Katya,

This topic is one of those cyclic issues that comes around on this forum. Changing your voice is way more technical than people understand. I chuckle when I see all of the suggestions to do this or that. Usually people just sound like a guy who is trying this or that.

At the University of Houston there is a voice training program for transgender people. I participated in it for two semesters. I have given up for now. It took a lot of time and money that I don't have right now.

The pitch of your voice is crucial. It needs to be in the female range. A pitch in the female range is not what your vocal chords are designed to do so it requires using muscles in your neck, throat, jaw, etc. to make the sound. Developing the muscles sufficiently to maintain a target pitch range requires much practice.

Pitch and muscle development is only the beginning. There is vocabulary, cadence, inflection, facial expression and gestures that need to be learned and coordinated while maintaining a pitch in the range.

Some people are more capable than others. Some people can sing, some can't. Some people can imitate and/or impersonate, others can't. Like others, I present enough visual clues to make face to face encounters successful and pleasant. Over the phone is another matter.

I personally know many transwomen here in the Houston area and across the state. I can think of maybe three whose voice might sound female over the phone. I have two ciswomen friends who have voices deeper than mine yet they sound female over the phone. They big difference is inflection, cadence and vocabulary.

Everybody is different. Whatever you try will require much practice to develop muscles and habits. It is also difficult to go back and forth when you get to a certain point because muscles you develop to work in a certain way need to be used the old way. Watch women when they talk. Look at their face/ eyes. Watch their gestures and listen to the inflection. There are programs you use out there. Nothing, it seems, works for every one.

You will undoubtedly continue to get suggestions of what other people do that they think works for them. Try them and see if something works but don't drive yourself crazy. And, be careful, you can actually do damage to your voice. I had to get a physical exam by an ENT before I could do voice training at UH. Good luck.