Hi again! I’m back with Part 2 of my blog series on the aging voice.
In Part 1, I discussed the most common vocal problems singers experience as their voices age, and tips for rehabilitating and even preventing these issues.
Missed part 1? Check it out here.
In Part 2, I’d like to explore how we might shift our view of what “great singing” sounds like, and how this might apply to a celebration of the gifts of the aging voice.
Is “great singing” perfect technique? An incredible range? A clear, balanced sound? Sure, it can include these things. But there is something else, a special sauce that even the best trained, conventionally “perfect” voices don’t always have.
Rather than try to describe this special sauce in words, I'd like to elucidate it through three videos of three vastly different, yet equally powerful, mature voices.
1. Joni Mitchell, Both Sides Now
Joni Mitchell wrote this song at age 23 after giving up her infant daughter for adoption. It’s always touched me, and I’ve always been blown away by the maturity of someone so young to have written such a masterpiece.
But listening to Joni sing it at the Newport Folk Festival in 2023 at age 80, I can hear that it means something completely different to her now. In every inflection, I hear the depth of her life experiences, her elation and heartbreak, and at the end of it all, with a sense of mystery and humility even after all these years, "I really don't know life at all."
Listen to Joni’s use of space in communicating the meaning of the song, and all the subtle textures in her voice that were not present in her younger days. Also notice how much lower the song is now, and how it gives it even more depth and groundedness.
2. Chavela Vargas, La Llorona
In the United States’ youth-obsessed culture, it’s common to see female actresses and musicians disappear from the scene after a certain age. But in Latin American music traditions, it’s much more common for the revered and beloved musical elders to sing well into their senior years. (For inspiration check out Omara Portuondo, Cesaria Evora, Mercedes Sosa, and others.) It seems that listeners in these cultures have a deeper understanding that just like a fine wine, the voice can become more nuanced and gorgeous with age.
Chavela Vargas has always been one of my favorite Latin American singers, but when I came across this live clip, I knew I had to share it with you. The speech she gives in the beginning loosely translates to:
“Have the courage to go after the truth, and with the truth ahead, you are alive, you arrive where you want to be. This is true of all the arts, but especially of singing.”
Chavela Vargas was 74 when she gave this performance. Notice how the cracks and wavers in her voice add a depth of emotion to her singing. Notice how COMPLETELY she owns the space, how she uses her body and especially her EYES to communicate the song. And notice how she holds the space during the solo guitar sections, remaining deeply present as she listens to her bandmates and simultaneously stays with her own experience.
3. Johnny Cash, Folsom Prison Blues
This was Johnny Cash’s last concert, recorded a few months before his death in 2003. Despite having a neurogenerative disease called Shy-Drager syndrome, diabetes, glaucoma, asthma, and other major health problems, he must have still felt that there was more music inside of him to share.
There’s such a sweetness to this that we could all learn from. Whatever you have to offer, it could be enough. We could share it, perfectly imperfect, because we want to be known, and because we want to bring something meaningful into the world.
My favorite moment is at 4:40, where his voice gets gritty and almost disappears, as he sings “That’s what tortures me.” I find it a heartbreakingly perfect moment, in this song that he wrote so many decades before.
There's some talking at the beginning of this video, but the song starts around 3:00.
My hope is that through listening in a new way, with a new view of what "great singing" could be, you might look for ways to express this special sauce through your own voice.
And perhaps we don't need to be so afraid of getting older after all.
I'd love to share even more inspiring videos of older voices, so if you have any favorites, could you send them my way? Or leave a link in the comments!
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