A study to critically evaluate literature that identifies the most important physical changes that occur to the male voice during puberty, how the voice should be used during this time, common vocal symptoms and strategies to help the teacher mitigate the negative impacts.  

Paul Cook MA

Introduction 

Ashley (2013) remarks that the most difficult age for boys to sing is between the ages of eleven and fourteen. The changes in the male voice during puberty are profound (Brunssen, 2018). The most significant changes in the male voice occur during puberty (Harries et al, 1997) and are characterised by changes in pitch, vocal intensity and variations in tonal quality. Voice change is inevitable for all male singers and is therefore widely encountered by voice teachers (Clark, 2019).

The impact of male voice change during puberty had become an area of growing significance and relevance to the researcher’s professional practice in his capacity as a singing teacher of over twenty pubertal boys and as director of a youth choir with many boys currently experiencing voice change. The researcher was frequently approached by boys seeking advice or reassurance about the changes that were affecting their voices and also the negative impacts that they perceived on their ability to sing. Despite being male, the researcher often struggled to give purposeful advice because he did not sing as a child and had little or no recollection of his own voice breaking. The researcher read a significant body of literature but found that there was much inconsistency in research findings particularly in terms of the timeline of voice mutation (Barham & Nelson, 1991). Cooksey (2000) acknowledges that one boy might start and finish voice change in one year but another might take several years.

The principal goal in completing this study was the hope that it would help develop pedagogy in this area and potentially better inform teachers so that they might feel equipped to advise the boys whom they teach who are experiencing voice change. The researcher was seeking to design a short course which could potentially be delivered to other teachers to provide them with strategies to teach the male changing voice safely and to improve their knowledge and pedagogy. 

Context 

Most of the adolescent males encountered by the researcher viewed their changing voices with confusion and uncertainty. Thurman (2012) and Pritchard (2017) suggest that boys struggle to understand the changes that occur in their voices during puberty. Freer (2016) comments that many boys view their changing voices in a negative way. Williams (2019) disagrees and notes that most boys find the prospect of developing a lower voice as thrilling. However, there are common threads to be found in much of the literature that was read during this research: that of inevitable change, common vocal symptoms (Clark, 2019), but inconsistencies in the timeline of events during voice change and the onset of puberty (Cooksey, 1999; Weinrich et al, 2020; Fisher, 2010; Williams, 2019; Andrews, 2002). 

The purpose of this study was to help the reader understand how the male voice changes during puberty and to identify common symptoms and teaching strategies that will allow teachers to deliver sessions to the boys that they teach and to other singers and teachers. Freer (2009) suggests that the inevitable outcome of voice change in males is the lowering of the range but that the experience of every boy is different. Clark (2019) suggests that by helping boys understand how to use their changing voices, they are more likely to want to keep singing as adults. If this study could identify and present ways to help boys understand and come to terms with their changing voices then it will have been a worthwhile endeavour.

This study focused on the potential to deliver group sessions for pubertal males to emulate the positive impacts previously made in previous study on several groups of postmenopausal women. Rayapati (2008) states that interaction in group settings for people with similar problems and experiences can improve wellbeing, vocal health and nurture a positive outlook. 

The aim of this study is: 

·       To identify the most encountered symptoms of the male changing voice and to present possible strategies to help the teacher mitigate them.

The objectives of the study are: 

·       To review the literature relevant to the changes and symptoms encountered by the male changing voice during puberty. 

·       To equip the researchers, teachers and students with a better understanding of male voice change, help rationalise what has been learned and build upon existing knowledge from vocal practitioners and choral directors. 

·       To reflect on research findings to help prepare relevant material and deliver sessions to relevant students and their teachers.

Methodology

Identifying which research methods are most suitable for any project are largely ‘problem driven’ (Denscombe, 2014). Furthermore, deciding upon the most efficient way to organise and present data should be the primary objective prior to undertaking any research. 

