has anyone here been able to successfully change their voice?

[Draconi Redfir]

And i'm talking long-term and without the use of hormones or other chemicals here.

reason i'm asking is that I've been recording my voice for some personal projects lately, and I've come to find that my voice is quite nasally, i speak through my head rather then my chest and as a result my voice kinda sounds like a whine all the time. I don't suppose it's possible to change that by training myself to speak lower through my chest more often is it? and if i did, would it eventually become second-nature like how talking now is, or would i essentially need to always be thinking about it?

[Elanasaurus]

Ok I don't know much on the subject but my bardic elders always say to sing (or speak in your case) from the belly by working the core muscles, and at the same time imagine the sound coming out the top of your head instead of the front, by keeping your throat relaxed and open. Now, their focus is to make the voice more resonant, not less squeaky, and my voice is still VERY squeaky the way I try to do the techniques, so this might not help much. Maybe speaking at a low pitch could make the sound deeper as well?
:elan:

[erikun]

Yes, voice training is a thing. Voice acting is a thing. I think that simply speaking from your throat vs speaking from your diaphram will result in the biggest chance (from what I understand) but I haven't gone through voice training or really studied it, so I can't say for certain.

I mean, a voice coach might be more than you are looking for, but I'm certain that "It's possible" is the answer. Especially if you just want to change it in general, as opposed to attempting to hit a specific tone or sound. I speak a bit nasally as well so it's probably not an uncommon situation.

[Jormengand]

Yes; because oestrogen doesn't reverse the voice drop that trans women will have gone through in puberty, almost all the trans women on this forum (and probably all the AMAB nonbinary people) will have changed their voice completely without hormonal assistance. It's absolutely possible to make relatively massive alterations to it.

As to doing it without thinking, maybe or maybe not. It depends as much on your mentality as your voice, I would think.

[inexorabletruth]

As the others have said, yes you can.

Making it second nature is about time and diligence. Open your throat up and speak from the gut. Push from the lower part of your stomach to belt out a full, firm Brian Blessed voice. It will sound utterly ridiculous to your ears at first and your friends will wonder what the heck you are doing, but if it's what you want, then that is what matters.

Repetition is key. Never allow yourself to revert back to your de facto voice unless you get a sore throat or some other minor infection, then give your larynx a rest. Always be drinking water while you're training your new voice, as you will put a lot of strain on it until the muscles develop. I also recommend hot tea with lemon once a day.

Whether it takes weeks, months, or years, is more up to the individual, but it will eventually become natural to talk that way if you keep at it, keep your throat hydrated, and remain confident in your choice.

[Draconi Redfir]

alright cool good to know... now i just need to force myself to actually go through with it :P

[Jay R]

You can improve your voice muscles the same way you can improve any other muscle - with diligent exercise, and a physical regimen that never ends.

[Serpentine]

You might be able to try finding something like a speech therapist or a voice coach to help.

[dps]

I changed my voice when I went through puberty, but I guess that counts as using hormones.

[Elanasaurus]

I changed my voice when I went through puberty, but I guess that counts as using hormones.
Hey, so did I! I changed my voice from high-pitched and squeaky to low-pitched and squeaky.
:elan:

[137beth]

I know some cis male actors who practiced falsetto enough that they can sound like cis women without difficulty. It takes a lot of practice to get to that point, though.

[Goaty14]

I inhaled helium to change my voice. Worked 100%, 10/10, would breathe again.

[Misereor]

Note: Standing by the ocean with pebbles in your mouth is optional.

[Anonymouswizard]

You might be able to try finding something like a speech therapist or a voice coach to help.

As somebody who had speech therapy when I was young, it really can help with some speech problems. I actually sound a lot more eloquent on this forum than I do in real life, I have odd pauses in my speech because I learnt to speak late (I can sound like an improvising William Shatner struggling for ideas at my worst). While I have gone back a bit from the end of speech therapy, I no longer have trouble speaking and the pausing is the only remnant of late language development.

When I was really young it caused people to assume I was stupid. These days my words stop any of that, and I've had non-native speakers tell me it makes me easier to understand (because I talk slower, until I get excited at which point it goes in the other direction).

On changing your voice, I haven't changed my voice itself (or my accent, even though it's dreadfully posh). I do know how to speak in a slightly lower or higher register by imagining my voice coming from different places, but nowhere near what other people are talking about. It can be done, but ease and speed will depend on how much you want to change, how old you are, and many other factors.

[JusticeZero]

Yes. I actually had to dial it back because I drifted into Minnie Mouse range. 100% pass on the phone or anywhere else at this point.

[EliVasbinder]

Unfortunately, I did. For over three years I was shouting and screaming out of anger regularly. My voice changed, and it is especially noticable when I try to sing. Also smoking can change your voice. But I would guess you want a positive change. They say that linden tea helps.

[darkrose50]

They have singing, and acting coaches that help people change their voice. They also have therapy for changing ones voice (stuttering, lisp, and whatnot).

[Insane Jeenyus]

To be honest, I cheated and zipped to the end of the thread, so if this has been already advised, ignore me.. .. .. .. ..

I use to run a sound system for a church and there was a respiratory therapist that gave vocal warm up drills before each practice. I did not understand the intended effect until I started doing thee warm up in my corner with out any one paying attention...

You might want to see if you can find some vocal coaching if possibble4. I live in Nashville Tennessee, USA, these days and it is known as "Music City" and these vocal coaches will fall by the dozen from any tree you shake.

[charde]

And i'm talking long-term and without the use of hormones or other chemicals here.

reason i'm asking is that I've been recording my voice for some personal projects lately, and I've come to find that my voice is quite nasally, i speak through my head rather then my chest and as a result my voice kinda sounds like a whine all the time. I don't suppose it's possible to change that by training myself to speak lower through my chest more often is it? and if i did, would it eventually become second-nature like how talking now is, or would i essentially need to always be thinking about it?

Did you have any luck with your voice training?

If you are trying to get the sound to resonate in chest, like others have kind of suggested, you need to widen your throat (the easiest 'feeling' I can describe is to mimic the feel of swallowing an egg -- that feeling of wideness in your throat) and then "drop your voice in there" so that it is located more down in the chest area.

This is the kind of thing vocal coaches (for singers and actors) can give specific training exercises for. But you want to have that "focal point" of your voice down in the chest and with a wide feeling in your throat, so that it's reverberating in your chest cavity, rather than placed up in the top of your throat or your head.

I would also buy a mini recorder or if your laptop can record easily -- you'd be basically trying to practice and emulate, and recording it for playback so that you can try something and listen, then adjust constantly. It can take some practice to attach to the "feeling" of a certain voice placement to the actual sound you are gunning for. You also want to be able to adjust quickly so you're not practicing it "wrong" and getting used to a feeling that generates an incorrect sound.