Why Vocal Exercises SUCK

Hi everyone!! This is a video I've wanted to make for a LONG time about a common misconception about what practice is and how it looks like. The title of the video is obviously a bit hyperbolic but the reality is, the value of an "exercise" is purely dependent on your ability to extract value from it. That ability to extract value is specifically what we are trying to improve in voice training. That way, no matter what exercises, actions, or explorations you do, every action has something to teach you.
►PATREON: / transvoicelessons
►LESSONS: www.transvoicelessons.com/
►MERCH: heatfromfire.com/
►INSTAGRAM : / digital.harmonic
►PATREON : / transvoicelessons
►ORIGINAL MUSIC : zheaerosemusic.bandcamp.com/
►CONTACT: [e-mail]
►WEBSITE: Transvoicelessons.com
VIDEOS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
► How To Master Voice : • HOW TO MASTER ANYTHING...
► Overview of Voice Feminization : • The Big Picture of Voi...
► Reduce Vocal Weight : • FEMINIZE YOUR VOICE: 8...
► How to Hear Resonance : • HEARING VOCAL RESONANCE
warmly,
TVL
00:00 Intro
00:12 Overview
03:03 Examples
06:02 The Most Important Part Of The Video
06:49 Outro
#voice #vocalcoach #lgbt

[@Robyn_007]

I like voice feminization more when I am focusing on finding things to like about my voice instead of fixating on the stuff I know I already don't like.

[@MsZsc]

just like most artforms frankly

[@alienpharmacy]

I tried doing exercises to feminize my voice, but all I did was steal crown jewels. It wasn't until I started really listening to myself that I could stop performing intricate heists and start sounding more feminine. (Love your vids)

[@khiralshimmer]

Going through the motions did nothing for me… until I figured out how to be present during those exercises. Being able to hear and feel what I was doing really made that practice valuable 💜

[@TransVoiceLessons]

Yes! Precisely! This is a consistent reality for every student I've worked with. Even students who seem to "naturally" progress simply either have past experience with their voice without realizing it or "luck out" in acquiring the proper internal orientation to the task. Both of these can make an individual who is a total beginner appear to have some natural inclination for the process. In my experience, the moment a student truly acquires the necessary internal feedback loop for voice learning, everyone starts to look like a natural after that point. The issue in voice learning is enabling a person to get to that point since it's fundamentally an internal orientation and set of tools.

[@laylahassomethingtosay]

* reads title * 😯

[@sloweia]

i kept damaging my voice by exercises and so been stuck on pretty much the same level for like 2 years. Hope one day i could find strength to start doing it again but safer.

[@TransVoiceLessons]

I hope you can too! Can't wait for you to check out the new beginner resources we have coming. I think they will provide great clarity for individuals in your situation. Sending good energy

[@sloweia]

@@TransVoiceLessons 😭😭😭❤️‍🔥

[@Nashyj495]

Yeah the voice training is cool and thank you for that but I gotta say, this is the first video I've seen with you having blonde hair! GIRL YOU LOOK SO GOOD!!!

[@Ashrah_Vell]

"Exercises do not develop style." - That's so true, and something I realised not long ago. As I'm becoming more confident in my voice and gain a better understanding of *what* I'm doing to change it, I'm starting to play around a bit. Tweaking things here and there and paying attention to what feels better for me :)

[@ChristianCatboy]

Hey, y'all -- I had a vocal training breakthrough this week! 😸 Realized that I really have gotten into a more reliable and automatic habit of raising my resonance whenever I go up in pitch, so it doesn't get harsh and strained right away like it used to. Still sounds kinda harsh, but yeah, I think I finally have enough of an intuitive grasp of these different dimensions of voice to be able to get the results I want by making tinkering adjustments, when I do hear something that makes me feel dysphoric because it sounds forced or unnatural.

