Can you be too old to sing?

Are you ever too old to sing or to learn?  Is there a use by date for the voice?

Do you or other people you know hold stereotypical views of older singers and what they can or cannot do? 

Are older singers really as good to listen to as younger singers?  Well, I hope that by the end of this post you will have reason to say a resounding YES!

Naturally, I believe that you are never too old to learn how to sing, or to keep singing if you have done so for a while. However, this is not only because I am a singer and a singing teacher but because I have learnt from actual experience that good to great singers come in all ages. I have been astounded and delighted by older singers I have heard and met in my life. To support my statement, I will present some examples of these singers which I hope will inspire you on your singing journey.

Let us first focus on some practical facts. When reading articles about what happens to the singing voice over time, you discover the reality of what happens to the vocal folds as we grow and age, and how breathing or other physical changes affect the singing voice. This process will be different for males and females. We can choose to either accept this as a normal part of life, or fall into despair, dampening or even shelving our desires and dreams to keep singing or to even start. If we read through a list of what happens to the vocal mechanism as we get older – especially what menopause does to women! – we may be tempted to throw in the towel right now!

But in my experience if you learn how to sing using a healthy vocal approach, practice regularly (ideally, daily), and look after yourself mentally and physically (remember, your whole body is your instrument), then there is no reason why you cannot sing well into old age. You will have no reason to worry about what happens to your voice as you age because you will be having – and spreading – too much fun and joy to care.

I have found that the Bel Canto approach to singing is one of the best ways to maintain vocal ease, health, and longevity. Bel Canto is timeless (listen to Tony Bennett, who was Bel Canto trained), and if you are interested in learning more, I can show you how.

When studying with my Bel Canto teacher over several years, I met wonderful older singers (mainly women) in my online group sessions who sang better than younger singers I have sung with for years. This is not to disparage younger singers, but only to point out that older singers can often bring greater life experience, wisdom, depth, commitment, profound emotion, and passion that younger singers may not have fully developed or understood yet. We do our senior singers a great disservice by writing them off simply because of their age.

Why not invest time into educating yourself, including a course, further reading, and watching older singers using healthy vocal technique? Be more inquisitive about what works well (and what does not) for the voice. As the old saying goes, if you don’t use it, you lose it!

Now grab your favourite beverage, relax, and enjoy the following examples of inspirational senior singers in these YouTube videos. Please know that you do not have to be an opera singer with fifty years’ experience to sing well - just get started and don’t give up!

• Fausta Truffa sing 90 years old
• The Voice Senior - 2018 (From Ghost - Unchained Melody) Blind Auditions
• Helma Stam Schneider - Hurt (The Voice Senior 2021)
• Richard Norman - Moon River
• Georg Friedrich Händel - Lascia Ch'io Pianga (Monika Smets) | The Voice Senior | Blind Audition
• Old Man Stuns With His Incredible Voice As He Sings 'House Of The Rising Sun'
• 94-year-old woman rediscovers love for singing after finding her old recordings 
• Madeline: Take 2
• Heartwarming! OLDEST talent ever on The Voice Australia brings coaches to TEARS | Journey #272
• She Is 96 Years Old... Everyone Stands Up... As She Starts Singing! WOW! | Britain's Got Talent 2020

Be Free To Sing,

Yvonne