Eva: transgender voice-training app helps women and men talk the talk
Kathe Perez’s courses go beyond appearances to address another
challenge within the transgender community: passing with a
gender-appropriate voice
Changing your voice: ‘There will never be a point where it’s mindless, but there will be a point where it’s effortless.’ Photograph: Alamy
Ruth Spencer@ruths
Tuesday 2 June 2015 The way we sound is just as much a part of who we are as the way we look. And yet, while there are coaches and stylists to help trans people get the right haircut or wardrobe to suit their identity, there are very few resources available to people who want to change their voices.
Kathe Perez, a speech-language pathologist with more than 25 years of experience, is trying to change that with her new voice-training app, Eva.
Perez first released Eva in 2013 and she’s preparing to launch Eva 2.0, a bigger and better version of the app, this week. The Guardian spoke to Perez about why voice training is so important in the trans community.
Why is voice training such a critical part of gender transition?
What so many transgender clients of mine have told me is “I pass until I open my mouth”. Many of my clients look like a woman but sound like a man. That is very disconcerting to them. If you’ve ever had laryngitis and lost your voice and tried to go to work, you know how strange it feels to not sound like yourself.
My trans clients will say “I do so much to try and look like the real me. I do my hair, I do my makeup, I put on my dress. But then I go to a bar and have to speak to the bartender, and it all falls apart”. Our identities are intimately connected to how we sound.
A screen grab from the courses for Eva’s training app for transgender women. Photograph: Kathe Perez
Why do you think it was so important to make voice training available on an app?
For the most part our transgender clientele are early in transition, often married. Their families don’t know what they’re going through, and they need a private place to train their voices. Changing one’s voice is actually a very intimate thing. Often times people feel embarrassed or silly when they’re practicing – like taking a dance or acting lesson. It can be very vulnerable for people. So that was part of our inspiration. We wanted to give people the privacy to practice this important phase of their transition.
How does Eva work?
Eva’s methodology consists of video-based instruction and self-guided exercises that use specifically designed tools to visualize the voice output, and a series of standalone tools that provide the user with a straightforward and playful learning experience.
Each lesson is a specific learning experience with definable goals and objectives. For example, in Eva 2.0 the male-to-female lessons provide important exercises that “code” the vocal cords to maintain a relaxed/healthy manner of vibration.
One of the biggest differences between men and women’s voices is pitch. A woman’s pitch is about an octave higher than a man’s. The Eva app has a built-in frequency tuner that users speak into, and then get a score based on whether or not they hit the pitch they are aiming for, with feedback on how to improve.
Kathe Perez’s Eva voice-training app also includes modules for transgender men. Photograph: Kathe Perez
What are some of the challenges in changing one’s voice?
I’ve mentioned pitch, but in addition there’s also the question of voice quality. A lot of times when trans women try to change their voices, they go into false speech. It’s too high and sounds cartoonish. I’ll ask them: “when was the last time you heard a [cisgender] woman talk like that?”
Then there’s the “loudness” element. Most people have great difficulty increasing their pitch and talking loudly at the same time. Pitch can be learned over time, but it’s really tough to maintain a different pitch at various sound levels. For example, if you’re talking at a crowded bar or restaurant, you will have to speak louder than you would at home. It can be tricky to retain the pitch.
But of all the factors, resonance is the most difficult part of changing one’s voice. As a woman, even if I talk in a low pitch, or a deep voice, I still don’t sound masculine. If you think of a male tenor singing a note, and then a woman hitting the same note, they sound different. That’s the element of resonance. Learning that is tough.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Eva comes built-in with a frequency tuner to help users refine their pitch. Photograph: Kathe Perez
Is it easier to change ones voice as a male-to-female or as a female-to-male?
Easy or hard isn’t exactly the thought here. Both groups of people require different things, but essentially, male-to-female trans people have more work ahead of them. Female-to-male trans people don’t seem to be as fundamentally unhappy with their voices.
When testosterone is introduced into a system, there are physical changes to the vocal folds; they thicken, which lowers the pitch of the voice. Trans men usually want to make other changes to their voices, but the pitch is taken care of by taking testosterone.
It’s important to note that the female-to-male community is a very different culture than the male-to-female community. Many people whom we may want to categorize at female-to-male would not define themselves that way. Trans* masculine is a better term to use to describe this sub-population of our society. Many trans* masculine folks identify as genderqueer and would likely not take testosterone. Eva accounts for these differences and Eva FTM 2.0 provides two different pitches to tune their voices.
When estrogen is introduced for trans women, it will not change the vocal folds. Pitch is a fundamental element in the voice and trans women need to train their voices not only to change their pitches, but eight other defining voice characteristics (resonance, articulation, melodica intonation, fluency, etc).
How long does it take to transition one’s voice?
Changing a voice, especially from male-to-female is quite a daunting endeavor. For those folks, we generally estimate six months to a year. Female-to-male people who want to improve their voices beyond what testosterone and their own work has given them will need about six months to reach the natural masculine sound they want.
Can one’s voice ever permanently change? Or will it always take work?
There will never be a point where it’s mindless, but there will be a point where it’s effortless. Like driving a car or riding a bike, it will become a skill you know how to perform. Less work, and more intuitive.
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