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1 Chapter 24 Singing and vocal development Graham F. Welch Singing and vocal development: Introduction Despite the warmth in the room as they shook the snow off their winter coats and gathered around the kitchen table, there was a collective sense of nervousness and, in some cases, unease that was barely touched by the hostess’ cheerful manner and greeting. Outside, the dark of a Newfoundland evening had already descended and the hostess wondered if some of the wind’s icy chill was reflected in the body language. This gathering was to be the first of several sessions for the group when things usually unspoken, sometimes hidden for many decades, would be allowed to surface. My biggest recollection is school, of course. You went to school, the first thing the nuns would say, —Anybody can sing. You’d go and you were embarrassed to tears because you knew you couldn’t sing, and there was no help… I can remember, at least a full row, if not two, in the classroom choirs or the singing choir, that you were told to pantomime. You had to go to music, and you had to listen to all the words and be able to mouth it or lip-sync it like everybody else, but you were not allowed to sing and you weren’t allowed to turn it down. (Knight, 2010, pp. 108–9, interview with C., aged 50)
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Page 1: Chapter 24 Singing and vocal development - UCL Discovery 2016... · 2016. 3. 16. · 1 Chapter 24 Singing and vocal development Graham F. Welch Singing and vocal development: Introduction

1

Chapter 24

Singing and vocal development

GrahamF.Welch

Singingandvocaldevelopment:Introduction

Despitethewarmthintheroomastheyshookthesnowofftheirwintercoatsand

gatheredaroundthekitchentable,therewasacollectivesenseofnervousnessand,

insomecases,uneasethatwasbarelytouchedbythehostess’cheerfulmannerand

greeting.Outside,thedarkofaNewfoundlandeveninghadalreadydescendedand

thehostesswonderedifsomeofthewind’sicychillwasreflectedinthebody

language.Thisgatheringwastobethefirstofseveralsessionsforthegroupwhen

thingsusuallyunspoken,sometimeshiddenformanydecades,wouldbeallowedto

surface.

Mybiggestrecollectionisschool,ofcourse.Youwenttoschool,thefirstthing

thenunswouldsay,—Anybodycansing.You’dgoandyouwereembarrassed

totearsbecauseyouknewyoucouldn’tsing,andtherewasnohelp…Ican

remember,atleastafullrow,ifnottwo,intheclassroomchoirsorthesinging

choir,thatyouweretoldtopantomime.Youhadtogotomusic,andyouhad

tolistentoallthewordsandbeabletomouthitorlip-syncitlikeeverybody

else,butyouwerenotallowedtosingandyouweren’tallowedtoturnit

down.(Knight,2010,pp.108–9,interviewwithC.,aged50)

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Irememberplayingskippingandsingingonthestreet.Ican’trememberthe

tunesnow…Idon’tthinkIeverreallythoughtIcouldn’tsinguntilGrade7and

theteacherandallmyfriendsandIwereingleeclubandthatwasamajor

time,shestoppedandsaid—Somebodyistonedeafhere.Shesaid—It’syou

Vic,you’retonedeaf.Shesaid—Youdon’thaveanynotes,youjustcan’tsing

alongwiththemusicatall…Icanseetheclass,Iwassittingsecondrowback

andtherewerekidsbehindme,youcanimaginehowembarrassedIfelt.From

thenonIjustassumedIwastonedeaf…Iguessobviouslyitwastraumatic,to

rememberafter30years.(Knight,2010,p.125,interviewwithV.,aged47)

TheninGrade6[age11]…Istooduptosingitandshetoldmetositdown,

thatIcouldn’tsing.Well,Iwasdevastated…I’msureIwantedtocry.Of

courseyoucamehome,itwasnogoodoftellingyourparentsatthetimethat

somethinglikethishadhappenedtoyou…Andshewassuchapowerful

personinthecommunity…Itstayedwithmeforsolong.Itwassodegrading

atthetime.Eveninhighschool,iftherewasanythingtodowithmusic,I

hatedmusic…Ididn’tlearnit.Icouldn’tlearnit,asIthought…I’msurethat

[incident]affectedit,inalotofways…maybeshejustdidn’thavethe

knowledgeanditdidn’tcometoher—‘Iamdoingsomethingthat’sgoingto

affectthischildformostofherlife.’That’sprobablythewayitwas.(Knight,

2010,p.91,interviewwithL.,aged42)

Overthenextfewweeksandmonths,theseadultssharedmanysimilardetailed,yet

negative,memories,particularlyassociatedwiththeirformerschooldays.Despite

thepassingoftime,theseepisodesofchildhoodwerevividlyrecalled.Asenseof

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embarrassment,shame,deepemotionalupset,andhumiliationwerecommonly

evidenced,usuallyaccompaniedbyreportsofalife-longsenseofmusical

inadequacy.FortheseparticularCanadians,asformanyotheradultsaroundthe

worldindifferentculturalcontexts,theassociationsbetweensingingandchildhood

werenotpositive.WithinthelocalNewfoundlandculture,singingcompetencyeither

asanindividualorwithinagrouphasalwayshadhighstatus.Consequently,any

perceivedsinging“failure”inchildhoodhasoftenledtocontinuedself-identifyasa

“non-singer”(seeKnight,1999)andhasreinforcedaculturalstereotypeofa

communitythatisdividedintwo:thosewho“cansing”andthosewho“cannot”—a

statusassociatedwithemotionaltrauma,acceptance,andasenseof“irrevocability”

(Knight,1999,p.144).

SimilarfindingshavebeenreportedfromotherstudiesofadultsinNorth

America,theUK,andScandinavia.Yet,despitesuchexperiences,therearesome

adultswhonevergiveuphopeofimprovementandtherehavebeenseveral

successfulexamplesofspecialistchoirsbeingstartedforadult“non-singers”(Mack,

1979;Richards&Durrant,2003).TheseincludeanewcommunitychoirinSt.John’s,

Newfoundland,four“beginners”choirsinoneLondoncollegethathavea20-year

history,various“SingingfromScratch”choirsintheMidlandsandSouth-Eastof

England,andsimilarinitiativesinSweden,theUnitedStates,Canada,Australia,and

NewZealand.

Theexistenceofsuchchoirsforadult“non-singers”isoneofanumberof

significantchallengestoabi-polar“can/cannot”categorizationofsingingbehaviors.

Theyarepartoftheevidencebaseforsingingtobeconsideredasanormal

developmentalbehaviorthatcanbeenhancedorhindered,particularlybythe

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eventsandexperiencesofchildhood.Forexample,otherrecentresearchsuggests

thatsuchself-labelinginadulthoodmaybesomewhaterroneous.Anadult’s

perceivedsenseofsinginginadequacy,basedontheirnegativechildhood

experiences,isnotnecessarilybornoutempiricallywhentheirsingingabilityis

actuallyassessed.Severalstudieshavereportedamismatchbetweenperceivedand

actualsingingabilityinadults,withthebehavioroftenbeingmorecompetentthan

theself-perception(Cuddyetal.,2005;Knight,2010;Wise,2009).Onerecentstudy

ofsingingabilityinthegeneraladultpopulation,forexample,foundthatthe

majorityofadultparticipantsweremuchmorepitchaccuratewhentheyperformed

awell-knowntargetmelodyatslowertempi(DallaBella,Giguére,&Peretz,2007).

