We Can All Make Music.
Men's
singing
On
Saturday, February 15, 2003, at the Uniting Church Hall in Northcote, Community
Music
Of
course, the singing part was fabulous.
The discussion was illuminating, ranging across issues such as
identifying why fellas weren't turning-up in droves, what it was that attracted
those who did become involved and, most importantly, what could be done to
shift this imbalance.
Why is it
so?
The
first step towards change is to understand why things are the way they
are. Participants spent a lot of time
examining the factors contributing to the un-musical male.
Early influences
Not
surprisingly, it became clear that many of the reasons are attitudinal,
acquired in childhood.
Dominant negative expectations: in our culture, it appears
to be a generally held truth that it is only exceptional men that can sing (a
self-fulfilling “truth’, if ever there was one). Boys grow up in a climate in which it is not
expected that they will be able to sing, and in which singing is not highly
valued or encouraged. It is no surprise
therefore that they don't sing, or if they do they sing badly.
Voices of authority: we become what we are
told we are. It is only exceptional
children who rebel against the categories their teachers and parents put them
in and most of us end-up accepting the labels put on us. If we are told often enough that we can't sing, that we're “tone deaf” or that we don't
have a musical bone in our bodies, we'll end up believing it. Worse still, we'll probably do the same to
our own children.
Mystification: the idea that singing is something that comes
naturally to all of us has long disappeared from our culture (refer point one
of this discussion), and it is now something requiring learning and practice to
accomplish, without much prospect for material reward. This is not a climate many young boys are
prepared, of their own volition, to enjoy.
Peer pressure: it's a “boy thing” to deride
activities perceived as being sissy, woosy, dorky, or un-cool. Even though most male teenagers may aspire to
becoming musical pop stars, it would appear that no connection is made between
this dream and, for example, being in the local church choir or (heaven forbid)
standing-around with a bunch of girls singing songs about peace and love.
Fear of appearing foolish: it appears it is only
the exceptional child who wishes to stand-out from the group who will
voluntarily sing. Most of us want to
blend in, becoming part of the furniture. What is especially true is that we
don't want to be noticed for “getting it wrong”. Singing “badly” is a sure-fire
way of attracting scorn and derision.
Selection processes: the ways that adults
go about choosing members of children's singing groups is often, in itself,
intimidating. An example of this is the
competitive audition. These processes
are even more insidiously damaging when overt democratic rhetoric goes
hand-in-hand with covert weeding-out processes.
Children perceive this hypocrisy and withdraw.
Male / female differentiations: obviously many of the
pressures expressed above apply to girls as well. Why girls appear to be able to transcend them
more effectively was discussed, but no conclusions were reached.
Physiological
Some of
the factors which inhibit a mass break-out in men's singing are rooted in
physiology - in the direct bodily experience of men.
The breaking voice: this unique male
experience can be, and often is, traumatic.
In some cultures (eg, Welsh culture) boy singers are encouraged to take
a break from singing while their new voice settles in. In other cultures they are permanently
banished from the group (eg, boy's church choirs). In others, they are encouraged to force their
voices to continue to sing in high registers (this may be what is happening in
contemporary pop music - see below). It
appears that many men never recover from this experience.
(Apparently
female singers experience a similar phenomenon, but
either it is not as transformational, doesn't take as long, or are simply less
precious about it.)
Unrealistic expectations: men often attempt to
sing in registers that are not suited to their natural capacities. The reasons for this are complex. It may be:
because of general unfamiliarity with their natural
singing voices
because of the registers used by the dominant male voices
of popular music
because singing in groups is dominated by women (and
therefore tends towards registers that women, but not men, are comfortable
singing in)
combinations of these and other factors
Whatever
the reason(s), it means that many men are trying to do things with their voices
that their bodies are uncomfortable with, and indeed, may cause them harm. This often results in men giving-up,
believing (incorrectly) that they simply cannot sing.
Technical
This is
closely related to the point above. It's
to do with the traditional pitches and arrangements utilised in most of the
mixed group choral music which is currently in circulation. It was suggested that a considerable amount
of the standard forms of group singing reinforce male perceptions of incapacity
and inability.
Unsuitable pitch: men often find
themselves jumping octaves in mid-song.
This can happen when some notes in a song are too high for comfort in
one octave or others are too low.
Unsuitable arrangements: an extension of the
above, it was also pointed-out that quite often the bass parts (where many men
find themselves) are “boring”.
In many arrangements, the only parts available for men to sing are bass
or tenor parts, and their natural singing voice may be neither of the two.
Inappropriate leadership: questions were raised
as to the level of awareness amongst singing leaders concerning the impact of
these issues on male singers. It was
suggested that perhaps the fact that so many singing leaders are women has led
to a music that is technically difficult for men to engage with.
