Voices — Singing Can Be Forever
Dede Nibler, Voices Unlimited Chorus, Region 11, master director, certified international faculty, regional management team, education coordinator, YWIH quartet coach

One of the strengths of our organization is that we welcome all women who love to sing. Over the years we have continued to attract quality singers of all ages and certainly our Young Women in Harmony program has been a huge success. At the same time, significant numbers of our members are aging. We have 6,000 members between the ages of 60 and 69, and we have 2,500 members over age 70. A primary objective of our organization is to provide quality music education. In order to provide quality education it may be helpful to understand the differing needs of the young and aging voices.

The Aging Voice

Our challenge is to maintain a youthful vocal apparatus, even as we age. To meet this challenge, it will be useful to consider the physical demands of singing, not only on our vocal apparatus, but on our bodies as well. Here are a few of the physical changes:

• The cartilage of the larynx ossifies (hardens) making it harder to thin out the vocal folds (sing high pitches). Because of this, as women age, our voices generally drop in pitch. Continue to vocalize higher than your singing part demands. The more exercise you give those vocal folds, the longer you will have your range and control. Bubbling lips (lip roll) or rolled “r” are warm-ups that take pressure off the vocal folds, but can be successfully used to extend range.

• The face takes on new dimensions. Slight changes in the space of our skull affect our resonating space. To maintain resonance, continue to exercise the soft palate.
Insert the “yah-gah” exercise.

• The vocal folds start to resemble worn elastic — a little frayed around the edges. It is harder for them to abduct cleanly making it more difficult to hold a steady pitch. A constant flow of air might also be difficult because the abdominal muscles are not consistently applying support (pressure) on the diaphragm, which monitors the release of air. Our pitch may wobble a bit. Hum long tones and sing long tones using various vowels. If the tone falters, begin again a bit lower.

• The shape of the body changes (especially below the belt line). “Saggage” sets in. This is a dirty trick because we need those abdominal muscles to create the constant pressure on the diaphragm, which regulates the release of our breath and supports the tone. Keep doing those crunches and any other abdominal muscle builders every day.

We lose general muscle tone. We have more to lift with less body strength. Do weight bearing exercises — lift soup cans/weights, do modified push-ups, and walk, walk, walk!

• We get shorter in stature. Keep that dowager hump at bay with this exercise: Put your finger on your chin and move your entire head straight back (It actually will go back an inch, two inches) and hold it. Your ears should be over your spine, not in front of it. You will feel an incredible stretch from the base of your skull up the back of your head. Do this several times daily and remember this head position when sitting and walking. For bone density, do weight bearing exercises, take vitamins and calcium, and get checked for Osteoporosis.

• We experience weight gain — most of us gain between 10 and 25 pounds at or around age 45. Remember: portion control, more roughage (fiber) and drink water. Cut back on sugar and refined flour.

How do we counteract these physical changes? Stay happy and healthy and sing every day. Here are several suggested vocal warm-ups, which will help the voice of the mature singer stay in shape:

Hold a pitch (example: G above middle C) on a vowel for as long as you can sing it softly and freely with no breaks. Work up to 15 seconds, then 30 seconds, then 45 seconds. Change pitch up/down by 1/2 steps; change the vowel. (Jean Barford)
Do the yawn/sigh exercise: Yawn and then waterfall from your highest note down to your lowest note. This is a soft palate stretch –just remember that the yawn backspace is greater than the space needed for singing. This is an exercise for soft palate stretch and muscle building.

Place a finger on your larynx/voice box and do a vocal slide on “ah” from low to high. Keep your larynx “seated” during this exercise (the tendency is to pull it up on the higher notes - which shortens the pharynx space and affects resonance). Repeat this as you ascend by 1/2 steps. Change vowels.

Put your thumb in the soft area under your chin and do interval exercises/arpeggios (descending vocalises are safer than ascending because they won’t take the chest voice too high). This soft spot should remain soft when you sing. If it gets hard, the base of the tongue is tight. Stick your tongue out a slight bit and relax! Do vocalises concentrating on staying relaxed, especially on the higher notes.

Sing staccato exercises while lightly bouncing the abdominals in. The inhalation between staccato notes is “elastic recoil,” not really a “breath.” Your abs will automatically pop out/inhalation will occur after you sing the staccato note, if your larynx is open and relaxed. Air will enter the lungs without working at the inhalation. Use various vowels and move by 1/2 steps.

