Some types of ensembles have special requirements that aren’t well represented on the difficulty scale. So far, we have only defined one special ensemble type.
Middle School Groups
Middle school voices, as they develop, are aided by special attention in a couple areas.
- limited range: soprano no higher than F5, alto no lower than Bb3, cambiata/tenor between G3 and F4, bass between Bb2 and D4
- avoidance of large leaps
Middle school singers have a smaller range than their younger and older counterparts. It’s part of the changes that happen during puberty.
As low voices grow through puberty, the mechanism loses flexibility, and for a time, they are lucky to have a major sixth of range. Some students may only be able to phonate one or two pitches. That transition point can pass in a few days or last a few months, depending on how quickly the mechanism grows, and how evenly the two vocal folds expand. If one expands faster than the other, it creates major vocal issues until the second one catches up. Sometimes kids who can sing a passage one day can’t even find the starting note the next day.
For pubertal treble voices, the changes are less pronounced, because the mechanism lengthens only a small amount. However, the folds thicken, and the thickening can happen at different rates. How much of the folds are in contact with one another affects timbre and to a lesser extent, pitch. More specifically, it affects pitch accuracy, especially in the upper ranges, so for a time those highest notes get more difficult to reach. It’s better not to ask the voices to sing tons of those high notes during the transition. We can continue to vocalise up there and in a solo setting, an individual might sing up there more if they can, but in a choral setting, we accomplish more by focusing on the mid-range and developing musicianship/tone building skills during the vocal change.
The seminal research on the changing male voice is by John Cooksey. For the changing female voice, check out Lynne Gackles’ book “Finding Ophelia’s Voice.”