Boys and Singing by Bette Gray-Fow

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Taken from Schools Music Association bulletin no 146, May 2001

As part of the Learning Schools Programme here at the Open University, we run electronic subject/phase conferences for teachers involved in the programme (currently some 127,000 nationally).

Discussions in the conference (which works rather like a large, shared email system) range widely-from assessment issues to suitable songs for KSI to questions about music hardware/software to Christmas musicals and materials for teaching the blues. Recently one teacher wrote in, asking for ways to encourage boys to participate in musical activities in school. This article grew from my response to this request.

I suspect that many of us have had this problem -how to encourage boys into music groups, and especially into singing. Having worked in a variety of schools, both mixed and single sex, I think that it is important to realise that boys are actually very keen to sing!

I remember a year 9 lesson at a large mixed comprehensive school about four years ago. The girls were visiting the Women into Science and Engineering bus, and I was left with a class of boys. As it was an "off the curriculum" opportunity, I gave them a choice of three things to do. One of the options was singing. I did not teach regularly at this school and we had not done much singing before, apart from some 'scat' work and improvisation, which they had enjoyed.

Much to my surprise over half the boys opted to sing! We then found that there were no suitable songbooks, although we resurrected the Soldier; Soldier theme tune from an old set of songbooks in the store cupboard. One of the boys had a very obvious drone and the others laughed. I stopped the singing and explained briefly about boys' voices shifting downwards and then transposed the song down a fifth. This particular problem was eliminated and it was clear that the boy could "carry a tune" perfectly well.

At this point another boy, with an unchanged treble voice, chipped in that he felt embarrassed that his voice had not yet shifted, and we talked about that as a group. Having worked in a boys' school, I could assure them that it was perfectly normal for a voice not to shift down until Year 11 I although it could happen as early as Year 7. This reassurance was enough to get them singing again, and we spent a glorious double period grouped around an old piano, singing whatever we could remember -including songs from junior school days.

In the light of this experience, I have devised some strategies

• Boys love to sing, but feel embarrassed if they cannot do it well. So it's important to A a reassuring and non-blaming atmosphere. (I am positively vicious with girls who giggle at boys when they attempt to sing. I just won't tolerate it.) Giving boys the option of "hiding out" in a group, as opposed to any solo work, is also important.

• Boys love to be in the limelight, so if they do want a solo part, encourage them. It is a positive way to get some attention and show youthful high spirits. Always willing to "have a go" at a solo, some of my best scat singers were boys who had "a behaviour problem"

• Boys like to sing in all-male environments so, if at all possible, try working with them separately, eg, in their own Year 7 choir. Make sure that you give them a "boys only" part to sing, whenever possible. (Boy-girl competitiveness can be very useful here!)

• When voices start to shift, make sure that there are parts within a limited range that they can sing. I have used barbershop quartets in Year 9 at my boys' school, telling the unchanged trebles they were "1st tenors" (and that the first tenors in operas always "got the girl"!). This relieved their embarrassment at seeming to lag behind. The 2nd bass parts were Ideal for those whose voices had plummeted to subterranean depths.

• In mixed classes Singing Matters (Heinemann, Educational) can be a very useful resource when voices start to "go". The backing parts tend to be limited in range, and are ideal for the changing voice. (It's important to get the overall pitch right, though, I generally put these arrangements up by about a tone for use in secondary schools. Otherwise the girls are singing entirely in chest voice, with possible repercussions for their future vocal health.)

• Unison singing -particularly anything which hovers around middle C -is nigh on impossible for a young bass or baritone. It takes several years before that area of the voice settles, even if the notes above and below are working well. (Many arrangements for SAB are not successful, because they move through quite a wide range, and regularly go up to the B to C "break". In my experience, SATB arrangements are more useful, with boys with unchanged voices singing "tenor".)

• Emphasise that singing is a skill and not a gift! Boys hate to fail -but they love a challenge! With proper training and support, everyone can sing. Most growlers are just lacking in confidence and therefore have a negative expression on their face. This pulls the soft palate down and produces the monotone. As the failures mount up, they look more and more apprehensive and gloomy and the problem perpetuates itself. With training there are no growlers.

Bette Gray-Fow, lecturer in Education
Learning Schools Programme, The Open University

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