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Adolescence, Singing Development and National Curricula Design

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2008

John M. Cooksey  and
Graham F. Welch
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Abstract

Adolescence is characterised by a distinctive phase of vocal development which bridges childhood and adulthood. Various research studies over the past twenty years have demonstrated that the physical maturation of the adolescent voice mechanism produces a systematic change in both the male and female singing voice. Longitudinal research data indicate that there are distinctive features to each stage of adolescent voice change and that, with an appropriate matching of repertoire, it is possible for all young people to continue to sing successfully throughout this period. The traditional and stereotypical notion that adolescent male voices ‘break’ is untenable in the light of this research evidence and it is suggested that a concept of adolescent singing voice ‘transformation’ or ‘change’ is a more accurate representation of the physiological reality. It is a weakness of the revised National Curriculum for Music (1995) that it makes no appropriate reference to this unique period of adolescent voice change and, as a result, teachers receive inadequate statutory guidance on the development of singing at Key Stage 3.

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Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Music Education , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , March 1998 , pp. 99 - 119
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998

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