Vocal Health During the Voice Change: Recollections and Recommendations of Collegiate Male Choral Singers

The purpose of this study was to gather the textual and visual narratives of undergraduate males about their singing experiences during the adolescent voice change. Analysis explored these students’ reasons for participation (or not) in secondary choral music, their self-perceptions as singers, and of their vocal maturation process. Much current research focuses on the attrition of young males from school choral music education during the middle and high school years. One purpose of this study was to extend the population to collegiate-aged male singers, with a focus on factors related to vocal health.

The forty-nine participants ranged in age from 17 to 35 and represented two university choral programs, one in the United States and one in Ecuador. Participants contributed through written questionnaires, individual interviews, and focus group discussions. Analysis highlighted six thematic categories concerning the role of peers, masculinity, standards of musical excellence, singing versus choral music, perceptions of the voice change, and the longitudinal singing experience of individual singers throughout the span of adolescence into young adulthood. This report focuses on issues related to participants’ perceptions of the voice change, vocal health, and pedagogy. Forty-two of the participants (86%), unprompted, recommended that choral teachers of adolescent males offer instruction specifi c to vocal health and singing during the voice change.