Gender affirming voice blog
Discover voice tips, announcements for events, videos stories about Christie’s clients, or press about New York Speech & Voice Lab.
Getting feedback on your voice
Knowing exactly how your voice sounds is critical for modifying it in ways that work for you. But let's face it, it can be hard to know how you sound outside your own head. And it can be scary and uncomfortable to hear yourself or embarrassing to get feedback.
Upcoming free voice workshops in August
How to Be Expressive in a Masculine Voice, Friday, August 3, 2018, 3:00 - 4:00 pm
Making It Stick: Strategies for Maintaining a Feminine Voice, Saturday, August 4, 10:15 - 11:15 am
"Vocal therapy helps some transgender people find their voice"
Here is a radio news story that was broadcast about my client Alice Gorelick on The Pulse on National Public Radio, as part of the WHYY's series Our Bodies, Our Gender, September 7-8, 2017.
Free voice workshops in September
Feminine voice strategies for the body and mind, Sept 8, 2017, 9:00 – 10:00 am
Masculine voice strategies for the body and mind, Sept 9, 2017, 5:45 – 6:45 pm
"How voice therapists are helping trans people sound like their true selves"
Here is an online news story featuring my client, Rebecca Oppenheimer, and her work with me on your voice, posted on Fusion.net today (8/17/16).
"Helping trans people find their voices"
Here is a video done by Laura Lumsden of Cosmopolitan.com about my work with two clients who are transfeminine and gender queer. Congratulations to Angel S. and Alex F. on their successes and a big thanks to them for sharing their stories.
"How transgender women like Caitlin Jenner can feminize their tone"
In reaction to Caitlin Jenner’s recent comment about wanting her voice to be more feminine, Korin Miller of Yahoo Health asked me about the nature of feminine voice training.
Embrace your best possible self
Changing your voice and communication patterns to better conform to your gender expression can be challenging. This can be met with new, useful, and more satisfying ways of talking.
The road to authenticity
If you practice and use new ways of talking, these ways will gradually feel more real, both emotionally and physically, as the brain retrains the muscles to produce the desired skills in a more automatic way.
"Can changing how you sound help you find your voice?"
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.
“Giving voice”
This short film by Natalie Ruiz Tofano features the lived experience of my client Alysan McCann, including her voice changes.
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.
Laughing in a more feminine or masculine way
Believe it or not, we can modify the way we laugh, because laughing is a kind of behavior, just like speech is a behavior.
The magic of lip trills
This blog post addresses lip trills further, bringing in target pitch and pitch movement.
A daily vocal warm-up
Warming up your voice for the day can help to prevent vocal strain, vocal fatigue, or other voice problems.