• singing is considered feminine;
• there is a lack of repertoire appropriate for young men whose voices are changing;
• there is a lack of understanding by adolescent males when it comes to the boy’s changing voice;
• there is a lack of positive male role models who participate in choral singing; and
• guys don’t like to sing because they don’t think they are good at it.
One of the missions of the Young Men’s Vocal Workshop (YMVW) is to address these concerns during a one-day festival/clinic. Results from a survey given to 226 participants in grades 7– 8 indicated the two main
reasons they sang in choir were they enjoyed singing and believed they were good singers. Conversely, those who did not participate in choir indicated they did not enjoy singing and did not think they were good singers.
Based upon this research, the literature about the topic, and personal experience, the Young Men’s Vocal Workshop’s main goals were created:
• provide an atmosphere in which young men can have fun singing with other young men;
• allow these students to experience a measure of success as singers in a choral ensemble;
• provide positive male singing role models for younger males; and
• educate young men whose voices are changing about the process.
(From "Real Men Sing . . . Choral Repertoire," by Mark Lucas. Read the entire article in next month's Choral Journal.)
Thom Baker says
Joyce Keil says
Kitty Babcock says