The proof is in the pudding: seniors know how to rock.  The Rolling Stones, fronted by a 78-years-young Mick Jagger, raked in $115 million dollars in 2021 for their concert tour (#headjustexploded).  Tony Bennett, at 95, won his 19th Grammy in 2022. Today we meet once again with voice therapist, Mary Hanson, to discuss how our voices age as WE age, and some exercises to keep our voices cranking out the tunes. 

At what age can singers expect to hear changes in their voices?

 There isn’t any one benchmark age that singers can expect to see changes, as those changes tend to be gradual and coincide with overall loss of muscle and decline in efficiency of multiple symptoms in the body. Muscle loss related to aging (sarcopenia) begins as early as mid-30s, though those changes are more likely to be noticed somewhere in the 70s.  Atrophy, loss of elasticity and overall stiffening across the lungs, the larynx and the supraglottic region (the throat, nose and mouth) results in the typical voice changes related with presbyphonia (age related voice changes).

What are some of the typical changes that occur in older voices?

 Though all the above areas are impacted by age related changes, the changes in the larynx most impact our voices. The muscle loss we see with aging, directly impacts our vocal cords, because they really are just muscles! We tend to see that the cords thin out and this leads to them not closing all the way, resulting in a gap in the middle. When we are voicing, we have to build up air and release it to create a nice clear, loud sound. As you can imagine, if the vocal folds don’t close-you can’t build up all that good air! Because of this and the imbalance that comes with it, we tend to see that the elderly population have quieter, weaker voices that get fatigued easily. (*Note from Your Online Singing Coach – it’s also common for vibrato to become wider and slower with age.  Female voices tend to get a bit lower pitched, and male voices tend to get a bit higher pitched).  On top of that, many people will try to compensate for these vocal changes by pushing their voices in unhealthy ways which can create another type of voice disorder.

What exercises or strategies would you suggest to keep the voice at its fullest potential in the senior years?

 Use that voice! Meeting up with friends, singing or reading aloud can help keep our voices healthy. Straw phonation is a great tool, as it can relieve that tension and also strengthen/rebalance the vocal cords. If keeping up regular vocal activities aided by straw phonation isn’t helping or isn’t enough, there are other options. A speech pathologist can help with personalizing an exercise plan to help strengthen the vocal cords. When exercises don’t work, some may even be a candidate for vocal fold augmentation with an ENT, which is done by either injecting or implanting material in or around the vocal cords to reduce the gap between them.

 Thank you, Mary!  Here are some specific exercises from Your Online Singing Coach for you Senior Singers:

-       Exercise your voice in the morning, and work through all three registers (chest, mix, and head voice)

-       Be careful not to “oversing,” as mature voices fatigue more easily.  This means being cautious about how much and how long you sing, particularly in your chest/belt range.

-       Incorporate singing exercises that focus on agility into your practice time (runs and coloratura work).

-       Don’t ignore your head voice.  Our normal speaking voice doesn’t exercise this range so we need to give it some extra love.

-       Practice breathing exercises (and/or yoga!), and exercise your abdominal muscles to maintain your skills of projecting, supporting the tone, and singing long phrases.  Bonus points for your body: “Singing is an excellent aerobic exercise for the lungs, abdominal muscles, and blood circulation.”  (Reference: http://applewoodourhouse.com/benefits-of-singing-for-seniors-with-dementia/)

-       Stay hydrated to keep your voice hydrated – drink plenty of water through the day.

-       For more reading, here is another great article.  https://galachoruses.org/resource-center/singers/aging-voice/practical-remedies-for-the-aging-female-voice/