An Interview with Dr. Sarah Wee

Introduction- This blog has been a place where I have mostly posted about small windows into the world of voice training. However, I have barely dipped my toe into actual training. This is where I needed some help with my journey, so I asked vocal pedagogy professor and voice teacher at Troy University, Dr. Sarah Wee, about the trans voice and how to jump into training.

Question 1: What are some thoughts and ideas you can pass on to me, as somebody who has researched it more and who knows more about the voice than I do?

Answer:

It’s important to make sure, as you would in normal life, that you constantly treat them in the identity that they want to be treated as. So, if you’re teaching someone that is now trans female, even if they have a low male voice, you have to be really cautious to not say words like “male” or “bass-“ “bass” is something they kind of want to get away from- or even “tenor.” You start to use terms like “soprano” and “mezzo” even though you’re probably talking down the octave, if not two octaves. 

Also being very careful with repertoire because you want to give them in the beginning, at least, repertoire that identified romantically the way they identify. So you may not want it to be a Don Giovanni type character that is this swarthy male pursuing a woman if that’s not where this person feels right.

Folk songs are really great. Things that use words like “sweetheart” and “love” instead of specific “him” or “hers.” Opera is almost impossible to find something that can go either way. So unless you have someone that is very established in their new life and very secure, which doesn’t often happen in the beginning, you want to be really cautious of picking things that will align with the gender they currently identify with and not lead them to feel the way they did before.

Question 2: How would you go about, in a healthy way, teaching someone to reach their higher register?

Answer:

Things like sirens are great. Lip trills are great because you cannot hurt yourself if you’re doing a lip trill. It doesn’t matter what you do, you physically cannot hurt your vocal folds if you’re doing a lip trill. And in falsetto, it’s all excess air, so, in the beginning, making sure it’s a “hhoo” with lots of h beforehand, that will help them get higher. If you just really let that excess air, it’s going to force the vocal folds apart, which helps it stretch to that upper whistle register. 

Lip trills are one of the biggest things, though, because then you get the brain wrapped around it. The brain goes, “Oh, I can sing that note. I can make noise on that note.” And then you work from there.

And then I’ll do a lot of taking things up the octave, so having them really comfortable with something, then “Well, let’s just see what happens. You’re going to crack, it’s going to sound awful, it’ll sound awful when I do it, too.” And just trying to get the confidence level there. That’s why a lot of times, I think the best falsetto work is often in choirs because you have safety in numbers, and everybody’s making silly noises.

Question 3: I would like to ask about the other end of the spectrum, about taking a range down in a healthy way.

Answer: 

That’s a little harder because it’s not this “third voice” that everyone has, so a lot of it ends up being vowel choice. So doing things that are brighter vowels, exercises that have an “aa (as in cat),” you’re going to sit into that chesty sound more. Just taking a soprano down to a mezzo, even if we don’t consider the trans aspect of it, just having them place their hand on their chest to really feel the vibrations and embracing what that feels like to have that low chest sound.

Belting in the beginning can be really helpful because it is that brighter sound. And then the same thing, lip trills and sirens in the other direction and really letting them bottom out and just feel what that feels like to hit the bottom of their voice and get comfortable.

Conclusion- While this interview gave me the insight I needed to start training voices, I still have a long way to go before I can call myself a master. Hopefully, with time, practice, and a lot more research, I can, as Dr. Wee does, make voices feel beautiful.

*Pictures to be added soon

What is Gender Dysphoria?

Benvenuto, everyone!

If you’re a returning reader, you probably have seen the word “dysphoria” tossed around. When I talk about dysphoria, I am referring to gender dysphoria. But what is gender dysphoria?

According to the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary, gender dysphoria is defined as “a condition in which someone feels that they were born with the wrong sex.” However, gender dysphoria entails much more than this, and is a key aspect of this blog. This is why it’s so important to understand gender dysphoria and how it affects those who experience it.

The definition that Oxford provides is labeled as medical. This gives the transgender issue an almost clinical connotation, not to mention the verbiage in the definition is, in part, problematic.

I much prefer the description that the American Psychiatric Association includes on their website. “Gender dysphoria involves a conflict between a person's physical or assigned gender and the gender with which he/she/they identify.” This description includes that crucial element of conflict that not all definitions take into account.

The same article from the American Psychiatric Association also explains the difficulty of living with gender dysphoria. I find it better not to paraphrase and simply include a direct quote from the page, as it was said best there.

“People with gender dysphoria may often experience significant distress and/or problems functioning associated with this conflict between the way they feel and think of themselves (referred to as experienced or expressed gender) and their physical or assigned gender.”

People who experience gender dysphoria often experience great distress because of their “assigned” gender or inability to express their identity. I have said before that the voice is often a very big cause of this distress, not having a voice or voice type that coincides with the gender identity.

