Your voice is an important part of your image as a trans woman or crossdresser. Even if you rarely go out in public as a woman, there will be times when you’ll need to speak to someone.
You want to be the whole pretty package, right? Having a voice that’s congruent with your image is a big part of that.
In this post, I’ll share 5 common voice feminization mistakes that can hold you back from achieving a natural, “passable” female voice.
1. Speaking Too Deeply
No surprise here, but the deeper your voice, the more masculine it will sound.
How do you know if your voice is too deep? Your best option is to use a frequency tuner to measure the pitch of your voice. Here are the typical frequency ranges for masculine and feminine voices:
- Male voices typically range from 100-150 Hz
- Female voices typically range from 175-250 Hz
The good news is that you can easily measure the pitch of your voice by using a frequency tuner app on your phone. Here are a couple free apps for both iOS and Android:
2. Speaking In Falsetto
Trying to mask a deep voice by speaking in an unnaturally high voice – otherwise known as falsetto – isn’t good, either. Speaking this way doesn’t make you sound like a woman, it makes you sound like Minnie Mouse.
While you do want to raise the pitch of your voice, you never want to go too high. Again, a frequency tuner is invaluable for helping you find your correct range.
3. Whispering
If you are self conscious about your voice, you may try to compensate by speaking more softly.
However, lowering the volume of your voice doesn’t make you sound more feminine, it just makes it impossible to hear you.
4. Upswinging Your Sentences
Women naturally have more “melodic intonation” to their voices. In other words, they are more animated when they speak.
Some crossdressers and transgender women make the mistake of trying to imitate this by “upswinging” their voices at the end of every sentence.
Upswinging your voice tends to make each sentence sound like a question. The result is that you sound like a stereotypical Valley Girl, which is probably not the type of woman you want to emulate.
5. Pinching Your Voice
One of the reasons that men have deeper, richer voices than women is because they have a larger “throat space.”
If you try to compensate for your deeper voice by constricting your throat, the result will sound pinched. Think Pee Wee Herman or Kermit the Frog. Again, this is something you will want to avoid.
Avoiding these mistakes is the first step towards achieving a passable feminine voice
It’s easy to go wrong in your attempts to feminize your voice. The good news is that you CAN achieve a passable feminine voice with the right tools and strategy.
That’s why I’m so excited to share my new course, Vocal Feminization for Beginners: 30 Day Transformation!
Taught by opera singer and vocal coach Lera Sonzogni, this easy-to-follow program will teach you the basics of achieving a feminine voice in just 30 days.
Learn more about Vocal Feminization for Beginners here!
Love,
Lucille
P.S. Before you go, be sure to take my voice feminization poll below. I’d love to know how important this issue is for you, along with your thoughts on the topic!
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In regards to my feminine voice, I bought a book that really helped me, but the matter still boils down to practice, and I’m not quite there yet.
The other day I went to a restaurant with a friend, and the waitress treated me like a girl since the start. But when it was my turn to order, it was pretty obvious he noticed I wasn’t a genetic girl.
I really need to keep practicing.
Yes, it really is a matter of practice! What’s the name of the book you found?
Hi Lucille!
The book is “Girl Talk” by Lynette Nisbet. The oficial site is this: myfemvoice
I bought it from Barnes and Noble, though.
Since early-March my voice has improved, thanks to some free videos I found on flickr from another TS, which she has alas had to remove having come out to her wife. But her tips helped me a lot. Luckily my voice is already quite soft, and not really deep, so I think I am making reasonable progress.
In fact, in early May I joined a walking group (as Andrea) and it is going SO well, everyone is really nice and I have no idea how many know I am anything other than any other girl – I have two male admirers, and all their comments indicate this! So, my voice ain’t perfect, but it must be reasonable!
The voice! Yes, it’s always a tough one, but I do see some on You-Tube who seem to have it down perfect. I’ve always imagined they practiced for hours each day, much like a driven piano student, or ambitious youngster wanting to be a sports hero or some such thing. I’m not sure I have the energy for that. Oh well! Maybe they will develop a pill!! Lol! 🙂
I am fortunate in that I have a very good, flexible, speaking voice and I had the opportunity to learn how to use that voice effectively. So when I finally accepted the woman inside me and allowed myself to be that woman, it was just a matter of learning how a woman speaks, and practicing it until it felt natural. Now if only I could learn to sing in the treble range…
Hi Lucille Dear. The voice Thats a real problem. I look like a woman i act as a woman. But my voice sounds not like a woman to my ears. ITS really a struggle in daily life Can You help me ? Thank You Love Aaliyah
Hi Aaliyah,
I have a habit of practising at every opportunity. For example when I drive, i listen t the news and music stations and pretend that I am the announcer or news reader and emulate the lady on the radio station. I also practise in front of a mirror, after watching girls at various places, the way they speak, and gestulate with their hands and eyes. I am now really perfect at this. You may ask Lucille for my email and i will tell you what i do daily to keep my voice like that. I now have reached that level that my male vice is almost gone and when i speak its always the female voice that comes out. Practice , watch and emulate. Love Susan G.
Great tips, Susan! Thanks for sharing.
Not quite there yet but improving, making progress. Sometimes it’s right on, others I get lazy and don’t stay in control. The word I am trying to keep in mind lately is “smooth”, When pitch, resonance, etc., are ok, then it’s important to avoid jerky masculine speech, try a little tenderness, don’t be too brutal with the consonants and word endings, stuff like that. Anyway, “smooth” seems to sum up a desirable quality.
Thank you Lucille for your Top 5 voice Feminization. All the Tips are useful for MTF Transgender woman.
I sometimes practice speaking in a feminine voice in my room by myself.