Trans Voice Log №3
So far I've watched these four TVL videos, taking notes and drawing connections to the academic sources I've read:
- 4 Essential Fundamentals for Voice - Tools to Strengthen Weak Voices
- Is Your Voice Too Buzzy or Too Hollow?
- How to Separate Resonance from Pitch
- Voice Essentials: Vocal Weight for Beginners
The first video brings up our friends SOVT and VFE (used in Leyns et al. [3] as a part of their Pitch Elevation Training, Oates et al. [8], Quinn et al. [13]; and SOVT without VFE in Stewart et al. [19], Fernandes [27], & Schneider [30.a]). This video is the first point of reference that I've been able to access for explaining what VFE is or what it does. I won't waste my time restating everything in the video, but VFE in short is about developing control and stability of loudness and pitch, with special attention towards sustained sound. SOVT and VFE on their own don't contribute directly to vocal feminization or masculinization, but do provide a solid foundation from which to work forwards from.
The second video I certainly watched out of order somehow, because while it demonstrates an exercise that seems in line with what Huff [31] requests SLPs be able to do, the video isn't as helpful for people who haven't yet discovered how to alter weight and resonance. Unless you think there's value in developing an ear for weight and resonance this way. Either way, it's really cool to hear how flexible the voice can be.
The third video is pretty neat. It tries to bridge the gap between the old model of /i/-ification (As used in Leyns [3] & Hirsch [18]) to exploring pharynx-based raising of all of the formants. This video emphasizes that the pharynx and larynx control F2 (As suggested by Bøyesen & Hide [4]) while tongue and lips only control the higher formants. The third exercise, External Pitches as Training Wheels, seems interesting. I look forward to giving it a try in the future; Though I imagine it will be quite challenging at first.
The fourth video gave me my first flash of inspiration. It helped me realize that I can already kind of control vocal weight; back in 2019 I somehow managed to work out the exercise listed in this video where you keep vocal weight light but slide from a high pitch to a low pitch. But! I didn't know what I was manipulating and the pandemic sent that exercise spiraling into the unused archives. Unfortunately, that's about the only exercise in this video I can do at the moment. I probably just need to play around with the one I can do and work from that into the other ones. The video also includes the critical reminder that these exercises are good for exploration (figuring out how to do it), but transitioning to speaking and singing is the only way to actually develop the skill (use it for longer periods of time). At first glance, weight doesn't come up at all in any of the academic sources I've look at so far. Both Renée Yoxon's article on this and a TVL two hour live stream from 14 Aug 2021 (that I haven't watched in full yet) indicate that vocal weight is derived from vocal folds (which you want to reduce the pressure/tension of for feminization), with the TVL live stream noting that thinner folds produce a steeper spectral tilt / spectral rolloff which is visible on a spectrogram. With this new name, we have the academic connection! Spectral tilt was studied by Neuhaus et al. [26] and Fernandes [27]. The conclusions of Neuhaus et al. [26] ties back to the second video, which showed that light vocal weight without high resonance results in a "hollow" sound (not feminine).
I have quite a few more videos on the "to watch" list, so I imagine there'll be a similarly formatted followup in the future. Also, I need to actually start doing these exercises, y'know? It's so hard to find time alone. Does writing this count as procrastination?
Full citations for academic sources indicated by numbers can be found by clicking the "articles" link at the top of the website and selecting the TVLR part which contains that number.