Try the lift exercise. Find a straight chair where you can grip the seat at your sides. Lift your body up with your arms and sing an “ah.” The larynx is suspended in this exercise and you should get a clear, rich tone. Let your body down and sing the same “ah.” Is there a difference? Try to make them both feel and sound the same (less pressure when singing is the key).

Aging voices need constant attention — that old saying “use it or lose it” is very appropriate here. To keep singing for a lifetime, you must keep singing! Smart daily vocal use is imperative. A 15-minute daily vocal routine will go a long way toward vocal health. Do you have one?

The Young Voice

Young voices have their special needs. Our younger members add an element of enthusiasm and delight that benefit us all. It is important that our young singers learn healthy vocal techniques as we want them to be able to sing in our organization for many years to come. They are our future.

Most of our young singers have not had the great music education that the general Sweet Adeline singer receives from week to week. Even if they have been in high school or college choirs, do not assume that they have received instruction on the basics.

• Correct posture/body alignment — Constant encouragement is needed to get them to stand in a championship stance. Be diligent — they can and will do it given proper instruction.

• Breathing to sing and correct support — Needs to be taught/monitored for quite a while before it becomes a habit. You cannot teach and reinforce correct breathing practices too often — nor will you see results immediately. They should feel an expansion in the area between the bottom of the ribs and the belt line. It occurs naturally when sleeping.

• Breathy tone — their vocal folds allow extra air to escape because of lack of conditioning (ability to abduct firmly). Humming and staccato exercises assist them in gaining a cleaner sound.

• Mix Voice — to assist them in learning the technique of joining their chest and head voices, they must let the larynx rest in a low position without pulling it down (J. Sundberg, The Acoustics of the Singing Voice, Scientific American, March 1977). The larynx will stay low if easy, relaxed breaths are taken. Tension pulls the larynx up. Descending exercises are much preferred for young voices as many young singers push their chest voices too high on ascending vocalises. Use descending interval, scale, and arpeggio exercises sung in a light, easy manner.

• Vocal tension — After puberty, the female vocal folds grow to their full size –about the size of a dime– and the personal timbre of the voice emerges. The young vocalist is capable of imitating many different sounds, but should not sound like a rock star, an opera singer, or a Queen of Harmony. Their voice should sound natural, free, and light, and not be produced by using a great deal of laryngeal pressure. Since their breath support system is not developed, it is a temptation to ask them to push from their larynx, but we must resist. Sirening, waterfalls, use of various vowel vocalizes, lip bubbles, humming will assist them in finding a clean, clear sound. If using ascending patterns, all weight should be taken out of the voice. Physical warm-ups/movement also relaxes their bodies and voices. Move during vocal warm-ups — and they love back rubs.

• Straight tone — could indicate tension in the instrument and lack of airflow. Work on support of the breath, relaxation of the mouth, jaw, and tongue, and flexibility of the soft palate to encourage the development of a natural vibrato. We do want a warm, rather than strident tone.

• Soft palate lift — young singers will benefit from the yawn/sigh exercise and the fog space exercise (hold your hand in front of your mouth and send/fog warm silent air onto your hand as if you were fogging a mirror to clean it.) This backspace is appropriate for singing. An actual yawn creates too much lift in the soft palate, which creates tension in the vocal instrument. Have them fog, then sing to assure the correct soft palate lift.

• Fine tuning — listening skills and the coordination of the vocal folds are not necessarily developed to the point that half step intervals are well sung. The younger singer has a tendency to sing sharp, which generally indicates pushing and a tight tongue muscle. Have them relax and extend their tongue and sing vowels to relieve the tension and feel a relaxed, open pharynx. Step, scale, arpeggio and half-step vocalizes help train their vocal folds and teach discriminating listening skills.

• Dynamic range — very loud and soft sounds are more difficult for the young singer. Do not have them push to sing a forte. Encourage abdominal support and clean vocal fold approximation when teaching dynamics. Use the Italian Masters Mezza di Voce exercise to develop dynamics safely.

Insert Mezza di Voce Exercise

We are only given one voice in this lifetime. Your voice needs constant love and attention. Aristotle said, “Although nature has gifted us all with voices, correct singing is the result of art and study.” Treat your voice kindly whatever your age and remember to make smart decisions about vocal use and vocal rest. All muscles need time to rebuild their strength after a workout.

All singers will benefit from remembering how to enjoy life — walk everyday, stretch everyday, eat healthy foods and drink lots of water, go to bed the same time every night and get up at the same time every morning, have friends who are positive people, read good books, sing in a chorus and/or quartet, and engage in activities that have short- and long-term goals.

We want to be able to keep singing for as long as we can.

Singing is a way of life — and so is Sweet Adelines!

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