soo I haven't recorded in 10 years and now my voice is a lot more gravely than it

used to be.

I was in a couple of bands in those ten years and wonder if I ruined my voice? I used to be able to sing really clean, and still can for a few songs, but then I get raspy pretty quick and then that's pretty much the way it goes.

I have some gigging coming up this summer and don't want to ruin my voice .... is there any place I can learn better technique to reserve my vocal cords, or is this just a normal aging process?

Do you smoke?

You don't want to be the next Tom Waits?

I don't believe in aging. My voice has gotten claner, higher, lower and more growling since I started practicing vocals in mid 30's. BUT when I take a few weeks off, my voice starts to degrade. Just like physical training: Use it or loose it. Or like Tiny Robbins says: Either your growing, or you're dying.

If you can spare an hour of vocal workout daily and practice smart, you'll have a great voice.

Nope, never have. Don't drink either.

Hmmm... don’t necessarily believe in aging either. Rasp typically means inflammation of some sort (not referring to intentional false fold rasp or any of the distortion techniques). The fact that it’s clean and comes on after a few songs kind of confirms this to me.

Sounds like you could use some coaching/practice. If you’ve taken lessons before, you should have an idea of what to do. If not, I’d find somebody and take a few to get back on track. There are also plenty of home courses and YouTube type stuff that can get you started. Definitely have to build your strength again like any physical activity.

While I did make the comment above, one thing about aging that does affect the voice is that as you get older, the effects of improper technique are worse and it takes longer to recover. Could be what didn’t affect you then (because you healed/recovered faster) is showing up now. Good technique and regular practice will fix you up.

I can't promise that you'll sound like a rock star by summer,

but ,yes, maybe you should get a vocal coach.

Hey, was just thinking about this subject...not singing for a long time and then coming back to it and noticing a difference.

I have been very sporadic with singing over the past year or so. I will tend to sing everyday for a few hours for weeks or months and then abruptly stop for months on end and hardly sing even a single note...and yet when I return to it, I don't notice any difference in my voice at all, in either sound or ability. Why is that?? Does it mean I am not singing properly to begin with?

It seems to me that you need to get your vocal muscles back into shape. Without getting them fit, you will continue to lose much of your ability. I would also recommend examining the keys of your songs to make sure that you are not singing in keys that are too high for your voice. My voice building system uses isokinetic exercises to strengthen the muscles of your voice, which will solve all your problems. My system will be released sometime next month on an app called SuperVoice or some similar title. I also have an ebook out now that can be purchased for Nook and Kindle. You can visit my website, www.garycatona.com, or find me on Facebook/Twitter/Google+.

Obvs a decent vocal coach will be able to help you most but a 'gravelly' tone can be caused by a number of things. I'd assume it's down to improper breath support. Could be a number of things - I'd suggest maybe posting up a clip to show us what you mean by 'gravelly' exactly.