This study will take the form of a narrative literature review. A literature review is essential before commencing any purposeful research on any subject (Webster, 2002). A purposeful literature review will strive to focus only on what the research addresses and what it fails to identify with no preconceptual prejudice (Booth et al, 2022). The researcher was mindful of this advice because he had no preconceptions and very little knowledge of the male changing voice.

A research project can potentially use more than one means of data collection (Bell, 2010), although inevitably, one method will be most prevalent. This study lends itself more to a qualitative approach because it seeks to understand and describe the research findings. 

Peer-reviewed studies were the primary focus of the research, but surveys and controlled studies were considered as a means of potentially helping to contextualise results more fully. Using a small amount of quantitative data was also considered as a potential means of providing greater insight and a broader perspective when analysing graphs and other statistics (McKim, 2015). The type of qualitative data that might be presented as part of a research project needs to be a primary factor in initial planning (Berg, 2001). Furthermore, the presentation of numerical data should always be textual. Any qualitative data that was to be presented would appear in the main body of text, not in the form of numerical format. 

Online searches fell broadly into the following topics: 

·       Male voice change (73,800,000 results). Results yielded a few videos on YouTube and many forums. However, much of the content was ill-informed and not peer reviewed. There was nothing from a credible source that the researcher was comfortable citing in the research.

·       Boys breaking voice (196,000,00 results). There were articles from more credible sources. However, the textual content mostly consisted of brief points for parents with very little research-rich material for the researcher to use.

·       Teaching boys during voice change (1,050,000,000). There was a significant amount of articles available. Some of the articles seemed to be well informed but not peer reviewed. The researcher discovered a blog which framed male voice change from an Estill perspective but it focused on language and concepts used in the Estill Voice Model which are not easily transferrable to children or teachers who are not familiar with the vocal figures. 

The most common symptoms of male voice change were identified in the literature that was reviewed: (Cooksey, 1999; Hughes et al, 1997; Swanson, 1981; Williams, 2016). From this, the researcher was able to define research parameters and the field of enquiry. 

The research could be considered applied research (Merriam et al, 2016) because the researcher was seeking to present any findings in a practical context to help develop his pedagogy and establish strategies to support boys experiencing voice change. Furthermore, the elements of the research which suggest strategies to help boys, which the researcher intended to deliver in group sessions, could be described as inductive (Locke, 2007) as the findings will help formulate concepts and theories.

Peer reviewed primary sources were most of the sources that were reviewed. The university library was used, the researcher purchased some articles online and referred to his own collection of physical books. Online searches mostly used the key words listed above and Journal of Singing hosted by the National Association of Teachers of Singing. 

Many of the primary sources that were reviewed were written since 2000. However, because this topic is so prevalent in the history of voice pedagogy, much of the research was done earlier: nineteen seventies. The researcher referred to this literature when relevant as much modern research still cites these earlier sources. Consideration of the credibility, validity and relevance of the sources that were used was of paramount importance so that researcher was confident that the use of older ‘grey’ literature in some instances was cited only when relevant. 

Exclusion and inclusion criteria:

·       There are two important aspects of voice change: adolescence and puberty (Leek, 2009). The researcher reviewed only literature which was concerned with puberty and the resulting physical changes. Adolescence is more aligned with emotional development and therefore is not relevant to this study on voice change. 

·       There is literature that explores voice change happening as young as ten years old and as late as eighteen years old (Mellalieu, 1966) but the researcher only reviewed literature focusing on boys aged eleven to fifteen years of age as this is the most widely accepted common age range for voice change in males. 

Literature Review 

This study comes from a realisation that it was necessary for the researcher to understand more fully the impact and changes experienced by boys during voice change and to discover strategies that could be used in the studio and potentially in group sessions. The aspiration was to present the findings in a format that could be shared with others to enable boys to understand what is happening to their voices and to provide a resource that other teachers can use. Resources available often focus on the physiological changes of the voice during mutation but do not provide strategies to help mitigate the symptoms (Clark, 2019). 

