Last week on the crossdressers forum we got to talking about the tricky business of developing a convincing feminine voice. I have a few tips (which you’ll find elsewhere on this blog), as do others. You can even buy an expensive course or hire a personal consultant if you like. But without spending a nickel, you can pick up some good tips.
Still, reading tips and practicing while you drive around in your car with the windows rolled up is one thing. Gauging how well you’re doing with the tips and how convincing your voice sounds from the outside is another kettle of kippers entirely.
Someone suggested it would be nice if we could upload mp3s so we could let others hear how we sound and give us feedback, and also so we could hear how others sound and get an idea of how much progress we’ve made (or not).
I know a little about digital audio — just enough to be dangerous — so I decided this was a project I could take on. I’m calling it the Voice Project — what a clever, catchy name, right? Here’s my first upload, for better or worse:
Uploads from others are at the bottom of this page, so don’t be shy — scroll on down there!
As I’m envisioning this project, there are two ways it can work.
First, you can create your own channel on Soundcloud, or on the audio sharing site of your choice. Then email me the link (send it to jenna.willow@gmail.com) and I’ll add you to the Voice Project page. If you’re feeling especially bold, you can even do a YouTube video with audio.
Second, if you’re feeling shy or if that sounds like too much trouble, just email me your mp3 as an attachment, and I’ll upload it to my Soundcloud channel.
There are a few technical details to think about.
I suggest using a free cross-platform audio recorder called Audacity. You can massage your recording in various ways in Audacity, such as cutting and pasting the nice bits (discouraged — you won’t have that luxury when you’re shopping en femme at the mall). You can normalize the loudness and then remove the background noise (recommended). Or you can use Audacity to practice for a few weeks and try out various things before doing your first upload (recommended if you’re just starting out).
Your computer’s built-in mic should do the job perfectly well. That’s what I’m using. Please trim the start and end of the file so that there’s not a lot of silence. If you send me an mp3, I recommend encoding it at 128kbps, because if you send a higher-resolution file, Soundcloud will crush it down to 128 anyway, and it will probably sound worse after two conversion processes.
I suggest having no more than a minute or two in each upload. The point is not to make a speech. The content is up to you — you might want to write a script for yourself, or read a passage from a book. If you do the latter, I strongly suggest using something in the public domain. If you record a minute or two of a copyrighted work, it will probably fall under fair use, but that would be for a court to determine, and I’m betting you don’t want to go to court and explain why you thought it would be fun to record a passage from Harry Potter while trying to sound like a girl.
One other thing: No naughty bits. I won’t include anything suggestive in the Voice Project. This is about self-improvement, not self-stimulation.
To offer feedback to others in the Voice Project, simply post your comments on this page. I will moderate the comments if necessary — so be honest, but please be nice!
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Here’s a contribution from Lexine, which arrived on 12/22/10:
Awesome concept Jenna! I have to say, both of you sound great – I’ve got a lot of work to do!
Luv your voices Jenna & Lexi. You inspire me to develop mine. This is a great project Jenna – a real contribution! Kudo’s to you.
WOW Both of you sound so good.
Hi Jenna,
Is this project still running?. I would like to join if it is.