Voice changing

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Permalink Reply by Jud Hair on December 13, 2011 at 2:04pm

Antonio ... LOL ...  yes!

I once could sing the old rock classic "Runaway" by Del Shannon ... remember that one?  ... "I wah-wha-wha-wha wonderrr... where she will staaay ... my little runaway, my run-run-run-run runaway." 

Well, that is a total thing of the past now.  Any falsetto singing ability I used to have is completely gone.  But, I'm now entering my Tom Waits phase ... :-)

I had the pleasure of attending a Dan Fogleberg concert late in his career, and I couldn't help but notice that his high range had left him as well.  It is apparently a symptom of aging for most of us.

Permalink Reply by Antonio Cotichini on December 13, 2011 at 2:13pm

Mmm... I'll start singing negro-spirituals as Paul Robeson... Amazing Grace in low C...

Thanks Jud. Marry Christmas.

Permalink Reply by Michael S. Jackson on December 14, 2011 at 11:20am

Antonio - I know exactly what you mean. I don't smoke and am a year older than you and I can't sing along with the Beatles very well anymore. I've always been a baritone and have had trouble with the high tenor range, but now it's worse. My song selections have changed and the silver lining is that I am now into songs that I would not have been otherwise. Who was it who said: Style is dictated by limitations...?

Take care of your voice as much as possible and I know you don't need to hear this but quit smoking. My father, grandfather, and four of my uncles died from emphysema and bad hearts - all smokers and the last 8 - 10 years of their lives were hell. I know that you know of the health concerns, but now I hope you realize the quality of life concerns associated with... sorry, I really don't mean to lecture. Believe it or not, all of you folks at this site are my friends and I don't want to see anything bad happen to any of you.

Your mention of breathlessness (if that is what you meant by not being able to hold a note) concerns me...

Take care - m

Permalink Reply by Antonio Cotichini on December 14, 2011 at 11:44am

Thank you Michael... all wise words. My father (a smoker too) died from lung cancer... I know the risk.

But, let's speak about more funny things... My voice was between tenor and baritone... let's say a "basso tenor".

Now I'm travelling toward the full baritone range... I hope to have a nice trip and find some beautiful songs to sing along the road!

Best wishes, friends..

Permalink Reply by Benji Martin on February 29, 2012 at 8:55am

I know exactly what you mean, man, because I had a friend tell me a few years ago that he couldn't hit the high notes like he did when he was younger.  He's in his 50's, and he smokes.  He's got one of the prettiest baritone voices I've ever heard.  As for me, I'm 37 years old, and my voice is between baritone and tenor also, which makes me a heldentenor (for lack of a term that is less classical).  I've always been told that I have a deep voice, but I can't sing bass, and I sing quite high for my speaking voice, which has won me comparisons to people like Robert Plant and Neil Young.  Maybe you can add Scotty McCreery to that list because of the way he goes from his natural baritone to his more Garth Brooks-like tenor upper register.  My advice to you is to take care of your voice, do with it what it is able to do now, and definitely quit smoking.  My dad, who is 63 and sings in the full baritone range, quit smoking almost 19 years ago because he was a diabetic, and he almost 2 heart attacks that same year.  I wouldn't want for the same thing to happen to you either.

Permalink Reply by Michael S. Jackson on February 29, 2012 at 10:19am

It's largely genetic but things get bad enough as you age. My voice is more harsh and I cannot hit or hold the higher notes as I used to be able to do. I don't smoke - this loss is natural. I imagine it would be a lot worse if I did smoke. Makes you wonder about all those rockers who smoke (all kinds of things), use coke... how do they have any voice at all?

Permalink Reply by Jud Hair on February 29, 2012 at 11:17am

Wonder what sort of falsetto Tom Waits could conjure up??

 

BTW, speaking of singing voices ... did you always use your middle initial in your name, or did a certain other singer with a high voice push you in that direction?? :-)

Permalink Reply by Michael S. Jackson on February 29, 2012 at 11:25am

Well, I used to be known as Mickey, or Jack to some. I guess that young man obviously needed the name more than I did. He was obviously just trying to flatterize me with insincere praise!

Yeah, right.

Permalink Reply by Ken Brodie on March 18, 2012 at 12:41am

This is a great discussion, I'm sorry I didn't get to it earlier. At 52 I still have falsetto but what I basically do is change the key to suit for the songs I used to sing. I'm also a non smoker and always have been but I still enjoy the odd good Irish Whiskey which I swear keeps my vocal chords clean. The other thing I avoid is too many milky products etc. I just hate any congestion. 

Antonio it's great to hear from someone who sings Uriah Heep. I loved the Wizard. Perhaps you should just sing Lady in Black instead:) The thing about having just a chest voice is that you have to push it more in terms of reaching the high notes without shouting it so I reckon that smoking is probably restricting your options.

Speaking of high range I was fortunate to see Simon and Garfunkel in their reunion tour a couple of years ago in Australia. I watched Art struggle but still hit the highs on Bridge Over Troubled Water and just after the note which was simply magnificent, Paul Simon went up to Art while he was singing and gave him a congratulatory hug. A very special moment. 

Capos are also beautiful tools to help with ageing voiced guitarists:)

Get rid of those bloody cigarettes Antonio and get back to the Wizard. Take care all.

Permalink Reply by John Culver on June 7, 2012 at 8:51am

...In answer to your question, YES...this is normal.  My best advice...(being a smoker, and 50 years old) is simply this...sing the song to the best of YOUR ability....and MOST IMPORTANTLY....MAKE IT YOUR OWN!  If the audience knows that YOU are singing the song (and not trying to convey someone elses interperetation) they won't even notice whether or not you hit the "big high note"...they'll be too into what YOU are giving them...(at least this has always been MY experience!)

Permalink Reply by Jud Hair on June 7, 2012 at 10:02am

I do the old top-40 radio hit form 1962 called  "Runaway" by Del Shannon and I definitely have to compromise in some areas to reach the high notes.  But, it's just such a peppy, fun song to do and the audiences usually really get into it.  On "Wildfire" by Michael Martin Murphy, I leave out one of his signature high notes completely.  The song still works fine.  :-)

I always tell people up front that I do not do covers, I do interpretations, LOL.

Permalink Reply by John Culver on June 7, 2012 at 10:46am

Jud...did you steal my playlist?...lol!....Wildfire...A Pirate Looks At Forty....(maybe we're just old?).....NAAAHHH!

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