Has anyone here permanently altered their voice?

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TheHaywire
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15 Jan 2012, 4:11 pm

I started getting voice training because my voice was extremely high/annoying and I talked way too fast. I wanted to give talks at conferences and events but people couldn't understand me very well. I felt like my ideas were being lost to my high-pitched childish voice. People didn't respect me in person because of the way that I talked. I pretty much lived my life online where I could type and be understood.

The voice coach I went to did not understand what was going on with me. He just walked me through some exercises. Things to do with my mouth and throat. This was mildly helpful but I kept forgetting to speak from the right areas of my body after the voice training was over.

I want to permanently alter my voice. It is not fun to sound like I am 12 years old at this age. It is not fun to share so many ideas only to be asked "what did you just say?" It has been a major factor in my having low self esteem.

Does anyone here know of a way to permanently alter their voice? Willing to go for extreme measures here.



athacliath72
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15 Jan 2012, 4:24 pm

I think the reason we speak like we do ie; fast,quiet and nervous or inappropriately loud is because our brains and nervous systems are constantly being trashed by over activity

I have a low, fast, nervous sounding voice and I used to think I had a voice problem caused by social anxiety disorder but instead it's AS.



Marcia
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15 Jan 2012, 4:26 pm

The voice coach got you started, the rest is up to you. You have to keep practising. Use Margaret Thatcher as your inspiration. Her voice became noticeably slower and deeper as she progressed in politics.



CyclopsSummers
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15 Jan 2012, 5:50 pm

Haywire, I haven't had to do something like that myself, but my mother consciously changed her way of speaking (more specifically, her pitch), at one point in her twenties. Her sister and she had the same voice, fairly high in pitch. She would be talking on the phone when she was 20, and everyone thought she was a twelve-year old. So she started speaking in a deeper voice, and has maintained it to this day. But she didn't get help from a vocal coach for this.


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btbnnyr
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15 Jan 2012, 5:54 pm

I have multiple different pitch ranges for my voice, and I switch amongst them on a daily basis, for no discernible reason. I never know which voice I will have on any given day. The only predictable thing is that around my mother, I use my three-year-old voice, and I really do sound like a three-year-old.

The same with handwriting. I have no consistent kind of handwriting, but a whole bunch of different styles, and I never know which one is going to come out of my hand when I write something. I wish I had consistent handwriting, but I haven't been able to develop one.



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15 Jan 2012, 5:59 pm

[Moved from General Autism Discussion to Random Discussion]


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the_curmudge
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15 Jan 2012, 6:39 pm

Five minutes of vocal exercises a day help me to lower my pitch and avoid nasality. I do them while dinner is cooking and they're so automatic I hardly notice. If I'm ever tempted to give them up, the funny new voice I soon develop reminds me how vital they are.



Eloa
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15 Jan 2012, 7:01 pm

btbnnyr wrote:
The same with handwriting. I have no consistent kind of handwriting, but a whole bunch of different styles, and I never know which one is going to come out of my hand when I write something. I wish I had consistent handwriting, but I haven't been able to develop one.


I have this too :!: When I write eg. three times a day, I can have three different handwritings or it is changing in the text itself. Exactly as you write, never knowing which one is coming out.
What is causing this?


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Vigilans
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15 Jan 2012, 7:09 pm

I would listen to the vocal coach. Try to speak from your lower throat, if that makes sense. Slowing down your speech will help too, obviously. Just be conscious of it consistently and you will hopefully see results.


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DJFester
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15 Jan 2012, 10:48 pm

Another thing you could try if you're interested in broadcasting / public speaking would be a radio / TV broadcasting school. They do a lot of vocal coaching and training.


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Ozzer
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15 Jan 2012, 11:37 pm

btbnnyr wrote:
I have multiple different pitch ranges for my voice, and I switch amongst them on a daily basis, for no discernible reason. I never know which voice I will have on any given day. The only predictable thing is that around my mother, I use my three-year-old voice, and I really do sound like a three-year-old.

The same with handwriting. I have no consistent kind of handwriting, but a whole bunch of different styles, and I never know which one is going to come out of my hand when I write something. I wish I had consistent handwriting, but I haven't been able to develop one.


The same for me on both of these.



jamieevren1210
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22 Jan 2012, 6:53 am

After I did choir and acting my voice got much more normal.


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tuffy
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22 Jan 2012, 5:15 pm

Not deliberately, but after I had pneumonia my voice got lower and also more relaxed.



abacacus
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22 Jan 2012, 5:54 pm

btbnnyr wrote:
I have multiple different pitch ranges for my voice, and I switch amongst them on a daily basis, for no discernible reason. I never know which voice I will have on any given day. The only predictable thing is that around my mother, I use my three-year-old voice, and I really do sound like a three-year-old.


I do this as well. I have three distinct voices (for distinct times and places):

My "normal" voice which makes me sound younger than I am, usually talking quite fast

My "home" voice which is much lower pitched and quieter, tend to speak slower. I've been told it's a "romantic" voice.

My "with friends" voice, which is kind of in between the two.

I also used to do impersonations quite a lot.


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