The Child-Voice in Singing / Treated from a physiological and a practical standpoint and especially adapted to schools and boy choirs

by Francis E. Howard

Every choir trainer must have observed the preliminaries to this period. A boy for instance, shows all at once a sudden increase of volume and finds it difficult to sing unless quite loudly or softly.

This shows that the vocal bands are relaxed. Following this, the speaking voice will lower in pitch, and show hoarseness at times. As soon though, as this hoarseness passes away, that is, when the congestion at the larynx has passed, the voice is better perhaps than before. Then comes another break, as we say, that is, a period of sore throat and hoarseness.

After this has passed, it may be that the boy has lost his upper notes, but can sing the lower ones with ease; the tone too, is changed in timbre. It has the color of the man’s head voice; or it may be that the boy can still sing his high notes, but that the lower ones are uncertain. Voice mutation is not one continuous period of growth of vocal bands and laryngeal cartilages. On the contrary, the periods of vocal disturbance are separated by intervals when the throat is comparatively free from irritation. These intervals may be long or short. It evidently depends upon the rapidity or slowness of the general growth and development.

There can be no doubt now, that during a time when the voice is uncertain and hoarse from the irritation of the vocal bands and surrounding parts, that singing is positively harmful, but during the intervals separating these periods, especially where they extend, as in many cases, over several months, it would seem that the singing voice might be used.

Each individual case must be observed and judged by itself. This is entirely possible in choirs. If then the choir-master is careful to observe and to humor the changing voice at all critical times; if he will insist that the boy sing very lightly or not at all if it hurts him, and if he will resolutely check any tendency to break into the tenor or chest quality, he can train in a short time a good alto force from his choir, and these young men so trained may become efficient male alto singers.

It is true that in many cases boys may be carried through the mutation period, and at the end show such light tone upon the falsetto or head voice as to be of no value. The strength and timbre of the male falsetto depends partly upon the character of the vocal bands and partly of course upon the size and shape of the resonance cavities.

Men who have voices of wide range and good volume in the chest or usual singing voice, generally possess strong head or falsetto tones, and it may be that soprano boys who possess large voices, that is those which show volume of tone along with purity, whose resonance cavities are large, will prove to develop a better falsetto, as men, than those boys whose voices are thinner. One other point remains to be disposed of. Will the use of this voice by youth or adult, injure his other voice, be it naturally bass, baritone, or tenor? No, it will not, and yet the average choir-master will most assuredly be met with this objection or fear. It is surprising that so many of those who are in the business of trying to teach voice, should be ignorant of the character and range of the male falsetto or head voice, but in spite of this ignorance, and more or less prejudice against its use, the fear that by using it one impairs the tones of the chest register or the usual singing voice, is utterly unfounded. It is produced with far less effort and tension of the vocal bands than is the chest voice, and is physiologically perfectly safe. The mechanism which the larynx employs to produce the falsetto is just as natural as the mechanism employed to produce the chest voice. That it is an unusual voice with us is due to circumstances of musical development. The advent of the male vested choir has, however, created a demand for it, and it may be met as indicated, by keeping boys upon the head voice during mutation or so much of the time as is safe, and afterward, when the age of adolescence is past, even if some prefer to sing bass or tenor, the number of those available for the alto parts will be sufficient to meet all requirements.

[ CHAPTER IX.]

GENERAL REMARKS.

In the preceding chapters, dealing as they do with special subjects or subdivisions of the main topic, the effort has been to point out and to suggest some ways in which good vocal habits may be taught, and simple and effective vocal training carried on with whatever materials there may be at hand in the shape of books, charts, blackboards, staves, etc. The leading idea is the correct use of the voice; the particular song or exercise which maybe sung is of no special importance; the way in which it is sung is everything.