How much time do we need to pick up our skills again if we do not sing for a long period of time?

Question

How much time do we need to pick up our skills again if we do not sing for a long period of time?

Sorry if this question is very vague but I've done drum and piano before and for some reason--even if I do not play them for over a year or two--I will be able to pick either back up quickly (like within 1, 2, or 3 weeks).

Bicycling is even better--I can skip 5 years of it and be back to "comfort-zone" within 10 minutes.

Say if an established singer does not sing for 6 months, will he be able to reach back to his previous standard in just 1 or 2 weeks?

(Perhaps someone who has experienced this situation before could give some insights..)

Answer 1

It's very much an individual thing - two people with the same amount of experience and the same length of hiatus will take different amounts of time to get back into the swing of things.

With the voice in particular it depends what they've been up to in the mean time. If they've been singing a little at home, doing occasional vocal exercises, and keeping fairly fit, they'll probably be able to reach their previous level fairly quickly. If, on the other hand, they haven't been looking after their voice at all, been smoking & drinking heavily for example, it may take their voice longer to reach peak condition.

As with anything, there are always exceptions to these rules of thumb - but by and large I think most vocalists would be back on form after a couple of weeks of practising.