Gender separation
in the junior high/middle school vocal music program has been discussed for
many years. Often times
scheduling problems interfere with the concept, but with positive requests
and information to counselors and administrators, this problem can be
solved. Separating the sexes is
a guarantee
for getting more boys into the choral program.
It is a fact that pubescent boys have vastly different vocal problems
from pubescent girls, and those problems need to be addressed separately
without fear of embarrassment. It
is imperative that the boys feel as if they are in a safe environment where
all students share the same vocal problems.
Additionally, they can be introduced to masculine choral and solo
literature. As a result
of this process, they are not as afraid of failure as they are in the
presence of females.
Realistically, girls, at this age, are both physically and
emotionally far beyond the boys. Feelings
of inadequacy and insecurity with their own levels of vocal, emotional, and
physical maturation virtually disappear with the absence of the girls.
Positive factors that result in the training of young males in this
manner include: establishing a healthy form of competition between the boys
and girls classes; fewer discipline problems when the other sex is not
present, therefore eliminating the “flirt factor”; can coincide with
single gender P.E. or other athletic classes; and training techniques
designed specifically for the male or female can be implemented.
The most positive aspect of training boys with their male peers is
that the boys with unchanged and changing voices will be able to see and hear the natural progression of the male voice through examples
set by those voices that have already changed, therefore allowing their
peers to guide them through the changing process and toward vocal success.
The selection of choral music for this age boy or girl is much less
challenging when pursuing single gender pieces that are designed to fit
specific needs. For example
with the unchanged, changing, and changed boys voice, many composers and
publishers have begun writing and publishing outstanding literature with
specific problems in mind.
Consider the number of problems that need to be addressed with mixed
gender music. Is there danger when that boys voice is forced to sing a part
that is not in the appropriate range and could possibly damage the vocal
mechanism? Are you willing to
take that chance?
If inadequate teaching techniques are correlated with music that is
inappropriate for the changing boys voice, permanent damage can be done to
that delicate, ever-changing vocal apparatus.
As choral teachers we are expected to deal knowledgeably with the
voices we train. Once the
damage is done, it can never be undone.
To your administrators and school boards this message should be
presented: We are teachers who
care about our programs, our students, and good singing.
Please afford us the opportunities we seek to offer quality Music
Education to the students who pass through our programs and our lives. We depend upon our Administrators, our Board Members, the
parents of our students, and the communities we live in to provide the
forums we need to make outstanding
choral programs
out of mediocre ones. And
training the genders separately is one vehicle we can use to accomplish our
goals.
Nancy
Cox, ACDA National Chair
JH/MS
Choral Repertoire and Standards