Of course, this is exactly why I research. If I can help people find their voices and enjoy using them, especially when their voices before caused them pain, discomfort, and distress, I can help the world find its own beauty. The more we understand, the more we can act with humanity.

Remember to love each other.

Cantare!

How to Do a Proper Warmup

Benvenuto, everyone!

The voice is a delicate thing. It’s very important to warm it up properly, especially when the body is undergoing any kind of hormone modification. Here I will detail a basic list of easy warmups that will get you or your student ready to sing in a safe and effective way.

1. Stretch!

Before you stretch your voice, you have to stretch your body and loosen your muscles. Stretch up, stretch down and side to side. Pull your arms across your body and pull them lightly with the other hand. Roll the head around to the left and the right- never back- and roll the shoulders forward and back. Once you have stretched enough to feel loose, get in the proper posture to start the singing portion of your warmup.

2. Start singing with a single note

I usually have my singers start by simply singing a sustained A, something get their minds started and geared toward the subject and technique without clouding their minds with complicated exercises. For choirs, singing a single note together can unify the voices. It’s an exercise in listening, tuning, and grounding.

3. Use scales to stretch the range further

Start by singling half scales up and down and ascending each time by a half step. Do this to the highest point in the comfortable range. Do the same thing with a descending five note scale, descending by half step each time until you reach your lowest comfortable note. This will get you comfortable in all ranges before you start singing repertoire.

4. Sing a percussive syllable like “ha” to engage the muscles

The warmup I usually do is a simple 1-3-5-3-1 triad on “ha” to engage the breath. Ascend by a half note each time to the upper range, taking care to give each syllable a good punch of power. This, as stated previously, engages the muscles involved in breath support and power behind the voice. It also gears your mind toward breathing and controlled movement through notes. 

5. Lip trills and sirens can save the voice

Lip trills are a fantastic way to engage the voice and stretch the vocal cords. If you are particularly tired, dehydrated, stressed, or otherwise vocally compromised, lip trills are a great way to stretch the vocal folds safely. A variation of this is singing sirens through a thin straw. Doing this makes it physically impossible to injure the vocal folds, and it makes for a relaxing kind of “cool down” after a harsher, more percussive exercise.

6. End your warmup with something technical

To apply all the techniques you touched on in the previous warmup, a great way to wrap things up is with a quick technical exercise. This can be anything from singing through a musical tongue twister to singing a short song or nursery rhyme. It prepares you for repertoire work in an easier and more familiar way.

Warmups are so important for all singers. I hope this quick guide helps you warm up safely and well. Keep singing, everyone!

Cantare.

Sing Out!

Benvenuto,everyone!

I'd like to write about choirs today. It's been a very long week for me, and researching and interviewing quickly became my last priority. I am a student at Troy University, as some of you may know. I had three tests this week, as well as a presentation, some smaller homework from one class, two interview projects, an extra voice lesson, preparation for a band concert that is less than two weeks away (and my horn broke last rehearsal), my game master asked me to run a story game for my friends (of course I accepted), and the research for these posts which are technically assignments and have some very specific requirements.

All this and more has been my long and arduous week of school. I didn’t have time to meet with any of my singers for lessons, which is usually one of the highlights of my week. Instead I took time to wind my brain down in choir.

I sing with Troy University’s Collegiate Singers. While the group is Troy University’s non-audition group, it is actually quite good, and it provides an environment that I hope every singer can experience at least once in their life.

Not all choirs are accepting and understanding. Choir should be that pocket world, a safe haven for the weary and beaten. There’s nothing more powerful than a community coming together to make beautiful music and to love and accept each other for everything they are.

Choir is important to the LGBTQ+ community. Voices across the spectrum can feel safety, feel power in numbers, feel dysphoria fade in the gentle lull of beautiful music. The world seems more complete with music. It’s the one art form that brings people together so easily, and togetherness is just what this world needs.

If you are a singer, whether you are trans, cis, agender, nonbinary, demigender, genderfluid, or any color of the rainbow, reach out to each other and sing sweet melodies (and harmonies if you’re feeling creative). Communal singing is so important in a world where voice is going out of style.

People are singing less and less, and even speaking is in decline. The less we use our voices, the less we have the ability to. So use your voice and use it often. As I say at the end of every post, cantare- sing out. If you love to sing, sing together and sing loud.

Cantare!

For the Love of Singing

Benvenuto, everyone!

Today I had another first voice session. Since it’s Valentine’s Day, I thought it only appropriate to spend some time with my significant other. So, I gave my Valentine a lesson in the basics of classical voice.

While it wasn’t exactly time spent cuddling or exchanging love notes, it was still time that we enjoyed spending together. Teaching your significant other proper vocal technique is surprisingly intimate in a strange way.

