Adolescents' Changing Voices - Characteristics & Care
of A Changing Singing Voice

For performers who start young, a changing voice is an unwelcome thorn in the side of a blossoming career.

One of the primary identifying features of the female changing voice is a breathy sounding quality, and, to a much lesser degree than the male voice, there can be slight changes in range. It's important to determine if the breathiness is truly a breath support issue, or if it is part of the changing voice quality at that time. Girls should be made aware that their vocal quality will change during this time, and that the change in quality is not a problem, but a stage. Encourage them to keep singing even if it sounds "different" to them. It's important for students at this age to realize that ALL voices change, and that this is absolutely normal. Acknowledging this can actually relieve some of the sense of "singling out" that boys can experience as their voices begin to change.

"The first is The Cambiata Concept by Don L. Collins, Professor of Choral Music Education at the University of Central Arkansas. Dr. Collins provides a very concise, to the point, in-depth look at the early adolescent male and female changing voice, vocal technique, choral singing, voice classification, singing in unison, sight reading, rote teaching, the uncertain singer, and proper choral literature. This is the type book that will become your "handbook about adolescent singers" and will be left on your desk for immediate reference."

"The second is the new 1999 edition of the choral music methods textbook entitled Teaching Choral Music , 2nd ed., also by Dr. Collins. It is one of the most comprehensive publications about how to teach choral music on the market today. It includes chapters on the European roots of choral music, choral music in America, developing a strategy for teaching choral music, characteristics of a master teacher, adolescent boys' and girls' changing voices, understanding the adolescent, proper vocal technique for adolescent voices, getting the most out of rehearsal, classes with and without emphasis on performance, the unique sound of adolescents singing together, the choral environment, and much more."

"The third is Teaching Junior High School Music by Irvin Cooper,former Professor of Music at Florida State University and Karl Kuersteiner, former Dean of the School of Music at Florida State University. This book is the original authoritative writing about the Cambiata Concept. Originally written in 1965, it remains one of the most quoted texts on dealing with adolescent voices found in libraries of music educators today. A second edition was released in 1970."

"All of the above books deal with the concept of general music, a singing program, voice classification, a music reading program, an ear-training program, choral techniques, fundamentals of music, a listening program, the story of music (history), and responsibilities of the vocal music teacher in middle and junior high school."

"The Cambiata Concept and Teaching Junior High School Music are published by Cambiata Press, P.O. Box 1151, Conway Arkansas 72032. Teaching Choral Music, 2nd ed., is published by Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. All three may be obtained from Malecki Music, 1-800-253-9692, or your favorite music dealer."

Other information can be found by finding works written by Dr. Kenneth Phillips. I have copied part of his bio here for you.

"Dr. Phillips has a broad background in teaching at all levels from elementary through adult. He has presented numerous sessions in the United States, Canada, and Australia on the topic of vocal pedagogy for young singers, including regional, state, and national conferences of MENC, OAKE, and ACDA. The author of two books and a video series, Teaching Kids to Sing (Schirmer Books, 1992, 1994) and Basic Techniques of Conducting (Oxford University Press, 1997), he is currently working on a book for choral methods. His research related to vocal pedagogy is available in over fifty published articles in leading music journals, including a chapter on "Research on the Teaching of Singing" in the Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning (Schirmer Books, 1992). It is Dr. Phillips's conviction that all people can be taught to sing with confidence when provided with a developmental program of psychomotor skills instruction."

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