OK, I’ve noticed this in lots of singers when they age: not only Sinatra, Bennett, etc., but even relatively “young” singers like Bono (and almost all the 80s bands on those reunion TV shows): - they can’t hit the same notes they used to be able to. Bono, especially, I’ve heard (from live recordings) going to either a falsetto or a more “flat” voice (not musically flat, I guess, but more like talking than singing) when singing certain notes that he used to belt out. Why does this happen? Do your vocal chords atrophy as you get older? Why do singers lose their range after a certain point, and does this happen to all singers? Please, try to answer me as if I know nothing about the subject (because I don’t).
Anyone?
I believe it’s a combination of the vocal cords gradually losing elasticity, and changes in the body’s general musculature with age. If the muscles used in proper breath support weaken or change, that will affect the voice’s capabilities.
If the singer smokes, that will cause further changes as “tar” slowly builds up on the vocal cords and the lining of the lungs.
Dr. of voice checking in. The aging voice isn’t my specialty, but I can offer some generalities.
First of all, you’ve actually identified two different issues in the OP.
- what natural changes occur in the voice as people age
and
- why do some singers go drastically downhill when they’re still relatively young (Your example, Bono, is only in his 40s - still the prime years for the male voice).
In the case of natural changes, the most important things are the gradual ossification (turning to bone) of the cartilages in the larynx and the gradual loss of muscle tone that GanChan already alluded to.
The larynx itself is made up of several large cartilages which gradually lose their elasticity and resilience as we age. That in itself will change a person’s vocal sound.
The vocal “chords” (also often called “folds”), are made of muscle, tendon (ligament?), and mucous membranes. As we age, the muscles lose tone (though, like any other muscle group, regular excercise keeps them pliable longer), and the mucous membranes tend to dry out more easily. The “dry” sound of an aged person’s voice is quite literal in a sense. Of course, a person’s eating & hydration habits are a big factor there.
Overall, a big factor is the loss of resilience. Singing is an intense muscular activity, and youth helps the voice retain its strength and focus - an ability we lose as we age, just as we get sore from everyday activities and less tolerant of strenuous excercise.
The most audible results of these things are: reduced range and amplitude, a “dry” or grainy sound, and a “wobble,” or wide vibrato. Essentially, it’s the voice aging right along with the rest of the body.
Your second issue - that of singers going “downhill” when still young enough not to have to - is an issue of overuse or abuse taking its toll on an otherwise youthful voice.
Rock/pop singers especially tend to sing in a way that exhausts them night after night - how many times have you been to an arena concert and heard the frontman of a band leave the stage practically hoarse after the concert? That kind of repeated overtaxing of the voice leads to gradual loss of flexibility and coordination, and at times to complete loss of function. It’s not all that different from football players whose knees are shot by the time they’re 35. Repeated stress and overtaxing leads to accelerated aging, in a sense.
Bono is a good example. He’s still young enough to be in the prime of his vocal life. But years of beating the crap out of his instrument on stage (and I’m a fan - make no mistake) has shortened his vocal life span and made him sound older than he really is.
It’s a cost of rock stardom.
The most important thing, though, is that everyone is on their own genetic timetable for these things. Some can pound their voice into oblivion night after night and not degrade until they’re much older. Others can baby thier voices and notice real changes by the late 40’s/early 50s.
It’s a genetic lottery as much as anything.
Thanks a lot, guys! Very informative and much appreciated.