Voice!

[Lana Mae]

Of those who have been out, do you use your own voice or do you use a feminine voice? Just wondering what to do when I get out next time! Please respond! Thanks! Hugs Lana Mae

[StephanieM]

So far I've used my natural voice when I've been out. I suppose it because I know I'm not fooling anyone anyway.

[Micki_Finn]

Natural voice here. I speak a little softer, but generally feel that "faking0 it would sound even more unnatural than my own voice.

[Kandi Robbins]

Since I'm not fooling anyone, I use my regular male voice. In certain situations, I might feminize it a bit when using a few words. If, for example, some one holds the door open for me, I'll use a softer "thank you". I'm a bit talkative, so I just babble away in my own voice. The vocal changes I intuitively make are to my selection of words, not how I deliver them. I naturally call others sweetie or honey and would never even consider that in male mode.

[Alice Torn]

I have tried t olower my male voice, and make it sound almost whispery, or try to make my voice higher, Have not fooled many. It is pretty obvious i am a man, but from a distance, i think i have passed for a very tall woman.

[Genny B]

If you have ever had voice training whether in speech or singing you will learn terms like head voice and chest voice. Genny is almost always head voice except for one time i forgot when laughing...

Genny B

[Allisa]

Just my natural voice but use inflection and a "sweeter" tone, emphasize the "polite" terms and try to show the joy in conversing with the other person. Although I have a slightly higher tone than a lot of males and I "talk" with my hands a lot, a sort of distraction from my voice and just being myself and that air of confidence detracts from ones voice. Unless your pitch is in the basement no problem. I practice talking in my femme "voice"(presenting male) when ever conversing with females and if I can get them to "open up" more and usually get that big friendly smile it's working.

[Tracii G]

Natural voice mostly just softer with a head voice.

[Rachael Leigh]

Like many here it's hard for us to truly feminize our voices I just try and soften mine it seems to work for me.
But like others I'm not really fooling anybody

[Phoebe Reece]

Natural voice, a little softer. I try to smile while talking, as that lends confidence to my presentation.

[Richelle]

I use my own voice. I already have a slight accent from when I had a speech diffencency as a child. So trying to change is not that realistic for me. However, it does not seem to cause issues with my presentation as a women

Richelle

[Tama]

Good question Lana...was wondering this same thing..The few times past I've been out, I just didn't speak. That could get to be a problem however.

[Ceera]

My goal is to be fully accepted as female, and I can pass visually, so my voice is as much a vital part of my presentation as my breast forms or wig. My female voice is about half an octave higher than my male voice, is a different timbre and resonance, and is softer. I can do cheerleader cheers at full volume in my female voice, but I'm still working on getting my female singing voice up to the standards my male voice can do. (As a male I sang in a church choir, and was at a semi-professional level - able to win singing performance competitions.)

I spent a couple of months working on developing a passable female voice before I ever went out in public. My male voice is in the Bass to Tenor range, and would have had everyone looking behind the pretty girl, wondering where the football player or truck driver was hiding! I paid for two on-line courses in how to feminize a male voice, and studied a rather extensive you-tube tutorial series by a very successful MtF voice trans person, and it paid off. After nearly two years of practice, I can now drop into feminine voice and stay that way all day, without even thinking about it. Pretty much as soon as the wig goes on, the voice shifts on its own. It really isn't as hard as most people think it is. The process is much like singing - you're just altering certain aspects of how you speak, to get the pitch, resonance, timbre and speech patterns that work for feminine sounding speech.

Does my voice pass? Yes, I think it does. No one looks oddly at me when I speak while en-femme. People who see me in both modes on different occasions (like sales associates at my local grocery store) act as if they perceive me as two completely different people. They 'recognize' both versions of me as a frequent customer, but they don't seem to associate the guy with the girl. On a few occasions while with several female friends who I trust, and who had only known me as Ceera, because they know I am trans, they asked me what my male voice sounded like. It actually took a very conscious effort to shift back to male while still en-femme and show them, and my friends could hardly believe that deep male voice came out of me!

[Paula2]

Hi Lana,
Not sure what works or what people think?? I try to speak in a lighter higher pitch voice.. Not a pretend voice.. But softer and on the upper end of my range.. After awhile I might get comfortable and speak natural but still higher..Sometimes it might work??? Often times it doesn't.. IDK.. I really think it comes down to your confidence level on any given day!! You have to own it!!!

[Becky Blue]

Own voice, I try talk a lot softer, but then I am having such fun that inevitably I forget to talk softly. It is my giveaway, I have seen quite a few people's eyes widen when they hear me talk, which I have always taken as a great sign actually.

