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Congratulations. You have learned to manipulate every single element involved in vocal feminization! Now for the fun part - you get to play around with all these knobs and dials on the control panel of your voice, and find the configuration that you like best. You get to explore the possibility space of your voice!
A great way to do this is with a mantra phrase. The idea is to say the same phrase over and over again while tweaking different aspects of your voice, so you can easily compare the sound without thinking about what you're going to say. Watch video 1 for an overview of the concept and some great example phrases that you can use yourself.
Now, try one of my own mantra phrases, which I designed specifically to help you practice and get a feel for your brightest, most feminine sound:
"Keep it cutesy!"
Try saying it a few times in a feminine voice, then whisper it a few times. If you break it down and stretch it out, it sounds like "keee-p ihhh-t keee-yooo-tsss-seee!" Try it.
When you say "k" the top of your tongue presses against the roof of your mouth to block off the air, and when you say "ee" your tongue drops down to let the air through. Try whispering "kee" while keeping your tongue pushed up toward the "k" position, so it moves as little as possible to get to the "ee" instead of dropping down so much. That will create your brightest possible "ee" sound.
Try saying "keep" with that bright sound - your tongue should hardly move at all. Then try saying "cute" by starting with that "kee" sound and then pushing your tongue slightly down into a "yoo" sound. Whisper it first, and then say it, moving your tongue as little as possible, so the brightness of the "kee" carries into the "yoo" because your tongue is still pushing up toward that "k" position.
Then whisper "tsss" and try to move your tongue as little as possible from the "t" to the "s" sound. That will create a brighter, sharper "s" which will come across as more feminine. At the same time, keep pushing the back of your tongue up toward the "k" position to brighten it further. This applies to all your sibilants, by the way - "s", "z", "sh", "zh", "ch", "j" and so on! Then try whispering "see" - sliding from the "s" back to the brightest possible "ee" that you can make.
Now put it together. Say "cutesy" - stretch it out like "keee-yooo-tsss-seee" - first in a whisper and then spoken in a feminine voice. Say "keep" and for the "p" sound, really tighten your lips into a small but narrow opening, and keep them tight as you touch your lips together briefly for a subtle, unobtrusive "p" sound. This applies to all your labial consonants - "p", "b", "m", "w", "f", "v" and so on - and you want to keep your lips somewhat tight even for your other consonants and vowels, because it will make them brighter. So use the word "keep" as a reminder of the posture of your tongue and lips that will produce a bright, feminine oral resonance.
Whisper and then say the whole thing, at a pitch that is about as high as you can comfortably speak without going into your falsetto. "Keep it cutesy!" You can stretch out all the sounds to really get a feel for them and find that brightest position. As you say the vowels, practice pushing the brightness to a buzzy, brassy extreme, raising your larynx, pushing the back of your tongue up, and layering on the vocal twang to find that harsh edge. The only thing you want to avoid is nasal resonance. So also try saying it while pinching your nose shut - it should sound almost the same, whether you pinch your nose or not. Practicing this will help you access and lock in your brightest, cutest vocal posture and pitch, just by saying the phrase!
Once you get comfortable with that, you can also try some of my other mantra phrases:
"Keep calm and carry on."
This mantra phrase is similar, but with some darker vowel sounds like "ahh" in "calm" which you can practice saying while still clenching your tongue up toward that initial "k" position. There are also "r" and "l" sounds to practice brightening, again, by pushing your tongue up at the same time. Practice whispering it, stretching it out, and saying it with the brightest sound you can make.
"We're beautiful creatures."
This is my favorite mantra phrase. It starts with a "w" to remind you to keep your lips small and tight, then an "ee" sound to remind you to keep your tongue up, then dips into an "r" sound to help you practice saying "r" without dropping your tongue. Then the "b" tests your lips again, and the "bee" to the "yoo" helps you practice keeping that "ee" position with your tongue even while saying the darker vowels. And there is a great diversity of consonants and vowels to practice throughout the rest of the phrase, but no nasal sounds, so you can easily test for nasal resonance by pinching your nose shut. Plus, it's true - and don't you forget it!
"Breathe and smile, smile and breathe."
This is another one of my favorite mantra phrases, both for its message and for its phonetic properties. It starts with a bright "ee" vowel for the first word, but has a number of more complex combinations of vowels and consonants that are helpful to practice. And it's a good reminder!