Overall,theprimesourceofsinging“failure”foranindividualisoftena

particularmomentinchildhoodand/oradolescencewhenthereisamismatch

betweendevelopingsingingcompetencesandasetsingingtask(Cooksey&Welch,

1998;Welch,1979,1985,2000a,b,2005a).Erroneousadultexpectationoften

createstheproblem.Thismismatchmaythenbecomefurther“objectified”by

continuinginappropriatecommentsfromadultsorpeers,whichsuggeststhatthe

singingproblemisevidenceofanunderlyingdisabilityinmusic.Arguably,the

numberofsinging“failures”thataresociallygeneratedinourcommunitieswouldbe

reducedradicallyiftherewasagreaterawarenessofa)howsingingmastery

develops,b)howchildrenofthesameagecanbeindifferentphasesof

development(asisconsiderednormalwithotherformsofculturallybiased

behavior,suchasreading),andc)howbesttoprovidesuitable“developmentally

sensitive”singingactivities.Thenarrativethatfollowsreviewsthenatureofsinging

developmentfromearlychildhoodthroughto(andincluding)adolescence.

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Particularfeaturesarehighlightedofhownormaldevelopmentmaybefostered,

shaped,andsometimeshindered.

Singingasadevelopmentalbehavior

Pre-birthandinfancy

Thefoundationsofsingingdevelopmentoriginateintheauditoryandaffective

experiencesofthedevelopingfetusduringthefinalmonthsofgestation,particularly

inrelationtotheearliestperceptionofmelodicvariationsinthemother’svoice.The

amnioticfluidthatsurroundsthefetusisaneffectivetransducerofthepitch

contoursofmaternalvoicing.Asthemotherspeaksorsings,theprosodicfeaturesof

hervoice(melodyandrhythm)areconveyedtothedevelopingfetusbythesound

wavesthattransferthroughherbodytissueandthatalsoarereflectedfromsurfaces

inherimmediateenvironment.Atthesametime,themother’saffectivestateasshe

speaksorsingsisencodedhormonallyinherbloodstreamthroughneuroendocrine

activity.Thisemotionalstateisbelievedtobeexperiencedbythefetusrelatively

concomitantlywiththesoundofthemother’svoicebecauseofaninterfacingofthe

fetalandmaternalbloodstreams(seeWelch,2005aforamoredetailedreview).The

outcomeisaninterweavingofacoustic(prosodic/melodic)andemotional

experiencespre-birththatarelikelytounderpinthedevelopinginfant’ssubsequent

interactionspost-birthwiththesoundsofthematernalculture.Forexample,our

abilitytodetermineparticularlystrongemotionsinvocalbehaviorsinspeechand

singing(Johnstone&Scherer,2000;Louietal.,2013;Nawrot,2003;Sundberg,2000)

islikelytooriginateintheseearliestdual-channel(acoustic-affect)experiencesand,

arguably,tocreateacertainbiastowardtheassociationofparticularvocaltimbres

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withpositiveandnegativefeelings(termed“emotionalcapital”—Welch,2005a).Six-

month-olds,forexample,exhibitendocrine(cortisol)changesafterlisteningtotheir

motherssinging(Trehub,2001),becomingcalmedwhenupsetandmorealertwhen

sleepy.

Thefirstyearoflifeischaracterizedbyashapingoftheinfant’svocal

productionthroughaninteractionwiththeacousticcharacteristicsofthematernal

culture.Parents,forexample,typicallyincorporaterichmusicalpropertieswhen

interactingwithinfants:theyspeakandsingathigherpitchlevels,useawiderpitch

rangeandlongerpauses,oftenataslowerrate,andusesmooth,simple,buthighly

modulatedintonationcontours(seeThurman&Welch,2000;Welch,2005b;Trehub

&Degé,Chapter2).Atbirth,neonatescontinuetobeparticularlysensitivetothe

soundofthehumanvoice,whilstdemonstratingacertaininitialperceptualplasticity

towardanylanguage(Eimas,1985).Two-day-oldneonates,forexample,listen

longertowomensinginginamaternalstyle(Masataka,1999).Adultsinging(both

maleandfemale)appearstobeespeciallysignificant,asdemonstratedinits

beneficialeffectsonprematureinfants’physiologicalfunctioningthroughchangesin

heartrateandoxygensaturation,alongsideareductioninstressfulbehaviors

(Colemanetal.,1997).

Theearliestvocalbehavioriscrying.Itcontainsalloftheingredientsof

subsequentvocalization,includingsinging,withvariationsinintensityandpitch,as

wellasrhythmicpatterningandphrasing(Vihman,1996).Attheageof2months,

cooingandvowel-likesoundsarealreadyevidencedandbeingshapedbythe

maternalculture(Ruzzaetal.,2003).Aspectsof“musicalbabbling”thatcontain

definitemusicalfeatures,suchaspitchandrhythmicpatterns,arealsoevidenced

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from2monthsonwards(Tafuri&Villa,2002).Theirincidenceandqualityappearto

berelatedpositivelytotheamountoftimedevotedtodailysingingbehaviorsbythe

mother;thegreatertheamountofmaternalsinging,theincreasedlikelihoodof

earliermusicalbabbling.Althoughmaternalsingingtoinfantsisprimarilya

caregivingtoolaimedatemotionalregulation,itprovidesarichmusicalcontextfor

mother–infantinteractionwheretheyoungchildismotivatedtoimitateandplay

withvocalsound(seeTrehub&Gudmundsdottir,2014,forareview).

Bytheageof3to4months,theinfantisabletoimitatetheirmother’s

exaggeratedprosodiccontoursthatcharacterizeinfant–motherinteraction

(Masataka,1992).Vocalplayemergesaroundtheagesof4to6months(Papousek,

1996).Bytheageof1year,infantsaresufficientlycuedintothelanguageofthe

maternalcultureforelementstobereflectedintheirownvocalizations.As

examples,FrenchinfantsbabbleusingFrenchspeechunits,Russianinfantsbabble

usingRussian,andJapaneseinfantsusingJapanese(Meltzoff,2002).Ingeneral,the

firstyearoflifeischaracterizedbyincreasinglydiversevocalactivity.Thefirst

vocalizationsofinfancy,withtheircommunicationofaffectivestate(discomfortand

distress,thenalsocomfortandeustress),areexpandedtoincludequasi-melodic

features(2–4months),developingvocalcontrol(4–7months),withvocalpitch

behaviorsthataredirectlylinkedtotheprosodicfeaturesofthemothertongue.

Earlychildhoodandpreschool

Singingdevelopmentpreschoolischaracterizedbyanincreasinginteractionwiththe

soundsoftheexperiencedmaternalculture.Thisinteractionisreflectedinamosaic

ofdifferentsingingbehaviorsthatareevidencedbetweentheagesof1and5years.

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Theyrelatetotheyoungchild’sacquisitive,playful,creative,andspontaneous

natureastheyengagewithandmakesenseoftheir“local”musicalworld(e.g.,

Barrett,2011).Thevarietyofvocalizationincludes:2-year-olds’repetitionofbrief

phraseswithidentifiablerhythmicandmelodiccontourpatterns(Dowling,1999);

and3-year-olds’vocalinterplaybetweenspontaneousimprovisationandselected

elementsfromthedominantsongculture,termed“pot-pourri”songs(Moog,1976)

and“outlinesongs”(Hargreaves,1996)inwhichthenatureofthefigurativeshapeof

thesungmelodiccontour(its“schematic”contour)isthoughttoreflectthecurrent

leveloftheyoungchild’sunderstandingoftonalrelationships(Davidson,1994).

