sound like Jodie Foster, maybe some of the girl from this forum who I met can say for sure, but that's who I modeled my voice after.

Another thing may be to do as Dustin Hoffmen did in Tootsie and speak with an accent. People will notice the accent and be less thrown off by the voice.

Also important to remeber, watch GGs when they talk to one another, they're a lot more expressive with their facial features and body language. Smile when you talk, and widen your eye more. If your femme presentation seems natural, people again might not notice the voice.

Other that practice, practice, practice. Good luck.

[Jilmac]

I have a natural baritone voice when I speak. When I sing I have a voice range between high bass and low tenor. I have practiced the tenor voice while talking and it works pretty good. There are a lot of GGs (especially smokers) with low almost masculine voices (Lauren Bacall comes to mind) so I don't think it's too hard to soften a baritone voice and sound more feminine.
Anyway that's my Luv and Jill

[shirley1]

i have practiced at home by myself (how mad is that!) but i think i sound like a call girl on the other end of a chatline phone ! i wonder if you can get cds or anything that you can listen to like the learning to speak a foreign launguage tapes you used to get years ago

[joann07]

I would also like to add, that the way you talk or your choice of words will definitely help.
By observing how women talk, you'll notice a difference in the words they say and their mannerisms, etc.


Hugs!

[Julogden]

It's not all pitch, it's also resonance, sibilance, word choice and speech patterns. Here's a site that offers products that can help.

Carol

[CharleneT]

Thanks for all the suggestions !! I think I may try and find a cheap recorder to practice with, figuring the playback might help understand when it is working and why.

THanks again !!

[AmberTG]

I started working on my voice by trying to match the voice of one of the female DJs on a local radio station. She has a really good radio voice, which tends to be a bit lower pitch then average for a woman. High pitch voices just don't sound as good on the radio. Anyway, I've been working on that when I'm alone, but my brain still wants to default back to that "guy" voice in public. I think that's the hardest part for me, getting it to come out naturally in public.

[shellytv]

you might try going to 'you tube',and accessing candiFLA,where you type in a search.
She has a series of vids on femme/speak..and they helped me...and she's also very
natural and funny

[SandyR]

Practice makes perfect.......well, it does help me pass.

Take it slow, don't whisper, and raise your pitch up a notch.

But most of all, have fun!

SandyR

[victoriamwilliams1]

you might try going to 'you tube',and accessing candiFLA,where you type in a search.
She has a series of vids on femme/speak..and they helped me...and she's also very
natural and funny

She needs a show


http://www.youtube.com/user/candiFLA