Dealing with the ravages of age as a vocalist

[nightlight]

Can't sing like I used to in the old day, and I used to think I was pretty hot shite for a metalhead.

Just wondering how I could heal my throat/adapt to the ravages of age.

An old track for reference:

Charge Of The Heavy Brigade

Listen to Charge Of The Heavy Brigade by Jimmy Rage #np on #SoundCloud

on.soundcloud.com

I smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, which doesn't help with my throat. And I have the lung capacity of a bird now thanks to having done that for around 20 years now.

I was thinking maybe try to sing like Ozzy-style or something now.

 

[mmr007]

Just get a laptop for your live performance and smoke em if you got em

 

[wheresthefbomb]

Assuming you're already practicing regularly, warming up/cooling down etc, you really just have to take care of your body. Diet, exercise, and quit smoking cigarettes. You can do it.

 

[CanserDYI]

My man it is 2022 and you're still smoking cowboy killers? That's a huge problem for your throat, homie. Start there.

 

[nightlight]

I know, right? I drink too much, I smoke too much. I am a human waste. (love that song)

But it's not like I have somewhere I need to be, right? The ravages of age might just be life telling me, "Quit, Sucker, and find a new groove." Hence the Ozzy vocals quip. I've tried that before, it wasn't too bad. Of course, Ozzy is the Oz-man and it'll always be a cheap imitation.

But I got to face up to the fact that the "glory days are gone" at some point of time, I'm thinking.

 

[tom schelfaut]

Quit the smokes man, not just for your voice... throat cancer doesn't help much with singing either

 

[Emperoff]

An old track for reference:

Charge Of The Heavy Brigade

Listen to Charge Of The Heavy Brigade by Jimmy Rage #np on #SoundCloud

on.soundcloud.com

I honestly thought I had clicked the track twice and was hearing from two places at the same time. Jeeez

 

[TedEH]

IMO more harsh singers should learn how to clean sing, or take some lessons or something. Not only does it give you more tools to work with, but it's an environment where you can learn to control your voice without putting as much strain on it.

 

[prlgmnr]

Take notes from those who have managed to continue being "hot shite" for a lengthy career.

Robert Plant for example has managed the changes in his voice quite well.

In a more metal vein, Mikael Akerfeldt seems to still be able to do the thing though he did take a bit of time off from the harsh vocals.

 

[ShredmasterD]

just get melodyne or a pitch shifter and a few other plugins and sing through your laptop. don't blame the road crew when the laptop doesn't make it to the show though...yeah. this is not a serious reply. i know someone will take it as one....

 

[jaxadam]

don't blame the road crew when the laptop doesn't make it to the show though...

 

[Mathemagician]

Like I can’t tell you what to do or anything but as others have said. If you want to take care of your voice - a muscle - you’re going to have to actually take care of that muscle.

Stop smoking flat out. This shit is gonna suck and I have no advice, but this is priority #1. Start or improve your warm up routine. Get really familiar with your “comfortable” range and start shifting songs in pitch down to get more of it in the easier parts of your range. Less strain is going to be huge. You’ve said you’ve noticed changes in what you can do, sit with a teacher and have someone else help you “re set” your understanding of your range. Sometimes having another opinion helps.

I’m sure I’m repeating other comments as I haven’t read them all.

But an athlete can’t smoke every day and still be in good shape. Your vocal muscles require care as well.

 

[SCJR]

Yup quit the burnies man you can do it!

 

[nightlight]

just get melodyne or a pitch shifter and a few other plugins and sing through your laptop. don't blame the road crew when the laptop doesn't make it to the show though...yeah. this is not a serious reply. i know someone will take it as one....

Hahaha

 

[Adieu]

Switch to vape. Breathing improves by a lot in a couple months.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

Don't vape. Just quit. You can do it. That shit is all awful for you.

 

[mmr007]

Obviously I was being flippant in my original post. Quit smoking full stop. One of my coworkers (who is a smoker) has seen his lung cancer grow (the tumor grew it didn't spread) despite chemo and they are now going to remove his entire lung. Just another example of our 50 year old selves wishing they could tell our 20 year old selves a thing or two....like don't smoke.

 

[nightlight]

Smoking is definitely harmful, and I want to quit, but don't see it happening in the near term. It's a vice, largely psychological, that's very difficult to get rid of. Wish I'd never started but if wishes were horses...

 

[ShredmasterD]

Smoking is definitely harmful, and I want to quit, but don't see it happening in the near term. It's a vice, largely psychological, that's very difficult to get rid of. Wish I'd never started but if wishes were horses...

its tough ,but quitting smoking is the single most powerful choice you have control over to guard your health.

 

[AMOS]

I think you just have to accept where you are vocally, No one keeps it forever. I got a Harmony Singer 2 to help me out. I sang lead and played bass in a metal band in the 80's-90's, I can't even get close to what I did back then, so I don't try. Just have to approach it differently.