Thereisevidenceofincreasingsophisticationandcomplexityinrelationto

thelearningofsongsfromthedominantculturebyyoungchildren(e.g.,Mang,

2005;andseefootnote1fordevelopmentalmodelsbyRutkowski,1997;Welch,

2002).However,thepathofdevelopmentisnotnecessarilylinearforanyparticular

individual.InaUSstudyofthespontaneoussingingof2-year-olds’firstsongs,for

example,thereisevidencethat“phrasesaretheinitialmusicalunits”(Davidson,

1994,p.117).Suchphrasesarecharacterizedbylimitedpitchrange,acertain

disjunctionofkey/tonality,andadescendingcontour.Incontrast,recentItaliandata

of2-to3-year-oldchildrenindicatethatsomeyoungchildrenappeartobemuch

betteratimitatingacompletemelodymodeledbytheirmother(andalsobya

specialistcoursetutor)thanmatchingindividualphrasesofthesamesong(Tafuri&

Welch,unpublisheddata,seeFigure24.1;seealsoTafuri,2008).TheseItalian

childrenhadbeenexposedtoregularsessionsoftheirmothers’singingsincethe

finaltrimesterofpregnancy,bothathomeandinaspecialinfant–parentsinging

courseorganizedinthelocalconservatoire.YetforotherchildreninthesameItalian

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group,withapparentlythesamelevelsofexposuretomaternalsinging,theopposite

isthecase.Theirsungphraseaccuracyisratedasbetterthantheirwholesong

accuracy(Figure24.1),inlinewithdatafromtheearlierUS(Davidson,1994)study.

<InsertFigure24.1here>

Fortheyoungestchildren,theboundariesbetweensingingandspeakingmay

beblurred,oratleastambiguoustotheadultlistener,andarerelatedtothe

dominanceofaparticularcontourschema(Davidson,1994)aswellastothe

influenceofthemothertongue.Forexample,alongitudinalstudyinCanadaof

younggirlsaged18to38monthsfrommonolingualandbilingualbackgrounds

reportedthat“intermediatevocalisations”(atypeofvocalbehaviorattheboundary

betweenspeechandsong)weremoreprevalentinMandarin-andCantonese-

speakingchildrenthaninEnglish-speakingchildren(Mang,2000/1).Afollow-up

studyinHongKongwithmono-andbilingual3-and4-year-oldsconfirmedthese

findingsandrevealedthat,regardlessofage,themanipulationofvocalpitchwas

usedtodistinguishbetweensingingandspeaking(Mang,2002).Themean

fundamentalfrequencies(F0)forsongswerereportedtobeconsistentlyhigherthan

speech,but“ownchoice”songswereperformedataslightlylowerpitchthana

criterionsong.Inaddition,theolderEnglishmonolingualchildrendemonstrateda

widermeanF0differentiationbetweentheirsingingandspeakingbehaviors

comparedtotheirCantonesemonolingualandbilingualpeers.Takentogether,such

examplesfromthesediverseculturalsettingsremindusthatsingingbehavioris

subjecttodevelopmentalprocesses,whilstalsobeingsensitivetosociocultural

context(includingtask).Intheseexamples,contextalsoincludesthepresenceor

absenceofapitch-basedlanguageasthemothertongueinwhichmeaningis

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explicitlyconveyedbytheshapingofmelodiccontour.

Asmightbeexpectedfromtheinteractionofenculturationwithgenerative

skilldevelopmentinmusic(BritishEducationalResearchAssociationMusic

EducationReviewGroup,2001;Welch,2005b),longitudinaldataonsinging

developmentinearlychildhoodconfirmtheimportanceoftheprosodicfeaturesof

themothertongue.Spontaneoussingingischaracterizedprincipallybythecontrol

ofmelodic–rhythmiccontourpatterns(Dowling,1999;Sundin,1997).Betweenthe

agesof1and2years,forexample,atypicallyspontaneousinfantsongconsistsof

repetitionsofonebriefmelodicphraseatdifferentpitchcenters.Bytheageof3

years,threedifferentphrasesarecharacteristicallyevidencedandone-phrase

singingisrare(Dowling,1988,1999).Furthermore,recentcasestudyresearchwith

2-to3-year-oldsinafree-playdaycaresetting(Young,2002)celebratesawide

diversityinyoungchildren’sspontaneoussingingthatislinkedtocontextand

activity,whilstbeingmediatedbyage.Thisdiversityincludes“free-flowvocalizing”

(awordlessvocalcreationoftenassociatedwithsolitaryplaywithnodefinedoverall

musicalshape),“chanting”(oftenshort,repeatedphrases),“reworkingofknown

songs”(theutilizationofenculturatedsongfragments),“movementvocalizing”

(eitherofselforobjects),singingfor“animation”(associatedwithdramaticplay),

andtheimitationofactualsounds(definedas“comic-striptypenoises,”usually

associatedwithobjectplay).Aschildrengrowolder(3to4years)andmoresociable,

morespeakingthansingingmaybeevidenced.

Ageisalsoafactorinyoungchildren’sperceptionandexpressionofemotion

insinging;4-and5-year-oldsareabletoexpresshappinessandsadnessintheir

inventedsongs.InoneCanadianstudy,childrenusedconventionalmusicaldevices,

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suchasamajormodalityanddottedorsyncopatedrhythmsfor“happy”songs,

contrastedbyareducedpitchrangeandsuppressionofmelodiccontoursin“sad”

songs(Adachi&Trehub,2000).Theirsongtextswerealsocontraposedemotionally,

with“happy”songsfocusedon“friends,”“family,”and“sweets,”but“sad”songs

focusedmoreonanegativeversionofthese(e.g.,“nofamily”).Incontrast,older

children’s“sad”songsweredominatedbythemesrelatedtodeath(Adachi&

Trehub,1999).DatafromSweden(Gabrielsson&Örnkloo,2002)confirmthegrowth

ofchildren’sexpertisewithageintherecognitionandexpressionofintendedsung

emotion,particularlybetweentheagesof4and7years.

Thefirstyearsofschooling

Itiscommonforadiverserangeofsingingabilitiestobeexhibitedbychildrenon

entrytocompulsoryschooling.Withinthisdiversity,itisnecessarytodistinguish

betweeni)children’s(developing)skillintheperformanceofataughtsong

(Rutkowski,1990,1997;Welch,1986,1998,2000b,2002;Welch,Sergeant,&White,

1996,1997,1998)andii)children’sabilitytoinventsongs(Davies,1986,1992,

1994).Aswithpreschoolsingingbehaviors,contextandculturearealsofactors

(Mang,2003;Rutkowski&Chen-Haftek,2000).

Withregardtothefirstofthesecategoriesconcerningtheskilled

performanceofataughtsong,twomajorUSandUKstudieshavedrawnon

developmentaltheoriestoproposephasedmodelsofsingingdevelopment

(Rutkowski,1997;Welch,19981).TheUSdata(Rutkowski,1997)wasgenerated

1 Rutkowski (1997), Singing Voice Development Measure (SVDM)

1 “Pre-singer” does not sing but chants the song text.

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1.5 “Inconsistent Speaking Range Singer” sometimes chants, sometimes sustains tones and

exhibits some sensitivity to pitch, but remains in the speaking voice range (usually a3 to c4

[note: the pitch labels have been altered to bring them in line with modern conventions in

which middle C=c4, 256 Hz]).

2 “Speaking Range Singer” sustains tones and exhibits some sensitivity to pitch but remains in

the speaking voice range (usually a3 to c4).

2.5 “Inconsistent Limited Range singer” wavers between speaking and singing voices and uses a

limited range when in singing voice (usually up to f4).