[@devindoesntlikeyou2546]

I'm a musician (piano and percussion/drumset) and I've been really diving into fundamental exercises as of late, and I think I'm making the same mistakes in both my musical practice and my vocal training. It's really easy for me to zone out and forget what I'm trying to accomplish with the practice, aswell as reverting to something that's easier whenever something becomes challenging rather than focusing on whatever it is I'm struggling with. Thank you for the video, it helps alot :)

[@stirpiano]

Exercise 🚫 Explore ☑️

[@nodiy8968]

i find it helpful to think of my focussed voice practices as 'studies', or even 'meditations', rather than 'exercises'. i started doing this as a musician for voice and other instruments, then just carried that into voice feminization when that became a thing. i think framing it this way helps me maintain the presence, listening, curiosity, and playfulness that really make sessions more rewarding, and reduces the odd of practice itself triggering dysphoria. framing these practices as 'exercises' can make it feel mechanical, and centred around lacking some sort of strength that needs to be built, rather than open-ended and holistic understanding of my voice. (although 'exercise' can have it's place too: i sometimes do mechanical repetitions when a 'study' leads to an understanding of how to correctly do something that i'll want to be able to reproduce with less thought/effort, since mechanically repeating a technique is a great way to build muscle memory!)

[@Sparkangel820]

My natural voice is very deep and weighty and voice exercises have helped a little, but I've plateaued recently. I can get a low weight, but it's really hard for me to get higher pitches and higher resonance without straining. I think I definitely need to just play around with it more and retrain my ear with the basics again. Thanks for the video!

[@hagbarthr]

1:30 - be gay, do crime

[@nikolemodesti4677]

Look at youuuu!!!! 😍 so proud of you you’ve come so far 🖤

[@isabelc6522]

i still don't think i'm able to reliably use my practiced voice because of some mental barrier, but i WILL say that my greatest progress has been when i was in the car and just messing around with voices/airflow patterns/mouth shapes. certainly gave me more insight into how my voice could be shaped and give me some insight as to what things i can further try and refine

[@JasonMartineauMusic]

Dig the harmonic series string vibrations artwork on the wall, I have a similar one in my book "Elements of Music" (also in "Quadrivium"), love to see it!

[@mikeciul8599]

Where could I find something like that?

[@lxixsxa7139]

Hi Zee, I wanted to message you about some misconceptions of voice femininization I had and I wanted to talk with you about a lot of stuff to the point I've sent an Email 😅, it turned out you've been in Hiatus but luckily you came back and also made this video... I also met people who helped me in that regard as well and I can't wait to start. I just wanted to thank you and let you know that your channel gives me hope.

[@riverw4721]

What's amazing is watching your own progress with your voice as I go from older to newer videos.

[@GeorgeAnne.Prescott]

I find this fascinating. I've resisted these kinds of things regarding my speaking voice, as well as some feminizing surgeries, as I'm a musician/singer. I look forward to the insights in your videos.

[@catheykohler693]

As a bass vocalist, this channel has been awesome for me! Practices and excercises didnt seem to help much, but this channel helped me so i can pass sometimes! Thank you!

[@Skadihehe]

I tried out exercises at the start and it helped me figure out how i was able to manipulate my voice, but what actually helped me progress was talking - at first reading things out loud then with friends and then as much as i can (as long as i feel comfortable enough in the situation). I do feel like i should go back to exercises to 'perfect' my voice, but im happy enough with how I can present without them at this point. Apparently i passed to an old man today so that was cool ^^ Thanks for the video!

[@NatalieE500]

The comparison to a heist is sending me i- especially since i saw a post a long time ago that said transfems choose names that sound like jewel thieves! But it is a good comparison. i practice voice by following along with your exercises every week, but sometimes i am just going through the motions. It’s only when i stay focused and pay attention to what is happening on the inside that i learn

[@remcomoerland1780]

Everytime I see one of your videos you look prettier yet. You look absolutely amazing

[@Rezkeshdadesh]

Heat from fire, fire from heat. Heat from fire, fire from heat. Heat from fire, fire from heat. Heat from fire, fire from heat. Heat from fire, fire from heat. Heat from fire, fire from heat. Heat from fire, fire from heat. Heat from fire, fire from heat.

