Voice Issues and Aging

[lighthead2toe]

In several of the posts written about Gord's recent concert performances there have been references made occasionally to matters regarding his vocal ability.
Speaking as an over 65er and still out there I can relate to this and I have not had to endure anything near what he has gone through.
I guess one could say it happens maybe like in three stages, the first one being the "climb" stage when we are young and climbing up the ladder and being very excited about the whole thing. Next comes the "prime" stage when we are really out there strutting our stuff seemingly like it will be this way forever and we have absolutely nothing to worry about. Then suddenly the "time" stage arrives with it's bag of nostalgia and all the quirks that become part of that package which could include a host of breathing problems resulting in singers having to find ways to negotiate around. (I ran out of breath rereading that one sentence. Wow!)
Choosing songs to start off the show which don't have notes which are too extreme on the range scale is a choice which works well and Gord seems to take that route regularly.
Being saddled with a few breathing problems myself I try to use tunes which include solos or even short breaks, just enough to work around whatever quirk is at hand. It's a constant learning process that's for sure.
Being out there and finding the stamina to stave off the inevitable is no doubt the best choice. Anything other would probably result in the negative . Ron J.

[timetraveler]

Well, I attended Gords concert here on Sunday night, and while his voice was, perhaps a teensy bit soft, personally I thought he sounded fantastic. What really impressed me about the man was his magnetic personality & a smile that just lights up the place. From start to finish, one couldn't help but to sing along with him. I should know--that's what I found myself doing & I didn't care who noticed either. If he ever decides to come back to Little Rock again, I'll probably be one of the first people in line at the box office buying an advance ticket. GORD RULES!!!