MT: What is the essence of your presentation?
JW: It’s partly about looking after children’s voices to make sure they are less likely to develop problems; but it’s also about recognising when they’re struggling.
MT: Who will find your session particularly useful?
JW: Anyone who’s a singing teacher who teaches children, anybody who runs a choir with children in it, school teachers, music teachers who may be running group sessions within the classroom. In fact, anyone who is a music educator unless they never, ever get children to sing. I’m hoping that it will be practical information that teachers can take away and use on a daily basis.
MT: What was it that piqued your interest, particularly in the protection of children’s voices?
JW: When I was teaching the choristers at St Paul’s Cathedral, a TV fly-on-the-wall documentary suggested their vocal problems were as a result of over-singing or wrong singing. I couldn’t find any information on children’s vocal health, pacing and stamina, so I ended up doing a PhD on the subject.
MT: What are some of the common voice problems children have in singing?
JW: Most common is just from overuse, like talking loudly and shouting in their everyday life – some families are noisier than others. That can lead to inflamed vocal folds, which means the voice will sound hoarse, slightly breathy, husky. It’s completely normal and it’s temporary, unless they do it over a long period of time: then the huskiness becomes habitual and they’re less able to use their voices clearly, easily and over a wide pitch range.
MT: How do you detect a problem and put it right when you can’t see what’s inside?
JW: Your ears will tell you everything you need to know. Is there clarity or does the voice sound rough? Does the child have to use a bit of effort to get the sound started? Can you hear a bit of breath coming out at the beginning of the sound? Any of these clues would suggest that their voice is not functioning as happily as it could be. To correct it, reduce effort levels. Bring the child’s attention to their body: are you feeling any effort to engage your breath, in your throat? Loosen up the body by moving it around, get them dancing.
MT: What repertoire can children sing?
JW: They can sing adult repertoire, but it may have to be adapted by rewriting bits or doing the song in a different key. Also, children may need to breathe more frequently because they can’t sustain long phrases. Muscular coordination may be a bit more clunky, and that will affect things like rapid and accurate pitch change and fast notes, so just slow things down a little. And because the larynx is smaller, they can’t keep going for as long, so they need to take more frequent breaks.
MT: Can children build up vocal stamina with regular use?
JW: Singing more doesn’t change anything in the body. Stamina is just learning to pace the system. When you’re singing, you’re not making the muscles of your larynx any stronger; you’re learning to coordinate them more efficiently so that you can do more for longer.
MT: Can vocal problems also be caused by psychological issues?
JW: In terms of what leads to fatigue, to huskiness, the most common and overriding factor is anxiety. Kids who are worried or anxious, for whatever reason – stress at school or at home, neurodiversity (sometimes undiagnosed), or even hypermobility – are much more likely to run into vocal problems because the whole body is more tense, with a consequent less efficient use of voice. The most important thing is to do everything you can to make them feel safe, and happy, because the happy brain learns much more efficiently and effectively. So keep your language positive.
MT: What do you aim to do in voice training?
JW: Give that child or young person a bit more autonomy over their own voice, to hand to them the knowledge and experience of what it feels like to do it easily. Get into that person-centred coaching style of teaching so that the individual knows what easy singing feels like – and then give them permission to say ‘I don’t like that’ or ‘I don’t feel that’s right’.
Finally, I want to say that singing’s really good for you – there’s a reason why humans sing, and there’s a reason why we feel better after we’ve sung. And getting kids to sing is really helpful for their group identity, for their expression, for their mental and physical health. It’s a great thing to do.
