Exploring perceptions and experiences of female secondary school singers in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

Female adolescent voice change (FAVC) is characterized by objectively measurable developments in both physiological and acoustical aspects of voice. Despite these observable changes, this period of vocal development has had little representation in both scientific and pedagogical research. Furthermore, few studies have articulated the perceptions and experiences of FAVC from the point of view of the singers themselves. This exploratory study collected data pertaining to vocal function and voice-learning experiences during adolescence from an anonymous cohort of female adolescent singing students in Aotearoa New Zealand. A link to an anonymous online questionnaire was disseminated through national online advertising and snowballing to prospective participants (cis-gender female adolescent singers aged 16–19 years). Using nonparametric statistical tests and qualitative analyses, significant associations were found between objective and perceptual measures of vocal function, voice-learning experience, and lesson delivery context. Participants who take individual singing lessons reported greater self-perceived ease of vocal function than those who take small group lessons. The FAVC is a stage of vocal and psycho-emotional development that may be either healthily facilitated or hindered by the level of student understanding of normal vocal-developmental characteristics as well as lesson delivery format. Data from this study add to a limited pool that aims to quantify the FAVC experience from an experiential perspective and will assist in refining pedagogical strategies for working with female adolescent singers.