Female Voice Change

- Not as noticeable
- A lot more in tone quality
- Happens earlier

Stage One: no register breaks, very flexible (only one register)

Stage Two: first signs of puberty, noticeable increase in breathiness
- Some loss of lower range
- Break between G and B above C
- Louder dynamic ranges is more difficult
Stage Three: Transitional stage, narrower range, lower notes are easier to manage; don’t
automatically assign to alto or soprano
Stage Four: Range increases, fuller tone, more depth, might feel there’s more clarity and is less
breathy, more vibrato and development and consistency across registers

Singing through Adulthood

*Maintaining a healthy singing voice!
- Many signs of aging are actually signs of disuse
- Physically fit singers of all ages have longer duration of singing with more even tone and
wider range than people in poorer (physical) condition
- Diminished lung volume and vital capacity; general hormonal changes (general physical
change associated with aging that can impact singing)

What happens to voices as they age?

- Up until age 30 we have a lot of resilience and physical and vocal tolerance and can get
by with working at 30-40% of your potential

Common issues
- Decrease in breath support
o May result in weakened voice
o May result in more frequent breaths
- Laryngeal changes
o Loss of bulk od the vocal folds due to atrophy of the muscle and loss of the fat
pad (less thick) around the folds
o Results in the ability to get complete glottal closure, gap remains in the middle
third
- Compensating for loss
o Strained voice to prevent air loss
- Changes in oral cavity and pharynx
o Dentures may cause a loss or change of foms proprioceptive feedback
o Decrease in saliva production
Male and Female Differences
Male: vocal folds become thinner and loss of robustness; increased pitch
Female: pitch tends to decrease and increased vibratory mass, so decreased pitch
When working with adult voices
- Consider if the part someone is singing reflects their current best range
- Be prepared to add extra breath marks
- Be aware of pacing and provide vocal rest
- Quality over quantity; never louder than beautiful!