Despite teaching over twenty boys between the ages of eleven and fourteen each week, the researcher had very little specific knowledge about male voice change prior to starting this study The researcher did not sing as a child and has little or no recollection of the changes in his own voice. He taught many boys as part of a youth choir that he directs on a daily basis and came to the realisation that he was treating the boys with unchanged voices as girls and the boys with changed voices the same as the older boys. There was little or no provision made for the boys who were experiencing voice change. The researcher also realised, as an Estill practitioner, that Estill Voice Teaching, which was used with every student, had no provision for voices in a state of change. The aim of this study was to help gain an understanding what happens to the male voice as it changes at puberty, identify the most common symptoms and strategies to mitigate the vocal challenges encountered by boys.

Key terminology

Voice change: the period in a boy’s life (puberty) when the natural process of voice mutation occurs changing from a child’s unbroken, high pitched voice to a mature adult, lower pitched voice. The researcher chose to refrain from referring to the voice as ‘breaking’ as that can be interpreted as having negative implications (Ashley, 2013; Henwood, 2020; Cooksey, 2000). 

When does voice change occur?

No two boys are the same and the timeline of puberty in males can last as long as four years or only several months (Whiteside et al, 2002; Swanson, 1981). Puberty has often been seen to begin when the changes in a boy’s speaking voice are noticed. However, voice mutation is a late event in male puberty and the onset of hormonal change has started long before the lowering of pitch is evident (Hughes et al, 1997). Weiss (1950) states that the speaking voice and singing voice have separate timelines. Cooksey (1977) also suggests that the spoken voice changes in a much shorter period of time than the singing voice. The singing voice typically takes one to two years to change in adolescent boys while the same process can take as little as three months for the speaking voice. 

There is a similar lack of consensus about when the onset of puberty in males occurs. Wang (2002) suggests that there are many factors which could contribute in determining the onset of puberty for example obesity can delay the point at which puberty starts. 

The age of pubertal onset has lowered in the second half of the twentieth century from an average age of fourteen years, eleven months in Europe and North America during the 1960s and 1970s to less than fourteen years in 2012 (Weinrich et al, 2020). Williams (2019) goes further and suggests that the current average age of pubertal onset for boys is actually closer to twelve years, six months old whilst (Fisher, 2010) claims to have observed voice change starting as early as ten years old in some cases. Kennedy (2004) acknowledges the disagreement amongst pedagogues and researchers stating that each boy’s voice change process is unique.

Despite the obvious lack of consensus in the literature about the onset of puberty in males, there is much research still to do to identify the factors in determining why boys begin voice change at different ages. Variables in studies conducted such as ethnicity, weight, height, socio-economic circumstances might have undermined the accuracy of results. It is beyond the scope of this study and could be the subject of future research. 

What happens to the voice during the change?

The male thyroid cartilage expands horizontally during puberty. Brunssen (2018) states that the male thyroid cartilage grows on average by fifty-two percent from the front to the back and in height at the anterior by fifty-seven percent. 

The vocal folds increase in length by approximately sixty-five percent (Harrison & Williams, 2019). Furthermore, the rate and extent of growth of the vocal folds and larynx is greater than any other part of the body. White & White (2001) state that male vocal folds grow from six to eight millimetres in length to twelve to sixteen millimetres during voice change. 

The vocal folds, during puberty, mature in mass and, by the end of puberty, their constitution is the same as the adult with five separate layers. This bulking up of the vocal folds results in a great vocal intensity and amplitude (Titze, 2000). 

Swanson (1981) strongly argues that because the process of voice change is never consistent and that boys can vary considerably in their experiences, any method that attempts to chart a common formula for male voice change is fundamentally flawed. 

However, (Williams, 2019) recommends using the Cooksey chart of the stages of the pubertal male voice (Cooksey 1997; 2000) to help identify the current range of a boy to help map where he is on his journey through voice change. She also acknowledges that Cooksey’s chart is based on averages and that individual deviations are inevitable for example, a well-trained boy treble with a highly developed vocal technique may be able to hold onto their higher register further into the period of voice change. 

