Maintaining My Voice – Transitioning as a Singer

I’ve been singing since practically before I could talk. I started taking singing lessons at age 10. Since then, I’ve worked with an incredibly talented and diverse set of teachers. I constantly think about how I’ve let some of my singing training slip away. I’m not as disciplined as I once was and I know a large part of that is due to my transition.

One of the primary effects of testosterone is the lowering of the voice. I’m dying to get on testosterone not only because I want to be on it, but also because I want to be able to get my voice back into shape again. I really want to know how deep my voice will go. I’m hoping for a very nice, smooth tenor sound. I doubt it’d get deep enough to be bass or baritone, but then again you never know. My father had an incredibly deep voice, so I guess it’s just a crapshoot.

Right now, I feel like I’m the last member of New Edition. I hate constantly having to correct people who call me Ma’am over the phone (this is the one area where I simply cannot pass for male just yet). I usually just ignore them and try to get off the phone as fast as possible without having to bring up the issue. As much as this is an annoyance, I really care more about being able to sing again. I want to know what my voice is capable of and I want to start making music again.

I have been told by some that it is hard to regain your vocal ability after transition, but I don’t believe that is true for someone who has been trained for as long as I have. This is going to be just like when a guy’s voice lowers during puberty (for all intents and purposes, the initial transition process on T is incredibly similar to male puberty). This doesn’t mean men can’t sing because their voices have changed. This just means they have to adapt to singing with a lower vocal range. Either way, I’m really looking forward to getting back into singing.

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