During the menopausal transition, which can start ten years before menopause and last for several more years after, there will be times when hormones fluctuate substantially from day to day. The voice, unfortunately, can seem unreliable and unpredictable because of the hormone roller coaster. At certain phases of the hormonal journey, many women need empathy and skilled assistance. Millions of women around the world are on the same path, and we no longer need to walk that path alone. Working together gives us a better understanding of the vocal issues women might face...
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Republished here with permission from the Journal of Singing, a publication of the National Assoc. of Teachers of Singing, January/February 2022
Readers of this column are likely familiar with the concept of cross-training for singers (see Robert Edwin’s article, “Cross Training for Singers,” Journal of Singing 65, no. 1 [September/ October 2008]). Originally used in athletics, cross training is participation in a variety of sports and training methods to maintain balanced muscular development and flexibility, and to minimize injury from overdoing one type of physical activity. Tennis players may swim, golfers may jog, skiers may rock climb. Athletes may also balance workouts in other ways from doing yoga to having specific strategies in the weight room and gym. Broadly speaking, cross training as applied to singing would include...
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"In a nutshell, after 55 interviews with female singers between the ages of 40 and 88, reams of research on female voice, hormones, and conversations with voice experts, we came to the conclusion that midlife is when female singers should be on heightened “voice alert”, so to speak. ..."
This article, published in Classical Singer Magazine in 2005, is Joanne's story from that time. "I share it because the subject needs to be out in the open, and because if I had been more informed a few years ago, my confusion and vocal discouragement might have been minimized."
Cate Frazier-Neely's blog is a wealth of resources, including a series on Practical Methods for Aging Female Voices in Choirs
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