[@PoisonFlower765]

I know that excersizes aren't everything and that I need to explore, but _how do I explore?_ "Just listen to yourself" doesn't do anything for me because I don't know what to do with what I hear. It's actually a little frustrating watching these videos, hearing the same advice, but never _what to do with it._

[@TransVoiceLessons]

Exploration is good. Exploration doesn't teach you what you need to hear unless while your exploring, your teaching yourself how to listen. This process of self teaching yourself to listen is an extremely long process honestly. This is what teachers and resources are ideal for. Gaining true knowledge of what you are supposed to be listening for and how to listen should be the goal. Proper acquisition of targets doesn't really form on its own for most students without intervention or constantly grinding/listening/mimicry of others but even then it is not gauranteed after someone made the progress from mimicking others or grinding, that they actually are listening and oriented in a way that will continue to provide growth long term. We often see trans voices who are ultimately satisfied with their voice but feel like they hit a plateau they can't seem to break. It almost is always formed because their ability to pass with their voice occurs as they just broadly mimic which means a more direct sense and interpretation of where they are with their voice hasn't been developed -- rather a specific coordination that achieves their specific effect has.

[@PoisonFlower765]

@@TransVoiceLessons Okay? I want to follow your advice, but these are just the same things you said in the video and didn't answer my question at all. *What am I supposed to do **_after_** I listen to my voice?* That should be a simple question for someone with a degree in this field who intends to teach others, but you're just not answering? I don't mean for this to be an attack on you, but your advice seems one-note and hard to actually do anything with, _especially_ for beginners who are the primary audience of your videos.

[@TransVoiceLessons]

@@PoisonFlower765 Degree in this field? No. I am an award winning composer, music theorist, and transexual. I changed my own voice on my own. Had I formally studied speech pathology or voice education before my own journey, I would not have arrived at the answers I found which are ultimately what has allowed me to have the result I have, give the result to thousands of students, publish in the medical journal(s) and gain institutional alignment (working with WPATH, various surgeons, and other SLPs). You're still not fundamentally grokking why I can't just write to you how to do what you need to. It's not a set of instructions. It's an internal understanding gained only through direct experience. I am incapable of sharing a direct experience with you in this medium of text. If I write you a set of instructions and you do them, there is literally zero guarantee you gained what you needed internally. Even if I played the right sound over and over to you, there is still no proof or evidence you are internally oriented against the sound to gain value from it. This video wasn't supposed to answer every voice question you have. The questions you're asking exist on my channel across numerous videos. My most watched video is titled: Voice Feminization for ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS. It literally has everything you need to get started. The only thing that would stop someone from making use of it is exactly what I spoke about in this video. Audio examples, guided listening, deeper context are all given constantly across my channel to such a degree that it can act like a trap for people who are *thinking* not sensing when they try to consume my resources. That is the entire point of this video. To stop people from being trapped by "exercises" because they are trying to think their way through them instead of sense their way through. You can only sense your way through with a genuine target though. "One note" is a bit weird. I'm singing this note because it's literally the central component of the process to which every thing else is . Every single vocal action you can do came from this feedback loop of: Target Acquisition -> Chaos Action -> Reaction to Difference of Target vs Action -> Continued Refinement. You're stuck? Figure out what's broken in that loop. Based on the way you're typing it sounds like you don't have a target at all or if you do, it's a target of thought not sense. The advice in this video is absolutely not just "vaguely listen". It's learn to hear the important features of value that necessary to achieve your goals (which are given all over this channel). Then take action and react using those sense targets. The quality and precision of your target formation plus the quality and patterns of your actions will determine your rate of growth. It's literally how you learned to speak as a child and it's why individuals with complete deafness from birth lack the capability to speak. Deaf individuals who do have partial speech, all had partial hearing at some point in their life and use that residual target of speech to animate action. Overtime as they lose hearing, the residual target becomes fainter and weaker, and the speech becomes more muffled/gutteral/imprecise.