Positive psychology and neuroscience tell us that the easiest way to feel good is simply to smile - the neural connections that make you smile when you're happy also make you happier when you smile! And a slow, gentle, deep breath through your nose is the easiest way to calm down your nervous system. Whenever you say this mantra phrase, take a moment afterward to make a subtle, almost imperceptible smile with your lips and then slowly fill your lungs as you inhale through your nose, spreading that smile throughout your whole body. Savor the feeling of peace. Then gently let the breath go, exhaling through your nose as you slowly relax your smile. Do this whenever you remember, as many times as you want. It's free!
Your homework is to practice these mantra phrases, and any other mantra phrases you like, to lock in your most feminine voice before your regular speaking practice every day, after warming up. You can also say them throughout your practice as a reminder, or even throughout your day! Try whispering them, too - not only so you can stealthily practice even with other people around, but so you can focus on the resonance, without worrying about pitch! Ideally you want to get in the habit of whispering to yourself in different voices, whenever you can get away with it - this will really accelerate your progress.
Also, use these mantra phrases to experiment with different feminine voices, to see what you like - bringing the pitch higher or lower, adjusting your larynx and tongue position, using more or less open quotient, or vocal twang, or throat closure, and playing with different patterns of intonation and articulation. Record and play back each experiment with the Echo app, and see what sounds better to you and what doesn't. The goal is not perfection, it's exploration! Then try practicing those voices while speaking for longer amounts of time - reading out loud or just saying whatever comes into your head. And whenever you get discouraged or frustrated, take a moment to smile and breathe!
Once you feel comfortable playing with the many possibilities of your voice, you can start honing in on the feminine voice that you actually want! It's time to polish your voice.
Remember that voice clip you chose in the beginning as the female voice you'd like to imitate? Hopefully you've been listening to it regularly this whole time, but if not, now is the time to start!
Find that clip and play back a sentence or two. Then use the Echo app to record yourself saying the same sentence. Listen to the reference clip and then your own recording, and without judging it as good or bad, try going through each element of your voice and noticing where it is similar or different. How does the pitch compare? The resonance? The intonation? And so on.
If an element is different, try playing around with it a few times and then record yourself again, doing your best to match the reference clip. Do that for each element. It's not going to be perfect in one pass, but it's the polishing process that counts. And of course, you don't have to sound exactly like your inspiration voice - it's just a beacon that can help you find your way to the voice you want. And this is just another exercise to practice.
Still, you might find that it's difficult to deconstruct the differences in a voice clip just by listening to it. But don't worry! It's a skill you can practice, just like anything else. And fortunately, there's a great way to practice it...
Every day, people post voice clips on r/transvoice, looking for feedback. And you are going to train your ear by listening to those clips, analyzing them, and responding with your kind and honest feedback. When you are ready, you will join them by posting a clip of your own voice! But first, you will need to create an account on reddit.com, if you haven't already. Do it now - it's free!
Then, go to r/transvoice and find a voice clip that someone has recently posted. First, listen to the clip and just think about pitch. Does it sound to you like the pitch is in the male range, or the female range, or somewhere in between? Open up Vocal Pitch Monitor and play the clip again, and see where the pitch actually falls. Then listen to the clip while just focusing on the resonance, the timbre of the voice. Does it sound hollow and masculine, or bright and feminine, or more ambiguously androgynous? You can watch video 1 for reference - where would you place the sound on the diagram?
Video 1
Once you've established the pitch and resonance, you can listen again for the other elements of the voice. Listen for the intonation - the way the pitch rises and falls. Is it monotone or musical? Listen for open quotient - is the voice soft, or hard and strained? Listen for vocal twang - is there a bright, piercing edge to the sound? And is it too little or too much? How is the articulation? Does the resonance drop or sound fake on certain vowels or consonants? Is there too much nasal resonance? Would it sound better with a little pharyngeal constriction?
As you analyze the clip, make note of all your observations in a comment on the post. You don't have to say whether the voice sounds good or bad - just describe what you hear, starting with pitch and resonance, and then any other details that you notice. If you're not sure about something, you don't have to say anything about it. Then, if the person who posted the clip is actively soliciting feedback on voice feminization, and there are one or two elements that you think they could work on next, share a link to this guide and tell them which sections they should check out. Don't worry about whether your feedback is perfect! Just be kind and honest, and the community as a whole will benefit.
