I can’t count the times I have heard this question, and had to overcome deep skepticism.
My Story
The year was 1991. I began teaching as a full time endeavor, rather than a part-time “as needed” coach to my friends, who simply wanted high notes.
In walks 67 year old R. Matthews. He had been cast in a professional theatre production at the University of Utah’s “Pioneer Memorial Theatre”. My U of U music mentor, “James Prigmore” (rest in peace, beloved friend) was the the music director for decades and was one of the first pros to see my potential. After watching me coach a younger, up-and-coming singer, he felt that I was ready for a difficult challenge.
This actor did NOT fancy himself as a singer, but had a ton of personality to his voice. After weeks of vocal therapy, his voice showed up brilliantly and he fell in love with singing.
Your Story
The question, “Can you learn to sing as an adult?” rests on an assumption that age is a meaningful obstacle to learning to sing. For healthy adults, that assumption doesn’t hold up. Don’t get me wrong, vocal decline in older singers is real. We’ve all heard famous singers who don’t sound like they did in their heyday.
However, that decline is often attributed to age, when other factors are usually at play. The same factors that drive singing improvement apply at any age, which means adults can make very noticeable improvements, not just small ones.
One common misperception is that singing lessons won’t help as you age. But the speaking and singing voice sounds different through the years and if you don’t practice singing or stop singing lessons, your own voice will deteriorate…. much like refusing to go on walks and sitting in an easy chair throughout the day. Muscles atrophy. As a veteran voice teacher, I’ve given lessons/coaching to men and women in their 80’s and have had tremendous results.
Wait for the Good News
In this article, I’ll explain why age is incorrectly blamed for vocal decline, what actually drives singing improvement, and where adults should focus to improve as quickly as possible.
Why Age Gets Blamed for Vocal Decline
When people ask whether it’s harder to learn to sing as an adult, they’re usually drawing on a much bigger pattern than just music. We’re used to seeing athletes age out of their sports. We know muscle mass becomes harder to build over time. We hear about hormonal changes, slower recovery, and declining physical performance. Against that backdrop, it’s reasonable to assume the voice would follow the same trajectory.
On top of that, most people can immediately think of famous singers who don’t sound the way they used to, or who now sound noticeably “older” when they sing. A recent and widely discussed example is Axl Rose, who has struggled at times to sing his classic material. Pointing this out isn’t meant as criticism or disrespect. These artists built careers on extremely demanding repertoire, and the public hears the results of decades of heavy use. And, his singing was far more demanding than nearly any singer at an older age would’ve attempted.
Age plus Habits = Success or Failure
This includes hitting the big stage, with super high notes in most of his songs. At a certain point, singers may have to compromise and lower their keys a few steps or opt for falsetto. However, conssitent singing lessons, can avert this need.
Taken together, these observations form a convincing story. Bodies age. Performance declines. Famous singers lose vocal ability. From the outside, it all appears to line up neatly. Age becomes the most intuitive explanation.
The problem isn’t that this reasoning is careless. It’s that it collapses very different systems into one idea of “aging,” and in doing so, it skips over the specific factors that actually determine vocal outcomes.
What Actually Changes with Age — and What Doesn’t
When people ask, “Can you learn to sing as an adult?” they’re usually asking whether age changes the learning process itself. Some things do change with age, but they are often misunderstood.
As adults get older, recovery can take longer. Vocal health becomes more sensitive to sleep, hydration, stress, and overall lifestyle. The vocal cords may tolerate less dehydration or strain than they did earlier in life. Hormonal shifts can affect energy and consistency. These are real considerations for anyone starting vocal training or taking singing lessons later in life.
What doesn’t change is the ability to learn singing skills. Learning to sing is not about building raw strength or muscle mass. It’s about coordination, timing, and habit formation. These systems remain adaptable well into adulthood. Adult beginners can still develop chest voice, head voice, mixed voice, and even sing high notes when training is designed correctly.
The speaking voice also plays a role. Adults have spent decades reinforcing certain vocal habits through speech. That doesn’t prevent improvement, but it does mean vocal lessons need to account for existing patterns in the speaking voice. With the right vocal techniques and personalized feedback from a qualified vocal coach, those patterns can be reshaped.
In other words, age changes the conditions under which someone trains, not their singing ability itself. For healthy adults, the mechanisms that allow learning to sing remain fully available.
Wisdom for the ‘Seasoned’ Citizen
Years ago, at an world class gym in Tennessee, I hired a personal trainer to upset my convenient workout routine. I had opted out of certain exercises that bothered me or challenged my comfort level.
