Directing the Choral Music Program
Chapter 7: Working with Adolescent Singers
The Nature of Adolescents
Self-Esteem
• Puberty sucks
• Time of very low self-esteem, girls more so than boys
• Gender expectations play a big part
• May be best to separate by voice grouping/gender in early years
Peer Approval
• Affects boys more than girls
• Focus on building a mutually supportive environment
Emotional Natures
• Extreme mood swings
• Many emotional problems arise in this time
Adolescents Value Singing
• Parker’s study on impact of participation in mixed choir
o Found positive social identity
o Valued musical engagement as emotional outlet
o Claimed ownership for actions/autonomy
o Self-confidence & character building
o Closer interpersonal relationships
o Inspired creativity in other areas
The Female Voice Change
Physiological Changes
• Finding Ophelia’s Voice, Opening Ophelia’s Heart – read
• Less noticeable than boys
• Occurs age 8-14, can require up to 4 years to complete
• Estrogen increases, larynx & vocal folds grow
• Larynx thickens & grows in height laterally
• Lowering of singing & speaking voice
Stages of Voice Change
• Stage 1: Prepubertal
o Ages 8-10 or 11-12
o Clear, flutelike sound, no register breaks
o Range Bb to F2 (octave + 5th)
• Stage 2A: Pre-Menarcheal
o Ages 11-12 (13)
o Breathiness, loss of upper range, some have trouble singing low,
volume in middle & upper range difficult
o Range A to A2 (octave + 7th)
•
Stage 2B: Post-Menarcheal
o Ages 12-14 (15)
o Huskiness, illusion of alto quality, discomfort with singing, voice
cracking & breathiness frequent, some vibrato may appear
o Range A to F2 (octave + 6th)
• Stage 3: Young Adult Female
o Ages 14-17 (18)
o More vocal richness, range increases, register change at d2-f#2
more apparent (passaggio), greater flexibility, volume & resonance
increase
Vocal Quality
• Breathiness common!
o Vocal folds unable to close to keep air from escaping during
phonation
• Teaching Kids to Sing – Phillips
Vocal Instruction
• Increase breath management & phonatory exercises for strengthening
glottal closure muscles
• Complete Handbook of Voice Training – Alderson
o Breathing exercises
o Humming, ringing quality
o Light approach
o Practice upper range
o Other suggestions – Choose songs in various registers, don’t allow
to sing too high or low for long, avoid closed vowels (ooh), vary
dynamics
Voice Classification
• Don’t label until 9th grade
• Vocal development is not the same as vocal part
o Phase I: Soprano I/II
o Phase 2A: Soprano II
o Phase 2B: Soprano II
o Phase 3: Classification based on approximation of adult voice
• Criteria for classification
o Average speaking pitch
o Vocal range & tessitura
o Register development (appearance of passaggi)
o Overall quality (timbre)
Teaching the Whole Person
• Instill strong sense of self-worth
• Negative body image common
The Male Voice Change
Physiological Changes
• Larynx grows dramatically in the anterio-posterior direction causing the
appearance of adam’s apple
• Occurs ages 12-15
• Six Contemporary Approaches
o Royal School of Church Music
Boys only sing in treble head voice, sometimes blending
upper/lower in middle voice
o Alto Tenor
Gradual lowering of the voice until all are alto tenors, but
not full-strength tenor
o Cambiata
4 male classifications, 2nd = cambiata: 1 octave a to a1
Bass voice not recognized, SATB inappropriate
o Contemporary Eclectic
6 classifications – 1 = unchanged, 6 = developing baritone
3 midvoice – these cover the changing voice
o Baritone-Bass
Development of chest voice, Bass clef chorus in 8 th/9th
o Voice Pivoting
Change to other parts when note is inaccessible
Very individualized
Two Schools of Thought
• Limited Range
Change predictable, lower gradually
• Extended Range
Slow/quick change, range bigger than octave
• Henry Leck! I know him!
Adolescent Male Vocal Registers
• No real chest sound means slow physical maturation
• Prepubertal can sing middle c to c2
• Falsetto & head voice are not the same in adolescent males – falsetto
is weak, avoid
• Upper register – male alto sound
• Slow change = tenors, quick change = baritone/bass
• Pop vocal modeling may occur, with chest sound being pulled
throughout range… AVOID
th
th
7 & 8 Grade Vocal Ranges & Tessitura
• Ranges
o Part 1 – Unchanged: D1 to D2
o Part 2 – Altos/Changing: A to A1
o Part 3 – Newly changed/changing baritones: D to D1
o Part 4 – Bass/Baritone: Same as Part 2, octave lower A to a
•
•
Find a part that’s comfy for each boy
Goals
o Keep them singing
o Choose music that
o Test voices often
matches ranges
o Can understand &
o Choose music they
sing different registers
like
Vocal Quality
• Change color by altering the size & shape of vocal tract
• Sing through the feeling of the sigh
o Larynx relaxed & deepened jaw position
• Avoid loud singing, mp to mf is preferred as soft singing requires better
breath management
Vocal Instruction
• Exercises in:
o Posture development
o Diction
o Breath management
o Expression
o Resonant tone
production
• Strengthen the upper voice from the top down
Voice Classification
• Process on pg. 146
Teaching the whole person
• Can be trouble-makers or withdrawn
Appropriate Part Voicings
Unison Singing
• Not recommended for middle school, because of the small range
Two & Three Part Treble (SA, SSA)
• 2 part – 6th & 7th grades
o Call parts Treble I & II
• 3 part appropriate for 7th & 8th
o Boys must be able to sing lower part as written
SAB & Three Part Mixed
• B part sometimes can be too low, usable if high baritone part
• DO NOT put all boys on part 3
Two & Three Part Male
• TB – 7th & 8th grade if parts are relatively high
• Traditional TTB doesn’t work for this age group… get used to arranging!
o Look for 3-part music specifically for young male adolescents
Four-Part Voicings
•
Difficult to find these arrangements that work at a middle school level
•
Can be used as early as 8th grade
o Requires cultivating the chest voice early
o Use voice-pivoting approach