Boys’ Changing Voices and Choir Participation in Middle School

Boys’ Changing Voices and Choir Participation in Middle School Carlene D. Ruesenberg Plymouth State University ED 5030 – Research Design Donna E Scribner, MEd, PhD

Background • Recruiting and retaining boys in choir has always been a problem for music teachers (Koza, 1993) • Factors contributing to boys’ disinterest include: • Repertoire choice • Outside interests • Perception that choir is “feminine” • Embarrassment about the voice change (Sweet, 2010, Freer, 2007, Demorest, 2000)

Question • How much does the changing voice factor into boys choosing whether to participate in middle school choir?

Definitions • Middle school – typically grades six through eight(Collins & O'Brien, 2003, p.221) • Chorus– A body of singers who perform together either in unison or in parts, usually with more than one on a part. (Randel, 2003).

Definitions • Voice change – The process in which the vocal folds thicken and elongate in boys as part of the process of puberty. (Joseph, 1963)

Literature Review • Cooksey (1977, 1984) described five distinctive stages that the voice goes through in which a boy’s voice sounds neither like a boy’s or a man’s, but somewhere in between. • This process can start as early as 5th grade (Killian, 1999).

Literature Review (cont’d.) • Killian (1997) found that over 80% of the men and boys in her sample reported a positive or neutral experience of their voice change. • At the same time, there were more than eight times more negative than positive comments made about the change.

Literature Revew(cont’d.) • After studying the voice change from a singer’s perspective, Kennedy (2004) suggested that boys need to learn healthy strategies for singing through the change.

Question • Since the above-cited studies involved specific purposive samples, • How much does the changing voice factor into boys choosing whether to participate in middle school choir in the Concord, NH area?

Methodology • Qualitative Phenomenological Study • Interviews • Questionnaires • Purposive sampling of boys both in and out of choir (with proper parental consent) • Eliminate subjects whose voices can be categorized as “Unchanged”.

Sampling • A stratified random sample of boys at Rundlett Middle School in Concord, NH and Merrimack Valley Middle School in Penacook, NH would be selected.

Sampling From there, the sample will be divided as illustrated below: Boys whose voice have started changing or have changed Boys who started in choir then quit Boys in choir program Boys who were never in choir

Instrumentation • Survey (adapted from Killian, 1997) • Interviews • Confidentiality would be maintained in the report by using pseudonyms for students.

Validity & Reliability • Pilot study to be undertaken to test questions and procedures at a separate school • Analysis of pilot study results done by independent reliability observer to determine reliability

Budget Researcher time in observation and interviewing (360 hrs x $15/hr) $5,400 Reliability observer (45 hrs x $25/hr) $1,125 Administrative overhead (15%) $177 HyperTRANSCRIBE and HyperRESEARCH bundle $399 TOTAL $7,101

References Cooksey,J. M. (1977). The development of a continuing, eclectic theory for the training and cultivation of the junior high school male changing voice. Part I: Existing theories. Part II: Scientific and empirical findings. Part III: Developing an integrated approach to the care and training of the junior high school male changing voice. ChoralJournal, 18 (2, 3, 4), pp. 5-13, 5-16, 5-15. Cooksey, J. M. (1984). The male adolescent changing voice: Some new perspectives. In M. Runfola (Ed.), Research Symposium on the Male Adolescent Voice (pp. 4-59). Buffalo: State University of New York Press. Demorest, S. M. (2000). Encouraging male participation in chorus. Music Educators Journal, 86(4), pp. 38-41. doi: 10.2307/3399604

References Collins III, J.W. & O’Brien, N. P. (Eds.) (2003). The Greenwood dictionary of education. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Freer, P. K. (2007). Between research and practice: How choral music loses boys in the “middle”. Music Educators Journal, 94(28), pp. 28-34. doi: 10.1177/002743210709400207 Joseph, W. (1965). A summary of the research pertaining to vocal growth. Journal of Research in Music Education, 13(2), pp. 93-100. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3344446 Kennedy, M.C. (2004). “It’s a metamorphosis”: Guiding the voice change at the American Boychoir School. Journal of Research in Music Education, 52(3), pp. 264-280. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3345859

References Killian, J. (1997). Perceptions of the voice-change process: male adult versus adolescent musicians and non-musicians. Journal of Research in Music Education, 45(4), pp. 521-535. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3345420 Killian, J. (1999). A Description of vocal maturation among fifth- and sixth-grade boys. Journal of Research in Music Education. 47(4), pp. 357-369. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3345490 Koza, J. E. (1993). The “Missing Males” and other gender issues in music education: Evidence from the “Music Supervisors’ Journal,” 1914-1924. Journal of Research in Music Education, 41(3), pp. 212-232. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3345326

References Randel, D.M. (Ed.). (2003). The Harvard Dictionary of Music, 4th ed. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Sweet, B. (2010). A Case study: Middle school boys’ perceptions of singing and participation in choir. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 28(2), pp. 5-12. DOI: 10.1177/8755123310361770

Boys’ Changing Voices and Choir Participation in Middle School