Vocal Inspiration for Trans Voicework

Voices reflect where we come from and aspects of our personality. For this reason they are often a source of great discomfort for trans Individuals and many people find that finding a voice that reflects them is helpful. Music therapy can address more needs around emotional support and often incorporates more music processing than traditional vocal work through a speech therapist or voice teacher. Inspiration and direction is often incredibly important in shaping voicework to fit the individual's needs. 

Perceptions of gender in the voice are often quite different. There are things that have been shown to be perceived more often as masculine or feminine but the range and spectrum is quite wide. It is often helpful to find people who use their voice in a way that is similar to the your background and use that to develop achievable goals. 

I will give an example of my own life to show how listening and studying another person can be helpful in gender expression. For this example I will use Bo Burnham as his voice is somewhat similar to my own. Burnham has a deeper voice than my own, but it’s not too low or deep that I wouldn't be able to accomplish a similar tone comfortably. The other reason I chose his voice is that often masculine voices are seen as more flat with less expression. For me personally, I identify with more melodic voices and even like that aspect of my voice. To achieve a deeper sound similar to his voice I use vocal exercises to open the back of my throat which helps me deepen my voice and relax it into slightly lower pitches. Using vocal exercises with the vowels “moe” and “mahh” help me feel more relaxed. I also deepen my voice with increased breath support.

It’s important to notice where your voice is currently and to see if there are ways to incorporate your current voice into your goals. Trying to change too much at once can often lead to a fake sounding or inauthentic voice. 

Testosterone will lower the vocal pitch, however estrogen does not make vocal changes. Most people can reach a more neutral range. In this neutral range how someone speaks and tone variation in expression is more important to gender perception than the actual pitch. However, voices have a large range of variance and gender expression can defy or fit into gender stereotypes in an authentic way. The most important factor in voice work is finding a way to speak consistently and sustainably that feels validating to you.