Renée's Blog

If you're working on modifying your voice to better align with your gender presentation, then you are probably already used to using a tuner to track pitch (how high or how low a voice is). A lot of my students report being frustrated that there isn't a way to track the resonance (how bright or ...

If you've been working on your trans voice practice for a little while, maybe you've found a sound you like that you're able to make in short bursts. Maybe you tried the "Big Dog Little Dog" exercise from a few weeks ago and now you're probably wondering, "How do I go from making a sound that I l...

When it comes to the voice changes that you can expect on testosterone, what is a reasonable timeline? I've talked to a lot of different people who have taken testosterone exogenously, and the one thing that I can say for sure is that there is no timeline. Everybody's trans masculine voice chang...

I recently had the great pleasure of being on the podcast Gender Reveal and host Tuck Woodstock asked me a really important question: "What is the difference between a trans voice teacher and a speech language pathologist?" Here's what I had to say: "There's not a big difference, to be honest. S...

In this post I'm going to be answering the question, "What is straw phonation and how can I use it in my trans voice practice?" Simply put, straw phonation is when you phonate (speak or make vocal sounds) through a straw. When you are phonating normally, air comes up from your lungs, and your vo...

I've got a quick and easy voice exercise that’s quickly becoming my new favourite for controlling resonance in trans voice training! It’s called Big Dog Little Dog. Understanding Resonance in Voice Training As I’ve mentioned before, voice resonance is controlled by the size and shape of your vo...

Hey trans voice explorers! I've said this in a few previous blog posts and emails, but one of my goals for 2023 is to find more ways to help you reach your goals. One of the ways I've decided to do that is by holding a live run of my most popular online course, Trans Vocal Exploration. You may...

One of my dreams came true this week - I was interviewed on Gender Reveal! If you don't already listen to this podcast, you're about to find your new favourite. Host Tuck Woodstock has interviewed scores of incredible trans people and the conversations are always illuminating, interesting, and no...

If you have signed up for my online course, Trans Vocal Exploration (or if you follow my writing closely!), then you know that I'm a big believer in cognitive load games. What are cognitive load games, you may ask? These are playful methods of practice that slowly increase the difficulty on you...

 As a gender-affirming voice teacher, I have encountered numerous students on their trans voice practice journey. Throughout my teaching experience, I have learned some essential lessons on what not to do when helping my students find their authentic voices. In this blog post, I want to share thr...