One of the most common questions I get during consultations is, “How does voice training actually work?” Believe it or not, the methodology is quite simple, largely boiling down to one thing: the size and shape of the vocal tract (the resonators). Where sound waves bounce — where they resonate — influences where that resonance is felt in your body. And resonance, my friends, contributes massively (let’s say 75% for emphasis) to the perceived gender of a voice. With that said, a whole bunch of factors influence this, including changing the space in the throat, larynx position, soft palate height, tongue position, lip movement, and manipulating the pharyngeal space and for the first few sessions since it takes the longest to develop, this will be our focus. 

Nerdy resonance facts:

A more masculine perceived voice for instance feels like it’s living in the chest, now full disclosure, this isn’t technically where the voice is resonating from in this instance, it’s just the bones in the chest tend to emphasize this feeling but still, through the manipulation of some of the above factors, we can get the voice down low and create that masculine chest resonance. Conversely, for a voice perceived as feminine, the resonance is felt in the head, specifically as a “front-focused” oral resonance. This means the sensation of resonance isn’t just high in the head, but also prominently felt in the front of the face, typically in the lips, cheeks, or sinuses.

After we have established a solid foundation in resonant voice, we move to pitch. For a male voice, you may have heard that they have a low pitch and this for the most part is true. But, one common bit of misinformation out there is that for women, they have a high pitched voice and this over simplification often contributes to a voice that’s perceived as inauthentic. The full story is that what they tend to actually have is a high degree of pitch fluctuation, in other words, the pitch goes up and down like a roller coaster. The reason for this has much to do with movement, a woman's expression is rarely static and as a result, their tongue and mouth movements reflect that. All this movement creates ongoing changes in space and just like that boom, you’ve got a recipe for a feminine pitch. 

Lastly, topics such as vocal intensity, intonation patterns, articulation, gendered syntax and semantics, rate of speech, and mannerisms make up the finishing touches. All these factors when put together create layers in the voice and it’s in these layers that an authentic sounding voice lives.

Now, if you skimmed this your largest takeaway from how trans voice training works should be the fact that I’m highly skilled in the art of vocal witchcraft. All jokes aside, there are so many intricacies involved in voice development. It’s never a one-size-fits-all approach because everyone’s voice is unique and this is where the artistry comes in. This individuality requires careful attention and adaptation to figure out which skills need development (or not!), what needs to be addressed, and when. It’s funny, when I first started writing this article, I started by trying to convince you how simple the process was but I now realize I was projecting, it’s easy for me to grasp and understand because let’s face it, I’m a voice nerd but for many others out there reading this you may be thinking “this girl is banana’s and this is actually complicated” to which I’d say, both are true but hopefully with my guidance I can help you get where you want to go (vocally speaking, I ain’t no Uber). 

Transitioning is complicated but voice work doesn't need to be, if you’re looking for help to bring yours out, hit me up at https://www.voicebykylie.com/contact

Till’ next time,

Kylie