Is nonbinary voice training for you? Nonbinary voice training is voice coaching for those wishing to develop a voice that is neither traditionally masculine nor traditionally feminine. There are many types of students that seek a more androgynous voice, including:
- Non-binary people who want a voice unique to their identity.
- Trans men or women that want to change their voice, but only to an extent.
- Cisgender people that wish to have a voice that doesn’t conform to traditional gender roles.
- Voice actors that wish to play characters of multiple genders.
Whatever your reasons are for wanting an androgynous voice, I’m happy to help!
Elements of nonbinary voice training
We can work with you on these elements for an androgynous voice:
1) Pitch for voice training:
You don’t actually need to change pitch very much to sound more masculine or feminine. In fact, there is actually overlap in the pitch range masculine and feminine voices will often be in. Because of this, you will work most often in the E3-F#3 pitch range for a more ambiguous sound. Here’s a keyboard for reference.
2) Pitch variation for an androgynous voice:
Masculine voices are known for being more monotone, while feminine voices are known for having a lot of pitch variation. If you are taking nonbinary voice training, you will work on changing the pitch variations in your voice. We will work to find the happy medium you are looking for. Most commonly, an androgynous voice will have variations of about a whole step during speech.
3) A new kind of resonance:
Generally speaking, masculine voices will feel resonance in the chest while speaking, while feminine voices most often feel resonance in the face. A more ambiguous voice resonance is felt in the mouth and lip area, in the middle of the two extremes. Resonance can be shifted by tweaking how high or low the voice box sits in the throat, what pitch range is used for speaking, and by altering how you shape the space inside of your mouth.
4) Shifting individual sounds in nonbinary voice training:
As you begin to learn how to control the elements of your voice, it’s important to learn how to alter individual sounds. Whether that’s consonants, vowels, or nonverbal sounds, you’ll want control of the details. This will assure that you are able to change details in your voice that may hurt your consistency. Vowels can be altered to sound very different, for example, even when pitch stays the same (e.g. smiling for a brighter “o” sound, or puckering the lips for a darker “ee” sound). Consonants can also be changed – pronouncing them from the throat and/or with more pressure can add a more masculine flavor to your sound, while pronouncing consonants with less jaw movement and breathier can lean your sound more fem.
5) Individuality:
As an experienced voice coach, I understand that not everyone’s goals for a unique voice are going to be the same. When you work with a voice coach, it not only gives you the chance to learn healthy voice technique. When you work with a vocal coach, it also helps to learn control that will give you the voice mastery to alter your sound to your liking.
You can also book a consultation to discuss your individual goals with me!