“What sort of voice do you like?”
This is a question I often ask my clients to encourage them to think about the voice qualities they appreciate. When I asked one of my clients, she responded with, “I like Rebecca Root’s voice. If I could develop a voice similar to hers, I would be really pleased.” So, I viewed Rebecca on her hit BBC series, “Boy Meets Girl”, to listen to her voice.
Out of curiosity, I took a clip from a YouTube excerpt from the show and did a bit of basic voice analysis on Rebecca’s voice and the voice of Harry Hepple, a cis-male who plays her love interest on the show. These voice samples are not ideal, because Rebecca and Harry are not speaking the same words, but the analyses provide a visual comparison of their two voices, with the red line indicating the average pitch range and variation of intonation within the speaking voices.
Rebecca Harry
We can see that Harry’s voice enters into the range of gender-neutral pitch (between 140hz to 180hz), albeit only briefly. More important than pitch, however, is the relatively flat contour of his speech. His words have limited intonation, limited pitch range and a downward inflection. In a glance, we can see the more melodic contours of Rebecca’s voice, along with the higher pitch level.
It turns out that Rebecca has a MA in Voice Studies from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. So, she is not only an appealing vocal role model, but she is also knowledgeable of the whole topic of voice training. I reached out to her to learn more about the history of her voice transformation and found that she is incredibly generous of spirit and insightful. I was excited to find she shares many of my views on voice, including priorities of focus.
Rebecca agreed to provide written responses to some interview questions for my blog, including a follow-up Zoom discussion, which was packed with inspiration:
Was there a specific event or trigger that motivated you to pursue voice modification? No, I just wanted my voice to align more comfortably with my identified (and presenting) gender, which need became apparent once I commenced transition.
You were an actor for many years prior to transition. During your training, you developed a high degree of control over your voice, which I'm sure was beneficial to your progress in modifying your voice. What then, made you decide to have voice therapy as part of your transition? You can never have too much voice work. An on-going relationship with one’s voice is part and parcel of being an actor. So it was a natural progression that I explore my relationship with my voice more deeply once I transitioned. Although acting gives a strong background to performance technique, a different set of skills is needed to navigate a gender transition; I found I could best achieve my desired results with the guidance of an SLT.
What aspect(s) of your voice did you want to change? Reduce chest resonance, increase upper pitch elements, increase intonation.
What were the benefits and frustrations for you with regard to voice therapy? Benefits: having an objective ear/eye on my progress. Having a model on which to base my own work. The SLT’s use of technology to record pitch change. Frustrations: not enough sessions, length of waiting list, relative brevity of each session
You had six one hour sessions with a speech and language therapist. What made you decide to have surgery on your vocal folds? I found I wasn’t achieving quite the results I wanted. [Below is a clip of her commenting further on this question.]
What type of surgery did you have? What do you consider the Pros and Cons of vocal fold surgery? Crico-thyroid approximation. Pros: immediate results. Cons (long term): irreversible. Transcription from Zoom interview: “Well, you know after the surgery…I couldn't speak for three days. I mean I had to have complete vocal rest for three days or so…When I made my first sort of speech and gentle humming to sort of work the apparatus, the pitch was extremely high…for the first six months or so…But over time the voice sort of settled into its new tones and I found that my voice just sort of settled into its own natural state.”
You studied to be a voice teacher and voice coach at a performance-oriented school. How did this training impact upon your voice journey? It gave my voice a new lease of life – I did my MA only 2 years after completing transition. I also came to see my voice as a unique gift that resonated (literally) within my work as an actor and teacher. I came to accept my voice for what it is.
What similarities and differences have you found between actors’ voice issues and transwomen’s (or men's) voice issues? As a “civilian” you don’t often need to speak to be heard at the back of a theatre, or using an accent other than your native one. On the other hand, actors and non-actors alike can all benefit from speaking freely on a supported breath, clearly enough to be understood.
Do you have further aspirations for your own voice development? I love exploring my range and seeing how high and low I can take it. Years ago I wanted only to have a high pitch voice (AKA “female-sounding”), but nowadays I relish the notion of an ambiguous voice that is not easily discernible as a “female” or “male” voice.
Do you have to do anything to maintain your voice? When I am working as both actor and teacher I do regular warm ups to maintain my vocal stamina. [Below is a clip of her commenting further on this question.]
What aspects of voice work do you consider to be most important or most beneficial?Breath. Without a free, easy, open, supported breath, there is no voice. If you don’t have the breath, you don’t have the voice and your words will fall unheard.
What aspects of voice modification do you find most challenging for your clients? Pitch change (upper/lower) and intonation. Some clients simply cannot hear pitch change. And yet everyone has an inherent sense of pitch – we hear it when we make an agreement sound – “hm-mm” – but not everyone can discern that change.
Rebecca shared some of her thoughts on the importance of other salient characteristics of voice, such as intonation:
Rebecca shared some of her experiences and thoughts on misgendering:
And finally, I asked Rebecca what she would do differently if she could it all over again?
My heartfelt thanks and gratitude goes out to Rebecca for her time and candid sharing of her thoughts and experiences.