Welcome back to Gender-Affirming Voice 101! Today, we’re diving into Part 5 of our series, where we'll explore the concept of vocal weight—also known as vocal fold mass, heaviness and lightness, or thickness and thinness.

Understanding Vocal Weight

Vocal weight refers to the heaviness or lightness of a vocal sound, a quality influenced by the physical thickness of your vocal folds and how much they press together during phonation. This characteristic plays a crucial role in how your voice is perceived, whether you're aiming for a lighter, more delicate sound or a heavier, buzzier tone.

### The Relationship Between Pitch and Vocal Weight

To grasp vocal weight, it helps to revisit some basics about pitch. Higher notes are produced when your vocal folds vibrate faster, which happens because they're stretched tighter—think of how an elastic band becomes thinner when you stretch it. This natural thinning of the vocal folds when producing higher notes results in a lighter sound.

But here’s the interesting part: if you want to add more weight, or "thicken," the sound of a higher note, you need to increase the pressure between your vocal folds, bringing them together more firmly.

Conversely, lower notes, which naturally have a thicker quality, can be "thinned" by reducing the pressure between the vocal folds.

Vocal Weight in Speech

When it comes to speech, vocal weight becomes a bit more nuanced. For those who have gone through a testosterone-driven puberty, the vocal folds are naturally thicker. This can result in a heavier sound unless there is an effort to bring the vocal folds together more gently during speech. However, over-compensating in this effort can lead to a breathy sound, where the vocal folds don’t make complete contact.

On the other hand, individuals who are looking to achieve the thickening effects that testosterone provides might focus on creating a more percussive attack in their speech. This technique increases the vocal fold pressure, resulting in a heavier, more resonant sound.

A Quick Note on Volume

It’s important to note that everything we’ve discussed about vocal weight applies to speech at an average volume. When the volume increases—such as when shouting—the dynamics of vocal weight change significantly.

Wrapping Up Part 5

That’s a wrap for Part 5 of Gender-Affirming Voice 101! We’ve covered the essential points of vocal weight, though there’s much more to explore. If you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to contact me—I’d love to hear from you!

Stay tuned for Part 6, where we’ll dive into inflection, contour, and emphasis. Make sure to follow along so you don’t miss out on any of these valuable insights. I hope this information helps you on your voice journey!