Transitioning can be a long and difficult process, with judgment from family and society and decisions about surgery and hormone therapy complicating everything, but its all worth it when you can come out on the other side and experience gender euphoria and trans joy.But for many trans people, speaking in a voice that doesnt match their gender identity can be a stumbling block to feeling comfortable in their own skin.While there is vocal feminization or masculinization surgery, it doesnt always give you the results you want and sometimes has to be repeated. Thats where voice transitioning comes in. Its a series of techniques and behavior modifications that can help you sound more like your authentic self.To find out more about voice transitioning, how effective it is, and if there are any downsides, we talked to speech-language pathologist and transgender voice expert Nicole Gress, who founded Undead Voice, the first and only scalable trans voice training program.What is voice transitioning? What is its purpose?Voice transitioning is a way for trans people to train their physical voice so it aligns with your identity, so you have control over how you sound and you can feel safer and more authentic, Guess tells PRIDE.Its a guided way to change your behavior and train your vocal instrument through a set of exercises that requires months or even years of training.If youre a cis ally wondering why someone would go through months of exercises and behavior modification in order to change your voice, Gress has the perfect analogy:Think of a time when you heard yourself on a voicemail or (old school) answering machine, she explains. Did you cringe at the sound? Most people say, No way thats what I sound like? or, I absolutely do NOT identify with that voice. Now, imagine that happening every time you open your mouth to speak, whether its on Zoom, at work, with family, or ordering a coffee, and you dont have a reliable way to change it.Many people talk about vocal training for trans folks in terms of feminizing or masculinizing, but Gress and Undead Voice prefer to be more inclusive and instead talk about making your voice sound more like brighter, higher, lighter, thinner or darker, deeper, thicker, lower.How did it originate?According to Gress, the history of voice transitioning is hard to pin down, but it isnt new. For a long time, being visibly trans wasnt safe, and many people had to be stealth, so a lot of this knowledge has lived off the record, she says. Voice training itself isnt new. People have been figuring out how to sound like themselves for decades. Whats new is our ability to talk about it openly, and the access to resources has evolved as weve moved online.Back in the 90s, there was a set of VHS tapes called Melanie Speaks that was passed among people in the community, and in the 2010s, there was an explosion of community-led resources such as Reddit threads, YouTube channels, DIY guides, and online coaches. It was empowering, but also chaotic: tons of competing advice, no shared structure, and no built-in feedback loop, Gress explains.Gress got into the field more than a decade ago and started Undead Voice six years ago, so that no trans or gender-diverse person would ever feel like they had to silence themselves for fear of harassment or discrimination. Undead Voice offers affirming, community-centered virtual voice transition training without gendered language, which Gress created based on their own queer, gender-fluid lived experience.Who can benefit from voice transitioning?Any trans or gender diverse person who wants a more affirming voice, no matter their age, identity, or where theyre at in their transition timeline, can benefit from voice transitioning, Guess explains. No one is obligated to change their voice, but for those who want to, the goal isnt to meet a societal expectation or ideal of what their voice should sound like, but instead to find the sound that communicates who they truly are to the world.According to a recent community survey conducted by Undead Voice, only 7% of respondents report access to gender-affirming voice care, while 85% report experiencing voice dysphoria, which Gress defines as that stomach-dropping feeling when the sound coming out does not match who you are.How does it work? What techniques are used?Undead Voice has created methodology for mastering voice transition, called the 5 Pillars of Voice which includes learning how to alter your vocal weight, vocal tilt, resonance, pitch and dynamics that you need to master to gain full control over your voice.Vocal weight is all about controlling the bass in your voice and vocal tilt is about expressing emotion with your voice, but Gress calls vocal resonance the most important part of voice training because its the number one way that society codes gender in the voice. Resonance can take the longest to master and is the trickiest because its dependent on learning how to make physical changes to your vocal tract to make your voice sound darker or brighter.Pitch is probably the part of your voice that people are the most familiar with, because our ears are most tuned in to hearing and its the main thing we control when we sing, and most trans people looking to change their voices start by exploring their pitch.Once youve mastered the first four pillars, Guess says that dynamics is where you get to play with all of the options of how your voice can sound, That makes YOU sound like YOU, and ensures that your culture and personality