Finally...a voice that feels like it's really mine!
Discovering a voice that aligns with who you are can be daunting, but you don't have to do it alone.
Our goal is to provide you with a safe, affirming, and creative space to explore gender and voice and develop new techniques to help you express yourself authentically. Voice can be a crucial piece of transition that sometimes goes unguided, and we are eager to support you in finding more confidence and ease. Whether you're just starting out with speech work, looking for some fine-tuning, or are interested in developing your singing voice through transition, our knowledgeable faculty can offer guidance and tools.
I want to feminize my voice, but I have no idea where to start.
There are myriad resources for vocal transition and it can be difficult to access the truly helpful material. If you are at the very beginning of your voice journey, we can help you sort through what you may have already heard about or tried, and develop your personal tools for voice exploration, using the techniques from One Weird Trick: A User's Guide to Transgender Voice, written by Voice Lab owner Liz Jackson Hearns. |
I've tried to change my voice but nothing seems to work and I don't feel confident.
Now may be the right time for private lessons. Many of our speech clients begin private lessons at a point when additional support is beneficial to fine-tune or reframe the skills and tools you already have. Private lessons are great for singers, too, who are hoping to define and discover new means of gender expression through singing. |
I'm a singer, I'm just starting T, and I don't want to ruin my voice.
Testosterone hormone therapy can have significant impacts on the voice including changes in pitch range, registration, volume, breath control, and tone color. The faculty at The Voice Lab are trained to help guide you and support you through vocal hormonal transition and ensure that your voice is healthy and aligned with the ways you want to use it. |
Private lessons are available in our Chicago studio, or online. Whether you're down the street or across the globe, we're here to help.
I'm a voice teacher and I want to better support my transgender/non-binary students.
Thank you for your work! We offer an online course for teachers based on Liz's book, One Weird Trick: A User's Guide to Transgender Voice that will give you new tools and strategies to support your trans students and clients. We also give training sessions at universities, conferences, and events and would be delighted to support your voice education team.
Thank you for your work! We offer an online course for teachers based on Liz's book, One Weird Trick: A User's Guide to Transgender Voice that will give you new tools and strategies to support your trans students and clients. We also give training sessions at universities, conferences, and events and would be delighted to support your voice education team.
Like many women in transition, I struggled for some time to find my voice on my own, and a year of self-training left me unsatisfied. However, I've been delighted by the progress I've made under my teachers's patient and nuanced instruction. Her efforts have given me the boost I needed to start presenting as my authentic self in public. I'm so happy to have a voice that feels like it's truly mine.
--Mary B. |
Studying voice with Liz has been an amazing and really important experience in my transition. She's teaching me how to reclaim my voice, both singing and speaking, and use it as if it really belongs to me. I'm making great progress due to her fantastic teaching.
--Alex W. |
I started taking lessons shortly before I began medically transitioning. I had heard horror stories of people losing their singing voice after starting hormone therapy, and was terrified I would never be able to sing again. Not only did I save my voice, I’m now singing with a wider range than ever before, and I'm confident and happy with how I sound. It is not hyperbole to say that The Voice Lab is life changing. Thank you!
--Asher B. |