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Vocals and age - loss of top end


dincz
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Just can't hit the notes I used to although I haven't sung for a few years. Is it likely to improve with practice or should I just resign myself to the ravages of time? I realise that better singers than me have suffered the same fate :(

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Lack of practice will account for a lot of it. The throat/voice needs regular work-outs, just like an athlete - don`t train for a while, lose the full ability. Train regular, it will come back to full potential. Only then will you know if your range has been depleted.

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Certainly the ranges drops as you get older. Not using the voice wont help either
but all the vox I know ...and certainly the ones who have never trained or looked after their voice..
have lost at least a tone by their mid 40's and they aren't going to get that back.

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Went to see Whitesnake last year, and they were down-tuned to G*....and Mr Coverdale still strugged on the higher bits...


* Yep, I was the saddo in the audience waiting for a long open E with the tuner on my phone switched on... :D

Edited by Muzz
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[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1402562966' post='2474750']
bob plant and tom jones seem to have done ok but they would appear to be the exception
[/quote]

It was actually Robert Plant who worried me most :( Still a capable singer but he doesn't go anywhere near the notes he used to hit.

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In my current band I had been writing some tunes and vocal melodies then started singing them to help the female singer who isn't always at rehearsals. I have a high range but because I haven't tried singing for about 10 years my voice tires very quickly and is difficult to sustain repeated takes of a tune whilst filling in on vocals at practises nevermind playing bass at same time.

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Just turned 60 ....I only sing on recordings and am confident that I could not do it live because of nerves. I can get up to top E ish. What I have noticed however is that getting notes is all about relaxing and manipulating tiny muscles in the upper chest, throat, palate and behind nose area. There are tons of books on it. One good exercise to get the throat open is to drop the jaw, relax tongue and talk like boo boo (yogi bear). I am no expert but I think the high notes are a combination of getting the soft tissues in the palate to vibrate and push that sound into your head area.
On the other hand i may be talkin sh--e. I am sure there are good singers on BC who can give advice. It usually takes me a half hour of practice before I even get near relaxed. I play some tenor sax and use some of the breathing exercises to try and improve my singing voice. I don t think I could even consider playing and singin simultaneously.

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Over the years we've had some of the best voices in the business in our band, and even though the timbre of their voices have changed from their early days (they're now in their late 50s and 60s), their ability to hit the high notes has remained.
With the exception of one (he has a cast iron throat :unsure: ), none have smoked!!

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[quote name='lefrash' timestamp='1402571138' post='2474850']
On the other end of the scale, Jon bon jovi and Seb bach are two examples that sound sh*ter and sh*ter through time and they're both still reasonably young.
[/quote]

Yep. I saw a live at the BBC vid of Bon Jovi and was shocked at how his voice had deteriorated.

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[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1402614607' post='2475446']


Yep. I saw a live at the BBC vid of Bon Jovi and was shocked at how his voice had deteriorated.
[/quote]

I think all through the years Ritchie Sambora has covered a lot of the high stuff, the chorus in Living on a Prayer (the original version before they stripped it down to a very weak acoustic version) being an example!!
I did wonder if they did the acoustic type version because of the vocal degradation!

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not mentioned yet, Macca, his voice is terrible these days, Ringo sounded far better at the recent 50 year anniversary of the Ed Sullivan show, who'd have thought that? and Jagger still sound good if this summers concerts are anything to go by.
So as ever, everybody's different

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I didn't move from occasional to whole-gig singing until I turned 50, and my range has not really changed since I was in my twenties. I always warm up before the gig, and I try to leave the songs that push my range until later in the evening. The best things to drink are tea (not too milky) or water, and I avoid iced or very cold drinks.

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[quote name='lefrash' timestamp='1402571138' post='2474850']
youtube some of Glenn Hughes new stuff. 62 and still rattlin oot the high notes.


On the other end of the scale, Jon bon jovi and Seb bach are two examples that sound sh*ter and sh*ter through time and they're both still reasonably young.
[/quote]

Hughes is a bit of a freak, never led a lifestyle that was particularly condusive to keeping a good voice (though I think over the last 20 or so years he's taking much better care of himself) but just keeps on going. Got to be the best rock voice of anyone of his age by now as the others have slipped by the wayside. Still better than some half his age.

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