“What can I do to improve my higher notes?” This is surely in the the top half a
dozen questions I'm asked at our twice yearly newcomer events, usually at the
end of the evening. So many ladies are concerned that their voice is not “good
enough” to join the choir. They're quite often dismayed that the sound they've
heard themselves producing all evening is somehow unfamiliar and their
confidence has been a little shaken by that.
Some brief, gentle background questioning usually reveals that the person
asking hasn't sung in a very long time. Very often, ladies who come along to one
of our newcomer evenings haven't sung in any kind of organised setting since
they were children. Or if they continued singing into their twenties or early thirties,
life has intervened and it may have been twenty years or more since they
seriously attempted any kind of regular singing activities. So it's unsurprising that,
after such a long time, their voice doesn't feel quite so robust or flexible as it once
was.
We're all familiar with the old adage “use it or lose it” and this is as true for the
voice as for any other part of your physical body. That which isn't used becomes
weak. So, as with any other muscle structure, you have to gently rehabilitate it
and joining the ranks of a choir is exactly the right environment to do that.
What many people don't realise is that, like all other parts of your body, your vocal
mechanism has matured and changed. That doesn't necessarily mean it isn't as
“good” as it once was, just that the voice you have in your forties or fifties and
beyond may now be different to the voice you remember having in your twenties.
So many ladies, who may have sung soprano in their youth, worry about no longer
being able to reach some of the notes they remember finding so easy twenty or
thirty years ago. They can feel that being placed in the alto section is some sort of
demotion. It isn't. An adult female choir, like Women Rockin' Harmony Choirs ®
needs good altos to help create a rich, collective sound.
It fairly common knowledge that boys' voices “break” during their teens and
continue to mature and deepen as they age through their twenties and thirties.
However, the same is true, if at a slower and less perceptible rate, for women. The
female voice continues to mature and develop until about age twenty-five. So, if you stopped singing in your teens, the chances are that while you were busy with other things in life, you never even got to hear your adult singing voice, let alone got to know and develop it.
Also, the menopause can sometimes have an effect on the vocal range as
hormone levels change. So if you haven't sung since you were having regular
periods, or you've entered the peri-menopause, you may indeed find yourself
having to get to know a completely “new” post-menopausal voice.
None of this spells doom for your singing future though. Just like any other part of
your physical body, your vocal mechanism will respond to the appropriate level of
training and use. A choir is a great environment to reboot your singing and explore
what you can do now.
Again, just like any other physical part, the voice is vulnerable to sudden stress
and strain. So, a well structured warm up is the way to get the best out of your
voice. A competent choral leader will always begin with a general warm up,
something many singers neglect to do when practising on their own. As a singing
teacher of many years experience, I spend time crafting effective warm ups for
Women Rockin' Harmony Choirs ® taking in the probable age, ability and
experience ranges of our members.
I tend to keep my choral arrangements within pitch ranges suitable for post-
menopausal or inexperienced voices. So although, we do sing in two, three or
sometimes more parts, I'm careful not to include notes at the extremes. So, as a
contributor to our collective sound, you can ease yourself back into singing
without putting your voice under strain.
With my background as a professional entertainer, I'm also very conscious of the
need to maintain an audiences attention throughout a programme. So, I employ
various arranging methods, such as swapping the melody around the different
sections of the choir and having the other parts provide a “backing vocal” style
harmony. This means no voice section is overworked, especially through a longer
programme.
Returning to singing can, for some women, represent a return to the “self” or even
a voyage of self discovery as they uncover talents and abilities they hadn't known
they possess. New adult friendships, formed just as children are leaving home or
jobs may be changing, can be transformative for so many women. So don't let
concern about your vocal range put you off. Go along to a newcomers event at
your local choir. If Women Rockin' Harmony Choirs ® are local to you, come to
one of ours. We can guarantee you the warmest of welcomes and , if you decide
to join us, a happy, exciting journey full of friendship, fun and personal discovery.
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