For out and about CD's here: Do you change your voice to Blend/Pass? How so?

[Sarasometimes]

I think for a 6'2" CD i can blend to whatever degree that is likely but my voice is a dead give away. i have tried abit but I think it takes much work to get anywhere with it, what do you think?
Tips and tricks are very welcome!

[~Joanne~]

I am not out and about but i do try to see if I can pull off a female voice and think I have one thats somewhat passable and I can maintain for a good period of time. I also wouldn't mind some tips :)

[becky77]

I will write this as someone who has heard other CD's talking. The high pitched voice stands out more than anything else and is false, women don't talk like that. The best you can achieve is to raise your natural voice to remove the deep bass, soften the words a little without being camp and just practise. An androgynous voice will draw much less attention than either a deep male voice or this lol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwC7ph9FD54

Hopefully someone with much better advise than mine will show us how to achieve any of this :idontknow:

[meganmartin]

It is hard and I try hard think the advice given is perfect just try to talk softer and not so much bass.
One problem I have had with this sometimes people can't hear me so have to talk louder and then comes the bass.

[2B Natasha]

Not in the slightest. I sound like a cross between Barry White and Isac Hayes. There is no hope for me and my voice. So I OWN IT! I own my voice like I own my height. 6'4" in bare feet. So no. I don't change my voice or even try.

[sonna]

i use to try, but now i dont even bother. i guess depends how deep your voice is to,
but natural is better than high pitched. if you find something that works please let
the rest of us know.

[Lorileah]

I don't change it that much. It is sort of like telling a lie, you have to remember what you said and thus when you go into a falsetto you have to remain there as long as you are in the mode. The TS's here work toward that because they are on a daily basis. I imagine that if you speak like Barry White or James Earl Jones you need to change keys, but for me, I just speak softer and slower. If I work hard I change the lyrical part also as many females go up at the end of the sentence in almost a question. I perform (sing) when dressed also and since there is no way I can stay in head tone or falsetto for that long (the range would be limited for sure) I just use my voice. There are videos on Youtube and elsewhere that can help. There are also voice coaches.

Nothing outs you faster of more obviously than when you speak in a squeaky high voice that is obviously trying to sound female. Look at some of the finest actresses there have been, Kate Hepburn, Lauren Bacall, Kathleen Turner, Suzanne Pleshette, Barbara Stanwyck, who all have sultry and low voices. This is one area where I say do act your age. The giggly, nasal and high pitched voices of teens is not a good idea.


I had to add Ella Fitzgerald....how mellow and sweet she was.

[Cheryl T]

I don't think I pull off a feminine voice very well and being tall also (5'12") without my heels it's a challenge. I try to raise the pitch and soften it a bit so it's not so noticeable. Also watch the form of speech as it's different for women. The inflections are in different places in sentences and so on. Listen to those around you and try to absorb some of the variations and incorporate them into your speech.

[Kate Simmons]

It isn't the voice that carries the impression to others, it's how I carry myself and my body language. I've never changed my voice in any case. It's more of how you say things than how you sound.:battingeyelashes::)

[Beverley Sims]

I use a soft voice, but it is demeanor and confidence that gets you by.

[Ashley D.]

I am going full time one day. so I have worked on my voice. I never thought I could nail it but I have.
It took lots and lots of work so I use it most the time (good to drop into guy voice when the kids are bad lol)
But any who if I could do it anyone can.

[Tracii G]

I found that if you use your natural voice but just soften the words a bit helps.
If you can raise the natural pitch of your voice it sounds better just stay in a close to normal range for you.
Lots of women have deeper voices so its more how you alter your speach patterns to a more femme pattern.

[Ashley D.]

I found that if you use your natural voice but just soften the words a bit helps.
If you can raise the natural pitch of your voice it sounds better just stay in a close to normal range for you.
Lots of women have deeper voices so its more how you alter your speach patterns to a more femme pattern.

Yep :) that's it in a nutshell

[AllieSF]

I agree about the falsetto voice being an even more obvious indication that one is not what they appear to be initially. I have tried to use a slightly higher, softer voice and talk slower, and it does work better for me when I can remember to use it. However, being the chatty Kathy that I am, it is almost impossible for me to slow down and truly make the effort to tone down my male voice.