Male / female ensemble balance: because there is
usually a preponderance of females in mixed group ensembles, this often means
that the individual male voices tend to stand-out and / or have an un-due focus
placed upon them. Believe it or not,
this is a pressure that many men do not want.
Harmony: apparently men, in general, find it more
difficult to sing harmonies than women.
It may also be the case that men (again, in general) are more attracted
to rhythmic non-verbal sound patterns than lyrical harmonics.
Current socially-biased perceptions
Reinforcement of childhood experience: childhood
pressures continue to be reinforced in the adult male experience.
Fashion victims: much of the male
singing that dominates the airwaves is in the “high alto” register (see Appendix 1: Scurfield). For most men this register is really
difficult to sing - no wonder they think they can't sing!
Excellence victims: it seems that men are
particularly susceptible to prevailing ideologies of excellence. That is, unless one is really, really good at
something it's better not to do it at all.
Gender victims: most mixed group singing ensembles are
predominantly women, and most singing leaders are women. There is a tendency for men to end-up feeling
like “shags on rocks”, barely tolerated observers of women's
business.
Fear of joining / rejection: most men come to
singing (and to groups generally) on tippy-toes, ready to rush for the door at
the slightest provocation.
Unattractive repertoire: there is a suspicion
that the current repertoire of the group singing community is not hugely
attractive to the average bloke.
Too much like hard work: there appears to be a
perception that to get any value out of singing in groups, one must practice
very hard at difficult things like sight reading, scales, holding a harmony and
so on. For many, this may seem all too
difficult.
Poor marketing: community singing has not been generally
promoted in ways likely to attract blokes.
The other
side of the coin
The
group then discussed what the attractions are, answering the question
“what it is about singing in groups that men find appealing?” and discussing
the positives of community singing which can be built on.
Facing the challenge: men do respond
to a challenge. The very fact
that they've been told all their lives that they can't sing hasn't totally
destroyed that (possibly innate) love of singing or rarely voiced belief that,
given the chance, they really could do it.
After all, what they do in the shower sounds fabulous, whatever anyone
else says. If offered a context in which
they could flex their vocal cords without being laughed at, most men would leap
at the opportunity.
Camaraderie: the male propensity for splendid isolation is a
bit of a myth. Most of them love to be
part of group, especially one that is actually doing something, especially a
group which supports its members.
Fun: making music together is, first and foremost, enjoyable - it's an opportunity for good
times, laughter and high spirits. This
aspect is sometimes lost in the fear of how much practice might be necessary to
be part of a singing group.
Inspiration: men are no less susceptible to the uplifting
experience of being a part of making co-operative sounds than women. The inspirational feelings arising from group
song affect all humans, regardless of gender.
Beauty: The same goes for the satisfaction and joy that
comes from being part of creating something of great beauty.
What is to
be done
The
meeting recognised that expressing the reasons why men weren't becoming
involved in group singing was a good place to begin, but that this
understanding should be used as the foundation for solving the problem.
Based
on the understanding that so much of male inhibition or lack of interest arose
out of factors experienced in childhood, it was recognised that significant
changes to the ways in which music was experienced in early years was necessary
for there to be any likelihood of profound changes to the general musicality of
men.
Apart
from recognising the need for enhancements to the delivery of music in schools,
a series of more particular issues were raised that are of significance to the
operations of group singing in the “here and now”.
The “natural” male pitch / register: devise a
program to assist choral leaders to understand and positively respond to the
fact that many men's natural registers don't fit comfortably into the parts
that are traditionally available for harmonic singing. For starters, this might involve assisting
female leaders to pitch appropriately for men.
Male-friendly arrangements: develop choral
arrangements that are “male friendly” (eg, circulate 4-part male
arrangements; ie, lead, tenor, baritone, bass). Other options suggested were to promote the
use of ostinato patterns and rhythmic exercises. It may also be productive to focus a bit more
on starting with unison singing and then gradually introducing simple harmonies
(see Appendix 2: McClusky, for some specific
proposals).
Male-friendly repertoire: develop repertoire
which attracts men. There appeared to be
general agreement that the current variety of repertoire could be extended
particularly into areas which men may be more comfortable with. For example work songs,
non-verbal rhythmic soundscapes, satirical material, and perhaps (for young
men) a range of lyrics from popular music.
Promotion and recruitment strategies: a lot of the
problems of attracting men are as much, if not more, to do with how group
singing is perceived from the outside, rather than from any negative factors
experienced by participants. Direct and
personal approaches may be an effective way to overcome this. If current groups were to activate their own
networks with the specific intention of attracting more men, not in terms of a
general publicity campaign, but more in terms of direct invitations to
particular people, it could be reasonably expected that men would be receptive.
