Voice

[EmilyShy]

I'm just curious how many are there that try to change their voice??

I consider myself a plain old Crossdresser. I fully dress fully very very occasionally probably about 3 times a year as family constraints don't allow more and lots more other times that are just quick hour stints, I'm currently exploring the fem-male thing so I can get to dress more often and step into public life. So there is no real scenario for me to be out and about around the public full femme therefore no need to change my voice. Don't get me wrong when I dress fully I try to embrace the whole feeling feminine experience but talking to oneself out loud is not really my thing. To me voice changing is more of a trans commitment rather than a crossdressing commitment if that makes sense. Am I wrong here?

If I ever get to a stage were I was going out shopping and interacting regular I may take a different view

[Helen_Highwater]

Emily,

I think most of us when out modify our voices some what. From comments here it seems the most common approach is to try to soften the voice, take the male edge off it.

I've posted this a number of times. Years ago at a support group I met a couple, the wife being a speech therapist. She told me the worst thing we can do is speak like a BeeGee, falsetto. Her advice was to start at your natural pitch and sing Do-ray-mi. Mi should be as high as you go in raising your speaking voice. Ray will work fine for most.

Again this is something I've posted before. Speech is a mannerism. For example, a man asked the time replies 12- 30. A woman; Oh goodness me is that the time, it's 12-30. Where did the morning go? Women tend to engage in conversation more readily.

A little practice and you soon get the hang of it.

[EmilyShy]

Hi Helen. I think you misunderstood. I'm not wanting to learn voice I was just curious how many on here think it's a must?

Example, I like salad but I can not eat tomatoes. I like dressing and there is a compulsion there to wear dresses and skirts but I don't do every aspect. I don't do breast forms (at this stage) and I never thought about voice. I'm a male primary that just enjoys dressing up as a woman. Eg I am a Crossdresser. lol

[MonicaPVD]

Personally, I find that speaking softer and at a slower pace than I usually do works best. Altering my voice to sound "more feminine" sounds strained and unnatural. I'm not tricking anyone with my appearance, so why should I attempt to do so with my voice?

[Maid_Marion]

Depends on whether you want to pass or not. Voice may be the most common tell of a someone that can't pass.

Yes, it is very difficult but I've mastered voice with the aid of speech therapy and a ton of practice.

Marion

[Cheryl T]

I try, but rarely succeed.
It's become less of an issue over the last few years. Maybe because I no longer care about what others think.

[Rhonda Jean]

I don't try to raise the pitch of my voice but I do tend to speak within the higher registers of my natural voice, if that makes sense. I don't think about it, it's just what I do that tends to go along with everything else. TBH, sometimes I hear myself doing it and it scan sound a little put on, so I guess it's kind of a habit that is not always flattering. I do the same thing in fem male mode. My diction and inflection tends to be better, and that part IS flattering.

The flip side of that is, especially back when my daily appearance was more feminine, when I tried to fit in with men I think I tended to speak in the lower registers and flatten my inflection, not to mention cursing more. Not sure which one is fake!

[NancySue]

I?ve tried, but, no way. My bass voice is an instant giveaway. I?ve not had any problems, but avoid as much as possible. I really don?t care. Life?s too short.

[Diane P]

When I was in the Air Force, 1977-97, as an air traffic controller there wer plenty of time I got mistaken for a woman over the rdio by pilots. There are still times now on the phone when someone who doesn't know me thinks I'm a woman. However I seriously doubt that out in public my voice would ever be mistaken for a woman's voice, if I ever have the courage to go out dressed on my own.

[Jessica G.]

Ahhh this goes to the conversation I hade with my wife recently. While I told her I don't feel I need to change my voice when I am dressed at home or at a friends house, the topic of one of these days going out and about should I try to alter my voice? Like you, I really can't sit there and listen to myself talk to myself and changing the pitch of my voice, its just not my thing. But I see how it would complement the overall feminine feel.

I think I look ok, but I also know I'm not fooling anyone towering at 6'5, but my voice is low and I am open to trying it, I just feel its not a necessity to myself, though it would be nice.

[alwayshave]

Emily, I don't even bother, I have enough other issues to deal with.

[Jeri Ann]

I'm not wanting to learn voice I was just curious how many on here think it's a must?

Before I transitioned, and several years afterward, I wanted a convincing voice. I tried all the tricks (they should be numbered for quick reference). Finally, I enrolled for Speech Therapy at the University of Houston, Speech Pathology Department. I even had to get medical clearance from two ENT?s. After about a year of exhausting sessions I finally decided that it was not worth it. Just as some people can?t sing, and never will, some people can?t change their voice much.

It is annoying to be misgendered on the phone but it is what it is. When the subject comes up with people that know me they say that it never occurs to them that my voice is not feminine. In addition, it has occurred to me that trying to sound female was, for me, pretending to be someone that I wasn?t, something I did for most of my life. I am done with pretending. I experience the freedom of living my truth. I no longer act like, or pretend to be, someone else. Heck, as assistant captain of my rodeo team I even get on the microphone to give instructions before each shift.

