How to Have Feminine Resonance - Gender Affirming Voice

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Resonance - it’s so important for vocal feminization, but it can be confusing!

Resonance is the sound quality of the voice. It’s the reason we can tell the difference between two instruments playing the same note or two people talking at the same pitch range. We hear a shift in resonance based on the amount of space in our vocal tract, which filters the buzzing sound that the vocal folds make. The vocal tract is made up of our larynx, pharynx (throat), tongue, soft palate, nasal cavity, and the lips. 

The goal in vocal feminization is to have a more forward, or higher feeling resonance. For some, that might mean feeling buzzing sensations in the head or in front of the face. Nasal sounds like ‘m’, ‘n’, and ‘ng’ help to bring the resonance forward because nasal sounds travel through the nasal cavity rather than through the mouth.

With a slight smile, focus on feeling the buzz between your lips, in your nose, or in your cheeks as you say the following words.

Practice Words for

feminine resonance

• Meet

• Make

• Mail

• Mask

• May

• Mess

• Mine

• Moon

• Meeting

• Meager

• Merely

• Measly

• Meter

• Meaning

• Making

• Meditation

• Mantra

• Metric

• Maybe

• Middle

• Mirror

• Monday

• Movie

• Mitten

• Muffin

• Knees

• Need

• Nice

• Night

• Nest

• Knit

• Knife

• Know

• Name

• Neighbor

• Notice

• Needle

• Never

• Neutral

• Necklace

• Narrow

• Knowing

• Navigate

• Northern

• Nearly

Practice Sentences for

feminine resonance

• Meet me Monday, Mary.

• Many manic mice are making mozzarella.

• Moreover, I’ll make more meals.

• My mother made lemon muffins.

• Louie likes liquid lemons.

• Never mind, Nancy.