I had a great compliment the other night when I went out with Rachael from this site and we were having a glass of wine in a nice small and intimate wine bar. We eventually ended up talking with a couple of younger women (illegal age since they were younger than our daughters) when one of them said that she had no idea that we were not women when they came in and sat down at the bar a couple of seats down from us. She went on to say that our presentations, what we wore, and our mannerisms were spot on. However, what gave us away was the voice. That can be blamed on me because I went over to talk with them. It was a good reminder for me to try harder, which I hope I will do.

One way that helps some is to sing along with a female singer in a higher unnatural voice trying to keep in tune with her. I do this sometimes while driving if the right song comes on. With that right song, I can later really hear the difference in my voice for a short period of time.

[laurieg]

I have a very deep voice so it would be useless i'm 6'8"in barefeet so everyone notices me anyway

[Veronnie2]

I guess I am a lucky person since my voice is softer and when I am dressed and out for the evening, my voice sounds quite femme. I never really had any voice issues although i can sound manly when i need to. Veronnie2

[skirtsuit]

This may be a little rude, but I kind of enjoy surprising people when I open my mouth. I pass (yes, that stupid word) fairly well in the sense that if you don't look at me too closely, your brain will probably not notice anything amiss. Until I start to speak that is, and people will turn and look. Did a man's voice just come out of that nicely dressed woman?

Best,
SS

edit - I believe in fully 'owning' who I am - A guy in dress!

[bridget thronton]

I have not worked on fem voice so i try to be myself and treat folks kindly with the hope it will be reflected back

[LeannL]

I do and I do. I go out as often as I can - a couple of times a week in the non-summer months. I change my voice but it isn't really a falcetto. I soften it and I move the voice so I feel it more in the back of my throat rather than in my voice box. It seems to work as I have had a number of times when I have had to tell people that I am really the male on my drivers license including when I checked into hotels, purchased earrings at Claire's (yes they were asking everyone for an ID), renting a car, etc. So apparently my voice isn't giving me away.

Leann

[rachaelsloane]

I agree about the falsetto voice being an even more obvious indication that one is not what they appear to be initially. I have tried to use a slightly higher, softer voice and talk slower, and it does work better for me when I can remember to use it. However, being the chatty Kathy that I am, it is almost impossible for me to slow down and truly make the effort to tone down my male voice.

I had a great compliment the other night when I went out with Rachael from this site and we were having a glass of wine in a nice small and intimate wine bar. We eventually ended up talking with a couple of younger women (illegal age since they were younger than our daughters) when one of them said that she had no idea that we were not women when they came in and sat down at the bar a couple of seats down from us. She went on to say that our presentations, what we wore, and our mannerisms were spot on. However, what gave us away was the voice. That can be blamed on me because I went over to talk with them. It was a good reminder for me to try harder, which I hope I will do.

One way that helps some is to sing along with a female singer in a higher unnatural voice trying to keep in tune with her. I do this sometimes while driving if the right song comes on. With that right song, I can later really hear the difference in my voice for a short period of time.

I am Allie's partner in crime and have to say this is was not the first our voices have given us away and do not see this as a problem. We're able to interact with those we meet and the word someone we met said that best describes us is "DISARM". Our presentation and the depth of conversation completely disarm any fears or hesitation they might have. We're all out to have fun and that is what we have.

[Roberta Marie]

I know that I don't pass, I don't try to pass, so I don't try to get my voice to pass.

[Sarasometimes]

Great replies from everyone, thanks. I think the best advice is to maybe soften mine a bit or otherwise not worry about it. I once read that talking like a southern bell, sort of sing songy is an option but to me that sounds like the whole lie thing comes into play.
One nice thing about not changing my voice was the time I was having my hair done and a 60ish year old lady in the chair right next to me, decreetly shared with my stylist that she had no idea I was a male until I spoke. I think that is a place I should be happy with.

