The changing voices of male choristers: an enigma … to them

Abstract

This paper reports a study designed to identify the understandings and perceptions of boys enrolled at the London Oratory School about the male adolescent voice change, singing, and choral pedagogy. The study took place on the twentieth anniversary of researcher John Cooksey's 1992-1994 study concerning the vocal development of boys at the London Oratory School. A secondary goal of the study was to determine any long-term impact of Cooksey's work at the school itself. Twelve boys aged 12-18, representing continuous and non-continuous singers, participated in individual interviews. Interviews focused on boys' knowledge of their changing voices, the perceived effects of the voice change on singing and musical (vocal) selfefficacy, attitudes toward vocal rest during the voice change, and recommendations for teachers and conductors. Analysis revealed that even experienced choristers sense a loss of control and autonomy during the voice change process. Results indicate a negligible ongoing influence of Cooksey's work.

Eighth- and ninth-grade students’ perceptions of a curriculum designed to support adolescent female vocal development: An action research study

“…All genders and sexes can benefit from this work, and our findings may apply to adolescent males. Researchers have found that male adolescents also experience significant challenges while their voices change (Freer, 2006, 2016; Harrison et al, 2012; M.C. Kennedy, 2004; Sweet, 2010).…”

“A Common Obsession”: Children’s and Young People’s Perceptions of Learning in an Intensive Summer Choral Program

“…Children's and young people's perspectives have also informed the growing body of research in choral singing activity. This research has largely focused on health, wellbeing and attitudes toward singing by participants across all ages: children (Welch et al, 2014;Barrett et al, 2020), adolescents (Lucas, 2011;Parker, 2014;Freer, 2016;Orton and Pitts, 2019) and the adult lifespan including young adults (Clift and Hancox, 2010;Clift et al, 2016;Fernández-Herranz et al, 2021). A recent survey developed specifically to access the perceptions of 6-17-year-old choristers who were engaged in high-level choral performance ensembles demonstrated a strong association between choral participation over time and positive improvements in the domains of self-esteem, self-efficacy, identity and social impact (Zhukov et al, 2021).…”

El desarrollo de la voz masculina durante la adolescencia: una pedagogía basada en la investigación

“…Conocemos las etapas del desarrollo vocal masculino, las tesituras que acompañan a esas etapas y gran parte de los aspectos sociales y psicológicos que influyen en la probabilidad de que un muchacho continúe cantando durante este período (por ejemplo, Cooksey, 2000aCooksey, , 2000bFreer, 2016).…”