3 “Limited Range Singer” exhibits consistent use of initial singing range (usually d4 to a4).

3.5 “Inconsistent Initial Range Singer” sometimes only exhibits use of limited singing range, but

other times exhibits use of initial singing range (usually d4 to a4).

4 “Initial Range Singer” exhibits consistent use of initial singing range (usually d4 to a4).

4.5 “Inconsistent Singer” sometimes only exhibits use of initial singing range, but other times

exhibits use of extended singing range (sings beyond the register lift: bb4 and above).

5 “Singer” exhibits use of extended singing range (sings beyond the register lift: bb4 and above).

Welch (1998) A revised model of vocal pitch-matching development (VPMD)

Phase 1 The words of the song appear to be the initial center of interest rather than the melody, singing

is often described as “chant-like,” employing a restricted pitch range and melodic phrases. In

infant vocal pitch exploration, descending patterns predominate.

Phase 2 There is a growing awareness that vocal pitch can be a conscious process and that changes in

vocal pitch are controllable. Sung melodic outline begins to follow the general (macro)

contours of the target melody or key constituent phrases. Tonality is essentially phrase based.

Self-invented and “schematic” songs “borrow” elements from the child’s musical culture.

Vocal pitch range used in “song” singing expands.

Phase 3 Melodic shape and intervals are mostly accurate, but some changes in tonality may occur,

perhaps linked to inappropriate register usage. Overall, however, the number of different

reference pitches is much reduced.

Phase 4 No significant melodic or pitch errors in relation to relatively simple songs from the singer’s

musical culture.

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throughsystematicevaluationofchildren’ssingingbehaviorsacrossaperiodofover

15years.Theemergentnine-phasemodel(whichwentthroughseveralversions2)

suggeststhatchildrenprogressfromspeech-likechantingofthesongtext,tosinging

withinalimitedrange(“speakingrangesinger”)tothedemonstrationofan

expandedvocalpitchrangethatisalliedtoskilledcompetencyinvocalpitch

matching.ThismodelhasanaffinitywiththatofanotherUS-basedlongitudinal

study(Davidson,1994),whichsuggeststhatchildren’ssingingdevelopmentislinked

toaschematicprocessingofmelodiccontour.DatafromHarvardUniversity’ssix-

yearProjectZerostudyofchildrenagedbetweentheagesof1and6yearsindicated

fivespecificlevelsofpitchdevelopmentinyoungchildren’ssinging,expandingfrom

aninitialmelodiccontourschemewithapitchintervalofathirdtoonethat

embracedacompleteoctave.

Withintheresearchliterature,childrenaresometimesreportedasbeing

moreskilledwhencopyingasungmodeliftheyusedaneutralsyllableratherthan

attemptingthesongwithitstext(e.g.Levinowitz,1989).Thisfindinghasresonances

withdatafromathree-yearlongitudinalstudyof184childrenintheirfirstthree

yearsofformaleducationintenUKprimaryschools(Welchetal.,1996,1997,1998).

Theresearchprovideddetailedevidenceofhowsingingbehaviorsareage-,sex-,and

task-sensitive.Overthethreeyears,theparticipantsasacollectiveappearedto

2 The conceptualization of development as occurring in “phases” is a common outcome of research that

is undertaken over a long period with time for researcher reflection and the evaluation of new

data. For example, the current author has developed and reviewed a particular model of vocal

pitch matching over the past two decades (1986, 2002), which reconceptualizes the evidence

and reduces the number of developmental “phases” (rather than the originally labelled

“stages”) from five to four.

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demonstratelittleoverallimprovementwhenrequiredtomatchthesungpitchesof

thecriterionsongs(twosongswerespeciallytaughtandassessedeachyear)(see

Figure24.2).However,thissingingbehaviorwasinmarkedcontrasttotheirabilityto

learnthewordsofthesongs,whichwasextremelygood,evenintheirfirsttermof

compulsoryschoolingatage5(Figure24.2:Year1,age5data).Furthermore,when

thepitchelementsofthetargetsongsweredeconstructedintosimplermusicaltasks

inwhichthechildrenwererequiredtomatchindividualpitches,echomelodic

contours,orcopysmallmelodicfragments,thechildrenweresignificantlymore

pitchaccurate,asdemonstratedbyyear-on-yearimprovements.Therewerenosex

differencesintheirsingingofthesethreetypesofdeconstructedtasks:boysand

girlswereequallysuccessfulanddemonstratedsimilarimprovementsovertime.In

contrast,whenthesameboyswerefacedwiththechallengeofsingingacomplete

song,theirvocalpitchbecamelessaccurateand,asagroup,theydemonstrated

littleornoimprovementinsong-singingacrossthethreeyears.Overall,singing

competencyappearedtobecloselyrelatedtothenatureofthetask,withmany

boysnegativelyaffectedinthetaskofsinginga“school”song.

Thisisaconsistentfindingacrosstwentieth-centuryresearchliterature.In

general,girlsasagrouparereportedtobemoreadvancedintheirsinging

developmentthanboys,withrecentresearchindicatingthatthisgenderdifference

getslargeraschildrengetolderfromage5throughto12(seeWelchetal.,2012for

areview).

Inlinewiththeselongitudinalfindings,tworecentstudiessuggestthat

genderstereotypingmaybeafactorinthelackofsingingdevelopmentinsome

youngboys(Hall,2005;Joyce,2005).Australianresearchinto5-year-oldboys’

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singing(Hall,2005)indicatesthatsingingmaybeperceivedasa“female”activity.UK

researchof9-and10-year-olds(Joyce,2005)acrossthreeprimaryschoolsfound

thatonlyone-thirdofboysenjoyedsinging(comparedwithtwo-thirdsofgirls)and

thatboysbelievedthatgirlswerebettersingers.

Inadditiontoage,sex/gender,andtask,therearealsocontextualfactors

thatcanaffectchildren’ssingingbehaviors.Forexample,theUKlongitudinalstudy

datademonstratedaclear“schooleffect”(Welch,2000a).Whencomparing

individualschooldata,allthechildreninoneinner-cityschoolimprovedtheirsinging

skillsoverthethreeyears,notwithstandingtheirpoorsocio-economicenvironment

andgenerallylowacademicattainmentinotherareasofthecurriculum,whereas

relativelyfewchildrenmadeprogressinanotherschool,despitethemhavingmuch

highersocio-economicstatusandattainmentlevels.Amajorfactorinthese

differencesappearstohavebeenteacherexpectation.Progresswasmostmarked

wheretheclassteacherexpectedandworkedconsistentlyforsingingimprovement

withalltheirpupilsoverasustainedperiod.Similarfindingsconcerningschool

effectsonsingingmotivationperceivedself-identityasasingerandoverall

enjoymentofsingingasaschoolactivityarealsoreportedbyJoyce(2005).

<InsertFigure24.2here>

Socioculturaldifferenceshavebeenexampledalsointhemoreadvanced

singingskillsdemonstratedbyalargeclassoffirst-gradeChinese(HongKong)

childrencomparedwiththeirUSpeers(Rutkowski&Chen-Haftek,2000).Similarly,

anassessmentofthesingingbehaviorsof120HongKongchildrenaged7to9years

fromvariouslanguagegroups(Mang,2003,2006),usingboththeRutkowskiand

Welchdevelopmentalprofiles,reportedstatisticallysignificanteffectsforsex

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(favoringgirls)aswellasmother-tongue.Chinesemonolingualchildrenperformed

consistentlybetterthanEnglishbilingualchildren,eventhoughthecriterionsong

wasinEnglish.Thiswasseenasafurtherindication(followingMang,2006

Rutkowski&Chen-Haftek,2000)thatCantonese-speakingchildrenachievesinging

masteryearlierthantheirEnglishcounterparts,perhapsbecausethepitchcenters

forspeechandsingingoftheformeraremorecloselyaligned.

