News / Transgender
New singing project for the trans and non-binary community
Trans and non-binary people can explore, experiment, and play with their voice through a new project.
The Phoenix Song Project will help people identifying as transgender and non-binary to create relationship with their voice through a combination of therapeutic work and knowledge sharing.
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Organised and run by Francis Myerscough, a music therapist, the project will run for ten weeks at a time, with up to a ten people each time.
“I had lots of people express an interest in singing when I started the Trans Pride South West pop-up choir over the summer, but not confident about performing in a choir,” says the 28-year-old. “Many trans people feel excluded from music-making, especially singing, and it shows how tricky the relationships with our voices can be.”
The pitch and sound of the voice can be a major cause of gender dysphoria for trans and non-binary people as their voice does not match their gender.
Francis Myerscough is a trained music therapist
Francis says: “Music culture is highly gendered – think about what performers wear, how we expect certain instruments to be played by specific genders – and this can be all the more so with voice, where we literally hear people referring to ‘women’s’ voice types and ‘men’s’ voice types. So it’s pretty tricky to find a space in which it feels safe to explore musically as a trans or non-binary person.”
Francis is trained as a music therapist and sees the value of speech and communication in positive wellbeing.
“The significance of voice goes beyond music, though. As a music therapist I think of speech – and all communication – as musical, but you don’t need to have that approach to recognise how heavily our voices get gendered in day to day life.
“There’s so much research out there about the ways group singing supports mental health and wellbeing. I want to create spaces in which trans and non-binary folk feel safe enough to access these benefits, because so far it feels like a lot of us are missing out.”
Voice is a powerful way to take up space and by inhabiting spaces using sound, trans and non-binary people can have more of a say in what their voices mean – something that is especially important in the current political climate, which sees increased hatred and much negative press towards gender non-conforming people.
Francis organised a pop-up choir at 2019’s Trans Pride South West. Photo by Nicky Ebbage
Francis has set up a Crowdfunder so that the project will be accessible to the whole community. They hope to make the groups available on a sliding scale of payment but is also ensuring they are paid fairly.
Francis highlights that sharing the Crowfunder is also highly appreciated.
Francis says” “The groups are just about having a safe and nurturing space to explore the sounds we can make.”
Donate to the Crowdfunder at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/phoenix-song-project and register your interest at fmyerscoughmusictherapist@gmail.com
Read more: Sing to celebrate trans inclusion
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