Most people’s first experience of singing will be from nursery rhymes, TV theme tunes, and playschool. As people get older, some individuals start to take singing more seriously, and will join a school music group, perhaps take lessons, or start a band.

Apart from a lucky few, most people’s singing habits are for pleasure and remain an amateur affair – rather than a career, and are largely restrained to the home or the odd karaoke night. However, some others took their singing to another level only to find life got in the way of any possible career progression.

It could be that someone was singing professionally to some degree, but then they lost motivation, or family life intervened and music was put on the back burner. If you’ve taken a long break from singing, is it possible to start again at the same level, or are there steps that need to be taken?

How is your singing voice if you take a long break?

Like most skills, singing requires practice. A good voice can be improved upon through exercise, coaching, and care. When you stop singing, your voice weakens, and you won’t retain the same strength and sparkle as before.

As you start getting older, you will lose muscle mass. This will affect all areas of your body, including your vocals. Vocal folds lose strength as you age, and this makes it harder to sing, especially for any period.

Coaching can help to restore voices, and this team includes vocal therapy and training along with singing lessons. But, it is important not to just dive back into singing the high notes after a long break.

How can you start singing again after a break?

If you stopped performing to audiences due to family life, your singing may have been limited to helping your baby get to sleep through lullabies. Now though, you find yourself wanting to improve your range and get your voice back to how it was.

Begin singing again slowly

Singing takes practice, but trying to push yourself too hard at the beginning is likely to harm your voice, and could result in a setback.

Choose simple songs

Your voice is one of the easiest instruments to learn. Unlike playing the piano or guitar, anyone can just start singing. To avoid straining your voice, and keep everything fun, start with simple and easy songs to get you back into singing gently.

Don’t try to hit the high notes straight away

It is very possible to damage your voice through any unnatural sound such as screaming or trying to push yourself to extremely high notes.

Vocal coaches can help you to achieve an extra octave, and through the use of exercises and training, you can improve your pitch and range.

A vocal coach will help you increase range without causing any injury to your voice. But if you feel pain in your throat, then this could be one of the signs you have damaged your vocal cords.

Follow your coach’s advice about when to rest and when to practice.

Don’t forget the significance of warming up and cooling down

Research shows that a 10-minute warm-up, 20 minutes before you sing, will help your voice to be at its best.

Warm-ups also help to avoid causing damage or fatigue to your vocal cords.

A short cool down after singing also helps you to return to your regular speaking voice, and you only need to spend 2 or 3 minutes doing so.

Use vocal therapy and vocal coaching

Many people stop singing due to an illness or accident, and if this is the case with you, you could benefit from voice therapy and exercise. A vocal coach or therapist can assist with disorders in this area, and help your vocal cords to heal through rest and exercise.

Practice in moderation

If you sing too much you can damage your vocal cords. You might do far more harm than good, and after all this time not singing, your voice might simply not be ready for hours of singing again.

Practice will make you become a better singer, but have lots of short periods of practice with lots of rest, rather than extended singing sessions that shred your voice. Keep hydrated, and use anything to hand to soothe your throat too such as lozenges, and honey.

Summary

Many people wish to return to a pastime or career that was enjoyed in an earlier part of life. And while you may have had good cause to stop singing when you did, it doesn’t mean that you can’t start once more.

Remember to take it slowly, get your voice used to singing again, and use a vocal coach or therapist when necessary to keep your voice healthy, and to improve.