I had done some basic sprint workouts, but was really concerned that I might be ‘too old’ to be doing some of the exercises. I just wanted to take it easy, as the Eagles would say.
The Sign that Changed my Life
One day, while looking across the wall of inspiring quotes and great tips to keep us motivated, I read the following sign:
“YOU ARE NOT SLOWING DOWN BECAUSE YOU ARE GETTING OLD. YOU ARE GETTING OLD BECAUSE YOU ARE SLOWING DOWN.”
Well…. In my early 50’s at the time, I took that as a dare. Since then, I’ve reached several PB’s (personal bests), both in physical training, basketball (9 consecutive 3 point shots….yeah baby!!), 550 floors on the stair master, and new squat and dead lift PB’s.
I released one of my best vocal/music recordings through Sony distribution.
Click to Watch: Brett Manning – September (Official Lyric Video)
I completed film score school, have learned 3 really hard Chopin pieces, other pieces by Liszt, Schubert, Mozart, Bach, and continue to improve daily. I’m not slowing down. I’m getting passionate. Obsessed…. but in the positive sense of the word!
I’ve had health challenges—don’t we all?—but I continue to challenge my performance in all areas of personal conviction.
The journey should be embraced daily! Life is hard. But it is beautiful and the process is exciting.
What Keith Urban Recently Told Me.
Many of you may have seen or read my bio and noticed the name Keith Urban. Well… it’s now been 25 wild, crazy, topsy turvy years since I last coached him. But he’s always been the of the kindest, most humble and gracious humans I’ve ever encountered. But… I rarely see him.
But recently, I happen to run into him outside a cafe and was able to pick up where we left off about a dozen years ago, when I last saw him at PF Changs in Nashville. We had a lot to catch up on, including introducing him to my 2 children, ages 18 and 19.
He was 100% captive in the conversation and gave us several life hacks and hugs. (He’s always been that kind-hearted).
One thing that really stuck out was talking about trials, hardship, and discipline. He stated that your character and your success outputs can be accurately measured by your habits, disciplines, and endurance of suffering. MAN…. that will PREACH!
At any age, you are only too old once your heart stops beating. In fact, I’ve heard stories of some people who just gave up on life experiences, or chasing any sort of success or dreams, because they reckoned, “What’s the use… I’m too old”. But then they went on to live another 30 years.
Listen to Franz Schubert’s amazing masterpieces. His iconic version of Ave Maria is the most popular of all time, barely beating out Bach’s version. Also, his Impromptu #3, is one othe most emothional piano pieces ever written.
The shocker??? He died at age 31!!!
This means, you could be learning music theory, taking voice lessons, taking some time to practice songs, allowing the process to take you to the stage, or journey into different genres, and record songs of various styles.
You’re not too old. Book your first lesson and you could start singing today!
Click here to see – Schubert: probably music’s greatest prodigy (sorry, Mozart)
Why Many Voices Decline Over Time
When voices decline later in life, it’s rarely because of age alone. More often, it’s the result of accumulated habits, poor vocal hygiene, and incomplete or inconsistent practice singing over many years.
By vocal hygiene, we mean the everyday behaviors that affect the voice: staying hydrated, getting adequate sleep (my biggest weakness…still), preventing strain, managing stress, avoiding an inflammatory diet, and allowing proper recovery. Lifestyle factors such as drinking, smoking, unmanaged acid reflux, and chronic fatigue all impact vocal health. These issues don’t always cause immediate problems, but they steadily reduce the voice’s margin for error.
Many singers, including first-time adult students, never warm up properly. Some don’t warm up at all. Others rely on short or ineffective routines. Warm-ups and vocal exercises are not just about loosening up. They help maintain efficient coordination, reinforce healthy vocal habits, and prevent misuse. Without them, inefficient patterns naturally creep in.
This matters because the larynx is a dual-use system. It’s used for speaking, swallowing, breathing, eating, and drinking all day long. The extrinsic muscles around the larynx are constantly engaged for non-singing tasks. Without regular vocal training to reestablish efficient singing coordination, tension patterns from daily life become the default singing setup.
Upper respiratory infections are another common turning point. A bad cold or bout of laryngitis often leads people to compensate just to get through work or social life. If the voice is never properly rehabilitated, those compensations can persist. In some cases, this leads to chronic tension patterns consistent with muscle tension dysphonia. What began as a temporary adjustment becomes a long-term vocal disorder simply because it was never corrected.
Early in life, the body absorbs these inefficiencies. Later, it stops tolerating them. When the singing voice finally sounds strained, raspy, or unstable, age gets blamed. In reality, years of neglect, misuse, overuse, and abuse have finally caught up.
