The Aging Voice
What happens when we reach our forties and fifties and our singing voices no longer behave as they always have? Help!! What can we do about it! We ask ourselves: Am I doomed to be that voice that everyone secretly (or not so secretly) wishes would stop singing, or can I make some changes and get my voice – my identity – back?
Well, we all age. It is undeniable. The body changes, and it makes sense that our voices do, too. However, as we all live longer, and hopefully, better, we should expect to be able to DO SOMETHING to use the collected wisdom, experience, musicality, and technique we’ve gained over the years. The good news is – we can!
The voice goes through some pretty traumatic events with menopause – some otolaryngologists (ENTs) say the process is even more significant physiologically than male pubescent change – and that’s saying a lot! Hormone levels drop and muscles weaken, the vocal folds (cords) atrophy, cartilages that support our larynx become more like bone, and we can even get arthritis in the joints in our vocal mechanism.
Here’s what to do: If you have a concern that your voice is truly different in ways that are alarming to you, go see an ENT and preferably one who specializes in singers and the voice. You’ll either get a clean bill of health and be ready for step 2, or you’ll know what needs to be addressed physically. If all is well, then the key is to begin a regular, daily practice routine that incorporates vocal exercises to improve, strengthen, and balance your voice. If you don’t already have a voice teacher you believe in, now is the time to get one! Good vocal technique and regular, thoughtful vocal exercise – combined with vocal health – are the keys. You will find your voice regaining much of its former beauty and flexibility and revealing, perhaps, some new timbres that you’ll like just as well.
Some other helpful tips: keep hydrated, limit alcohol intake, eliminate caffeine (I know, but it’s worth it!), avoid eating late at night and avoid fatty or spicy foods. If you have or suspect you have acid reflux, then also watch out for citrus. Of course – no smoking of any sort : ), and get your sleep.
Your voice will probably not be exactly the same one you have loved through your twenties and thirties, but you are not the same person, either. You’ll bring all the richness of your life experience to your singing, and you will find joy in singing once again.
Kathy Kessler Price
Acid reflux is in reality a process which most people will experience fairly often. The difference between every day acid reflux, and that of GERD patients is the acidity of the reflux as well as the length for which it stays in the gullet.
nice put up, this may increasingly help me with some odd stuff i should do for college, thanks my friend
If you don;t mind me interjecting. The voice is a muscle, and like any muscle in the body can be taken care of all the way through your 70’s and beyond. No, you won;t have the same stamina as in your 20’s, but you can stay strong and powerful if you treat it and excercise it like you would any other muscle.