My voice is lower?

jimhelm • Oct 14, 2010 3:08 pm
My upper range has all but vanished. Not that i ever had much of one... I don't know when it happened, but it has to have been recently... I can't hit that high note at all. Is it because I lost weight? I think I can go lower than I used to too.

In the car, I mostly have to sing an octave lower to stay in key at this point. sometimes 2.
footfootfoot • Oct 14, 2010 3:17 pm
Something about testosterone being bound up in fat, probably related. See if your junk gets bigger.
jimhelm • Oct 14, 2010 3:18 pm
IT DID!





but i think that's an optical illusion. I'm also hairier.... which makes sense, I guess.... same number of hairs crowded onto a smaller surface area....
Pete Zicato • Oct 14, 2010 4:07 pm
I heard or read (long ago) that a man's voice loses it's upper end as he ages and that a woman's voice expands into the lower ranges as she ages. So that men's ranges shrink and women's ranges expand. However I can't find anything on the net to back that up.
Pico and ME • Oct 14, 2010 4:20 pm
jimhelm;688381 wrote:
IT DID!





but i think that's an optical illusion. I'm also hairier.... which makes sense, I guess.... same number of hairs crowded onto a smaller surface area....


LOL, my husband gains an inch when he loses weight. Its all in how its measured ;)
jimhelm • Oct 14, 2010 4:45 pm
well, i can definitely see more of it...



eta:
but this is about my voice....not my junk.
Pete Zicato • Oct 14, 2010 5:04 pm
Are you smoking, Jim? That'll definitely affect your voice.
footfootfoot • Oct 14, 2010 5:20 pm
He may have quit cigarettes, but he hasn't stopped
smoking
jimhelm • Oct 14, 2010 5:49 pm
Pete Zicato;688394 wrote:
Are you smoking, Jim? That'll definitely affect your voice.

oh hell no.

it's almost like my voice is weaker... like when i try to go higher, my throat hurts and my volume falls off.
Clodfobble • Oct 14, 2010 5:55 pm
I have no actual scientific basis for this, but it does seem to me that losing that much weight could do it. It's like, higher ranges require your larynx muscles to be squeezed tighter, right? And with the fat all crammed in there, it's like your larynx was wrapped in a tight donut, helping it stay squeezed. Now that the donut is gone, you've got room to open the muscles wider, but it also turns out your muscles aren't strong enough to maintain the high pressure on their own. In a capella groups, the deepest baritones are always skinny tall guys.
jimhelm • Oct 14, 2010 6:51 pm
that is what I was thinking. like my neck was all crammed full of fat... just like you said. and the part about the skinny guy with the deep voice...

[YOUTUBE]OdFghZmdwXk&start=68[/YOUTUBE]
footfootfoot • Oct 14, 2010 7:13 pm
I think we've nailed it.

[YOUTUBE]V1bFr2SWP1I[/YOUTUBE]
jimhelm • Oct 14, 2010 7:28 pm
love that guy... and that song.
zippyt • Oct 14, 2010 10:15 pm
Yer Bollz Dropped and You FINALLY got yer Big Boy Voice !!!
Elspode • Oct 14, 2010 11:06 pm
Age and smoking, man. I've got a full octave less than I had at 17. I used to have a pretty good falsetto. No more.
smoothmoniker • Oct 15, 2010 1:17 am
Losing weight will definitely change your vocal range and timbre. So will smoking and alcohol intake.
Aliantha • Oct 15, 2010 2:24 am
Posture will also change the way your voice sounds, particularly for singing. Not so much slouching (although of course that affects breathing and phrasing) but how you hold your head.

If your head is sort of hanging lower, your vocal chords do in fact sort of get fatter which would make your voice lower. Alternatively, if you're holding your head high and upwards, it stretches them out so you have a potentially higher range (or just sound crappy).

Have you thought that maybe your state of mind could be something to do with it Jim? Litterally not holding your head as high as you maybe used to do just right at the moment?
Pete Zicato • Oct 15, 2010 10:58 am
Also make sure you're getting enough air to support your voice. The new skinnier you might not be taking as big breaths.
monster • Oct 15, 2010 12:40 pm
zippyt;688425 wrote:
Yer Bollz Dropped and You FINALLY got yer Big Boy Voice !!!


*snort* :lol:
jimhelm • Oct 15, 2010 1:05 pm
I feel healthy, and my head is up. same posture as always.... seated in the car...
jimhelm • Nov 11, 2010 11:38 am
hmmm... I think my voice is back to normal now. that was weird. I wonder what the hell.
footfootfoot • Nov 11, 2010 2:46 pm
Did your junk get smaller again?

IF No --> then don't worry.
IF Yes --> bummer dude.
Sundae • Nov 11, 2010 3:14 pm
Point of order here:
please stop referring to LJ's treasure as junk
footfootfoot • Nov 11, 2010 4:08 pm
Image
jimhelm • Nov 11, 2010 5:03 pm
my junk and my and my treasures remain embiggened. I feel very cromulent about that too.

now i can rock out with my.... well... nevermind.
Sundae • Nov 11, 2010 5:05 pm
Please tell me embiggened has nothing to do with Christopher Biggins?!
monster • Nov 12, 2010 8:41 am
I'm very afraid of the direction this thread is taking.
Sheldonrs • Nov 12, 2010 8:56 am
monster;693955 wrote:
I'm very afraid of the erection this thread is taking.


fixed it for you.
monster • Nov 12, 2010 8:57 am
thanks, shel.... :bolt:
Griff • Nov 13, 2010 12:09 pm
Sundae Girl;693875 wrote:
Please tell me embiggened has nothing to do with Christopher Biggins?!


[youtube]VNQb8oHZkeo[/youtube]