BoththeUS-andUK-baseddevelopmentalmodelsagreethatdifferent

“phases”ofsingingcompetencyarelikelytobeexampledwithinanygroupof

childrenenteringtheirfirstschoolclass.Somechildrenalreadywillbeextremely

competentperformersofcompletesongsfromtheexperiencedmaternalculture

(bothwordsandmusic),whilstotherswillbelessadvancedandwillbeinoneofthe

“earlierphases”ofsingingdevelopment.Thisdoesnotmeanthatthelattergroupof

“developing”singerswillnotgainsingingmastery,particularlyiftheyareprovided

withanappropriatelynurturingenvironmentinwhichsingingtasksaredesignedto

match,thentoextend,currentvocalbehaviors.Forsuchchildren,itislikelythat

theirpreschoolinteractionshaveprovidedfeweropportunitiestofulfilltheirsinging

potential(asoutlinedinthe“Earlychildhoodandpreschool”sectionearlier).

Theeffectsofsingingaloneorwithagroupareequivocalintheresearch

literature.Someresearchevidencesuggeststhatchildrenmaybecomemore

accurateinreproducingthemusicalfeaturesofacriterionsongwhensingingina

groupcomparedtosingingalone(e.g.Buckton,1982;Greene,1993).Otherresearch

(e.g.Goetze,1985;Smale,1988)reportstheoppositeinfavorofincreased

reproductiveaccuracyiftheyoungchildisassessedwhensingingalone.Itmaybe

possibletoreconcilethesetwopositionsbyassumingthatindividualsinging

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behaviorislikelytobeframedbyaninteractionbetweencurrentsinging

competency,thenatureofthesingingtask,thecompetencyofothersingersinthe

group,andanindividual’scurrentabilitytomakesenseoftheavailablefeedback.

Thereisaninternalpsychologicalfeedbackmonitoringsystemthatisessentially

outsideconsciousawareness,whichisusedforamoment-by-momentself-

monitoringofthesingingbehavior.Thissystemdrawsoninformationfrominternal

sensereceptors,aswellasinternalandexternalauditoryinformationconcerningthe

relativematchingofvocalbehaviorwithanexternalmodel(seeWelch,1985,

2005a).Wheretheindividualisabletomakesenseofandusethesedifferent

feedbackchannelsincombination,thensingingasamemberofaskilledgroupmay

promotemorecompetentbehavior.Wheretheindividualislessabletomakesense

ofandusethisfeedback,suchaswhensurroundedbyalessskilledgroupofsingers

and/orwhenitisdifficultto“hear”theirownvoice,thenperforminginagroup

contextmaybemoredisadvantageous.Datafromstudiesofchoralacoustics,for

example,indicatethatauditoryfeedbackforone’sownvocaloutputisreduced

wheni)othersingersareincloseproximity(self-to-otherratio)andii)whennearby

singersaresinging,orattemptingtosing,thesamepitches(Daugherty,2000;

Ternström,1994).

Nevertheless,itislikelythatsingingcompetencywillbenurturedthrough

exposuretofrequentopportunitiesforvocalplaywithinanenvironmentthat

encouragesvocalexplorationandaccurateimitation(Mang,2003;Welch,2005a;

Young,2002).

Thedatafromvariousstudiesonearlysingingdevelopmentwerecollated

intoatheoreticalprotocol“baselineassessmentofsinging”forusewithchildrenon

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entrytoschool(Welch&Elsley,1999).Thiswasevaluatedsubsequentlywithasmall

classofchildren(n=19)agedfrom3years8monthsto5years10months(King,

2000).Ingeneral,thedatasupportedkeyfeaturesofthemodel,namelythatsinging

competenceislikelytovaryatanindividuallevelwithmusicaltask,suchasinthe

sungreproductionofmelodiccontour,pitchintervals,andsongtext.Any

assessmentofsingingabilitiesinyoungchildren,therefore,shouldprovideamixture

oftasks(suchaspitchglidesandpitchpatterns,aswellassongmelodies)asabasis

fordiagnosisandcurriculumplanning.Furthermore,recentneuropsychobiological

dataonpitch-processingmodulesinthebrain(Peretz&Coltheart,2003)supporta

hierarchicalmodelinwhichmelodiccontour(paceDavidson,1994;Rutkowski,1997;

Welch,1998)isanalyzedbeforetheprocessingofintervalsandtonality(seeWelch,

2005aforareview).

Withregardtochildren’sabilitytoinventsongs,aseriesofstudies(Davies,

1986,1992,1994)indicatethat5-to7-year-oldshavearangeofsong-making

strategies;theseincludenarrativesongs(chant-likeinnature,oftenwithrepeated

figures),aswellassongsthathavemoreconventionalfeatures,suchasanopening

ideaandaclearsenseofclosure,four-phrasestructures,repetition,phrasesthat

both“borrow”fromtheimmediatemusicalcultureandwhichalsomaybe

transformed(sequenced,inverted,augmented)insomeway.Overall,childreninthe

firstyearsofschoolingdemonstrateaclearsenseofmusicalformandofemotional

expressionintheirinventedsongs.

Olderchildhood

Thelatteryearsofchildhoodarecharacterizedbyageneralsingingcompetencyfor

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themajority.Relativelyfewchildrenarereportedassinging“out-of-tune”attheage

of11years(Howard,Angus,&Welch,1994;Welch,1979,2000b).Forexample,

evidencefromawiderangeofstudiesindicatesthatapproximately30%ofpupils

aged7yearsarereportedasbeingrelatively“inaccurate”whenvocallymatchinga

melodywithinaWesternculturaltradition.However,thisproportiondropsto

around4%ofthesamepupilpopulationbytheageof11(aproportionthatissimilar

tothatreportedfortheadultpopulation—DallaBellaetal.,2007).Withineachof

theseandtheinterveningagegroups,“out-of-tune”boysoutnumbergirlsbyaratio

of2:1or3:1(Welch,1979).Culture,however,continuestobesignificant.

Anthropologicalandethnomusicologicalstudies,forexample,havesuggestedthat

youngchildrenfromtheAnanginNigeriacansing“hundredsofsongs,both

individuallyandinchoralgroups”bytheageof5(Messinger,1958,p.20),Venda

childreninSouthAfricawerereportedasbothlearningspecialchildren’ssongsand

composingnewsongsforthemselves(Blacking,1967),whereasHeratichildrenin

Afghanistantendedtofocusontheimitationofadultmodels,withthechildren

(particularlyboys)ofprofessionalmusicians’families(sazendeh)beingimmersedin

thelocalmusiccultureandoftenexpectedtoperformprofessionallybytheageof

12(Doubleday&Baily,1995).

<InsertFigure24.3here>

Alarge-scalestudyofchildren’ssingingdevelopmentwasundertakenaspart

ofanevaluationoftheimpactoftheUKGovernment’sNationalSingingProgram

“SingUp,”whichraninEnglandfrom2007to2012.Dataonthesingingabilityof

11,258childrenaged5to12yearswerecollectedoveraperiodoffouryearsasthe

programwasrolledoutacrossthecountry.Children’ssingingwasassessedusinga

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protocolthatcombinedtheRutkowski(1997)andWelch(1998)developmental

profiles(mentionedpreviously)tocreateanormalizedsingingscore(outof100).

