In the world of children’s choirs, and particularly in that of boy choirs, there are unfortunate stories told of boys whose voices have suddenly begun the process of changing and so are not allowed to continue singing in their choir. Imagine hearing, “So sorry, you are no longer able to sing in this choir. You may sing again, in a mixed-voice choir, after your voice has stopped changing!” The first time their voice “breaks,” boy singers have been known to hear sad comments such as this from their directors.
Sometimes voice changes can be very sudden.
Our fourteen-year-old son, Jonathan, is beginning his sixth year singing with the Los Robles Children’s Choir in Thousand Oaks, California, under the direction of Donna Young. Jonathan tremendously enjoys singing in his high soprano voice. Recently, we have noticed that he is able to sing a bit lower. Although his voice has not started to deepen in a major way, as his brother’s did at this same age, we realize that this change is just around the corner. Any time now, Jonathan’s voice may “break” or “crack.”
These unpleasant-sounding words, “breaking” and “cracking,” are ways of expressing the unpredictable sounds that indicate a voice is beginning to deepen. What causes a boy's voice to “break” and begin to change? As a boy enters adolescence, his muscles develop, his chest gets broader; and along with these and other physical changes, his voice begins to get deeper. The larynx, typically called the voice box, lengthens. As this happens, the voice 'breaks” on its way to becoming deeper. Sometimes it happens very quickly, perhaps even overnight. Amusingly to others, but embarrassingly to the boy, he may have times when his voice is higher one moment and then lower even just a minute later! The speed of the overall change relates to the speed with which the larynx grows. Each boy’s deepening voice eventually settles down into its unique range. Until this occurs, there are ways to help boy singer stay calm about the situation, to be encouraged, and to keep a creative perspective during this time, rather than view the change as an end to his singing.
In his educational video, The Boy’s Changing Voice; Take the High Road, Mr. Henry Leck encourages and instructs both boys whose voices are changing and their directors. Mr. Leck is an internationally-recognized choral director, and an associate professor and Director of Choral Activities at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is widely known as a specialist in choral techniques, the child’s voice, and the boy’s changing voice. As the founder and Artistic Director of the well-known Indianapolis Children's Choir, he oversees 1,700 children and youth in 17 choirs. While singing under his baton in Canterbury and London, England, during the summer of 2003, Jonathan and his sister found Mr. Leck to be a very personable and knowledgeable instructor and this comes through in his informative video.
In The Boy’s Changing Voice, Mr. Leck explains a little of the history of boys’ choral singing. Some of the very first recorded choral singing was the unison Gregorian chant. Eventually, harmony began to be written using thirds and fifths. During the Renaissance and the Golden Age of Choral singing, composers started using higher notes in church music. Since girls were forbidden to sing in church choirs, boys naturally sang the high soprano notes while the men sang the alto, tenor, and bass notes. The great composers of that day wrote for combined men and boys choirs, and many sang in boy choirs as well. Jacobus Gallus (1550–1591) and Franz Schubert (1797–1828) were choristers with the famous Vienna Boys’ Choir, officially founded in 1498. Brothers Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) and Michael Haydn (1737 - 1806) were members of the choir of Vienna’s St. Stephen's Cathedral. For the most part, choirs provided a good education for the boys who joined, regardless of their families’ station in life. Yet at that time, if a boy’s voice “cracked,” he was asked to leave the choir. Joseph Haydn, serving as one of the Cathedral’s principal soloists, had extensive training as a singer; yet when his voice changed, he was dismissed. Stories are told of Michael Haydn also being booted from the choir when his voice first started to change. The 1960’s Walt Disney movie, Almost Angels, centers on the lives of the boys who sing in the Vienna Boys’ Choir. In this enjoyable story about choral music, friendship, and loyalty, the talented head chorister, Peter, is devastated because his voice is beginning to “break.” Peter and Tony have become best friends and they try to prolong Peter’s ability to perform with the choir, which eventually leads to another boy in the choir “covering” for the lip-synching Peter. Almost Angels gives a glimpse into this difficult time in a boy singer’s life. At the first indication of their voices changing, many boys -- even today -- think that their choir singing days must abruptly end because of the continued belief that boys should simply rest their voices during the change.
Mr. Leck believes however, that a boy should keep singing through the change; that his high voice is actually the foundation for his new, lower voice. A boy who stops singing altogether during the change may lose the ability to manage his voice. Leck advocates a boy using his high voice while his voice is changing, and continuing to do descending exercises down across the register break. He encourages boys to keep singing through the transition, because in addition to allowing the voice to continue developing while the new voice is settling in, it may even have the positive result of a singing voice without a break. In his mind, there are few reasons not to sing while the voice is changing.
Henry Leck does point out though, that continuing to sing in a high voice when the voice is changing can create unique challenges and frustrations, and so gives other tips on how to manage during this transition period. A boy may be psychologically uncomfortable regarding the unpredictability of his singing at this time. Mr. Leck suggests that it may put him at ease to vocalize with an older male singing instructor. It is very important to be open about the situation, keeping excellent communication between singer and director. This allows for an environment where both singer and director are aware that each other knows what is going on, and a unique plan for the particular boy can be designed. Tiring quickly when only the high voice is used for long periods is a reality, so continuing to monitor a boy’s comfortable singing range and allowing him to rest when needed is most important. It is even desirable to allow him not to sing certain notes or parts of a song. This flexible approach, unheard of only a short time ago, is truly welcome to those who want to continue singing, even as their voice changes.
The Boy’s Changing Voice taught us what to anticipate as Jonathan’s voice changes and how to approach and handle the change in practical, positive ways. It is a valuable resource for adolescent boys who are going through, or are about to go through, their vocal change, and who want to enjoy singing for as long as possible in their treble voice. It includes excellent warm-ups and vocal exercises, ranges and guidelines for voice classification, technical data, informative interviews with young singers, and enjoyable solo and choral performances. It gives insight into the world of the adolescent male singer through historical, physical, and social aspects of the voice maturation process. For Jonathan, it certainly has been an encouraging resource.
NOTE: The Boy’s Changing Voice; Take the High Road can be purchased through Hal Leonard, Product # HL08742094; and is recommended for choral directors, studio voice teachers, as well as singers. -- M.S.
