Vocals

TTony

Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there lived a handsome prince who had been blessed with incredibly good looks, stunning guitar playing ability, and the capability of singing (more or less) in tune for a good couple of hours without going hoarse.

Well, the bit about it being a long time ago is true.  And the bit about being able to sing without going hoarse after 20mins is also true.  The rest might have been made up.

I've recently got back into playing with a band (drummer & bassist), neither of whom can sing.  Even worse than I can't sing.  So, I'm attempting to do some vocalling again.  But after a few decades of not singing, my voice gives up after about 20 mins.

I'm not shouting, I'm not straining - at least not to the extent that I feel it at the time.  But I end up barely able to talk after 20mins of singing.  Voice recovers reasonably quickly (an hour or so later) and all's good again.

So, is it just a matter of practising - exercising my voice - and it slowly getting used to singing again?  Or are there some preparatory exercises that I should be doing as a warm-up?

 

Never had a problem when I was 18 ... life, huh!

 

 

monquixote

I think it's a question of practice and working your way up to it. 

When I started doing BVs in my old band I had no range and would lose my voice after a few tracks. A few months later it had hugely improved. 

TTony

I feared that "practice" would be the answer.

Another good friend of mine says that the voice is just a muscle, and needs to be exercised/trained like any other muscle.

octatonic

Everything is breath control.

Get your breathing under control and you can get the right power in your voice and it is really difficult if you don't, and will lead to injury.

I took singing lessons in my 20's (even though I'm no singer, just to be able to do BV's) and it totally changed how I think about singing.

Also made me realise that I will never be a front man.

ChristophEar

Warmups are always a good idea, especially if you're going to be pushing the limits of your range. Nothing will knacker your voice quicker than blasting through trying to hit your highest notes without any warmup!

Also, presumably you're singing with a microphone? If so, may be worth experimenting with your mic technique. Shouldn't need to be pushing your voice too hard, and especially when just in rehearsal you can get away with something more like crooning rather than anything loud.

And +1 for @octatonic's suggestion of breath control. Increased stamina (i.e. bigger breaths, more controlled release) and strengthening your diaphragm will both help.

I got a strong diaphragm by playing clarinet and sax for a few years. When I went on to singing lessons my teacher was amazed I had such good breath control! One of the clarinet teachers used to like encouraging boys to punch him in the stomach, to show off how strong his diaphragm was As long as you gave him a chance to tense up first, that is...

snakemanStoo

Another vote for warmups.  I had problems singing after a long break, so I went for some singing lessons.  Covered all that stuff, helped me extend my range and just all round helped massively.

tonyrath

The reason for the voice packing up is that you are using your throat to sing. This might sound odd but the sound should come from the breath on the diaphragm. Lack of practice also means you are tensing your throat as you sing. Practice with the mouth open as wide as possible. You also need to breathe more than you think and take more air in than you think. Additional factors might be alcohol and nicotine which just damage the voice. This is not about being a classical singer, actors and others such as teachers who use their voices a lot learn to relax and project properly. Suggest a few lessons with a good teacher NOT a pop  singing coach as they use mic technique.