Cooksey (1977) provides the most widely accepted method of charting the voice change process (Ashley, 2013). Cooksey (1977) outlines five stages of predictable sequential phases of the voice although he revised this to include a further pre-mutational stage. Brunssen (2018) notes that Cooksey’s index followed the core of the voice as it descended through voice change and that the stages were aligned with vocal changes associated with puberty, although he acknowledged that the age suggestions were not exact. Killian & Wyman (2010) argue that voices actually undergo the changes in Cooksey’s chart earlier than he originally suggested. The stages in the Cooksey index are as follows: 

stage 0: pre-mutational, ages 7-10, speaks at D4: the voice has a pure treble quality;

stage 1: pre-pubertal/early mutation, ages 10-12, speaks at C4: the voice lowers slightly and loses some of its brightness;

stages 2 and 3: mid voice, ages 13-14, speaks at A3/G3: the voice lowers and darkens and often becomes more husky, loss of the highest range;

stage 4: new baritone/postmutational, ages14-17, speaks at D3: this is the biggest drop in pitch and the point at which the voice is most vulnerable and adult tone is not developed fully;

stage 5: settling baritone/early adult, ages 17-adult, speaks at C3: this stage can continue for some time as the adult voice emerges and settles. 

Ashley (2013) notes that the Cooksey chart does not align with the English Cathedral tradition in which the obvious physiological changing are often ignored with a focus on maintaining the treble register for as long as possible. It is easy to observe the descending pitch of the speaking voice and (Williams, 2019) insists that the boy that sings through voice change should avoid forcing the voice into the higher register because of the strain this places on the larynx while it is vulnerable and still growing. 

Cooksey’s concept of mapping the voice change in boys is interesting and a useful tool to identify the progress of a boy’s journey if one accepts that the age ranges provided for each stage is flexible. There have been other similar attempts to chart the stages of the male changing voice during adolescence, most notably (McKenzie, 1956; Phillips, 1992) but Cooksey has endured as the most widely credited amongst pedagogues and researchers (Ashley, 2013). 

McKenzie’s chart has six stages like Cooksey and he also agreed that the pitch of the spoken voice was an accurate measure of defining each stage of voice change. However, he observed that often the voice will rise slightly at the end of voice change and that this was the final stage of the voice completely settling. Furthermore, McKenzie states that duration of the period of voice change can be an accurate indicator for the inevitable register that the voice will settle in: short duration will result in a lower voice while the tenor voice usually takes over a year to settle. 

Phillips’ model also has six stages of voice change although the although suggested pitch ranges, with the exemption of the final stage, are all lower than Cooksey. In contrast to Cooksey who believed that the voice should descend gradually and naturally, (Phillips, 1992) advocates singing through the entire range available to a boy during voice change with head voice in the upper register and with the changed voice in the lower register.

All of the voice change charts above agree that there are obvious, discreet stages during the process of mutation and that the beginning commences with the onset of puberty. 

To sing or not sing during voice change 

Phillips (1996) notes that the English cathedral choir tradition believes that trebles should sing in the ‘head voices’ for as long as possible, even into voice change, and then stop completely until the voice has settled post-puberty. This seems to be based on established tradition and with no supporting evidence to endorse this approach. The researcher’s experience, when he was a choral scholar, was that of boy choristers often being completely discarded after their vocal usefulness has expired. He inherited several retired choristers into the music department at the school in which he was Head of Music from some of the most notable cathedral choir schools in the UK. Many of the boys viewed their changing voices with pessimism and missed their previous singing capabilities. 

(Swanson, 1981), argues that during a time of profound physical change, it is important that a boy receives the best possible vocal training. He further suggests that a boy should be allowed to grow with his voice and to learn how to use it safely and correctly.

Harrison & Williams (2019) argue that if a boy does sing during the period of voice change, due to the vulnerability of the voice during this time, that professional guidance is essential to avoid potential vocal trauma and that the range should always be within their comfort zone. The most comfortable vocal range is more likely to be towards the lower register of whatever range the boy has at any particular time because the ability to control the higher notes is diminished and phonation is more easily produced towards the bottom of the pitch range. Weinrich et al (2020) attributes the reluctance of many vocal teachers to teach males during voice change to a fear of causing vocal damage. 