Your homework is to find a new voice clip on r/transvoice every day (ideally one with no comments yet, or very few) and leave a comment on it with your analysis and suggestions. If you do this daily, not only will you develop a very discerning ear over time, you will also help the community thrive!
Also, spend some time every day listening to and imitating your female voice reference, along with all your other exercises. Use Echo to record and play back your attempts, and analyze them just like you analyze the clips on r/transvoice. You may find that a voice that seems too exaggerated in your head actually sounds naturally feminine in a recording - and to other people. Be kind to yourself, and trust the process. Polishing takes time.
When you are ready to share a clip of your own voice with the world, create a free account on clyp.it and record yourself speaking at least a few sentences in your feminine voice, and perhaps a mantra phrase or two. If you're up for it, record the same thing in your starting voice as well, for comparison. Make sure to set the clip to Public, then post the link on r/transvoice and ask for feedback!
Regardless of what people say, the important thing is to craft a voice that you are happy with. And you are the only one who gets to decide what that means for you.
Eventually, there will come a time when you are pretty happy with your voice, and you want to be able to start using it in front of other people. It might not be perfect, but you feel compelled to tackle what may be the most challenging step of all: going from practice to performance./p>
There are two parts to this. One is learning to launch into your feminine voice whenever you choose, even when you haven't warmed up. And the other is getting over the performance anxiety of using your voice in front of other people - which is totally normal! You just have to take it one step at a time.
To start with, you want to train your brain to experience your feminine voice as the default, not the exception. One way to do this is by bookending your day with your voice, by practicing a few mantra phrases in your feminine voice immediately after waking up, before using your voice for anything else, and then again as the last thing you do before going to sleep. The morning is often the hardest time to feminize your voice, so this will allow you to practice that worst-case scenario right away and prime the rest of your day with the voice you want. Also, whatever you practice just before sleeping will be given higher priority when your experiences are consolidated into long-term memory.
Then, take some time every day to practice alternating between your masculine starting voice and your feminine voice. Read a book out loud and switch voices on every paragraph, or read reddit comment threads and use one voice for the original poster and another for the replies. If you tend to drift from your feminine voice into a more androgynous voice over time, you can also practice alternating between your feminine and androgynous voices to help differentiate them in your mind.
To make it easier to shift into your feminine voice, you can start with a mantra phrase to help you lock in the sound. This is something you can even do in front of other people, if you whisper it or practice a stealth mantra phrase, like "ummm, let's see..." or "ummm, so..." You can use the "ummm" to find the pitch, sliding upward until you reach the right range, and then use the "let's see..." or "so..." to find your resonance. Sneaky!
Your homework is to practice these exercises every day, in addition to any of the previous exercises that you still find helpful. Then, you want to slowly start pushing your comfort zone when it comes to performing your voice in front of other people.
First, find a supportive friend or two, and tell them that you'd like their help in practicing your voice. If you don't feel comfortable asking anyone you know, you can try finding an anonymous friend on the TransVoice Discord or the Scinguistics Discord. Tell them that you would like to be able to call them up and have a conversation in your feminine voice, without having to explain yourself, and without them commenting on whether your voice is good or bad. You just need them to listen and be patient with you.
Then, when you have warmed up by practicing your voice in private, call your friend and speak to them in your feminine voice. If all you can do is say a mantra phrase before lapsing into your starting voice, that's awesome! You've overcome the biggest hurdle. Next time you feel up for it, you can try speaking a little longer, whether you're just reading out loud, or having an entire conversation. And don't worry about whether your voice sounds perfect or not - you can work on that by yourself. Just focus on getting comfortable using your voice with another person.
Once you feel comfortable calling your friend from the middle of a practice session, start challenging yourself a little more. Try meeting up with your friend in person and then, with your backs turned to each other, say a mantra phrase in your feminine voice. Then try doing it while facing each other. Eventually, you can work your way up to having an entire conversation in person, not only in private, but in a public place like a restaurant!
Of course, when you are out in the real world, it's often difficult to be heard over all the background noise. The important thing is to use more vocal twang instead of straining, while keeping your voice soft with open quotient. You can practice this on your own by playing video 1 and trying to speak over it.
Video 1
As you get more confident, you can start using your feminine voice more and more throughout your life - even while coughing and laughing, as in video 2 or video 3. Love yourself, and enjoy the journey!
Video 2
Video 3
~L