Now that I've decided to get back into it and maybe hit the house concert circuit, I've started rehearsing. I was afraid my voice would be unfamiliar to me due to the natural deepening that sometimes occurs as we age. My speaking voice has gotten a bit lower, so it was a natural assumption. In the past I was able to perform some pretty impressive vocal acrobatics, leaping octaves with ease and sliding around the blues. And I've always had a large range. I was fully prepared to transpose some of my more challenging songs to accommodate any changes to my voice, and I figured my vocal dexterity was a condition of my youth. There was no reason to think otherwise, because, when I did attempt to sing my old stuff, I was always in the house where I never felt confident enough to belt it out. Well, I recently cleared out a rehearsal space in the garage and when I first went out to there to practice, I found I was still able to really open up and SING with no holding back. Happily, I don't have to transpose anything, and guess what? My range is still there. It takes a little more support to hit the really high notes with ease, but it's coming along. By October when I'll give my "come-back" concert (ahem), I'll be able to sail over those notes like I used to.
Now if my guitar chops will just come back with as much ease. That's a whole 'nother issue!