[@ariahrism]

​@@PoisonFlower765 you are an artist, and you want to paint a beautiful mountain. You know what the mountain looks like, but you don't know any of the names of the colors that it's composed of. You learn of Blue, but aren't sure how to get it the right shade you need. You learn of brown, but don't know how it works in concert with blue. Vocal training is the same. You can't create a concert of vocal qualities without first learning how to identify them individually. Replace blue with "weight" and brown with "resonance" and learn how to identify the gradients available. Then try to engage your motor skills to control them independently. This is where experimentation is employed. After you have identified and mastered all the gradients of the colors available to you, only then can you experiment with combining them to form a beautiful mountain.

[@PoisonFlower765]

@@ariahrism okay this is going to sound stupid, but my problem is that I don't know how to experiment. _That's_ my problem.

[@ItsAvaPixel]

I've been writing down notes on voice feminization, here's what I took away from the video. If anyone has any notes on what I got right or wrong please let me know! Exercises aren't actual 'exercises' they don't strengthen the vocal muscles like lifting a weight would strengthen your arm. What exercises do is decontextualize vocal elements so you can listen to them individually and adjust them to a feminine point to apply to speech. The most important part of doing exercises is actually HEARING what you are doing rather then just doing the motions. Then if the exercise sounds off, do something different until it sounds right, rather then just trying over and over. Don't get distracted by exercises or stuck on them as they are only there to help by isolating elements of the voice, exercises also don't help with the style of speech, so even if you can do them perfectly, you might still not sound how you want until you start using your voice and adjusting it to what you want it to sound like. Don't just go through the motions, be present while doing the exercises.

[@DirtbagLexi]

Practicing my girl voice while holding up a bank teller 😤

[@alissa3336]

I've been following the channel for a while and luckily I got the voice that I wanted so much (I confess that the voice sounds like when I was a child, sometimes it can be very feminine) I've always been very apprehensive about Now it's perfect and with just a few exercises (both from your channel and from other singers and everything else I learned some techniques and some notes that make the voice more feminine) and with just Three vibration exercises followed by exercises to strengthen the head voice and right after training to do mixed voice and chest voice I have a female voice ready to use 😊❤

[@qwert6120]

When I first started playing my instrument I basically only learned in lessons and just did practice because my mom said so and just played the pieces. I then changed to a teacher from a music school through a kind of program. He really taught me how to listen to myself play while I pratice and it's exhausting at first but I started making so much more progress with less time practiced. Thanks for the reminder, I forget a lot from what I learned with a job in a different field now and just doing voice training on the side not like back in the day 25h a week (I wish)

[@softmittens4154]

i feel like i'm too afraid to explore more new things with my voice and i really don't like listening to myself because i hate how i sound and i don't know how to get past that and if i can't i'll never figure out what i'm missing with all this, what i'm not getting

[@Lady_Viv]

I like to say, "Heat from fire, fire from heat" a few times to listen to how I'm sounding

[@darvis5862]

Totally get what you are saying but I think putting a pinned comment that the title is an exaggeration would help prevent defensive reactions. I don't think too many people are going to read the little blurb in the description about that because people don't really read KZbin descriptions in general. Besides that the video is a good and concise reminder. Hopefully future videos can focus in on a more actionable view of voice training because it's kinda hard to receive feedback when you're practicing by yourself instead of in day to day conversation. The exercises you've posted easily outnumber other videos in terms of view count, so hopefully people will start getting the memo here.

