11 Trans Voice Tips From The Cool Trans Mom
Articles and videos from the best trans voice coaches to help you find your true voice box
Hi! I’m Stephenie Magister ✨, and today I’ll take you through a few tips to make progress on your voice today.
But first! Let me say hello in this video :)
For more about me, check out From 5 to 40: My Life In Photos
For those trans voice tips I promised, let’s start scrolling!
Note: find the links to bypass any of my paywalls by visiting the Translating Everything Substack
1. Pitch doesn’t matter that much
Hold on, a deep voice doesn’t automatically make everyone think you’re a man?
It does not!
Just listen to the women in the below list.
Many of them probably have deeper voices than you (quiet from the bass section, please). What’s undeniable, though, is that their voices sound like women.
And if you want an example of a trans voice coach showing how it’s done, here’s Zoey Alexandria with a YouTube Short for a long day:
2. Change your vocal gender in 8 minutes
This video from AmaRoseLessons helped a ton of stuff in my brain go click.
Techniques work just as well for masc, femme, and gender non-conforming voices.
3. The shape of your mouth is the sound of your voice
Some people learn by doing.
Others learn first by hearing an easy-to-understand explanation.
If you’re the second type, here’s Zoey explaining and showing how to change the sound of your voice by manipulating the shape of your mouth.
Bonus: OMG her masculine voice at the beginning of the video…!!!
4. Two magic words to unlock your voice
The key is to NOT focus on the words you’re saying.
Instead, focus on what you are communicating!
We only use words because they’re so often effective at telling people what we want to say. But what if it’s NOT telling people what we want to say? What if what we want to say requires us to think about HOW we speak more than WHAT we say?
We use words to communicate information. We use the SOUND of those words to communicate details that go beyond what we call “words.”
So let go of the words. Well, most of them. You are now the trans version of Groot. The only two words you can say are this…
5. Speak your feelings (not your facts)
This is a fun voice exercise that could be used by anyone who wants to practice expressing their identity through their emotions.
Now as for this exercise, we’ll be using the words “NO WAY” and only those words to express these different emotions.
And guess what? This time I didn’t punt the vocal duties to Zoey Alexandria. That’s me in the below video.
6. The Trans Voice Community has a greatest hit
Believe it or not, the trans voice community has a #1 greatest hit.
Much like the far-longer Rainbow Passage, our greatest hit began as a dictation exercise that then transitioned into a trans culture meme and community practice phrase.
And like most songs you can’t get out of your head, it’s simple, catchy, and easy to sing to yourself.
It goes like this: “Heat From Fire”
In this video, Trans Voice Lessons walks you through one of the most powerful vocal tools you’ll ever add to your toolbox.
On top of that, she’ll share the best trans “heat from fire” memes.
We love you Zhea Erose/Voice Mom — and hello to Clover and Vivienne!!!
7. Advanced level trans voice magic
Seattle Voice Lab (we love you Claire Michelle) answers a question you may have after you master the most common incantation of trans voice magic.
What comes after heat from fire?
8. How do I stop feeling bad when people harass me about my voice?
Dear Stephenie, aka the Cool Trans Mom,
How can I feel confident about practicing my voice? I so often feel uncomfortable. Awkward. Embarrassed. Humiliated.
Even to the people who say they support me.
Sincerely,
Your Imaginary Pen Pal (yay)
Dear YIPPY,
I’m so glad you asked!
Do you know what a trans voice is? It’s just a collection of sounds grouped together that the speaker can adjust depending on how they want to be perceived.
Once you start trans voice vocal training, you’re not just training to “pass.” You’re training to master your voice as an instrument.
I wrote a longer response for you here:
Sincerely,
Stephenie
9. Tell me if you’ve heard this story before
- We start off speaking in a slightly higher pitch (not as important as we thought, but…)
- We lighten the weight of our voice
- We brighten the resonance
- We eliminate that horrid buzzzzzzzzz undertone that makes even a soprano sound like a dude
And yet as soon as we say actual sentences, we realize none of it matters if our voice is hollow.
If your voice sounds hollow, the pitch stops mattering.
Once you get rid of the buzzy undertone that makes a girl’s voice sound like a dude’s, it’s not like there’s a wonderful sound left in its place.
Here’s me pretending to have a hollow voice.
Click the jump below for a bunch more videos of me walking you through this annoying common problem.
10. Struggling to keep your larynx up (or down)? Try the Whisper Method
Back again with another “HOLY SHIT” approach, Zoey Alexandria walks us through the revolutionary Whisper Method.
You’ll not only become intensely connected with the position of your larynx, this might be the first time you actually hear the resonance of your voice independent of the pitch.
And now that you can “hear” yourself, your whisper voice will help you hear how masculine or feminine your voice sounds without even speaking.
How’s that for a life-changing strategy? Now you can practice your trans voice without your eavesdropping family hearing a sound. If they do hear something, the eerie whispers will make them think it’s the Blair Witch coming for them. Win/win!
11. A healthy voice is a healthy instrument
Once I got beyond the most annoying stuff (like the sound of my own voice), I wanted little things I could do every day. Practice makes perfect.
That’s where trans voice coach Bria became my lifeline with her regular uploads and livestreams of warmups and exercises.
And if that’s not cool enough, did you know there’s a magic phrase even more powerful than Heat From Fire?
It’s just that you have to say it three times fast. And I know that sounds easy, but this is the hardest tongue twister in the English language. You didn’t think magic would come easy, did you?
If Bria seems familiar, it’s because they’re also the author of the ongoing webcomic Life of Bria and the acclaimed trans-themed graphic novel First Year Out.
The end (of the article)
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