i'm curious if menopause has a greater effect on opera singers than
jazz singers. it seems to me that there is less decline (or, maybe i should
just say 'change') in jazz singers' voices than there is in opera singers.
of course, there may be other factors that contribute to this. it is
certainly easier for a jazz singer to switch to lower keys than it is for a
classical singer. and, it could be that the jazz audience is more accepting
of an apparent decline in the jazz singer's voice than the classical audience
is of the classical singer's voice.
concerning wobbles in women who have already gone through menopause,
the wobbles i have encountered have been evident in those women who sing
almost exclusively in 'head' voice. when taught to use their 'chest' or
'speaking' voice to sing with (as part of their overall singing), the wobble
disappears quite quickly. of course, the new sound is less appropriate for
classical singing but, is quite usable in church choirs, christian
contemporary, pop music, etc.
in her later years, ella fitzgerald developed a slight wobble but, for
a long time she sounded as young as she ever did and this was not a woman who
was in the greatest health. by contrast, beverly sills developed a rather
infamous wobble while still in her forties (or, maybe it was her early
fifties) and, one might describe her as 'robust' (?).
by contrast, the classical male singer, particularly basses, seem to
enjoy vocal health well into their anecdotage (siepi, hines, kipnis, etc.)
perhaps the strain that female classical singers and tenors experience in
singing in a tessitura that is further removed from their speaking range than
the range the female jazz singer or the lower voiced male classical singers
sing in, accounts for their more common decline at an earlier age. or, am i
wrong in my perceptions as to who experiences the decline more often?
mike
|