The National Curriculum has a statutory requirement for boys to be taught to sing in the classroom in schools in England during Key Stage 3 (ages eleven to fourteen). This removes the choice from boys during voice change about whether to sing or not to sing. However (Ashley, 2013) notes a ‘widespread’ lack of knowledge about boy’s voices amongst Heads of Music in maintained secondary schools with only one subject leader in a study of twenty-five having heard of Cooksey’s voice classification chart.  

Cooksey (1977; 2000) clearly advocates for the singing through voice change in a sequence of ranges that descend progressively as the voice naturally gets lower identified on his chart (see above). One of the most common suggestions in much of the literature that was read for this study was that teachers of singing should take time to improve their knowledge of the male changing voice. 

All of the literature broadly agrees that singing through voice change is acceptable with the provision that it is guided by a vocal professional. The literature also suggests that many of the teachers who might be responsible for guiding boys through voice change may not be voice specialists or have the correct level of specialist knowledge. The reliability of the cathedral model is also called into question as choir leaders, who are responsible for training boys, are often organists and simply rely on their memories of their own childhood training in the English choral tradition. 

Cracks in the voice and noticeable gaps between registers

Brunssen (2018) suggest that whilst cracks in the voice can be embarrassing for a boy, they are commonly experienced during voice change. This is because the voice has restructured itself and the newly emerged register lift points are at pitches with which the singer is not familiar but will have to subsequently relearn. Because the components in the larynx grow at different rates and in different directions during voice change (White & White, 2001), it is inevitable that the voice will be not work effectively throughout the range. Sataloff & Speigel (1989) identify some voices as having distinct gaps between their registers during and after voice change. 

Swanson (1984) advocates that regular singing in the treble register during voice change will potentially reduce the gap between the higher and lower registers. However, (Cooksey, 1977) states that the changing voice should be allowed to gently descend as the speaking voice lowers naturally and that singing in the treble register during this period of mutation could damage the voice. 

Disagreement between Swanson and Cooksey, both amongst the foremost experts on this topic, and about such a fundamental aspect of voice change is provocative. There is other notable literature (Williams, 2019; Phillips, 1992) also in disagreement over this topic. Considering the physical implications for a boy who receives the wrong advice during voice change, this topic warrants urgent and rigorous research. 

Strategies for the singer and teacher

Towards the end of voice change, a gap between the falsetto and modal vocal registers can become prominent and hard to ignore (Davids & La Tour, 2012). Williams (2019) suggests that descending scales starting from the falsetto register will help keep the voice connected in the middle and ensure that access to the higher register is maintained while the lower register develops naturally. Bolster (1983) also recommends descending scales

 but states the vowels used should match the register and pitch of the voice from high to low: /i:/, /e:/, /a:/.once the registers have blended then the singers should be able to sing arpeggios and move freely from one register to the next. Brunssen (2018) suggests the use of humming into a kazoo in the region of the voice where cracks are occurring to help reduce tension and to promote the free movement between registers. 

Hall (2005) suggests that peer modelling is an effective way of minimising the embarrassment of voice change as boys respond well to same gender role models. Seeing older males coming to terms with their changing voices can be a powerful way of promoting confidence and the desire to continue singing in younger males (White & White, 1989). Clark (2019) suggests sitting boys together when in choral rehearsals as a good way to avoid embarrassment caused by cracks in the voice. 

Loss of top register/lowering of range.

Sataloff & Spiegel (1989) state that despite inconsistencies in findings, there are some common trends amongst males experiencing voice change: most notably that the male speaking voice will usually descend on average by approximately one octave. They also refer to (Swanson, 1973) who identified the four most common progressions of voice change: a rapid descent to bass register with complete loss of treble range; a gradual descent with retention of treble range with significant break between registers; retention of some treble with some bass register but nothing in between and an inability to sing with accuracy; rarely, a voice will retain full treble register and full mature range too. White & White (2001) agree with the concept of there being two distinct registers during voice change and observe that the management of the relationship between them is perhaps the most important priority for the singing teacher. 