"Bye bye", she says softly

[May(be)]

Maybe I don't try to disguise my voice for the same reason that I don't try to wiggle my hips when I walk. It feels disingenuous. Honestly, if someone is speaking with me, either by choice or out of necessity, I think I may have a responsibility to our community to speak in my normal voice. If I am comfortable with myself, maybe through time others will come to accept us as well. I know that none of us really should feel the burden of representing the entire community, and it is an arrogant conceit to assume that I do so simply by speaking in my normal cadence, but at least I let people know that we are out there and deserve respect.

Then again, maybe I don't disguise my voice because it causes me to feel even more self-conscious than I already am.

[Jilmac]

My natural voice is baritone but I can raise it to alto if needed. I have done it in situations where a feminine sounding voice is more appropriate and it seems to work well enough to blend in with GGs, but most of the time I just use my natural voice and don't worry about being read.

[DebbieL]

I think for a 6'2" CD i can blend to whatever degree that is likely but my voice is a dead give away. i have tried abit but I think it takes much work to get anywhere with it, what do you think?
Tips and tricks are very welcome!

In my teens and twenties, I sang deep bass, but I would speak in a much higher tone, and the pitch got even higher when I would get upset. Eventually, my Acting class teacher told me that I had to start practicing talking in lower tones or the only parts I'd get would be the boys masquerading as girls. In my dance class, the kids gave me some magazines of transvestites. They were trying to tell me it was OK for me to be me, but I was afraid to let them see the true me, because if they rejected me, it would be a rejection of the real me, not the clown character I had created to survive.

Eventually, I learned to pitch my voice lower, which helped, especially in business and sales. I was able to negotiate more effectively.

The best way to create a credible feminine voice is practice. Practice reading aloud, read books you enjoy. When you are speaking to women, especially, use a higher voice even as a male, they will tend to actually like it, and will accept compliments much more readily. When you are in business meetings, or negotiating with other men, use your deeper voice. Men tend to respect that.

About once a week, record yourself, even better, record a video of yourself while in make-up and a wig. You'll begin to see when your voice matches your face. Usually, a pitch around "middle-C" is a good center pitch. The bigger challenge is to learn how to vary your pitch like women do. Men try hard to keep a very even tone, where women tend to vary their pitch to seem more enthusiastic. Actually, the enthusiasm is natural, but as men we are conditioned to show as little emotion as possible in our voice. If we raise the pitch too much, parents say "don't raise your voice at me young man!" because it's considered a sign of disrespect, of being out of control.

Listen to a teenage girl, and you can hear her pitch range from squeals that only the dogs can hear to groans lower than most men, all to express mood and interest. People don't question her gender, rather they experience her mood, enthusiastic when she raises her voice in a sing-song, and worried or annoyed when she goes to a low flat dead-pan voice.

Women who DON'T vary their pitch are often tagged as "butch" or possibly lesbian (most people don't know the difference) and men who do vary their pitch significantly are often mislabeled as gay. Within the gay community they are called "nellies" or "screaming queens" because they talk and act like women even if they dress and groom like men.

[Eryn]

I think for a 6'2" CD i can blend to whatever degree that is likely but my voice is a dead give away.

Next time you encounter a 6'2" GG take a moment to listen to her voice. Often it will be pitched fairly low. The difference is that men tend to allow their voice to resonate at one frequency while GGs avoid the resonance and use a greater range of pitch. Men talk, women almost sing!

For my own voice, I soften it, raise the pitch slightly, and try to improve my range of pitch. I don't try to do anything too far from what I am used to because I think that it sounds fake.

[oliviall]

I seem to have done well with speaking more softly, and, uh, being less assertive with my mouth? By that I mean just letting it be more loose and flowing, hard to describe I suppose? I also talk with my hands allot keeping them loose too. I'd feel pretty silly trying to raise my voice to a place it just doesn't want to go. The voice is just one component of communication, there are others you can work with to produce a more feminine presentation...

[Starr]

i am 6' bare feet and go out most anywhere i want too.. my voice is my voice, i don't try to change it other then simpley talking slower, and softer when i am speaking to someone as a girl.