transitioning later in life (40+)

Over the last few months I’ve been doing many voice consults with trans, non-binary and gender questioning folks wondering where to start their voice transition.

Surprisingly (or maybe not) a large number of those individuals are transitioning later in life.

When it comes to voice goals for the aging voice, the expectations are much different than a 20 year old seeking a “feminine sound”. Specifically, the cultural expectations of how bright the resonance of a voice is, or high the pitch is, are different for those 40+ years of age.

Let’s break that down…

Pitch:

We’re all familiar that there are “gender norms” when it comes to pitch ranges for “masc”, “androgenous”, and “femme” perceived voices.

But, did you know that the femme “range” for pitch also changes depending on age?

That “target pitch” of 220Hz to match a cis-gendered female voice is only valid if you’re between the ages of 20-29!

For women aged 40+, the pitch target drops significantly to only 189Hz.

This is great news for those who are struggling to hit a range over 200Hz, because as you move into your 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond that target pitch drops significantly.

Regardless of what your target pitch is, it’s important to keep in mind that pitch is only one aspect of a feminine voice, and it’s not even near the top of the list for the most important.

Top of that list would be…

Resonance:

Resonance is the most important part of a gender voice transition. It exists on a spectrum from bright to dark.

Ultimately, the Undead Voice approach to gender voice work is to find the sound that most aligns with your identity. That means your ideal resonance setting can fall anywhere on the bright - dark spectrum (wanna hear what that sounds like? check out the audio player on the homepage!)

While fitting into cultural expectations of how a “femme” or “masc” voice presents isn’t the goal of everyone, for some, it is. And that’s completely valid.

Just like with pitch, the target brightness goal shifts as you age. Younger femme presenting voices can fall on the brighter end of the spectrum, whereas aging voice drift closer to the middle!

Check out the video below where I talk about the concept of resonance, and demonstrate the full spectrum of sound from bright to dark!

VIDEO: what is resonance?

Want to learn more about how to control the Pitch + Resonance of your voice? Check out the course overview and read all about how you can learn to control Pitch + Resonance in your voice!

BBBYYYEEE!!! <3, Nicole