TOPIC 4: I LOST THE VOICE I USED TO HAVE, CAN I GET IT BACK?

I am approached many times by adults who are trying to sing after taking some time away from it. They are often discouraged when they get back into it. They seem to have "lost" the range to their voice, especially if it's been years. So how realistic is it to get the voice you had before back?

The answer is, it's very realistic. Unless your glory days were back in high school, your physical voice hasn't changed much. As I mentioned in a previous lesson, your voice matures up to your mid-thirties, but the changes to your voice later in life are far less dramatic than those in your teens. If your memories if singing were in your twenties or later, odds are you still have the physical voice you remember. So why is it gone?

I'm reminded of the phrase, "if you don't use it, you lose it" which seems to be appropriate here. Although it's not like you lose it forever. The voice is a muscle group like any other, and if you stop working it out, you won't be in as good of shape. Imagine if you were a weightlifter and after a break for a few years you try and lift your heaviest weight. Don't think you'd be too successful. But with a little bit of training, you can be back there again. The voice is no different.

You have one benefit over the weightlifter... you didn't stop using your voice. You continue to talk, which still works out the voice to some degree. The reason you tend to lose your higher range is that you don't speak in that range. We tend to speak in the lower ranges of our voices, and are far more comfortable there. So when you sing in your speaking range, it's easier. When you get out of that range, it's not as comfortable.

So my basic answer is YES, you can get your voice back. It won't happen overnight, but you'll be surprised how quickly it comes back to you.

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