stay intact while allowing you to express the full range of emotions and communicate who you are to the world.What is the impact on the lives and well-being of people who go on this voice journey?Vocal transition can help improve mental health, and Gress says voice consistently ranks in the top three most important parts of transition.Here are words from people who have undergone vocal transition with the help of Undead Voice:Luke, a 26-year-old trans man from Atlanta, said:I finally feel safe. Not just in my own body, but also in the world. My voice consistently outed me, and changing it let me set aside the fear and anxiety that weighed on my shoulders. I can finally just be me.Zephyr, a 17-year-old non-binary person from the United Kingdom, said:When my voice started to change when I was 13 and I had no control over it getting deeper, it was really hard for me. I decided to stop talking and became selectively mute for 3 years. My therapist and my parents enrolled me in Undead Voice Lab last year, and now Im using my voice again at school and with my friends.Emily, a 32-year-old trans woman from Arizona, said about using her voice at work:I work at a call center, and before training my voice, I struggled with being misgendered on the phone over and over again every day. Transitioning my voice is the most important thing I did for my confidence, and I can focus on helping my customers instead of feeling in pain every time I had to answer the phone.Willow, a 52-year-old trans woman in Florida, said about using her voice safely:I recently started my medical transition in November with HRT, but living in Florida, I was concerned about being able to pass publicly as my body started to change. I decided to transition my voice alongside HRT to protect myself during my journey. I was skeptical I would be able to sound like the woman I am since Ive talked the same way for 50 years, but I was tired of living in fear and cringing every time I heard my voice. Im now so much more confident when talking to people as Willow, and love the sound of my voice."What is vocal allyship training?Once someone has undergone this kind of vocal training, they still might not feel comfortable using their new voice for fear of peoples reactions, especially around people who know what their dead voice sounds like.To bridge this gap, Undead Voice also offers a vocal allyship training tool to help educate employers, parents and caregivers, and community organizations. It is not enough to help someone build an affirming voice if they do not feel safe and comfortable using it, Guess explains.How effective is it? How quickly do changes happen? Is it permanent?How effective voice transition is and how quickly the changes to your voice happens is dependent on the program you use and how committed you are to the exercises. You can choose between a traditional weekly voice lesson model, or a community-centered virtual program like Undead Voice Lab, Guess explains. Traditional weekly lessons take an average of 18-36 months whereas our program takes about 6 months to complete, with the biggest impact happening in the first 4 months.Unlike with vocal surgeries, with vocal transition you arent physically altering your vocal chords, which means that youll be able to switch back and forth between your new voice and your dead voice, but over time your new voice will become the one you automatically use without thinking about it. Your current default voice is your home base. As you practice your transitioning voice, that becomes your new home base, similar to bilingual speakers, they say. You do not lose the old voice. You can still switch into it on purpose. If you use the new one more, it becomes the automatic one.Are there any side effects or downsides to voice transitioning?Absolutely not. Unless you consider pure ecstatic joy a side effect! Done well, voice transition is a safe, effective, immediate way that a trans person can start feeling more like themself and alleviate dysphoria without requiring a diagnosis, doctor referral, or outing yourself before youre ready, Guess says.How can Undead Voice help?Undead Voice is a trans-owned and operated virtual voice training company focused solely on trans and gender-diverse people. The organization has worked with over 100,000 voices across more than 20 countries through its flagship Undead Voice Lab, which provides unlimited voice coaching, community support, and virtual course. But because access to gender-affirming care is rapidly disappearing, Undead Voice created Jumpstart, which is a three-week virtual masterclass series designed to help trans and gender-diverse people begin or deepen their voice transition journey that they are offering at no cost to any trans or gender-diverse person who needs it for at least the next 5 years. All participants are also granted $1,000 in tuition assistance to continue their voice training journey with the full program.According to Gress, Undead Voice has already awarded 1.4 million dollars in need-based scholarships, At Undead Voice, we believe in economic justice and community care. We understand that financial security varies, and we want everyone to have access to voice training, regardless of their ability to pay.Individuals who are interested in enrolling in Jumpstart can also learn more and register here.Source cited:Nicole Gress, a speech-language pathologist and transgender voice expert, who founded Undead Voice, the first and only scalable trans voice training program.