When is it "too late" to learn vocal techniques?

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BxD

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I've been wondering the following, as I ponder singing (joining a choir, recording things, etc.):

If one hasn't ever been to a coach, when is it too late (in terms of age) to start taking singing seriously? Meaning going to a coach and learning proper technique and being able to sound reasonably well -- and the requisite many months of working/coaching it will take to progress. Answers should assume a decent voice, good ear and no damage done by smoking, years of screaming, etc.

40's?
50's?
60's?

I recall Pavoratti sounding poorly (IMO) in his late 50's, but that could be also due to years of hard use.

Edit: 2 words wrongly used/spelled
 
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It is never too late, if, as we're talking about in the other topic, you have aptitude and the right ability.

Look at the home organ market - people retire, and have always wanted to play the organ. Ability is not important - they are designed for totally non-musical people to play by numbers, and they invest their pension in a big ticket organ. A year later, they PX it for a better one, and again and again - my dealer friend tells me that 90% sign up for regular lessons, and very, very few are musical. If people are talented, they make super progress with and instrument designed to help. Voice is very different - most people can sing, and some can sing well. Lessons help everyone, and best of all, the older you are the more dedicated you might be and less prone to give up - IF - you have at least some talent. if you have got to say 60, and can't dance, it's doubtful that it will be possible, because you would have done it before. Singing in a choir is a group sport, and most do it for fun - so give it a go!
 
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If one hasn't ever been to a coach, when is it too late (in terms of age) to start taking singing seriously? Meaning going to a coach and learning proper technique and being able to sound reasonably well -- and the requisite many months of working/coaching it will take to progress. Answers should assume a decent voice, good ear and no damage done by smoking, years of screaming, etc.

It can take 5 minutes to "progress". Over the years that progress will accumulate. So, unless you are really concerned about cost, I think it is best approached by singing for the love of it, and not worrying about speed of progress. It can be like watching paint dry, anyway, whatever your age, and it is not linear or necessarily predictable.

As you get older your voice changes, but it will remain interesting if you sing well. You just have to sing age appropriate stuff. Wanna capture the mood of a rebellious brat, you'd better be the right side of 30. Want to pull off the rich "aged wine" tones of the sage in a ballad? Better be the right side of 50. Try to be what you ain't, and it will show.

Classical singing is extremely prescriptive, so earlier retirement is inevitable.
 
They recon when you have passed 30 you have just about it anyway and you can not learn vocal techniques anyway as it is something that about only 1 in 10000 people have the ability to do so

I have no idea where you get your information - so much here is wrong.
 
I have received an odd reply, but it's not here - it did give my email inbox a bit of a jolt, with that colorful language.

Was it already deleted from here?

Don't want to dust off the tinfoil hat, if I don't have to.....
 
While I'm here, I don't think it's ever too late.

I suppose the walls have to close in at some point, in terms of range, strength, stamina, etc,
but most of the singers I can think of who no longer sound at their best have damaged or weak speaking voices now too.

If a voice is healthy and someone's willing to learn, I think age is probably just a number. :)
 
Why does that happen? Vocal chord abuse? Smoking?
Loss of elasticity and ability to repair damage, at least, if you live long enough.

Damage can be from environmental factors, just like your hearing, or from screaming into a microphone for 40 years. Either way, at some point the cells stop getting repaired as fast or as well.

But, you can still do a lot by learning better technique, and probably sing longer if you are really doing some things wrong right now.
 
When is it "too late" to learn vocal techniques?

2 weeks ago. Sorry dude. :(

Of course I'm kidding. Get to work. A great method is to record yourself then play it back and hear your performance.... what works, what didn't, etc. Make adjustments as necessary.
 
Do you have anyone you can name in person that has experanced this loss?
I don't know any famous people personally, but I can hear it. All you have to do is listen to any video of almost any popular singer who's still performing somewhere past retirement age. (E.g., just read an article where Billy Joel says he has to lower a lot of songs in his shows now.)

I've probably lost at least a whole step, and more realistically 2 at the top, where I used to be able to fake a 2nd tenor. It's just not there, and it's because the vocal cords simply can't move that fast anymore. Probably have a half step off the bottom and some days a whole step, so the capo is really my friend anymore...
 
I am approaching 67 (next month). My friend who is in his 70' or 80's (he's secretive) convinced me to enroll in voice class that he is taking at the local community college. I have since completed Voice I, II, III (classical technique; legato, placement, breath conservation, etc.) and Commercial Voice which encompasses everything else (pop, rock, country, etc.) I had taken some individual voice lessons some 30 years ago but these classes gave me an opportunity to see others try what the instructor suggested and see the positive results first hand. I start a new semester in four weeks. I'm taking Chamber Singing, Symphony Band, Music Theory II, Jazz Ensemble and I may audit Voice III or Commercial Voice again if I think time will allow.
The voice is an instrument and as such requires coaching and developing technique even for screamin' rock.
Get busy livin' or get busy dying!
 
When is it too late? When you wake up in the morning...stretch out your arms and your elbows hit wood :eek: ...at that juncture you have bigger fish to fry...:eek:

Seriously though let me tell you bout my wife...

Nah never mind


"If" you can actually sing straight out of the box...it's never too late to improve on what you do...I know now I am never going to be the singer or keyboard player I'd like to be but I'm OK with what I am capable of and do seem to be going in a positive direction as to improving but damn the memory is like frickin swiss cheese these days...damnit!

Conversely if you are tone deaf don't waste your time....all the money in the world can't help
 
When is it too late? When you wake up in the morning...stretch out your arms and your elbows hit wood :eek: ...at that juncture you have bigger fish to fry...:eek:

Seriously though let me tell you bout my wife...

Nah never mind


"If" you can actually sing straight out of the box...it's never too late to improve on what you do...I know now I am never going to be the singer or keyboard player I'd like to be but I'm OK with what I am capable of and do seem to be going in a positive direction as to improving but damn the memory is like frickin swiss cheese these days...damnit!

Conversely if you are tone deaf don't waste your time....all the money in the world can't help

A big +1 up there!!! ^^^
 
Really TEA, have you been diagnosed by an ENM practitioner to say that you are tone deaf?
Can you explain what tone deaf is coz tone in a music sence is a very broad term which could mean anything from pitch, rytham, sound color vocal mode and so on, once again do you have referance to all of this?




You see there are two kind of people in this world JimmyS

The type of free soal/freeman person who wakes up in the morning and thinks, are what can I do today
what can I do today that I can learn and become wiser and be a better person then yesterday

And then there is the other, the type that live who gets out of bed and thinks
hum I wonder what our master (experts) what us to do next with our lifes next, I wonder what they want us to eat anddrink
I wonder what they want us to think about I wonder how they want us to behave, oou I know lets switch the TV on and read the dail mail and find out

The question is JimmyS, where do you sit in all of this

Dude, you took that personal evidently. If you read it as it was intended, it was a opinion about singers in general.

You seem to have an attitude today. I have bad days as well.

Here is where I sit. At my desk wondering what the fuck you are talking about.

Chill man and cheers!

:)
 
Not at all sir. I was just trying to get real answers with real fact to answer the OP question
If TAE feals that he is tone deaf then he needs to have a rethink that is all.

Persides there are too many people walking about today in some kind of brain washed hypnotic trance where they are bringing the imaginery side of the brain farward into the logical practical side of the brain (very dangerous for humanity indeed)(the words heads up there asses springs to mind)

If you want to know how things really work try switching the TV off and looking at other forms of media
YouTube
Forums - The Modern Vocalist World

Find how things really work by turning off the tv and watching Youtube?

Seriously. Nap time....

:)
 
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