Voice Training
2019-11-12
(archived Twitter thread)
Ok, lets talk about voice training … https://twitter.com/barldarian/status/1194020814326247425
I’ve been doing professional voice training (because German health insurance pays for that without too much hassle) for about two years now and I’m at a point where I feel comfortable with my voice while at least not being clocked by everyone immediately.
There are multiple reasons to do this, they vary from person to person, and all of them are valid.
The important thing is: there is no “right” way or plan. Do whatever helps you with the problems you are facing whether that’s dysphoria, passing, or something else entirely.
You can find a lot of voice training videos on YouTube but be careful. These exercises can be very stressful to your voice. Professional training definitely can help with doing this safely.
Often there’s a lot of focus on pitch in these do-it-yourself tutorials. But you can often achieve a more well-rounded and natural result with a big emphasis on pronounciation, speaking rhythm and melody while only raising the general pitch mildly.
Another thing that gets thrown around a lot is „raising the larynx“. This is useful but often highly overrated and can again lead to a lot of strain when speaking and a voice that sounds „fake“.
The point of raising the larynx is to move the main resonance chamber for your voice from the chest to the head. If you can feel the sound resonating on your head (mostly the sinuses), there’s not much use in forcing the larynx higher up.
Generally: if it feels like your straining things in your throat when speaking, stop. Some exercises are difficult and exhausting but regular speaking shouldn’t be much more difficult than before.
Also: use more air. A deep voice works with little air flow but a higher one often needs more to be stable. Practice your speaking rhythm so you don’t run out of breath in the middle of a sentence. Focus on sounds like s, f, w, c, etc. really feel them in your mouth. That helps.
Ok, that’s it for now. If you have questions, I’m happy to answer answer them. DMs are open. 💜