Cross-generational initiatives: one of the respondents
to the original version of this paper (Belinda Gillam) has observed that
parents witnessing the efforts of their offspring in youth or children's singing
groups are often overcome with overwhelming feelings of longing, if not
jealousy, for the loss of their children’s attention. In her experience, this is a fruitful context
in which to recruit the young and old of both sexes to become part of wider-based,
age-diverse singing groups.
Welcoming strategies: first impressions
count, even for singing groups, and a lot depends on
the initial group experience. It was
suggested that the development of a “buddy system” might be useful,
ensuring that every new bloke has a designated sympathetic supporter, but
mainly, it appears overall ambience is the critical issue; developing an
environment in which it is clear, from the outset, that participants are not
expected to be perfect, that there's no such thing as “getting it
wrong”, and that encouragement,
rather than judgement, is the name of the game.
Finally, it is important to make sure that men (in what is still a
predominantly a female environment) don't feel isolated.
Organisational strategies: the way that sessions are run
is important to everyone involved, not just men. Participants had a few suggestions which may
help with male management:
it's a good
idea to put the men together, especially so that those that are struggling with
pitch can hear what their colleagues are doing (but making sure that this
struggle does not induce shame or ridicule).
recognise that men
may, in general, be slower learners than women, and also that the
“physicalisation” of memory is powerful. In other words, it’s important to keep
running over things until they are “in the body”.
secure regular
feedback on both a group and a one-to-one basis. Many men are too shy to publicly admit they
are having problems.
give extra
attention to those who are “having hard time of it”, not by
singling them out, but by allowing them an opportunity for extra practice
without this appearing to hold up the group.
flexible adaptation
of session times to suit the availability of participants. For example weekly or monthly, special
purpose, afternoon, evening, or weekend sessions.
find ways of
reducing men’s sense of vulnerability.
The need to feel part of a group, supported and respected, is at least
as important for men as for women - even when men fail to recognise this need
themselves (or deny it).
keep energy
levels up, make it fun, and don't get too serious but remain flexible. Be aware, and respectful, of the different
issues affecting men (in comparison to women).
Role models: identify men who sing with pleasure and convince
them to become active in promoting the benefits and joys of malesong.
Ensemble gender composition: unless there are
specific reasons why your group should be made-up of one gender only (and there
are many fabulous examples of such groups), work towards achieving an equitable
balance of men and women.
Introducing music into existing male group formations: think through
the correlations between sport and music (there are many) and use this as a
basis for approaching male sporting bodies with the intention of developing a participatory
music aspect to their sporting activities.
Supporting those looking for solutions: what can Community Music
circulate this
document.
devise focused
skill development opportunities.
distribute useful
material through Shout! and the CMV website such as
links to sources of relevant repertoire, arrangements, sites of similar debate,
etc.
That's
as far as we got on the day, but we think we covered quite a bit of ground and
gained a reasonable understanding of the issues affecting male singers joining
and participating in community singing groups.
CMV thanks the participants for providing their time, effort and
thoughts regarding this topic and toward this discussion, apologises for the inevitable
omissions and misinterpretations that this paper must contain.
Should
readers have any ideas which may have a positive impact on this issue, we would
strongly encourage you to respond.
Appendix 1
Jill Scurfield's observations on
the features of male voices:
Many often
sing-down two octaves when singing with female voice in middle range.
Find it easier to
sing middle or bass notes than tenor.
If they sing pop
songs, they are very uncomfortable with the high pitch required (I call this
high tenor).
Have problems
singing high and low notes and finding these in their voices (particularly true
of beginners).
Have great
difficulty producing the same note when harmonising in low alto (this is the
bottom of the alto voice but the upper-range of the male singer’s voice).
Have greater
difficulty with harmony than female voices.
Often turn-up in
one’s and two’s to classes which are otherwise composed of female
singers.
Appendix 2
Andy McClusky's observations.
The key
is understanding the natural vocal registers of the
Bass, Baritone, Tenor, and Counter Tenor, the octave differentiation of the
female voice and to encourage contemporary arrangements which compliment the
full vocal harmony and rhythm in both sexes.
The key
issue with mixed voice community groups or choirs is that often male voices are
placed into two categories - a high voice or a low voice which under-pins the
rhythm in contemporary arrangements.
Arrangers,
when arranging for groups, should be more mindful of who they are arranging
for. For example, a mixed group (SATB)
should have each part well within the vocal reach of its individual singers. There's no use arranging in (SATB) format if
the sopranos are really 1st altos, and the basses are really 2nd tenors.
Local
arrangers should be more understanding when arranging for a group, rather than
the group taking an existing arrangement which falls outside of their vocal range. Our arrangers are definitely an
under-utilised resource - we have many talented arrangers and directors who are
“just sitting idly” who could easily assist with solutions to these
issues!
CMV - making a
sound world together.
©
Community Music Victoria Inc.