What Happens To Your Singing Voice As A Woman When Your Body Changes

Quick disclaimer before we get into it: I’m not a doctor, and this isn’t medical advice. This is me sharing what I’ve experienced as a mom, a woman, and someone whose voice is going through changes, too.  So if that’s you, I hope you find this blog helpful.

When it comes to vocal health, you’ve probably heard some vocal coaches talk about hormones.

They’ll talk about puberty.

What happens when a young boy’s voice starts to change.

But they almost never talk about what happens after a woman has a baby.

Or what happens when a woman begins to experience perimenopause and menopause.

And if they do, it’s usually a throwaway line in a video or article like: “Oh, yeah… if you’re going through menopause… you should expect to see some change.”

Whatever the heck THAT means.

And then it’s onto the next trending topic.

Sorry, but… that just isn’t good enough for me.

I have two kids.

And I remember how much pregnancy hormones impacted not only my relationship with my body and of course my mental health… 

But also how much it impacted my voice.

And while I’m grateful that more and more women are talking about their experiences with postpartum in a way we weren’t 10, 20, 30 years ago…

What still always seems to get skipped is the effects it can have on your voice.

One of the most distinguishing features a person can have. 

And every singer’s instrument. 

Now if you already own a Singing / Straw, you probably didn’t buy it because you were happy with how you sound or feel when you sing.

You bought it because something “felt off” to you. 

You’re getting tired halfway through a hymn or a song you’ve had no problem belting out for years.

Those tricky high notes that used to come to you easily now take a bit more oomph. 

In general, your voice just doesn’t feel like yours anymore.

And not only can you feel it, but you (and everyone around you) can hear it, too.

So you convince yourself you must’ve already peaked as a singer. 

And you need to just accept that this is your new reality. 

And besides… there are much more important things that need your attention anyways, like…. 

Packing school lunches… 

Making sure the kids get to the bus stop on time… 

Answering emails… 

Sitting in the car line waiting for pick-up…  

Covering someone else’s shift… 

All the while still having enough energy to be a “good” partner…. 

It’s no wonder you’re running on empty! 

And the straw you meant to use every morning ends up shoved in the back of your bathroom drawer, your purse, or the side pocket of a gig bag.

Believe me, I GET it.

Not only have I been coaching women experiencing this change for years… 

I’m also living pieces of it myself… right now.

And on this week’s Love Your Voice group live, that showed up in three different ways.

One singer has been making music for decades.

Then menopause hit.

And the top of her range got weaker. 

Tension where there was little-to-none before, suddenly started to creep up in her neck. 

Unfortunately, you can’t just “stretch away”.

She still gigs, though. 

But admittedly, it's not as fun or easy as it used to be. 

Another singer is heavily involved in her church choir.

She gets asked to solo from time-to-time. 

But a few hymns in, she started to notice her voice giving out. 

She bought a straw last year, but she hasn’t used it very much. 

Which is partly why she joined this live cohort of the Love Your Voice Course.  

Not only to give her a reason to use her straw more, but also help her re-connect with her voice again.

And then there’s our new mom whose baby is about to turn one.

Gosh, I remember those days…. 

And as much as she thought she was prepared for how much her life was about to change… 

I think we all can agree no matter how many books you read or Facebook Groups you join: 

No mom is ever prepared for what comes next.

Even if this isn’t your first rodeo. 

And I say this as a mom of two very energetic boys, haha.

Just when you think you’ve got a handle on things, life decides to throw another curveball at you. 

As you can imagine, a one-year-old does not leave a whole lot of room for a perfect practice plan.

And let’s just say, our new mom was struggling to keep up with her vocal care. 

As you can see, each singer I’ve outlined above is in a completely different season of their life and vocal journey.

But the sentence is all the same: my life, my voice has changed, and I don’t know what to do with it now.

So here’s what I told them…

From what has been studied, and from what I’ve seen over and over, estrogen has a lot to do with tissue.

Think about the skin under your eyes at 20 versus now.

Your neck.

Your vocal folds are tissue, too.

When hormones shift, that tissue can feel less “springy”.

It can get irritated more easily. 

Lower notes often get easier.

But higher notes often get harder.

For example, that F5 that used to feel easy may start to feel thinner… or like it takes more air than it should.

Now this doesn’t mean you can’t keep singing high.

We just have to go about it differently… 

And avoiding singing certain parts of your range altogether isn’t going to help either.  

You’ve got to figure out a way to sing through the change. 

Because the more you sing through the change, the more say you have in how your voice shows up after.

If you wait for your “old voice” to “come back”, the gap in your range usually gets bigger. 

Which means, the amount of time it takes to build back that strength will take longer. 

That said, there’s no rush to get your voice there. 

In fact, it’s better we take things slow… 

Starting by using your straw, again. 

But in a way that’s underwhelming… not overwhelming. 

A gentle slide for just five minutes a day is all you need to start hearing and feeling a noticeable difference.

Even if that’s all you can manage to do over the next week.  

A little bit goes a long way.

And the more you do it, the more your body remembers.

One singer who’s been showing up for her voice like this consistently says her high range is actually stronger than it was in her teens and 20s!

How often do you hear a singer say that?

And while I can’t promise the same will happen for you, what I can promise is this: 

It’s possible to sing the songs you love and love the way you sound (and feel)... even when your body is in a different chapter than it was ten years ago.

I don’t want you to turn into another woman who stops singing because you’ve convinced yourself that “that ship has sailed”.

Because it hasn’t. 

You know Cher was 52 when she released Believe?

Imagine if she’d decided to retire after she turned 40… we would’ve missed out on one of her most iconic songs to date!

My point is: if you want to sing, then SING. What’s the worst that can happen?

Your voice cracks?

You sound a little flat?

WHO CARES. 

Those are all things we can help you work on inside the Singing / Straw Studio App, and explore further during our next monthly live session coming up in a few weeks.

In the meantime, use the 7-day free trial to catch up on past replays and get a sense of what those calls actually feel like… or go through one of our previous Singing / Straw Challenges if you’re not sure where to start. 

Or in this case… restart 😊