Amongstotherfindings,dataanalysesrevealeda)thatolderchildrentendedtobe

moreadvancedintheirsingingabilitycomparedtoyoungerchildren,andb)that

thosechildrenwithexperienceof“SingUp”were,onaverage,twoyearsinadvance

developmentallycomparedtotheirpeersoutsidetheprogram,animpactthatwas

evenmoremarkedfortheyoungestchildren(seeFigure24.3)(Welchetal.,

forthcoming).Ingeneral—andinlinewiththeresearchreportedearlier—singing

abilitynormallydevelopswithageandcanbeenhancedifchildrenexperiencean

appropriatelyricheducationalprogram.Moreover,therearealsootherpotential

benefitsofsuccessfulsingingexperience,inthatchildrenaremorelikelytohavea

positiveself-conceptandsenseofbeingsociallyincluded(Welchetal.,2014).

Amongstotherpotentialbenefitsfromsingingareimprovedreadingskills(Biggset

al.,2008;Welchetal.,2012).

Oneeffectivemeansoffosteringsingingdevelopmentisbytheuseof

“imitation,”whichisacorereciprocalfeatureofearlymother–childvocal

interactions(Trehub&Gudmundsdottir,2014).Thisapproachisalsoevidenced

pedagogicallyaspartofanenculturatedinductionintotheskilledpracticesofexpert

singersinmanydifferentmusicalcultures,suchasexampledinthecathedralswhere

Europeansacredmusicispracticed,aswellasinthechoralcommunitiesofsub-

SaharanAfricaandScandinavia.CathedralsintheUK,forexample,typicallyinduct

theirchoristersattheageof8,sothatbytheageof13theywillhavehadfiveyears’

immersionintoaweekly(usuallydaily)ritualofrehearsals,performances,choral

singing,andsolos,embracingawiderangeofcompositionalstylesandmusical

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genresthatspanover500yearsofWesternclassicalmusic.Withinthecathedral

choir,performanceskilllevelissignaledbysingernomenclature(suchas“head

chorister,”“seniorcornerboy,”“probationer”)andvariationsinthedresscode,as

wellasbythedegreeofperformanceinvolvementinparticularrepertoire.Novices

aredeliberatelyplacedinbetweenmoreskilled,olderchoristersandnormallyare

requiredtosingonlycertainitemsduringthecathedralserviceswhiletheydeepen

anddeveloptheirperformanceskillsthroughlisteningandobservingtheirmore

accomplishedpeers(seeWelch,2011).

AlthoughthetraditionofhighlyskilledboysingersintheUKmaybetraced

backtothefirstfoundationsofEnglishcathedralsinCanterbury(AD597),Rochester

(AD604),andSt.Paul’s,London(AD604),the“all-male”hegemonyofcathedral

musicexperiencedamajorchallengein1991withtheadmittanceofgirlsto

SalisburyCathedralintheWestofEngland.Sincethen,by2009,thepotentialfor

equallyskilledperformancebygirlchoristershasbeenrecognizedthroughthe

creationofseparategirls’choirsin31cathedralsandminsters(Welch,2011),3witha

smallnumberofothersaddedsince.Girlchoristersareusuallyadmittedusingthe

sameauditioncriteriaastheirmalecounterpartsandareexpectedtoperformthe

samerepertoiretothesameprofessionalstandard.

Evidenceofthepowerofthemusicalcultureincathedralsinfostering

specialistsingingskillsmaybefoundbothinthequalityofchoraloutputs(suchas

nationalandinternationalbroadcastsbytheBBC,commercialrecordings,

3 The data for 2009 on the numbers of cathedrals with female choristers in UK cathedrals has been

collated by Claire Stewart as part of her ongoing doctoral studies at the Institute of Education

into their impact on the all-male choral tradition.

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internationaltours,andconcerts)andalsointheregularmedia-fuelledcontroversies

overwhetheritispossibleornottoperceivedifferencesbetweenthesingingof

olderfemaleandmalechildren(Sergeant,Sjölander,&Welch,2005;Welch&

Howard,2002).Withregardtoperceivedsingergender,asummaryofrecent

researchdata(Figure24.4)indicatesthat,whilstitispossibleforanuntrainedsolo

singer’ssextobeidentifiedrelativelyaccuratelyfromaroundtheageof8onwards,

itisalsoequallypossiblefortrainedfemalechoristersfromtheageof8tobe

systematicallymistakenasmale,dependingontheparticularpieceofmusicbeing

performed.However,oncethefemalechoristermovesintohermid-teens,thevoice

qualitybecomesmorecharacteristicallyidentifiableas“female”(“womanly”).4

Akeycomponentofourabilitytoassigngenderaccuratelytochildren’ssung

productsrelatestochangesinvocaltimbreaspartoftheagingprocess.Arecent

studyofn=320childrenaged4–11yearsrevealedthat,aschildrengetolder,there

weresignificantshiftsinspectralenergyintheirsingingofthesametargetsong.For

theyoungestagegroup(4–5years),nogenderdifferenceswereevidencedinthe

vocalspectrum.Incontrast,significantdifferencesemergedbetweengendersfor

childrenaged9–11years,withspectralenergylevelsabove5.75kHzdecreasingwith

ageandenergiesbelow5.75kHzincreasing.However,thisspectralshiftoccurredup

totwoyearsearlierforgirlscomparedtoboysofthesameage(Sergeant&Welch,

2009).

Ingeneral,children’svoicestendtobehigherinpitchandhavealess 4 For a detailed review of the literature on gender and chorister voice, including similarities and

differences in the underlying anatomy and physiology for singing, see Welch & Howard

(2002). For data on the perceived gender of untrained children’s voices, see Sergeant et al.

(2005).

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complexacousticmake-upthanthoseofadults.Also,thereareincreasesinvocal

pitchrange,bothupwardsanddownwards,thatarecloselycorrelatedwith

advancingchronologicalage(Sergeant&Welch,2009).Nevertheless,childrenare

abletoachievesimilarloudnesslevelsasadultsbyusingrelativelymorebreathuntil

theageof12,whenadult-likebreathingpatternsareobserved(Stathopoulos,2000).

<InsertFigure24.4here>

Pubertyandadolescence

Theonsetofpubertyheraldsfundamentalchangestothenatureandqualityofthe

singingvoiceforbothfemalesandmales.Whereastheactualdimensionsand

growthofthevocalinstrumentaresimilaracrosssexesduringchildhood(Titze,

1994),duringpubertythemalevocaltractbecomessignificantlylongeranddevelops

agreatercircumference.Incontrast,thegrowthofthefemalevocaltractisless

marked,beingabout15%to20%shorterthaninthemaleandwithadifferent

internalratioofresonatingspaces,mainlybecausethefemaleneck(pharynx)is

relativelyshortercomparedtothatofthemale(Story,Titze,&Hoffman,1997).

Growthtypicallylastsfrom10to18yearsinfemales(andcanbeginatage7—

Herman-Giddensetal.,1997),comparedwith12to20yearsinmales(Thurman&

Klitzke,2000).Attheturnofthecentury,thehighpointofpubertalvoicechangewas

reportedtobearoundtheageof12to14yearsinbothfemalesandmales(Cooksey,

2000;Gackle,2000),afindingsubsequentlygenerallysupportedinmorerecent

studies(Juuletal.,2006;Willis&Kenny,2008).Nevertheless,thereisalsosome

evidenceofatrendforvoicechangetohappenearlierthanpreviously(Ashley&

Mecke,2013;Killian&Wayman,2010).Themeanaverageonsetofvoicechangeis

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likelytobebetween10and12years(e.g.,Fisher,2010),withonestudyreporting

80%of11-year-oldsshowingevidenceofvoicechange(Killian&Wayman,2010).