Strategies for the singer and teacher

Swanson (1981) suggests that because the changing male voice adds notes in the lower register: this is where he should focus his singing. Take time to explore which of these new, lower pitches are the most comfortable and practise producing them correctly. This could mean transposing a song that a boy already knows into a lower key to help him explore his new range with familiar material. Furthermore, with voices which still inhabit two vocal pitch ranges (high and low), a song with limited range could be sung in each range to potentially help stabilise the process of voice change. Leck (2009) disagrees and suggests that the changing voice should focus on continuing to sing in the higher range and let the voice expand naturally to avoid noticeable changes in register.

Williams (2019) warns against trying to preserve the higher register as the voice is changing because the laryngeal muscles are lengthening and using them in the posture that they were will inevitably place the larynx under an increasing amount of strain and tension. She advocates finding the pitch of the current speaking voice and referring to Cooksey’s chart (mentioned above) to identify a comfortable range to focus on. Furthermore, the lowest comfortable pitch for a boy to sing will be a third below the pitch of the speaking voice.

The literature above, even though there is some contradiction, seems united in the references to vocal registers. The voice is one instrument (Estill, 2006; Steinhauer & Klimek, 2017) and the notion of head and chest voice has long been discarded by many modern pedagogues who understand that the source of vocal phonation occurs at an immovable physical location and is unable to move into the head and then the chest, (Michael, 2011). Would it not be more sensible to focus on producing one healthy, functional instrument irrespective of its range and perceived emerging register(s)? 

Improvisation exercises could be used as a means of allowing boys to explore their changing vocal range for example by extemporising over a familiar chord progression (Freer, 2010). This could potentially encourage boys to sing with more confidence and freedom without the fear of not being able to reach a specific note in a song and be seen to have made a mistake. 

Fisher et al, (2021) suggests that because a boy’s range continues to move throughout voice change, that regular reassessment by the teacher, perhaps referring to Cooksey’s chart (Cooksey, 1977), will help ensure that singers are given appropriate repertoire to sing. Gebhardt (2016) suggests that repertoire that forces a boy to sing outside of his comfortable range, which is subject to continual change, will compound any vocal issues arising from voice change. 

Clark (2019) notes that dialogue between teacher and student is a healthy way of helping a boy understand what is happening to him, allowing him to get involved in the choosing of repertoire and to give him the opportunity to speak about how he is feeling. 

Loss of accuracy 

Brunssen (2018) notes that instability both in pitch and vocal intensity is widespread in the changing voice during puberty. Fuchs et al, (2007) suggests that the instability of pitch can begin several months before the onset of puberty becomes obvious. 

Loss of accuracy occurs because the larynx descends lower in the neck during voice change (Williams, 2019) and expands in every direction. The boy with a changing voice has to rediscover the postures, placement and shape of the filter to phonate specific pitches with accuracy which can take time (Brunssen, 2018). 

Strategies for the singer and teacher 

Smith (2017) suggests that it is important that the starting point should be a pitch that the boy can reproduce accurately. Then, by singing up or down by step or a third, and subsequently extending the distance away from the first note in either direction, a boy will slowly improve the accuracy of his singing. Furthermore, it is advised that a boy will most readily model another male singer with a voice like his own rather than a female singer or an instrument. Providing stimuli in the same octave is also an important factor when attempting to improve the accuracy of a singer (Kramer, 1986). Yarbrough et al, (1992) suggests that using a voice with less vibrato is most effective when demonstrating. 

Williams (2019) suggests using the pitch of the speaking voice of a pubertal boy as a starting point for finding a pitch-point from which to start. Once the pitch of the speaking voice has been established, a third lower will probably be the most comfortable part of the voice and is therefore the most likely to be accurate in terms of pitch. Furthermore, (Mang, 2006) suggests that the pitch accuracy of the male singer will improve with age, presumably as the voice settles after changing. 

