Trans voice definitions
If you’re transgender, non-binary, or gender questioning and working to transition your voice, it’s helpful to be familiar with some terminology!
Here’s the top terms you’ll encounter when working on your voice, and their definitions.
The Vocal Folds
The vocal folds also known popularly as vocal chords are a pair of twin folds of tissue that lay horizontally across the larynx. Whether they’re long or short, or thick or thin changes our sound. This is where we manipulate pitch amongst other things and they live inside the larynx.
Vocal Tract
The vocal tract refers to all the structures and the space that filters the sound that’s created by the vocal folds. The bottommost structure of the vocal tract is the vocal folds and the uppermost structure is the lips and in the middle is the larynx.
Resonance
Resonance can be a little bit of a controversial term. It’s controversial because it just has a lot of definitions and uses when it comes to voice depending on what context it’s used in and who’s talking about it. We are using the term resonance it refer ONLY to the change in the brightness and darkness in the voice. We change resonance by shifting that vocal tract either longer or shooter, wider or more narrow.
Larynx
The larynx itself is a hollow organ. It’s popularly referred to as the voice box. The larynx has a lot of different functions. But its main function is actually to protect the airway from liquids, food, and foreign objects. The larynx also plays a major role in voice and is one of the main structures we manipulate to change the gender of the voice. It moves up and down like an elevator in the throat. We already move it all day everyday when we talk, when we sing, when we yawn, when we swallow. And in my gender voice programs I help you learn how to manipulate the larynx to change the gender of your voice while speaking.
Brightness + Darkness
Bright resonance comes from a shorter, narrower vocal tract. On the flip side is darkness. Dark resonance comes from a wider longer vocal tract.