However,ethnicityisnotreportedtobeasignificantfactorinvoicechange(Fisher,

2010).

Therearerelativelyfewmajorempiricalstudiesofsingingvoice

transformationduringadolescencereportedintheliterature,particularlywith

regardtothefemalechangingvoice.Thosethatareavailabledrawprimarilyondata

frompopulationsintheUnitedStates(e.g.,Cooksey,2000;Gackle,2000;Killian&

Wayman,2010;Williams,Larson,&Price,1996),theUK(e.g.,Cooksey&Welch,

1998;Geddye,personalcommunication;Harriesetal.,1996;Williams,2010),Japan

(Norioka,1994),andGermany(Ashley&Mecke,2013;Heidelbach,1996).Thedata

areconsistentaboutthepresenceandcharacteristicsofadolescentvoicechange.

Gackle(2000,updatedandrevised2014)reportstheoutcomeofherdoctoral

studiesinFlorida(during1987),alliedtoalmost30years’professionalobservation,

tosuggestthattherearefourdistinct“phases”infemaleadolescentvoicechange

(see inFigure24.5a).Inthefirstphase(termed“pre-pubertal:unchanged”)the

voicehasa“clear/light,flute-likequality”withnoapparentregisterchanges.The

comfortablesingingrangeisbetweenD4andD5,withinawidersingingrangeofBb3

toF5(anduptoA5).Thenextphase(“pre-menarchial:beginningofmutation”—

PhaseIIA)ischaracteristicofthebeginningsoffemalevoicemutationaroundthe

agesof11to13.Thecomfortablerangeisapproximatelythesameaspreviously(D4

toD5),withinaslightlyexpandedoverallrange(A3toG5).However,thereisoften

breathinessinthetoneduetoinadequateclosureofthevocalfoldsasaresultof

growthoccurringinthelaryngealarea.Asingingregistertransitiontypicallyappears

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betweenF#4andA#4,andsomegirlsmayhavedifficultiesinsinginglowerpitches;

otherswillexperiencealossofupperrange.Singingoftenbecomesuncomfortable

andeffortfulandabreathyvoicequalityischaracteristicacrosstherange.Thenext

phaseisthepeakoffemalevoicemutation(“post-menarchial:pubertal—highpoint

ofmutation”—PhaseIIb).Singingischaracterizedbyalimitedcomfortablerange(B3

toC5),discomfort(particularlyatupperpitches),distinctvoicequalitiesforeach

sungregister,andwiththelowerpartofthevoiceoftentakingonamore“alto”and

oftenhuskyquality.RegisterchangesappearbetweenF4andA#4andalsoatD5to

F#5.Thefinalphase(“youngadultfemale”—PhaseIII)hasamuch-expanded

comfortablesingingrange(A3toG5),lessbreathiness,greaterconsistencyintone

qualityandregisters,andgreatersingingflexibilityandagility.Vibratooftenappears

atthisstageandthevoicehasamoreadult,womanlyquality.Ongoingresearch

(Welch,2004;Welch&Howard,2002)indicatesthatadolescentvoicechangeisthe

sameforrelativelyuntrainedfemalesingersasforthosewhohavebeeninvolvedin

sustainedvocalperformance,suchasthroughmembershipofafemalecathedral

choir.However,aswithadultfemalesingers(Lã&Davidson,2005),thereisalways

someindividualvariationintheimpactofpubertyonthesinger’svoicerelatedto

slightdifferencesintheunderlyingendocrinologicalmetabolismandphysiological

functioning.

Maleadolescentvoicechangehasamoreextensiveliterature,bothin

EuropeandtheUnitedStates.Onemajorandinfluentiallongitudinalstudywas

conductedbyCooksey(2000),initiallybasedonfieldworkinCaliforniainthelate

1970s,thendrawingonfurtherstudiesintheUnitedStatesduringthefollowing

decade,aswellasaLondon-basedcross-culturalinvestigationinthe1990s(Cooksey

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&Welch,1998).Overall,Cookseyreportssix“stages”ofadolescentmalesinging

voicechange(see inFigure24.5a)thatarecharacterizedbyanoveralllowering

ofthesungpitchrange.Whilsttherateofvoicechangeisunpredictableforany

givenindividual,itisreliablysequentialforall.

Inthefirstmaleadolescentstage(“unchanged”),themeansungvocalpitch

rangeisA3toF5,withthetessiturapitchboundariesC#4toA#4.Thevoicequalityis

perceivedas“clear,”withrelativelylittleevidenceofbreathinessinthetone.The

beginningsofvoicechange(termedbyCookseyasStageI,“MidvoiceI”)aremarked

byareducedvocalrange(Ab3toC5)andinstabilityofsungpitch,particularlyforthe

upperfrequencies,whichtendtobeproducedwithincreasedeffort,aswellastone

qualitythatisperceivedasmoreeffortful,strained,andbreathy.Thesungrange

thendescendsapproximatelyinthirdsacrossthenextthreestages(seeFigure

24.5a),witheachstagebeingcharacterizedbyareducedmeanrangeandrelative

continuinginstabilityintheproductionofupperpitches,butcontrastedbyrelative

stabilityforthelowerpitches.Thepitchrangesare:StageII(“MidvoiceII”),F3toA4;

StageIII(“MidvoiceIIa”),D3toF#4;followedbyStageIV(“NewBaritone,”also

termed“NewVoice”),B2toD#4.Withinthese,StageIImayberegardedasthemid-

pointofvoicechange,andthisiswhenafalsettoregister(C5toB5)firstappearsand

(forsome)awhistleregister(C6toC7).StageIII(“MidvoiceIIa”)ischaracterizedby

thegreatestvocalinstabilityandtheleastclearvocalquality.Itisonlyinthefinal

stageofvoicechange(StageV,“SettlingBaritone,”alsotermed“EmergingAdult

Voice”G2toD4)thatthemeansungpitchrangeopensoutagainandthevoice

timbrebeginstoadoptaclearer,lessbreathyquality.However,thenumberand

intensityofharmonicsdonotyetapproximatenormaladultcharacteristics.

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Nevertheless,foreachstageofvoicechangetheadolescentmalehasa(limited)

numberofpitchesthatcanbeproducedcomfortablyandmusically(seethedarker

shadedelementsintherangesformalevoicesinFigure24.5a)andithasbeen

possibleinrecentyearstofindagreaterawarenessbypublisherstoproduce

repertoirethatisspeciallywrittenasbeingsuitableforthesechangingvoices.

