voice resources

[desertrider]

Anyone know some real voice resources?

Last time I looked, youtube was full of junk like people telling you to recite the abc's or sing your favorite songs as high as you can....right...Stevie Nicks sings lower than me and she still sounds like a girl and I don't. I'm thinking it's more about timing and phrasing than pitch.

And seeing a speech specialist is serious money.

So. What do we have online that's ~actually~ useful?

Thanks!
Summer

[April T]

Good thread. I agree that a lot of junk on Youtube and would be interested in resources that actually helped others.

[Rachael Leigh]

I've always just used a softer version of my own voice, and for me once I'm close up my voice won't fool them anyway

[Meghan4now]

How much do you want to invest in this, both money and more importantly time?

Check out Kathy Perez or Andrea James, or find a local voice coach. Regardless of what help you enlist, it will take practice, practice, practice.

[desertrider]

As with anything, Step 1: avoid youtube. Step 2: amazing how much more of the internet "we're" taking up now, things are definitely getting better by the day!

Here's some/thing's I've found that all circle around the same topics, which says to me there's some consensus, and rhymes with what I've heard elsewhere:

Kathe Perez now has an app! "EVA"...thanks for the name Meghan!

https://www.reddit.com/r/asktransgender/comments/1ske7b/mtf_voice_training_regimen/

http://lena.kiev.ua/voice/

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jun/02/eva-transgender-voice-training-app

http://www.looking-glass.greenend.org.uk/voice.htm

I've recently realized I can sing almost anything if I "capo" (mechanically raise pitch) of my guitar 5 half-steps...time to bring my resonance north a bit (chest->head) to match, and I may be on the right track!

Good luck on your journeys y'all,

Summer

[Helen_Highwater]

This comes up on a regular basis and I think it's safe to say there's no one size fits all solution.

I did meet a speech coach socially once and we talked about femme voices. She said the worst mistake CD'ers make is to simply go up the octaves and try to talk like the Bee Gees sing. If you want to go up the scale start by singing a Doh at your own most natural level. Then go to Ray or Mee, certainly no higher, and use that as your level. Then soften your voice. It won't give you a totally femme voice but with a little practice you will get results.

[S. Lisa Smith]

I went to a voice coach. Best money I have ever spent. It wasn't that expensive and it was worth it. Good luck!!

[Karyn Marie]

If you are a veteran, and can get treatment at a VA Facility/Hospital, you can get a voice coach for free. I am planning to start seeing one soon.

[Hell on Heels]

Hell-o Summer,
I think those youtube tutorials all have something to offer, at least something
we can learn from them. Unfortunately we are all at a different starting point,
and what we learn is...this tutorial just doesn't work for me.

My opinion is...unless you're completely passable, why bother going overboard ?
If you're close enough to speak with someone, odds are you've already been clocked.
Why not own the situation and speak normally?
Much Love,
Kristyn

[April T]

As with anything, Step 1: avoid youtube. Step 2: amazing how much more of the internet "we're" taking up now, things are definitely getting better by the day!

Here's some/thing's I've found that all circle around the same topics, which says to me there's some consensus, and rhymes with what I've heard elsewhere:

Kathe Perez now has an app! "EVA"...thanks for the name Meghan!

https://www.reddit.com/r/asktransgender/comments/1ske7b/mtf_voice_training_regimen/

http://lena.kiev.ua/voice/

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jun/02/eva-transgender-voice-training-app

http://www.looking-glass.greenend.org.uk/voice.htm

I've recently realized I can sing almost anything if I "capo" (mechanically raise pitch) of my guitar 5 half-steps...time to bring my resonance north a bit (chest->head) to match, and I may be on the right track!

Good luck on your journeys y'all,

Summer

Thanks for the links. I am going to try the EVA app

[Pat]

Elysia -- Good choice. You should probably keep your eye on a thread in the Transsexual forum ( https://www.crossdressers.com/forums/showthread.php?245948-Kathy-Perez-The-30-Day-Crash-Course-voice-feminaztion ) where people are talking about that. Keep plugging away and then let everyone know how you do.

[Teresa]

Don't worry too much about the voice just be you !

I've been out socially for just over a year now and no one changes their voice, that applies to TSs as well. If you try and act your CDing you will probably raise more eyebrows and stand out .

[HollyGreene]

It's a common misconception that women have higher voices than men. Some do and some don't. There are quite a lot of men with high voices, soot.
The difference is in the tone. Women tend to have a purer tone, whereas men have a lot of harmonics and other frequencies coming in, which makes them sound rougher. Speaking in a falsetto voice definitely does not make you sound like a woman, so ignore any youtube videos you see that try to convince you otherwise. You're more likely to sound like one of the "women" in Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Speak softly in your natural voice and it will remove some of the harsher frequencies from your voice.
Experiment with the shape of your mouth and throat until you get something sounding less masculine. Once you have it, practice, practice, practice, because if you have to pull your mouth/throat into a different shape, it's going to be difficult to maintain it until you've got used to it.

[Ressie]

I took singing lessons long ago and was taught to sing with a yawn space in my throat. After reading HollyGreene's post ^ I think that speaking with a yawn space produces a clearer sound (more female). Talking with a tight throat makes one sound like an old man! So try yawning to get a feel for having an open throat before speaking. And raise your pitch just a little as others have already said.

Another tip: record yourself and listen back to see if you're improving (or not).