[@TransVoiceLessons]

it's literally in the description. :) >Hopefully future videos can focus in on a more actionable view of voice training I have specifically not released much "action oriented" videos recently because I am in the process of comprehensively dropping the entire model which has been in development for ~7 years. Much of the last 3 years have been spent optimizing and testing out better pedagogy. The issue with sharing such a big model to KZbin is it requires very carefully constructing the "whole" thing in a way that maximally reduces misinterpretation and maximally transfers the information so that it sticks internally to the observer. This is so much easier to do with a participant because you have the feedback from communication which allows a teacher to confirm the implicit pieces are taking root but to do this globally, publicly, and to produce something which is generally futureproof, it requires a more cautious production (which we are currently doing!)

[@_ikako_]

as someone who just started voice training, but has 15 or so years of music practise and singing experience - would exercises still be useful to me since i know how to use them to analyse my own progress and to critique my sound? because i don't find that i end up doing exercises like scales just for the sake of doing them, but to learn from them

[@Kaisebon]

Even with working out, internal feedback is really important. When I do calisthenics, I'm studying my proprioception and how I feel and what I'm learning from the exercise, normally aided by my curiosity. I also happen to find this WAY less boring than just mindlessly repeating actions over and over that might be completely missing the point of why I'm doing a particular exercise in the first place because I'm not paying attention internally. Developing muscles helps with things, sure. But put an average person in the body of an Olympic weightlifter, and sure they'll be stronger, but they won't be able to lift _nearly_ as much as much as the weightlifter in the same body who've spent years understanding their own body. It just so happens that, with voice, the average person already has the requisite musculature, and needs to work on the internal part.

[@m0ns4i39]

"Da.. I mean Mom, wake up! New TransVoiceLessons video just dropped!"

[@m0ns4i39]

Jokes aside, thanks for the video 🥰

[@HisuiMorisu]

So what should we do instead? Like specifically

[@xVenova]

these are some great lessons

[@GreenBrowne.]

Thanks man

[@virdrae]

THIS. I just started to try and mimic singers on yt and found it to help more. Will be interesting if it does the trick :3

[@Liam-jr4sl]

This doesn't get talked about enough. This is such such such good advice for all singers! Even just when warming up you need to be fully present and working towards something (relaxation, resonance) for the warmup to be effective. Thanks for making this.

[@FumbleSquid]

I feel like I have a minor case of tone deafness. Like it's hard to tell the difference between pitch and other qualities, especially when it's my own voice, whereas others seem to change more than they should be. And I can't tell if it's an issue of it just not being something I'm used to, but it just feels off. Like the syllables I'm trying to sound out don't actually sound correct when I change stuff, even if it does read as that syllable when I listen to a recording. But then of course it doesn't sometimes. Often I can't tell the difference when I succeed or fail till I listen to it later, which is obviously not ideal. Especially the case when trying to reduce nasality, but happens with other stuff too.

[@notnico64]

How can your new look be this cool !!!!

[@ameliabuns4058]

man I wish I could afford a session so bad, I don't get any of the technical stuff and just can't reproduce it despite trying for years.

[@zoeywatson-vz5gp]

Do you think reading a book out loud could be a useful tool for adjusting our voices?

[@jokroast6912]

I can't seem to identify voice quality and when I listen to my voice recording I really just have no clue how to process that if that makes any sense.

[@TransVoiceLessons]

makes perfect sense. there are videos on this channel to help you hear and identify features that are important. will be making a new series soon which covers everything from top to bottom.

[@Yourm21]

Is it ok taking dairy products like tea milk are curd while practising vocal feminising

[@arionapiperrios]

My voice isn't even that deep nor high pitched but it really is so hard to make it much more feminine (I'm 16) although whenever I sing I am much more comfortable using mix and head voice but when speaking I always end up using my chest voice because it's tiring?I don't know maybe because I'm used to speaking in chest voice and singing mix and head voice😢

[@arionapiperrios]

And I know that speaking/singing shouldn't be tensed or tiring because that is an indication that I might be using my vocal chords in an unhealthy way/placement

[@aNotoriousPhD]

this is all really useful advice, thank you so much!! also ty because i realized i’m still using my deadname on patreon through the supporter roll at the end, promptly updated that lol

[@Alissa_lilih]

How to make a more feminine scream ?? Every time I get scared, my voice breaks and gets serious (and sometimes I even don't speak for a while for fear of ruining my vocal cords)

[@Mad_Alyx]

Wait… you mean to tell me that I need to also think and analyze my voice and not just keep ooooooohing until I sound like a girl?