Ingeneral,ageisapoorpredictorforestablishingvoicechangestages,with

anygivenagegrouplikelytoencompassseveralstages.Itispossibleforanindividual

topassthroughallstagesofadolescentvoicechangeintwelvemonths,butitisalso

possibleforthisprocesstobemuchslowerandtolastseveralyears.Nevertheless,a

summationofselectedUKandJapanesedataforover3,000males,aged9to14

years,providessomeindicationofthepossibleproportionsofdifferentcategoriesof

voicechangebyagegroup(Figure24.5b),whilstnotingthatother,morerecent

researchsuggeststhatvoice-changeonsetmaybegettingyounger(Ashley&Mecke,

2013;Killian&Wayman,2010).Ascanbeseen,theagesof12to14havesignificant

proportionsofmaleswhosevoicesareperceivedtohavealready“changed,”orin

theprocessof“changing,”whilstembracingareducingnumberthatarestill

“unchanged.”Ideally,choralgroupsofadolescentmalesingersinthisagerangeare

bestsuited,therefore,tomusicthathasbeenarrangedspecificallyfortheminthree

parts,usingtheCookseyclassificationguidelines(UnchangedandStageIonatop

line,StagesIIandIIIonamiddleline,andStagesIVandVonthebottomline),rather

thantoattempttraditionalfour-partmusicinwhichthetessituraeoftenarelikelyto

bemismatchedwithcurrentsingingabilities.

<InsertFigures24.5aand24.5bhere>

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Factorsinfluencingsingingdevelopmentandtherealizationofpotential

Ascanbeseenfromtheprevioustext,singinginoneformoranotherisanessential

featureofourmusicaldevelopmentandbehavior.Ineachagephase(infancy,early

childhood,olderchildhood,adolescence),thehumanvoicehasadistinctive

underlyinganatomyandphysiologythatiscapableofproducingadiversityof

“singing”behaviors.Theseincreasinglyexploreandapproximatetotheparticular

sonicfeaturesofmodelsthatareavailableinthesoundworldsoftheexperienced

maternalandglobalcultures.Inthefirstmonthsoflife,these“sung”productsare

drivenbybasichumanneeds,beforebecomingmoreexploratoryandmelodicin

natureasvocalskillsdevelopintheacquisitionandmasteryofmusicalelements.

Throughoutchildhoodandadolescence,singingdevelopmentisaproductof

neuropsychobiologicalactivity,potential,andchange,interfacedwith,andshaped

by,particularsocioculturalenvironmentsinwhichcertainpatternsofsound

characterizethedominantmusicalgenres.Atanyage,developmentcanbe

supportedorhinderedbyanumberoffactors,suchastheappropriatenessofa

givensingingtasksetbyanadultinrelationtocurrentsingingcapabilities,the

expectationsofpeers,and/orthevalueplacedonsinging(andcertaintypesof

singingbehavior)withintheimmediateculture.Opportunitiestoengageinvocal

playandexploration,toshareinsinginggameswithpeersand“experts,”aswellas

toimproviseandcomposetheirownsongsareessentialfeaturesofmusicalcultures

thatfostersingingdevelopment.Childrenwhoexceedthe“norms”reportedinthe

researchliteraturearelikelytohavebeenprovidedwithanurturingenvironment

thatisdesignedtomatch,celebrate,enable,andextendindividualsingingexpertise

(suchasevidencedinthe“SingUp”evaluationdata(Welchetal.,inpress).Others,

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whosesingingisperceivedtobe“lacking”insomeway,willnothavehadsuch

appropriateopportunities.Forsome,entrytoadolescencecanconfirmtheir

perceivedidentityasa“non-singer,”assomeoneforwhommusicisseenasanarea

of“failure.”Yet,everyonehasthepotentialtolearntosing—andindeed,studiesof

singinginadultssuggestthat“singinginthegeneralpopulationismoreaccurateand

widespreadthancurrentlybelieved”(DallaBellaetal.,2007,p.1188;seealsoCuddy

etal.,2005).Weneed,therefore,tocontinuetoseekoptimalwaystoallowchildren

andadolescentstoexploreandextendtheirsinging(andmusical)birthright.Inthis,

wewillreducetheneedfor“remedial”actioninadulthood,suchasthe

establishmentofadultchoirsfor“non-singers.”Thestoriesofalife-longsenseof

singing“disability”shouldbeconfinedtohistory.

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Figure24.1AccuracyratingsofItalianchildren(n=28)aged2.6to3.3yearsin

imitatingsongphrasesandcompletesongsmodeledbytheirmothers.Ratingsare

basedona7-pointscaleofperceivedaccuracy

DatafromTafuri,J.,InfantMusicality,2008

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

rati

ng

(m

axim

um

7)

individual children's singing ratings (n=28) Phrases Songs

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Figure24.2Longitudinaldataon5-to7-year-oldchildren’s(n=184)ratedsinging

abilities(maximumaccuracyrating=7)fora)wordsoftargetsongs(twosongswere

assessedeachyear);b)sungpitchesofsamecompletesongs;c)deconstructedpitch

elementsofthesamesongs(singlepitches,simplemelodiccontours(glides),and

simplemelodicfragments)

DatafromWelch,G.F.,Sergeant,D.C.,&White,P.,Thesingingcompetencesoffive-year-old

developingsingers.BulletinoftheCouncilforResearchinMusicEducation,127,pp.155–162,1996,

Welch,G.F.,Sergeant,D.C.,&White,P.,Age,sexandvocaltaskasfactorsinsinging“in-tune”during

thefirstyearsofschooling.BulletinoftheCouncilforResearchinMusicEducation,133,pp.153–160,

1997,andWelch,G.F.,Sergeant,D.C.,&White,P.,Theroleoflinguisticdominanceintheacquisition

ofsong.ResearchStudiesinMusicEducation,10,pp.67–74,1998.

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Figure24.3Meannormalizedsingingscoresaveragesbydecimalageand

intervention(“SingUp”versusNon“SingUp”)

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Figure24.4Confusabilitybyageandgenderofchildrenandadolescentsaged4to16

years.Thefigureisextrapolatedfrommeasureddataofperceivedconfusabilityfor

untrainedsingers(Sergeantetal.,2005)andmeasureddataofperceived

confusabilityfortrainedsingers(Welch&Howard,2002).Initially,untrainedyoung

boysareconfusedasgirls.Then,thesexesbecomemorereadilydistinguishable

fromtheageof8/9years.However,singingtrainingcanenablegirlsfrom8/9years

to14yearstosound“boy-like”incertainpiecesfromtherepertoire.From14years

onward,singersexbecomesmorereadilyidentifiable

DatafromSergeant,D.C.,Sjölander,P.,&Welch,G.F.,Listeners’identificationofgenderdifferences

inchildren’ssinging.ResearchStudiesinMusicEducation,25,pp.28–39,2005andWelch,G.F.,&

Howard,D.,Genderedvoiceinthecathedralchoir.PsychologyofMusic,30(1),pp.102–120,2002.

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

4 6 8

10

12

14

16

Incr

easi

ng C

onfu

sabi

lity

boys

girls untrained

girls trained

Age

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Figure24.5aStagesofsingingvoicechangeforfemales(basedonGackle,2000)and

males(basedonCooksey,2000)

DatafromGackle,L.,“Understandingvoicetransformationinfemaleadolescents,”in:L.Thurman,&

G.F.Welch(Eds.),BodymindandVoice:FoundationsofVoiceEducation.RevisedEdition,pp.739–

744,2000andCooksey,J.,“Voicetransformationinmaleadolescents,”in:L.Thurman,&G.F.Welch

(Eds.),BodymindandVoice:FoundationsofVoiceEducation.RevisedEdition,pp.718–738,2000.

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Figure24.5bExtrapolatedmodelofadolescentmalevoicechangebyage,basedon

UK(Geddye,personalcommunication)andJapanesedata(Norioka,1994),total

n=3,188

IncludesdatafromNorioka,Y.,“AsurveyofJapaneseschoolagedpoorpitchsingers,”in:G.F.Welch,

&T.Murao(Eds.),Onchiandsingingdevelopment,pp.49–62,1994.


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