I’ve mentioned Wiley in this blog before, so you may know that they are trans non-binary and want to train their voice to be a bit deeper. When I started this voice training project, I didn’t intend for it to grow as rapidly as it did. When Wiley expressed interest in working with me, I was delighted to jump at that chance.

Working with someone you love and live with makes things much easier. It allowed me to be more hands-on than with an acquaintance or even a friend. Instead of pointing out the functions in singing purely visually, I could help Wiley understand by pointing things out on them.

When Wiley was not aware of their knees locking, for instance, I could stand behind them and put my hands on the back of their legs to help them become more aware of that part of their body.

What I tried to do with Wiley today was mostly help build their kinesthetic awareness in singing posture. Kinesthetic awareness is the “ability to be aware of one’s own body parts, position, and movements,” according to Council of Ontario Drama and Dance Educators.

Building their kinesthetic awareness will help them learn vocal technique much faster, and eliminating bad habits now will keep them from struggling to break them in the future. The first time in a lesson it is essential to check for those habits lest the singer could form a destructive and unhealthy habit that could actually damage the voice.

All in all, Wiley made some amazing progress. They were easy to teach and responsive to my instruction. Of course, staging the voice lesson as a Valentine’s Day mini-date certainly helps singer-teacher communication.

It was a wonderful first session, and I’m thrilled to work with my best friend and significant other. As much as I enjoy working with the other people I’ve begun training, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as working with the one you love.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone.

Cantare!

To: Trans - Love: Cis

Benvenuto, everyone!

In this post I would like to explore another point of view. I had a chance to sit down and talk with Jade Catrett, a cisgender man and LGBT+ ally. While I have had several chances to speak with people on the trans binary and trans non-binary spectrum, but I had not yet asked the opinion of someone who identifies outside of the transgender spectrum.

As I noted before, Catrett is a cisgender male, meaning he was assigned male at birth and identifies as male. I asked him about how he addresses transgender people. He explained that he usually acknowledges them and goes about his day as he would any other person he sees on the street.

One interesting thing he touched on was how he reacts when he isn’t sure but has a hunch that someone might be transgender.

“If they confirm it for you, cool,” Catrett explained. “And then if they don’t, cool. It’s just like mild curiosity sated, and then I go about my day.”

He also explained that he used to think he needed to somehow communicate that he was a trans ally, but he has come to understand that all he needs to do to be an ally is to treat trans people like he would any other human being.

When I started to talk about voice, I found that he was actually decently educated on the subject. He was aware of some of the issues transgender individuals face concerning voice and voice dysphoria. He told me that it wasn’t something he had ever thought about before he had friends in the trans community. 

I asked him first why he believes voice training for transgender people is important. I think the best way to capture the power of his response is in his own words (unsavory language censored).

“I think it’s important because of my ignorance on it. I’m very comfortable as a man, I like to be a man, I like my beard, all that jazz. It goes to the extent, in video games, I prefer to play as a man because I exist as a man on most forms of my consciousness.

“If that were different for any reason,” he continued, “I think I would be pretty f***ed up about it. I have the good luck that all the stars aligned as far as that was concerned. So, for anyone else, whatever helps them through that. I’m a pretty big fan of doing what you want as long as it don’t hurt other people and makes them feel comfortable in their own skin.”

We concluded our meeting with the importance of education about not just voice training, but trans issues across the board. Catrett said that ignorance is the heart of hate, and I wholeheartedly agree.

Cantare!

Brianna Carswell: Trans Leader

Brianna Chelsea Carswell is one of the faces behind one of Troy University’s biggest safe spaces for LGBTQ+ students. She was one of the leading voices in the committee for the city of Troy’s very first Pride festival and is an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights in Pike County and beyond as the president of Troy University’s Spectrum Alliance.

Carswell has been president of the Troy University Spectrum Alliance for going on three semesters now, one fewer than the maximum number of years an officer can be in any one position according to Carswell. As her third term as president comes into full force, Carswell makes notes for the next leader of the LGBTQ+ club.

In 2019 Carswell and the Spectrum Alliance worked alongside College Democrats to coordinate and run Trojan Pride, the first of its kind in Troy. While Carswell described this as her greatest accomplishment as an officer of Spectrum, she clarified that it is not the only one.

“Last semester we had a Coming Out Day on the square (the Troy University Bibb Graves quad),” Carswell said, talking about the different events hosted by Spectrum. “Basically, we handed out free contraceptives, we had music playing, and it was a nice, good old time.” 

Spectrum also runs a number of events throughout the year such as the showing of cult classic Rocky Horror Picture Show each year on Halloween and the annual Second Chance Prom each spring.

As leader of a group that promotes diversity, Carswell encourages the club to reach out in a variety of ways ranging from simple posters to advertising through friends and classmates. One of the biggest goals she strives for is to inform the public and expand the diversity within the group.

