The absence of boys in choirs is a perennial problem. As far back as 1916, an article in the Musical Times (called ‘A Choir Problem for Today’) lamented the decline of boys singing as they reach puberty. Twenty years on, this was still a problem, with a 1936 article in the Music Educators' Journal further commenting on this worrying trend. Subsequently, researchers have tried to understand why choral singing is so gendered. In 1941 the Music Educators' Journal found that boys felt it was ‘sissy’ to sing in choirs, preferring to spend their time on pursuits that were viewed socially as more masculine, such as sports. In a recent lecture, Lea Wierod-Borcak suggested that the 17th- and 18th-century education of noble women contributed to fuelling these gendered stereotypes, with drawing-room musical activities such as singing seen as a mark of sophistication.
This gendering of music is still seen today; studies reveal that some people gender guitar and drums as male, and violins and flutes as female. Alarmingly, research in the 1990s and early 2000s found a connection between singing and homophobia, with boys who sing in secondary school being the victims of abuse, regardless of their actual sexual orientation or gender identity. As educators, we have a social justice imperative for promoting inclusive practice and to ensure that all young people have access to the biological, psychological and social benefits of group singing.
Start them young
If boys have enjoyed singing in choirs during their primary years, they're much more likely to continue singing as teenagers. If you are a primary school teacher, consider developing your own or joining a whole-school class singing initiative – such as Sing Up or Bristol Beacon's Earthsong Programme. Even better, become a singing school and embed singing through all aspects of your day. This could involve singing to get attention in class or at break times, singing songs and rhymes to help with memorising concepts, such as times tables, or listening to singing to inspire creative writing during literacy lessons. Although few schools now have collective hymn singing, secular singing assemblies are a wonderful way to connect as a community and enjoy the social benefits of song.
Lifelong social connections and friendships are built in choirs, and there's lots of research that demonstrates group singing is a means of fostering a sense of inclusion and belonging. By considering the purpose and structures of your rehearsals, you're able to cultivate this to a greater or lesser extent. Having breaks in longer rehearsals or arranging singing workshops during holidays or activity weeks can help cement these friendship bonds, and encourage boys to keep returning to choir.
Do choirs need to perform?
Performances can be anxious times, particularly during the teen years when boys may have lost some confidence. That being said, there's research to show that a shared aim of working together for a performance and sharing that performance space can promote greater enjoyment. This, of course, has to be balanced alongside the potential for performance anxiety, and you will need to listen to your students and get to know them to understand which model of choir singing is most appropriate for your setting.
Role models
One of the best ways to help boys start and continue singing is for them to see others like them doing it. As Martin Ashley says in his Sing Up article, if they see other boys, especially older boys and men singing, then they will be able to imagine themselves doing the same.
If you're starting a choir in your primary school, then these role models may come through building connections and partnerships with local secondary schools. Many professional choirs such as Voces8, the Monteverdi Choir and the Fitzhardinge Consort, as well as cathedrals around the UK, run inspiring sessions that show children what's possible when you keep singing.
It's also really important to consider who these role models you provide are. Although seeing any boys or men singing will be useful, role models make most impact when they have characteristics that are relatable. If every role model is a white, middle-class, classically-trained singer, that may potentially alienate anyone who does not share the same identity markers.
A staff choir is a wonderful way of providing role models. Leading by example can help to break down barriers. I'd recommend that all schools have a staff choir and that you let students see you singing – not as a perfect, finished product, but as a work in progress.
Voice change
Perhaps the biggest challenge to boys singing is voice change. There's nothing ‘broken’ about a boy's changing voice. As teachers, we can help demystify voice change and reassure boys that it's a normal part of development. For a more detailed understanding of this topic, I can highly recommend Jenevora Williams's book Teaching Singing to Children and Young People.
For some boys, voice change is welcome and they want to start singing lower. Others, however, may want to maintain their soprano voice, particularly if they've been active as a chorister. Generally, it's important to be guided by the individual boy and to trust their instincts. Forcing a changing voice to remain high can be damaging to vocal health. Similarly, expecting boys to sing lower parts before they're vocally ready can have negative impacts. As educators, we need to model a flexible approach. Letting boys experiment with their voices in a safe and supportive environment is crucial, but we must also educate them on vocal health and how they can manage their vocal changes in a sustainable and healthy way.
Girls' choirs, boys' choirs or mixed choirs?
Having choice is vital for a sense of autonomy over musical education. Some children will want to sing in mixed groups, and others will prefer to sing with just boys, or just girls. In my experience, a large four-part choir with room to move down through parts as voices change can be very helpful. This could be an all-boys choir in schools that have attached primary and secondary schools, or more usually it's a mixed girls' and boys' choir.
Gendered language
If we can move away from ‘girls sing soprano and alto’ and ‘boys sing tenor and bass’, then we can also encourage more positive attitudes towards boys singing before, during and beyond voice change. Labelling choirs as ‘mixed voice’, with upper and lower voice parts, rather than gender labels or even voice-part labels, is inclusive and means that any person can be welcomed into that group to sing whichever part best suits their vocal and social identity. Given that girls also have voice changes during puberty, we might even re-label boys' voice change to ‘testosterone-related voice change’, a much more accurate and inclusive term.
What to sing?
It's important to choose repertoire that represents a variety of styles. Children's voices are wonderfully versatile, and as long as you're teaching with an awareness of healthy technique, you can jump from singing Brahms to Bernstein. What's important to remember, however, is that children's voices are not as developed as adult voices, and you can't expect to get the same volume or tonal quality from a children's choir as you would from an adult choir.
There are several publications providing repertoire for boys' changing voices, such as the Art Song Transpositions series and Liza Hobbs and Veronica Veysey-Campbell's Songs Within an Octave. But don't forget to ask the boys what they want to sing. Where a song is not in an appropriate key, or where the appropriate key changes from week to week, a keyboard with a transposition button will become your best friend – unless your transposition skills are far superior to mine!
Summary
There are many strategies we can employ to inspire boys to start and continue singing in choirs, but none of these will work if we don't build safe and trusting relationships with our students. As well as considering our gendered use of language and the psychological ramifications of the words we use – such as ‘broken voices’ versus ‘changing voices’ – we must do all we can to listen.