[Dana44]

I also try to talk softer. But on certain days my voice does sound feminine and on other days it does go deeper. So if i can keep it in the higher range then I can pass okay. When out and about when I say thank you to a male opening a door for me,.I never get a look from them.

[Rachelakld]

With family and neighbours I use my normal voice.
however, when out......
I'm either up and quieter when talking nicely to people, or down deeper if having fun with someone (normally male) who "spotted the tranny".

[jennifer0918]

Natural voice

[mbmeen12]

Natural voice.....

bedroom lol is another

[donnalee]

I've been a musician most of my life and have worked professionally for a good portion of it with some major names. A dozen years ago I was in a work situation that led me to do some extensive vocal work and was able to develop a 2 octave range, so I had the tools to work on a female voice. My male voice sounds like a bass drum in a gravel pit.
I was using a small digital recorder to check my voice. One day I played it back and heard this female voice that was so perfect it scared the hell out of me; it was like someone I'd never met, but it was me!
I just wasn't ready for that and haven't tried to do it again; so now I use my regular voice but try to speak softer.

[Danitgirl1]

Just my natural voice... Possibly slightly softer to lessen the blow, but I am who I am. They must deal...
Besides you can POSSIBLY 'fake it' for a few pre-planned interactions but as soon as you are off guard you are probably going to drop the facade PDQ!

[Jillian Faith]

When dressed I switch from my deep chest voice to my head voice which according to my wife can pass as a feminine voice. Not sure what you other girls mean by "Using my natural voice just softer". Are you also using head voice or doing something else?

[tvhelena]

My only experience around others was my makeover at The Boudoir a few years ago. It never occurred to me to change my voice - I didn't see it as something I felt I had to do. However, I was acutely aware of "feeling" very different when my makeover was complete. I saw myself in the mirror and something just changed in me - deep down in my very being. I often feel something similar when I get a chance to dress at home (or when I'm away), but it's not as profound. It's difficult to describe, but I feel like a different persona altogether. I somehow feel more relaxed, and more confident within myself. I guess it's possibly the "real" me coming to the surface, if that makes sense? I've often wondered if I spent longer as a woman (my record is 11 days straight) - I'm talking weeks, maybe months - if my personality would coalesce, and if something like my true voice would find its way to the surface.

[Kate Simmons]

Some years ago, I bought a book by Allison Liang, a noted CDer. In it she said it's not so much WHAT we sound like but HOW we say things. She advised to listen how women talk and articulate themselves. That is more convincing than tone as it conveys overall mindset and intentions. BTW I use my own voice when out en femme. :battingeyelashes::)

[IleneD]

Voice is kind of tricky, and it takes practice and a measure of forethought to act it out, especially if your Femme Voice markedly differs from your male voice.
Relatively new to expanding my CD and going out with it, I've found the most natural flow of speech follows my natural male baritone; even in Femme. Much easier to instinctively speak and respond without having to make mental adjustments.

I have been "caught" by it, however.
On one of my first Going Outs, I was taking a drive in the convertible (Infiniti) and was stopped at a light. A panel delivery truck pulled alongside on the left, the driver obviously checking out the big blonde in the convertible next to him. He called out to me, "Hey, do you know where 120th St is?". I didn't have the presence of mind to fake a female voice and I didn't think it would carry over the traffic sounds, so I shouted back, "Go about a mile straight ahead; 3 stop lights." I did it in my natural male baritone. The guy was checking to see if I was for real, because I "knew" that he knew where 120th was, given we was a delivery driver; and he turned at the very next intersection not making it to 120th. All good fun.

[mykell]

hi lana,
ive shared this before and i think it helps, its a little long but she is on the road alone.....as far as softer or a whisper.....i dont like the sound on me, when alone i like loud and proud but rarely use it when out, some day i would like to record it and hear the results....i used it with someone i had just met at one of my support meet-ups and was told it passes but im afraid to use it out in the "wild" for fear of my male voice would end up defaulting back. here is a link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsIGRWOTxRw

[BrendaPDX]

I use a softer slightly higher voice when enfemme. I don't think I fool anyone, so I try to avoid those situations. But I have heard a lot of good advice here as always. Brenda

[Michelle (Oz)]

Natural voice with only concession that I might thank someone for opening a door with a very soft 'thank you'.

Feedback has been that folk I talk to already knew I was a male and were quite prepared to engage in conversation. So, no surprises. There is an honesty about my voice too. CDing can be lonely without engaging others so it is empowering to speak freely with your natural voice. Takes a while to build up confidence but it you will.

