Retirement is an opportunity for a complete reorganization of one's life. We find ourselves for the luckiest among us with a certain budget, and above all a lot of free time – which we have to find to fill! However, this is a bit of an opportunity to finally satisfy desires that have been put aside until now, for the sake of time, out of fear, or for any other reason! It can therefore be a question of finally affording this much desired trip, of doing more activities as a couple, or of starting a hobby. Especially since the latter often have virtues on our aging body and brain. Have you always had a musical streak but dismissed this possibility for x or y reasons? Well, here is the perfect opportunity to get started. It can be a question of starting to practice a musical instrument, but also why not, that of singing?
If it is true that the voice is one of the most fragile instruments since it is ultimately organic, and that we cannot push it in the same way after the sixties as when leaving adolescence, this does not mean that we can't push the song for our own pleasure and that of our loved ones - or perhaps to finally put an end to their torture, if we have always taken pleasure in singing like a pan in the shower or elsewhere! Because starting a hobby, especially at an advanced age, does not mean that you want to make it a professional activity and break records. So no need to set insane goals, it is personal pleasure that has priority here. And besides, many choirs give pride of place to the elderly and to intergenerational exchange. In short, here are some tips for getting into singing, when you feel closer - from the point of view of years at least, because tastes are not a matter of generation! — from Charles Aznavour than from Billie Eillish.
First of all, there is no age limit for learning to sing. It is a hobby that goes from 7 to 77 years old, and even beyond! What must be taken into account, however, regardless of age, are the limits of our voice, and their respective capacities. It is obvious that everyone cannot rise as high or fall as low as Mariah Carey and her 5 octaves for example, and even more so when the age advances. Like the other senses, it is obvious that the voice also undergoes a process of senescence. The tessitura evolve, which concretely means that the voice is lower in women, while it rises slightly in men. The vocal muscles, like those of the rest of the body, partly atrophy, while the cartilages and therefore the larynx calcify. All this directly affects the voice and its field. Similarly, some techniques become harder to put into practice, such as vibrato, which is less controlled (a bit like one can start shaking hands after a certain age). In addition, one also loses lung capacity. And that's without taking into account lifestyle habits that are not always very healthy:a life spent drinking and smoking will obviously have repercussions on the ability to sing. In short, as much to say that there are a lot of reasons why you can no longer sing in retirement in the same way as you would have done fifty years earlier. But once this fact is accepted, it does not prevent you from practicing singing in full knowledge of these limits and having fun!
Know on this subject that there are no born singers, and that no one (except in rare cases of malformations or other) is naturally good or bad at it! Everyone can learn to lay down their voice, and while it undoubtedly requires more or less effort and practice from person to person, there's no reason to give up early with full sentences. be like "oh me, I don't have a musical ear", "I'll always sing out of tune", and so on. Even the greatest singers have to work tirelessly to maintain their skills, but with work, anyone can end up singing in tune — or at least getting the best out of their voice. In short, there's no excuse not to get started and wow your loved ones — and yourself!
Once convinced, all you have to do is sign up for classes. Or why not join a choir, which usually doesn't require any prior skills? You should also know that there are of course other resources to get started, on the internet or with the help of books for the most refractory to technology. It would nevertheless be wise to look into the in-person options that exist around you:these allow you to maintain social ties, and create a form of emulation for the less confident of beginner singers.
If it doesn't sound like it, singing is a way to gently activate your body and muscles. Indeed, we do not sing in any position, at least if we want to sound right! It therefore calls for a certain movement, and the rhythm that is imposed will also manifest itself in a bodily way. We can see the practice of singing as a form of gentle gymnastics, which proves to be good for your internal organs as well:the practice of singing greatly improves your breathing capacities. In short, if it does not burn as many calories and does not cleanse the lungs as much as a good jog, this practice has at least the advantage of being more suitable for aging bodies - and is, let's face it, much more nice!
It is also the hearing that takes a severe blow with age. One might just think that it could curb your singing ardor, but nope (well, you may of course have to give up on it if you are really deaf as a pipe). In reality, it is not so much singing that will make your faculties lessened, but rather that it will promote your ability to listen and therefore your ability to recognize sounds. Indeed, singing requires being attentive to your singing partners as well as to the musicians who accompany us, to follow the rhythm, and so on.
But that's not all:cognitive abilities are also called upon, starting with memory, since to sing, you have to know the words well. In this regard, it promotes and maintains the knowledge of foreign languages, if one sings in them, and stimulates creativity. In short, so many ways to stimulate the brain at an age when it really needs it:take the microphone yourself rather than sparing your gray matter in front of Don’t forget the lyrics !
Finally, singing also has certain virtues on mental well-being, like most hobbies that promote self-expression and creativity. Indeed, not only does it provide an outlet to express your emotions, but the acquisition of a new skill and the observation of the progress made promote self-esteem and self-confidence. However, we know precisely that the latter are often weakened in retirement, faced with a shrinking of the social circle and a deterioration of their faculties. Many older people even sink into depression, and hobbies of any kind are a great way to combat it, releasing mind-clouding stress and anxieties. In addition, it is an excellent way to kill two birds with one stone by also combating the isolation that often accompanies depression.
Indeed, singing allows you to maintain social ties, since even if it is an activity that can be practiced alone, it will put you in contact with a teacher, but also with other students. You might also take part in a choir, or set goals such as performing — again, something to be proud of and realize that even at an advanced age, anything is still possible! There are also many projects for intergenerational choirs, between school children and residents of retirement homes, which have the specific aim of strengthening social ties, in a society that has too much of a tendency to park its old people away , as if to protect oneself from the taboo and the fear of old age.
