Perspectives of European boys about their voice change and school choral singing: developing the possible selves of adolescent male singers

Abstract

This article reports analysis of interviews with 85 boys from England, Greece, Ireland and Spain about the voice change, school singing and choral music instruction. Consistent, former and self-described non-singers were included. Data suggest consistency with much of the existing narrative literature about the experience of voice change. Unique topics included a sense of identity loss during voice change. Issues related to gender and sexuality-based bullying were explored. Boys offered numerous recommendations for teachers, including that teachers focus on vocal technique specific to male changing voices. Boys’ comments suggested a pattern of identity development consistent with the Possible Selves construct. This suggests that teachers can support adolescent male singers by addressing specific issues at specific points in a boy's process of voice change and identity development.