"Can changing how you sound help you find your voice?" • New York Speech & Voice Lab in the press

Here is a radio news story that was broadcast on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered on 10/14/14 about my voice work:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/10/14/354858420/can-changing-how-you-sound-help-you-find-your-voice

I am pleased with Laura Starecheki’s story, and I particularly liked one of her main messages: even a small amount of voice change can result in significant life improvement. Indeed! Many clients want that perfect voice, but luckily, perfection isn’t even necessary. For most people, it just takes practice and a willingness to try new techniques in the moment. Interestingly, you must notice and adjust your voice in order for your voice to not be noticed!

As I help transgender people fit in and lead safer, more authentic lives, I also aim to help you embrace your beautiful individuality, in the hope that you can be confident, without perfection, and that we together can promote diversity and educate others about transphobia, stereotypes, sexism, and binary gender assumption. Because in the end, as Laura says, the world should pay attention to WHAT we say, not HOW we say it.

Thanks go to Laura for creating a thoughtful and respectful piece, and particularly, for hitting upon the essential and extremely serious aspects of transgender experience without sensationalizing it. And kudos to Tina W., Monica H., and the anonymous people whose voices we hear from one of my recent workshops (you know who you are!) for sharing their stories and voices for the piece. These folks, and all of you out there who are working on your voices, should be proud of your courage and perseverance, voice-wise and otherwise!

Phone voice

Many transpeople have trouble being misgendered over the phone, even when being gendered correctly in face-to-face conversations. This is primarily because the listener doesn’t have the added benefit of seeing the person’s appearance. Below are some recommendations for strategically using your best voice/speech skills when talking on the phone to people unfamiliar to you.

a. Start by saying, or even spelling, your name very clearly whenever appropriate.

b. Nail the first sentence. Your listener will likely make any determination regarding your overall identity within the first few words they hear you speak. Aim your pitch slightly higher or lower than you usually do.

c. Speak slowly.

d. Hum or lip trill or practice the conversation beforehand or when you are on hold.

e. Practice your best phone voice by leaving messages for a friend or recording fake messages on your own phone.

Laughing in a more feminine or masculine way

Transpeople can have trouble laughing in a more feminine or masculine way even if they are happy with their speech. Believe it or not, we can modify the way we laugh, because laughing is a kind of behavior, just like speech is a behavior. Consider how you may laugh differently in different situations – at the library vs. at a party with friends vs. with your boss, and somehow you can adjust your laugh according to the situation. You can likely even make yourself laugh in those different types of ways, just by thinking about it. Similarly, you can PRACTICE laughing in a more feminine or masculine way, and as with talking, you can be MINDFUL of your technique whenever you have the urge to laugh. Here are some ways to sound more feminine or masculine when laughing:

Feminine laugh:

1. Higher pitch
2. Quieter
3. Smile wide to make the sound smaller
4. Cover your mouth with your hand or try keeping your mouth closed
5. Aim for a giggle or “hee hee” sound

Masculine laugh:

1. Lower pitch
2. Louder
3. Big open mouth, dropping your jaw very low
4. Aim for a bellow or “ha ha” sound

Use these techniques as a guide to have fun experimenting laughing in different ways. Avoid laughing no longer! Laughing is good for your soul! Practice, have fun, and be happy!

The magic of lip trills

Lip trills were introduced as part of a daily vocal warm-up in a previous blog post. That’s the “bbrrrrrrrrr” sound made by fluttering your lips during sustained voicing, like a voiced horse sound or a running-motor sound. This exercise is sometimes referred to as “raspberries” or “lip buzzes.”  This blog post addresses lip trills further, bringing in target pitch and pitch movement.

So what do lip trills actually do? They help to coordinate breathing and voicing for healthy sound production. This is done by producing back pressure at the lips so that more breath support is required from the diaphragm, the vocal energy is more focused in the mask of the face, and any pressure at the neck is reduced. They also help to loosen your lips.

How are they done?  Place your lips loosely together and release air in a steady stream – “bbrrrrrrrr.” Be sure your voice is on. Do them 10x at a comfortable pitch (transfeminine G3 or 196 Hz, transmasculine D3 146 Hz). Then do 10 more, gliding gently up and down within speaking range. Don’t push. If you have trouble, trying pushing your cheeks in slightly with your fingers, to loosen the upper lip so it can move more freely. A mirror can also help you see what you are doing.

When to do them?  Every morning as a warm-up, before making a phone call, before/after talking for a long period of time, when you want to check your pitch, or when your voice feels stuck or uncomfortable.

A daily vocal warm-up

Warming up your voice for the day can help to prevent vocal strain, vocal fatigue, or other voice problems. Here are three exercises to do together every morning for ~2 minutes:

1. Loosen up with a few shoulder shrugs, shoulder rolls, and exaggerated chewing.
2. Do lip trills (like making a horse sound with your voice on) in a comfortable pitch.
3. Slide your pitch up a little and then down a little, 6x each: “hee,” “hoo,” “hoe,” “ha.”