In preparation to pass the baton to her successor, Carswell said the biggest thing she can emphasize is not to take on too much at once, that “Delegation is key.” The other official positions are her biggest allies when it comes to managing the group.

Carswell also expressed her worry about a disheartening lack in university involvement in the club, which she seeks to bridge before the end of her term. As she put it, she would like to “cap it off on a good note and leave a foreground for things to continue with Spectrum.”

While Carswell builds her own bridges, she looks to rising leaders of any group or party with a note of promise and a word of advice. 

“You want people there to support you,” she said. “You want people there who will also maybe not agree with you, to challenge you, to let you see things in a different way.”

As a final word, she also explained what she felt was most important as a leader

“If you want to lead, you should do it because you’re passionate about it, and do it because you want it more than anything else.”

A New Perspective

Benvenuto, everyone!

This post will not be covering an experience with voice training someone, exactly. Instead, I would like to talk a little bit about why voice training is so important. I spoke with my significant other, Wiley Wiggins, about how the voice affects trans individuals. They, as a trans non-binary person, brought some thoughts to light that I would like to share here.

Wiley does not identify as either of the binary genders, male or female, hence the term non-binary. They use they/them pronouns, and generally steer clear of gender-specific honorifics like Ms., Mr., and the like (we joke about calling them “chef” so we can say “yes, chef” in casual conversation). 

They are AFAB, or assigned female at birth, and they have always been conscious of their voice. They have considered testosterone to deepen the voice, but they know that testosterone affects more than just the voice, and many of those effects are undesirable in their personal transition.

This brings up the concept of transition as per the individual. I’ve heard it explained that transition is not a to-do list; it’s a menu. Not every transgender person expresses exactly the same, and some things that are important to one person might not be important to another person. So for someone like Wiley who would feel gender euphoria with a deeper voice but not with facial hair, voice training becomes a very viable and desirable option.

For someone AMAB (assigned male at birth) who has already gone through the voice change, voice training is the only option in achieving a higher register. Once the voice drops, there is no way to reverse that change, regardless of hormones. This is a huge reason why male to female transition can be so dysphoric even in the late stages of a full transition.

When I asked Wiley if they felt the need to change the way their voice sounded was impacted by societal norms, they responded in a way that surprised me. They explained that, while social situations have some impact on the way they want their voice to sound, it was largely that they hear their own voice, and it’ s not the way they expect  their voice should sound.

As a vocalist, I understand the concept of being vocally aware. Speaking with a voice you feel is not yours seems almost like singing a technically and physically difficult aria at all times of the day. While the untrained ear may think it’s a gorgeous string of music, you’re constantly judging yourself for each breath, vowel, and dynamic.

Sometimes all it takes to understand something as complex as the transitioning voice is a new perspective and an open mind.

Cantare!

Getting Started on a Hopeful Note

Benvenuto, everyone!

This past Wednesday I had another first “appointment” with a singer. Alice Rivera is a transgender woman I offered to voice train, and a voice I am particularly excited to work with. Though Alice has a limited background in formal vocal training, she has enough experience to speak in musical terms with me and an ear good enough to match pitch nearly perfectly.

This presents a new starting place for me as a teacher. With someone who cannot match pitch very well, it can be difficult to determine the person’s full range. With someone like Alice who can match pitch very well, this task becomes immediately easier. Therefore, my next step with her is to leap into determining range and rolling into technique.

Simply by listening to her sing along with a song she’s comfortable with, I estimated she could be somewhere in the baritone to low tenor range, which she seemed to agree with. At a point in the song, the singer in the track started singing an octave up, but Alice did not. I asked her about this after she sang, and she told me she sometimes does make that leap, but she lacked the confidence at the time.

I’m particularly excited to work with Alice because there is so much potential there. If I can give Alice the technique and the confidence to do it, there’s great potential for a lovely falsetto sound, and, while I haven’t had the chance to listen to her higher range just yet, there is potential to work with some countertenor technique.

One thing I noticed as she sang is that she did so primarily in her chest voice. While this is not a bad thing, it does open up a new avenue for her to explore. Learning to sing in head voice may give her the ability to shift through her break more easily, therefore reaching her higher range with more accuracy and ease.

Before we left off, I took the opportunity to ask Alice a few questions while we were together. The most important answer, I feel, came when I asked where she wanted to go with her voice. She first told me simply, “Up!” She followed this by explaining, “What I would like is to be able to, more or less, have a speaking voice that can be read as feminine.”

Voice dysphoria isn’t a concern for every transgender person, but it is a very common source of discomfort. Talking to people like Alice reminds me why I’m doing this. I’ll leave you on this note: the human voice is beautiful, and everyone deserves to feel that way about their own voice.

Cantare!