Why Famous Singers are a Poor Benchmark
Famous singers are often used as evidence that learning to sing as an adult is harder or that voices inevitably decline with age. The problem is that their lives bear little resemblance to those of adult beginners taking voice lessons.
Rockstar living is not neutral to vocal health. Touring schedules disrupt sleep. Nutrition is inconsistent. Alcohol, smoking, and substance abuse are common in many music scenes. Even moderate versions of these behaviors interfere with recovery and tissue repair.
There’s also sheer vocal load. Famous singers don’t just sing during concerts. They sing during sound checks, rehearsals, interviews, and meet-and-greets. They speak loudly over crowds and travel noise. This leads to constant vocal misuse and overuse. True rest is rare.
The physical strain is enormous. Singing at a high level is an athletic event. In a single show, singers can burn thousands of calories. If that output isn’t matched with proper nourishment, hydration, and recovery, the body and voice suffer. Add loud stages, aggressive repertoire, emotional delivery, and small inefficiencies become major problems.
A visible example is Axl Rose, who has struggled at times to sing his classic songs in recent years. Mentioning this isn’t disrespectful. His repertoire is among the most demanding in rock music, and the public hears the cumulative effects of decades of extreme use.
Famous singers also live under intense psychological stress. Public scrutiny, criticism, and reputation risk affect sleep, muscle tension, and coordination. When voices decline under these conditions, age becomes the convenient explanation. But these are extreme cases, not representative ones.
Using famous singers as a benchmark for adult vocal training is like judging the effects of aging on the body by looking only at elite athletes who trained at their limits for decades.
What Counterexamples Show Possible
If age were the primary factor limiting singing improvement, outcomes would be consistent. They aren’t. Some singers remain stable, flexible, or even improve later in life. That inconsistency tells us something important.
A clear example is Wendy Moten, whose later-life performances demonstrate remarkable control, range stability, and ease. Her singing voice reflects efficient coordination and intelligent management, not brute force. The takeaway isn’t that she’s lucky or genetically gifted. It’s that her system is well organized.
Another well-known late-life example is Susan Boyle. She didn’t start singing publicly until later in life, yet developed a strong singing ability with appropriate training and repertoire. Her story resonates because it contradicts the assumption that starting late limits outcomes.
These counterexamples don’t suggest that everyone will sound the same forever. They show that decline is not automatic and that improvement is not marginal by default. When adults work with a qualified vocal coach, receive personalized feedback, and follow a structured learning process, the results can be dramatic.
Adult students often bring focus, discipline, and life experience to their vocal lessons. Whether through private lessons, online courses, or singing courses, they tend to practice more intentionally. With clear vocal techniques, simple songs at first, and a supportive environment, many adults make a huge difference in a relatively short time.
The important point is this: adult learners are not competing with decades of extreme touring or punishing repertoire. They are building coordination. Under those conditions, learning to sing as an adult is not only possible—it’s often efficient, rewarding, and genuinely fun.
What Actually Drives Singing Improvement
Most voice lessons are taught by other singers just trying to help out. But a teacher must undergo rigorous triaing to be alble to listen and discern the right vocal exercises to assist a singer in their journey. This includes:
Now to find and develop chest voice, head voice, mixed voice and sometimes falsetto for effect. A teacher MUST have the tools to help a singer find the high notes in a song and make the hardest note feel effortless….or at least confident.
What to Expect in Singing Lessons
The amount of singing practice depends on a lot of factors, beginning with the prior experience of the singer. An effective teacher can hear if the voice is getting tired and design lessons with songs that fit their voices.
Singing lessons should be anywhere from twice a month (minimum) to twice a week (if time and finances afford). The singing lessons should be recorded into a smart phone’s voice memo or even video.
Finding a Good Vocal Coach
The voice coach should know enough about music theory to communicate musical feel and style. As well, a good vocal coach can demonstrate with his/her voice: head voice, chest voice, falsetto, good posture, and effective singing skill as well. The more singing the coach does, the deeper they can relate to the struggles that all singers face.
The first lesson, should have the new client singing or learning to sing with a degree of confidence and certainty.
Where Adults Should Focus to Improve as Quickly as Possible
Singing requires ear training, which can happen rapidly. Learning to sing should be just like talking. People use their voices their whole lives, so singing shouldn’t be overcomplicated.
In fact, learning to sing requires showing up, not judging your singing voice, and allowing yourself to grow incrementally.
Also, online singing lessons, via Zoom or other video options are effective. However, if you’re a self starter, consider doing our Singing Success at home program!