Welch (2000) and Goetz (1985) suggest that boys make most progress in improving their accuracy when singing melodies without text. Therefore it is advisable to refrain from giving boys songs with lyrics to sing as a means of improving their pitch accuracy if they are struggling to make progress. However, (Smale, 1987) suggests that the presence or absence of text has little or no effect in improving accuracy. 

Some boys will improve their accuracy more readily if they sing in unison with another singer suggests (Nichols, 2016). Perhaps working in pairs is a valid strategy for some boys however Cooper (1995) suggests that weaker singers can be overwhelmed by the presence of other performers and that this type of singer is more likely to perform better alone. 

The literature above assumes a starting pitch can be identified but offers no strategies for a boy who is unable to pitch even a single note accurately.

Change of timbre/breathiness

Weinrich et al, (2020) reports that breathiness in the male changing voice is common. Brunssen (2018) suggests that this is because the vocal folds are not adducting effectively. Following laryngeal imaging of the boys in their study, it was found that the physiological changes in the growing larynx do not occur in a linear manner. Therefore, glottal closure is often inefficient until puberty has ended and the vocal organ has matured in its entirety. 

The thickening of fibral tissue of the vocal folds during puberty combined with expanding laryngeal cartilages and space changes the timbre and characteristics of the changing male voice (Ishii et al, 2000). Swanson (1981) notes that the entire vocal organ is subject to rapid growth and that, in addition, the increased length and width of the neck allows the larynx to descend. Furthermore, the changes in dimension and proportional space in the larynx and neck will naturally change the timbre of the voice. 

Strategies for the singer and teacher

Exercises using a semi-occluded vocal tract are useful to help promote effective glottal adduction (Brunssen, 2018). Titze (2010) suggests that the feeling of backpressure of the airflow when phonating through a straw helps ensure a high velum, efficient vocal fold closure and healthy laryngeal posture. Start with /i/ and /u/ before moving onto other vowel stems as these are the most easy for phonation with a higher tongue position to promote stability and equilibrium between airflow and glottal closure. The ultimate goal of this exercise is to provide more stability in the larynx when, during voice change, it is less stable (Titze, 2004). 

Using lip trills or humming a favourite melody can produce similar positive benefits to those listed above. Cottrell (2017) suggests that lip trills also allow for increased acoustic intensity for reduced effort: perfect for the breathy voice seeking to improve efficient contact between the vocal folds. 

Hoarseness 

Chapman (1989) states that a significant amount of boys aged ten to thirteen will most likely experience hoarseness as a result of voice change but offers no reason why this might occur. Medina (1988) suggests that hoarseness during voice change is usually caused by illness or abuse of the voice. Smith (2017) suggests that hoarseness can often be attributed to a child shouting during play or singing too loudly in their lower registers. The changing voice is vulnerable and is potentially less resilient to misuse. Hoarseness can often manifest itself in the changing voice where misuse in a developing or weaker register is occurring. Swanson (1981) argues that the changing male voice is erratic and therefore every lesson could present a different problem, changing vocal range or hoarseness. Furthermore, that it is important the boy understands what he can and cannot do, that he is allowed to stay within his comfort zone but that he also needs to be sensible in how he uses his voice. 

Gebhardt (2016) suggests that some vocal models in popular culture who exhibit poor technique and whom boys try to emulate can have a very negative impact on vocal health because the adolescent larynx does not have the resilience or capability to sing in the same way as an adult. The vulnerable voice that tries to regularly model any number of popular male singers is likely develop problems such as hoarseness very rapidly. 

Edwin (1995) suggests that the singing teacher cannot eliminate all of the opportunities for vocal abuse and that even boys who are knowledgeable about their voices will still sometimes misuse them as they will attend social events that children enjoy such as parties or football matches. 

The literature points towards the common conception that misuse of the voice is a primary cause of hoarseness in the changing voice. Perhaps education for parents is as important as improving the knowledge of the voice professional in this area. 

