Voice too low
March 12, 2006 8:57 PM   Subscribe

I'm female and my voice is a bit deep/low. I'd like to make it a little higher and more feminine. Are there any vocal exercises or anything I can do?
posted by miltoncat to Health & Fitness (7 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Maybe this will help...

Just do the inverse of all the advice given there.
posted by phrontist at 9:48 PM on March 12, 2006


What about exercises in something like Freeing the Natural Voice by Kirsten Linklater?

I haven't used it myself by drama student friends have recommended it, for, well… freeing their voices.
posted by t0astie at 9:49 PM on March 12, 2006


I had a voice teacher who used to always say "Low Notes are a gift from God; high notes can be learned." With that in mind, if you want to work on your high range, get a good book on singing and keep doing vocal exercises (if you keep trying to hit high notes, consistently, they'll start to come consistently). Some good books are The Singing Book and Adventures in Singing. A little expensive, perhaps, but I've used both of them in college-level voice classes, and they're worth every penny. If you can only afford one, though, go with The Singing Book.

One quick thing to ask yourself... why do you not like having a lower voice? Many women are able to sing Tenor parts, right with the men, but it doesn't make them any less of a woman. Some people actually prefer the sultry qualities of a low feminine voice.
posted by fvox13 at 10:51 PM on March 12, 2006


For the record, I think women with low voices are way hot. A good alto can sing me out of my panties any day.

At any rate, I'd recommend training with an actual person, not a book or a recording. You're probably speaking in what's commonly called the "chest voice." The more girly, light voice you're looking for is called "head voice." We call it these names based on where your sound is resonating. Head voice is more nasal in production, but when it's properly done it doesn't sound nasal at all. This is where you're really going to want to have someone physically with you to demonstrate the differences, and to help you find placement.

The easiest way to do this is to head down to your friendly community college, or even a local choir director, and say, "I would like to take a voice lesson so I can access my head voice." Jargon like "placement," "mask" (where your head voice oughta be), and "head voice" are pretty universal in the vocal world.

Disclaimer: I'm not a voice/speech therapist, though I am on my way there. I am, however, a voice teacher.
posted by honeydew at 1:01 AM on March 13, 2006


Felicity Huffman trained with these folks for Transamerica to make her voice lower, but they usually work the other way around... going from lower to higher.
posted by kimdog at 6:54 AM on March 13, 2006


Are you talking about your speaking voice or your singing voice?

As a female who sings Alto 2 in an a-capella group and has been singing with the tenors and baritones since 8th grade, I'm curious what your motivation is as well.

I know that I have observed that women who have naturally low voices can have a generally wider range (i.e. can sing both higher and lower) than your average woman, so that may bode well for your plan.

I find that thinking "lighter" helps when I need to sound more feminine. That seems to drive me into my head voice to some degree without being squeaky. My typical speaking voice is the low and sultry type referred to earlier though, so I don't do that very often. I had to do it in various plays in high school though.
posted by nekton at 8:41 AM on March 13, 2006


I prefer women with low voices. To me, those high "little girl" voices sound like they have been encouraged by father's who don't want to lose their "little girls."

My wifes voice is low enough that sometimes when she answers the phone th eperson on the other end thinks that I have answered.

For what it's worth.

(Husband of Leafwoman)
posted by leafwoman at 10:05 AM on March 13, 2006


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