Hi, Joel, and congratulations on looking for answers already.  There are excellent books on the changing voice (and don't forget that girls go through a voice change too, although it's less noticeable than for boys), and I'm sure you'll get good suggestions on that.

 

But your second question is one that is still a matter of disagreement among professionals of good conscience.  Many voice teachers in the bel canto tradition insist that vibrato is a natural and inevitable result of proper vocal production.  But most children do not naturally have a vibrato, even when their singing is perfectly "natural" and perfectly healthy.  And some adults do not, either.  I'm one of them, although I've learned to create a vibrato, and I've had excellent voice teaching starting from my high school days.

 

Still others, of course, will have a kind of vibrato that is not considered acceptable, whether it is a slow wobble or a very fast fibrilation.  In many cases this can be traced to poor vocal habits and corrected by changing those habits, but in a few voices that's simply the way the voice works for that particular individual.

 

Adolescents are somewhere in the middle.  Some will have a pleasing natural vibrato that seems perfectly healthy.  Others will have no vibrato and still be properly supported and seem to be using the vocal mechanism in a healthy way.  And perhaps the WORST thing a conductor can do is to try to force either one or the other on young voices that are still emerging from the adolescent vocal change and perhaps are not yet fullly settled into their mature voices.

 

As a choral conductor my feeling is that vibrato is an important expressive element and, like all other elements, should be under the singer's control TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE.  It should be possible to remove vibrato as an expressive device, and to do so without increasing tension, although there are voice teachers who sincerely believe that this is not possible.  But too many singers in too many different genres and styles worldwide do exactly this to claim that it can't be done.

 

It should also be possible to increase vibrato as an expressive device, in effect a "vibrato crescendo," and to do so again without creating unwanted muscular tension.  But with all that said, most voices will have a natural vibrato rate that colors the sound without standing out and calling attention to itself, and that should be the ultimate goal for any singer.

 

I'm sure you will get a good many opinions, and that's good because you will have to come to your own understanding of the physiology of singing and the way it affects both choral singers and soloists.  But beware of any statements that use the words "always" or "never"!

 

All the best,

John

Henry Leck has a great section about the boys changing voice in his book, Creating Artistry Through Choral Excellence.  He also has a great DVD out there about the Boys Changing Voice. He has done much research and is considered one of the authorities on this issue. I highly recommend getting a copy of that book for your professional library.

 

 

Donna

Joel,

 

So glad you are looking for information about cambiata voices in MS choirs.  It's an important topic.    For girls' voices:  "Finding Ophelia's Voice--Opening Opehlia's Heart" by Lynne Gackle, Heritage Music Press.   For boys' voices (I'm tooting my own horn.): (a) "Strategies for Teaching Junior High and Middle School Male Singers--Master Teachers Speak" by Terry Barham, Santa Barbara Music (www.sbmp.com),  (b) "The Boy's Changing Voice--New Solutions for Today's Choral Teacher" by T. Barham and D. Nelson, Alfred Music, and (c) "Working with the Adolescent Voice" by John Cooksey, Concordia Publishing House.

 

Vibrato happens naturally in some adolescents and not in others.  My opinion:  asking middle school voices, especially, to add or take out vibrato is treading on thin ice -- very, very unwise because in an attempt to do what the teacher asks, many Middle School singers will develop bad habits which inhibit life-long healthy singing.    Teach kids to sing well (see "Vocalises for Healthy Voice Building" in "a" above). 

 

Terry

 

Hello, Joel -- you can find great information by doing a quick search for articles in Music Educators Journal and Choral Journal since content in books cannot reflect the latest research.  Please see the April and May 2012 issues of Choral Journal (especially April) that are especially relevant to your question.  In addtion to my many articles, you can find scientifically-based (i.e. reliable and verifiable) information and teaching techniques in three of my other publications:

  

Book Chapter:

Freer, P. K. (2012). From boys to men: Male choral singing in the United States. In S. Harrison and G. Welch (Eds.), Perspectives on Males and Singing (pp. 13-26). New York: Springer.

 

Book:

Freer, P. K. (2009). Getting Started with Middle School Choir, Second Edition.  Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education.  (Winner, “2010 Outstanding Academic Title.” Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries)

 

DVD series:

Freer, P.K. (2005). Success for Adolescent Singers: Unlocking the Potential in Middle School Choirs. [DVD Series and Resource Guide].  Waitsfield, VT: Choral Excellence Press.

 

Take care,

Patrick Freer

Georgia State University

Thank you all for your insight!! I plan on checking out as many books as possible, and reading up on the subject.  This was my first post on ChoralNet -- I have been reading the forums for about a year now -- but I am so overwhelmed by the level of informative responses! Thanks again for your help.

Joel,

I also direct you to the recent discussion of this topic under, "Teenage basses who can barely match pitch" which you may access on the right hand column of the  Choralnet home page.

S

Joel,

As a choral director at an all boys school I can tell you that there are a bunch of theories on boy's singing and the changing voice, only some of which are good.  I have to second Henry Leck's book as he has some wonderful ideas regarding boy's singing that are really right on.  Having worked with him as well, I can tell you that he is one of today's top clinician's when it comes to working with young voices.

 

However, your original question was about cambiata voices and it seems like no one has been able to direct you in a clear direction.  You want to do some research on Professor Irvin Cooper who is the man who coined the term cambiata for boys voices and has done some wonderful research in England, Canada and the US, all in places where he worked and taught.  He has some wonderful papers and great literature.  His last position was at Florida State, where Andre Thomas, another great clinician currently teaches.  The Cambiata Institute however, which Cooper started, is now in Texas.

 

Hope that helps.  I've done more than my fair share of research in this area and would to one day see a concise reference for music educators to draw on that clarifies many of the mis-conceptions that most people have about the boy's changing voice.  There's some great books out there, but many of them have conflicting ideas.  Hope this helps,

Chad