The Art of Gender-Affirming Voice Training: Teaching Resonance
As speech-language pathologists, it never hurts to ask ourselves again and again: Why do we do what we do? Is it not to help people give voice to being a functional and independent person, to give voice to “the self,” to give voice to one’s unique truth? In our work, people are either freshly learning or relearning to communicate fully.
In my own work, gender-affirming voice training became a hyperfocus, one that seeded itself in graduate school in 1988. This came from kneading together all of my passions: voice, language, accent, theater, singing, gastronomy, knitting, visual art, jazz, opera, gardening, reading, and gathering or supporting diverse communities. One of the main gifts and joys in our work comes from the freedom we have in integrating our personal passions into a scientifically and behaviorally based clinical approach. How does this blended approach support the unique needs of each gender-fluid person who comes to us, trusting that they will be fully seen and heard and that we will guide them to their personal goals?
The Journey of Self-Expression
Gender-affirming voice training goes beyond altering vocal qualities; it’s about guiding clients on a path of self-expression. Each session is an opportunity for clients to explore their authentic voice, aligning their outer expression with their inner identity. This process requires empathy, patience, and a deep understanding of each client’s unique journey.
As clinicians, our role is to support this exploration, fostering a safe space for clients to discover and embrace their true selves. It is in these moments of discovery that our work becomes profoundly rewarding, reminding us of the transformative power of finding one’s true voice.
The Art of Teaching Resonance
Teaching resonance is the least tangible and measurable aspect of gender-affirming voice training. When we work on resonance in gender-affirming voice, we are combining our deep scientific knowledge with our personal passions: our art. Every clinician and every client brings a different perspective to teaching and learning.
Working on resonance in gender-affirming voice training requires twiddling acoustic knobs in order to find a sound that makes a person’s heart sing; one that makes their heart free. The color and flavor of tone, the texture, rhythm, shape, and flow of tone and expression: All of these terms relate immediately to my personal passions. But I can only make sense out of my teaching and a person’s resonance if I really understand who I am teaching. I need to discern where their heart and brain collide. I need to be aware of my client’s passions as well as my own, and where they intersect.
Finding the Structure Within the Experimentation
Where do Hirsch’s Acoustic Assumptions (HAA) fit into this inchoate tangle of analogies? The science of speech sounds, especially the vowel spectrum, has helped guide and shape how I twiddle knobs. Dr. Fred Minifie’s teaching that “the physiologic gesture gives rise to the acoustic output” has directed my playing with accents. Understanding motor planning and having strong kinesthetic empathy have supported my own experimenting with accent and voices, and playing with my own vocal instrument.
Now, let’s be clear: This work is not simply a “digging about in the laundry basket.” An order of operations—training clients systematically to listen and adjust, and training certain physiological gestures until they become new habits—are all part and parcel of our clinical training. Structure within the experimentation is what gives us our creative freedom. The knob-twiddling, the special spice in the soup, the rubbing together of thumb and middle fingers, is what each of us brings personally to the clinical table. It provides the freedom to help a client give voice to their unique sound. It’s artistic physics. Be smart, but have fun. That’s jazz!
Learn more about the art and science of gender-affirming voice resonance training with Hirsch’s two-part Gender-Affirming Voice Course Series.