I actually know very few trans women living authentically in the real world who actually sound like a cis woman, nor do they care. It certainly doesn?t infringe on their femininity. You actually have to intentionally listen to detect any residual maleness because the overall (natural) presentation is convincingly female.

Perhaps we are comparing apples to oranges here but I think there is an application for Crossdressers. Be yourself! Enjoy the experience. There is nothing that will clock you quicker than looking over your shoulder to see if someone notices you or, trying to sound like like something that you are not.

[docrobbysherry]

I've met many hundreds of T's and CD's at events around the country, Em.

And, the number of girls who make a noticable effort to change their male voices I can count on my fingers!

[Lisa Gerrie]

Since puberty I've had a voice in the same pitch range as James Earl Jones, so truly passing is pretty much out of the question for me. So when I do go out (rarely), I always find a remote location. I used to live near a large industrial park with some sidewalks, and sometimes I'd drive there at 4am and casually walk my dog around for a little while, staying close to my car.

I always figured that if I was forced to talk to anybody like a patrol car, I'd whisper. Not that I'd ever have passed when they saw me close up, but it seemed like it would be less jarring. I was curious, so I asked ChatGTP...

Lisa: If a person whispers, is it more difficult for other people to tell if they are male or female?

ChatGPT: When a person whispers, it can potentially make it more difficult for others to determine their gender based solely on the sound of their voice. Whispering typically involves speaking in a softer, breathier tone with reduced vocal intensity. This can result in a change in pitch, resonance, and overall quality of the voice.

In normal conversation, factors such as vocal pitch, resonance, intonation, and speaking style can contribute to perceptions of gender. However, when whispering, these characteristics may be altered or less pronounced, making it harder to discern the speaker's gender.

[Aunt Kelly]

I am done with pretending. I experience the freedom of living my truth. I no longer act like, or pretend to be, someone else. Heck, as assistant captain of my rodeo team I even get on the microphone to give instructions before each shift...

...Perhaps we are comparing apples to oranges here but I think there is an application for Crossdressers. Be yourself! Enjoy the experience. There is nothing that will clock you quicker than looking over your shoulder to see if someone notices you or, trying to sound like like something that you are not.

Sage advice, Jeri Ann. Be yourself. You will enjoy life much more when you allow yourself to do that. I understand that we're getting a bit far from the topic, but voice is perhaps the best example of something we can learn to accept about who we are, be that CD or trans.

[Rhonda Jean]

Heck, as assistant captain of my rodeo team I even get on the microphone to give instructions before each shift.

It probably bears emphasizing that when you get to this point in your transition, you've pretty much conquered all fears.

[sometimes_miss]

If I could pass physically, then my voice would be the last thing that could give me away. But as things stand, no matter what my voice sounds like, no one's ever going to mistake me for a female. So I just continue to sound just as I always have.

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Emily, Just enjoy what you have

[OrdinaryAverageGuy]

Crossdressing is about appearance, primarily clothes, maybe makeup and shaving and such. Trans, although there are a few here that will argue that it's the same thing, is completely different. Trans is about "becoming" the other gender, which will more likely include changing your voice and trying to convince others that you're actually the other gender.
Use your brain, you know who and what you are. If you decide to have some fun and go out and pretend, working on your voice could be a huge part of what you're trying to accomplish. Otherwise, if you're like me and not trying to pretend, voice has nothing to do with it. Either way, enjoy!

(Trans- is a prefix that means beyond, through, or change. In our context it means change. Look it up.)

[JohnH]

It's a lost cause for me to try to sound like a woman, not only because of the pitch of the voice but also the bass timbre. I remember singing an improvised third bass part that went down to Bb below the bass staff with two ledger lines.

[Ceera]

For me, I've always felt changing my voice would be an essential part of going out en femme in public. As an adult male, since puberty my vocal range, particularly when singing, had been from a deep bass to high tenor. My speaking voice was either a smooth baritone or deep bass. Think your classical radio station announcer with a smooth, deep voice. That was me. So even if I could perfect my outward appearance, my voice would have given me away in an instant. And my first attempts didn't look half bad, visually. So me ordering a drink at a bar with my old voice would have sounded like I had a deep voiced boyfriend standing behind me, playing ventriloquist tricks to fool the bartender. And from day one, I definitely wanted to 'pass' as female if I was going to walk out that door looking female.

For four years, I was gender fluid, going out socially as Ceera, and coming home to resume my former male role. When out as Ceera, I always did my best to use feminine speech mannerisms and to alter my pitch and resonance to sound female. My singing experience helped a lot with my success. By the time I committed to full transition, in mid-2018, I could sound quite passably female with very little effort on my part.

[audreyinalbany]

I just soften the tone a bit when answering simple questions (i.e. 'can I help you?"), otherwise I jsut fall into my normal conversational tone

[Jane G]

Apparently I often sound just like my mother did, what ever I am wearing. No one has ever told me that I sond like my farther. Practically every one that ever knew us both, has told me I look like him though. Just taller. Oh the joys of genitics and upbringing.