[jennifer0918]

When I want to sound femme I drink coffee,then bring my voice to high pitch to sound like Mickey mouse. Once I accomplished a high pitch then I bring it down a bit soften out my voice. Sit back relax and pick up an issue of glamour magazine and read out loud to practice. Always read a femme magazine.

[Peggy Gardiner]

Is that Andrea James's YT videos you were watching, Ceera? I find those fascinating, and inspiring, too - she had a quite deep voice before transitioning, which she demonstrates at one point, too, in hilarious fashion. It's impossible to tell she was male once, including sonically; but getting the voice - and mannerisms - down takes a lot of practice, they say.

[Alice B]

Use my own voice. Unable to effect a female voice

[Helen_Highwater]

I know I've posted this a few times but since the question has been asked it's worth another outing.

I once met a speech therapist at a social group and we got taking about the big mistakes that CD'ers make when trying to alter their voice. Top of the list, talking like the Bee Gees sing, full on falsetto. Wrong on soo many levels. Her advice was to soften the voice which in reality means not speaking from the chest which in part gives the deeper resonance that we have as males. This is I suppose what you'd call a head voice. You're trying to make the sound from higher up in the voice box. To aid this either start from the deepest note you can make with doh and go up the scale to fah or soh and no higher. Alternatively, and this is easier and quicker to use, start at your most natural note with doh and go up one to ray. Definitely no higher.

Being such a small step it's easier to maintain. Coupled to softer speaking this will take you part way to a more realistic, natural femme voice. One of the other parts of this equation is inflection. Women place the points of emphasis differently. This comes with observation and of course practice. Two more things, make eye contact. GG's engage each other by being interested in the other person and also gestures, hand, head and facial gestures all play their part in creating the convincing whole.

Me I try to talk that bit softer but it's a work in progress.

One more thing though. I get using your normal voice but there's the danger IMHO that the onlooker will then see the man in a dress. Make the effort to at least talk something like your presented persona and the onlooker is more likely to think Trans. A bit like going abroad on holiday and having a stab at speaking the lingo gets people on your side and more likely to work with you.

[Ceera]

Peggy, the You Tube tutorials I referenced were by a person who called herself CandyFLA. She vanished from the web shortly after completing her SRS, and her You Tube site is now empty.

The voice training courses I got on-line were:

Fundamentals of Your Feminine Voice - Kathe Perez
Transsexual Voice Lessons - Melanie Anne Phillips

[Teresa]

Lana,
It comes back to the question do we pass or not ? As we all know we can't 100% so trying to put on a female voice is only going to make people react oddly and not accept you for what you are.

A kind partner at the last meeting when we were having breakfast said I looked totally convincing the only telltale was my voice , it was nice to hear that but just to know the appearance works was more than satisfying to me .

Keeping up a false voice in normal conversation is almost impossible, it's not an act to me so a false voice isn't important .

[Peggy Gardiner]

Peggy, the You Tube tutorials I referenced were by a person who called herself CandyFLA. She vanished from the web shortly after completing her SRS, and her You Tube site is now empty.

The voice training courses I got on-line were:

Fundamentals of Your Feminine Voice - Kathe Perez
Transsexual Voice Lessons - Melanie Anne Phillips

Thanks Ceera. I looked up the 2nd one and found that Smithsonian Mag did an entire article on using apps for transgender voice lessons: How Transgender Women Are Training Their Voices to Sound More Feminine | Innovation | Smithsonian (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-transgender-women-are-training-their-voices-sound-more-feminine-180957537/)

Deleting your YT account is really going stealth, I guess. Someone could see their face, but couldn't they have done that earlier on and made the connection too? Perhaps this sort of thing is archived somewhere. They say nothing gets deleted from the web.

[Pat]

Interesting thread.


Keeping up a false voice in normal conversation is almost impossible, it's not an act to me so a false voice isn't important .

I think a key is the concept of "false voice." People who are trying to achieve a voice they can put on and take off with their high heels are probably in for a long and fruitless struggle. The people for whom voice training is really intended are those seeking an "authentic voice" to go with the rest of the presentation of their authentic selves. As it happens, I recently finished a seminar with a voice therapist that was conducted over the course of six weeks which was entitled "Finding your authentic voice." In the seminar one thing repeatedly mentioned was that pitch is only one small component to a female voice and one that isn't really all that important -- think Bee Arthur (if you're old enough): she had a voice as low as many males, but nobody speaking to her on the phone would be confused as to whether she was male or female.

There are so many things to be aware of. The women leading the group made a comparison to driving a car -- there are so many things you have to think about, all at the same time. But with practice it will all eventually become natural. That's why I'm thinking developing a false voice is a futile exercise. A person needs to be developing the new voice that is going to be their natural voice for the rest of their life. ;)