[@TransVoiceLessons]

no, we don't want to "think" an analyze. we want to learn to hear honestly which means SENSE. You don't have to consciously think if a color is approaching red because you sense it. Same deal here. We want you to train to sense qualities in your voice so you don't have to *THINK* you can just do.

[@mouhou9795]

Time to do a heist. I heard it makes my voice cuter.

[@StupidRabbit.]

I really couldn't bring myself to take the time or the effort to do exercises, and for the longest time all I've done is speak. I was super dysphoric about my voice up until recently when I finally decided to try exercises again, and I recorded my voice... It sounded pretty feminine! passingly feminine! A little low, but it turned out that I didn't need exercise at all. I just needed to keep speaking and my voice naturally shifted with my mood, and little adjustments I made subconsciously.

[@amiluvvv]

i’m just so confused how does anyone expect you to feminize ur voice if you aren’t supposed to do exercises ?? like what are u supposed to be doing exactly

[@StupidRabbit.]

@@amiluvvv That's kind of the thing... I don't know what I did xD I just started feeling happier, raising my volume, everything came naturally as I was more conscious and happy about socializing. I think some exercises could help in specific areas, but my voice is passing pretty well just because of the way I used it since I started transitioning.

[@DaBezzzz]

1:27 be trans do crime

[@honokakousaka5742]

What are those glasses called? Sorry not asking for brand or anything just the shape of them.

[@Kitsuen.z]

garamond or optima or oblong glasses

[@badweather7144]

Why is this video recommended right after your exercise video😂

[@Duncan_Lam]

Coordination! Army!

[@playwithslug2909]

Serious question - im watching your vids for a while now and been practicing - thing is im not trans, just male that wants to learn this voice for voiceovers, music and trolling friends for shits and giggles (though could just use an AI clone but screw it). Not expecting to ever reach a voice like yours but I'm afraid to "break" my original voice. Is there any risk of permanently altering the male voice? Ive wayched your 5 years video and you've mentioned you're unable to reach your original low voice (or sth in this lines) and i was wondering if this is a consequence of the voice transition or simply not using your male voice.

[@julietkenzie]

it's only because she didn't use her "male" voice. as long as u use ur male voice it won't go away. it's kinda like a language: if u never use it, you'll forget it. but as long as u use it, u won't forget

[@taesimuhammadatallah4453]

im looking at the teetz

[@elainasynranelt]

huh

[@sonicabulary]

Everything you say applies to all instruments not just voice.

[@TransVoiceLessons]

That’s because it’s the fundamentals of skill development and auditory learning. :)

[@blairebelarus]

this is unrelated to the actual video but holy shit you are so pretty with glasses

[@TakeWalker]

I keep forgetting about exercises and using them, so they aren't exactly helpful!

[@Its_Anne_Solis]

Are you taking any students rn I need help

[@ParanoidLemming]

tldr; put points into dex, not str

[@SamWinters]

*This account would like to be clear that it fully supports involvement in certain illegal activities like Leverage-style heists targeting the obscenely wealthy and/or powerful.

[@emme1494]

1:38 lol, "compliant"? This threw me, ngl

[@user-pw6ot7dc9k]

Is some creakyness in ur fem voice fine?

[@onigiriwick]

Does she transgirl?

[@Virsho]

I dont think its any of your concern about who she does 🤨🤨🤨

[@HelloHamburger_backup]

When did you become a blonde?

[@redravin3562]

i really do not understand why so much confusing terminology was used in this video.

[@lumisvideos]

Thanx al LOT!