Strategies for singer and teacher 

Smith (2017) recommends singing gently in the higher register as this is the part of the voice least likely to be affected by shouting. In addition, voice rest should be encouraged when it is painful to sing. A young singer needs to be encouraged to self-manage the voice and make decisions about when to stop singing. Furthermore, educating a boy about how his voice can be healthily maintained is a strategy that might prove to be preventative. 

Warming up gently before singing when the voice is vulnerable or hoarse is important to promote positive vocal behaviour and prevent further trauma (Bhavsar, 2009). Gently humming a short scale or siren is suggested as encouraging safe phonation. 

The environment for hoarse voices is critically important and students should be encouraged to avoid prolonged exposure to air conditioning, caffeine drinks, car exhausts or smoke which can aggravate the vocal folds and cause excess clearing of the throat which will exacerbate the hoarseness (Dorchin, 2003). 

The teacher should discuss medication with parents of boys who are experiencing hoarseness because antihistamines may affect the hydration of the vocal folds (Gebhardt, 2016). 

Most importantly, boys experiencing hoarseness during voice change should drink six to eight glasses of water each day to promote hydration of the larynx (Fisher, 2001; Verdolini-Marston, 1994). 

Future recommendations 

The researcher was surprised to observe that there were frequent references to scales, usually descending, to help navigate between registers and over gaps in the voice but no suggestion of using the siren. Using scales with defined pitches may prove harder for a boy who is struggling to sing accurately whereas a siren allows for greater freedom. Estill (2006) stresses the importance role that the siren plays in helping develop stability, flexibility and evenness across the vocal range. This could be an area of research with which the researcher could engage in the future to assess the effectiveness of using the siren during voice change. 

Several reports (Ashley, 2013; Clark, 2019; White, 2001) referred to the possibility that the changing voice behaved differently in boys who had sung previously to those who had not. It might be interesting to find out the extent to which previous vocal training, for example in a cathedral school, impacts on male voice change because it could be that regular vocal use prior to puberty manifests itself in the outcome of the settled voice. 

Limitations of this study:

·       disagreement in findings between several enquiries on the age of onset of puberty and the duration of voice change (Barham & Nelson, 1991; Cooksey, 2000; Andrews, 2002; Fisher et al, 2010; Clark, 2019; Weinrich et al, 2020;). Much of the literature acknowledged inconsistencies in current research. Key factors in the range of results which include: varying sample sizes of boys, confusion about what precise event marks the onset of puberty, diversity in ethnicity, height, weight and prior vocal training. It was impossible to identify common ground on the point at which puberty actually starts and the length of voice change. Perhaps it was an unrealistic expectation to arrive at a consensus when no two boys are the same.

·       there was significant difference of opinion in how the voice be during voice change amongst some of the most pioneering and influential researchers in this field of study (Swanson, 1973; Cooksey, 1977; Phillips, 1992; Williams, 2019). The aspiration for this study was to be able to identify a definitive strategy for use of the voice during puberty which would stand up to further scrutiny. However, the study has only been successful in identifying the different opinions of some notable researchers.

In addition, the researcher concluded that the field of enquiry was too broad and that he was only able to outline the key factors of male voice change and suggest basic strategies for the singer and teacher. However, this study was written to provide the singer and teacher with a resource to which they might refer as an informed overview of the symptoms encountered by the male changing voice and possible strategies to mitigate them: therefore, in the opinion of the researcher, on this point the study has been successful.

Conclusion 

The researcher had little or no knowledge about the male changing voice prior to writing this study despite working with pubertal boys on a daily basis. A large body of literature was reviewed which identified the key changes in the larynx during male puberty, the most common symptoms and strategies for the teacher. 

Since writing this study, the researcher has implemented much of what he learned with the boys that he taught and referred to the Cooksey scale on several occasions. On a school choir tour containing several boys aged between 12 and 14, the researcher reorganised the seating plan so that the boys were sat together even if they were singing different parts. He found that the boys were more comfortable singing in closer proximity rather than being placed among female choristers and that the overall standard of the choir improved as a result.  

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