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CHAPTER 4:
Voice development over the lifespan
INSIDE THE VOICE www.singup.org 1

Welcome
Sing Up is delighted to present you with Inside the voice, an authoritative handbook for the spoken and
singing voice. Produced for classroom teachers and other professional voice users, this accessible and
engaging resource tells you everything you need to know about how your voice works and how you can look
after it. It also gives information about children’s voices, alongside insights into warm-up theory and tips for
improving vocal technique. The content is rigorously backed up by evidence-based research and has been
vetted by an academic panel at the top of their fields.
Each of the six chapters are written as standalone documents, meaning you can pick the bits that are most
useful to you. If you want to get the most of what the resource has to offer though, we recommend you
read all six! There is also a handy glossary, where you can find definitions of the more technical terms used
elsewhere in the resource.
We hope you enjoy Inside the voice, and that it gives you and your pupils all you need to keep your
voices healthy.
Contents
1. Vocal health and awareness
2. How the voice works
3. Voice care in and out of the classroom
4. Voice development over the lifespan
5. Improving singing technique
6. Warm-up theory & practice
7. Glossary & further reading
The authors
Stuart Barr M.Phil, M.A.(Cantab), PGAdvDip(RCM), HonARAM, is a consultant singing coach and conductor
working with choirs, West End performers and pop artists at the highest level. He was President of the British
Voice Association 2009-2010, is a judge for BBC Choir of the Year, and regularly presents on the workings of
the voice at conferences.
Jenevora Williams PhD ARCM, is a singing teacher and voice researcher. She is singing consultant for the
National Youth Choir and has taught at the Royal College of Music, as well as in universities and at the major
UK cathedrals. In her busy private practice, she works with people ranging from professionals to students.
She was recently awarded a PhD for research on the vocal health and development of choristers, and the
Van Lawrence Prize for her contribution to the field of voice research.
Inside the voice team
Editor: Henry Bird
Resource team: Celi Barberia, Louise Cleverdon, Beth Millett
Advisory panel: Professor Graham Welch (Chair of Music Education, Institute of Education);
Dr Declan Costello (Consultant Ear Nose & Throat Surgeon, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham and
55 Harley Street, London)
Design by: Frances Matthews; Illustrations by: Harry Venning
© 2011 Stuart Barr and Jenevora Williams
INSIDE THE VOICE www.singup.org
2

Inside the voice
Chapter 4: Voice development
over the lifespan
In this chapter:
As our bodies grow throughout our lives, our voices change. Understanding
the limitations of the voice at various stages of its development can help us to
choose appropriate exercises and repertoire.
How the voice ages throughout the lifespan
An introduction to the effects of the ageing process on the voice
Early voice use - 0-6 years
Find out how an infant’s voice is not just an adult’s in miniature!
Children’s voices - 7-12 years
Learn about the gradual improvement in pitch range, strength and stability that takes place
before the teenage years
Adolescent voices - 12-18 years
Discover how puberty marks big changes in both boys’ and girls’ voices
Adolescent girls’ voices
Learn about the effects of puberty on the female voice
Adolescent boys’ voices
Understand how the male voice changes through the five phases of puberty
Adult and ageing voices
Find out when the voice reaches peak form, and how ageing can cause vocal difficulties
4
4
6
7
7
8
10
INSIDE THE VOICE www.singup.org
3

How the voice ages throughout the lifespan
2. HOW THE VOICE CHAPTER WORKS 4
Voices age in a similar way to our bodies. Our voices spend the first twenty or so years making the transition
from birth to adulthood. There is then a slow increase in strength and stamina until our forties or fifties,
before our vocal capabilities are gradually reduced.
Knowing how the voice changes throughout the lifespan enables us to understand both our own and
others’ voices. Understanding the limitations at each stage can help us choose appropriate repertoire
and exercises. The most important point to appreciate is that the child’s voice is not just an adult’s voice in
miniature. As the larynx and respiratory muscles develop, they change in both ability and in function (see
Diagram 1).
Early voice use - 0-6 years
The first vocalising a baby does is crying. This contains all the elements of singing: pitch contour, varied
rhythmic intensity, loudness and softness, and most importantly, emotional communication. After a few
weeks, the child begins to coo and then babble.
Parents instinctively speak to their babies in a higher pitch range, with extended vowels and a greater
pitch variation. This is known as ‘motherese’ and contains all the musical elements of song. All cultures have
infant-specific songs for both calming and stimulating the baby. Singing is nearly always accompanied by
physical movement, such as rocking or jiggling movements. This intuitive behaviour between adult and child
will develop musical activity as an integral part of the child’s environment.
The vocal structure of the infant
The baby’s vocal instrument is based on the survival requirements for crying and sucking. The infant’s set-up
is much better than the adult at:
• z Valving the airway: providing extra protection
against foreign bodies entering the windpipe.
• z Helping the feeding process: the close
proximity of parts of the pharynx allows both
suckling and breathing to happen simultaneously.
• z Making attention-grabbing noises: the child
possesses a potentially life-saving ability to cry
with great stamina! It is tempting to use this as a
model of efficient sound production for the adult
voice. However, a baby’s vocal structure has
evolved to be good at producing loud noises in
short bursts over a long period of time, with only
limited variation in the sounds. To cope with the
subtleties of communication through language,
the voice has to change a great deal.
Diagram 1: Infant versus adult larynx
Infant larynx
(enlarged)
Adult larynx
The infant’s larynx is not just an adult larynx in
miniature. The infant’s needs are those related
to immediate survival, so the muscles used for
crying and stopping food entering the larynx are
proportionally larger than those in adults’ larynxes.
INSIDE THE VOICE www.singup.org 4

CHAPTER 4
The vocal structure of the young child
As infants grow into young children, their vocal set-up develops, giving their voices certain qualities and
limitations. Helping the development of language, the larynx moves lower in the throat, the cartilages
become more firm and mobile, and lung volume increases. This is a gradual process and continues through
puberty and beyond.
Young children’s lungs are still relatively small and do not permit extended sung phrases. The cartilages
are still relatively soft and movement between them lacks control, resulting in a small dynamic range and
making pitch changes more difficult than in adults. Furthermore, as their voices get louder, children find it
difficult to maintain a consistent pitch.
Diagram 2: How the vocal tract changes shape during childhood
Nasal cavity
Oral cavity
Tongue
Epiglottis
Larynx
Newborn baby
Seven year old
As Diagram 2 shows, a baby’s epiglottis is so high that it can close off the oral cavity, allowing the baby to
suckle whilst breathing. As the child grows up, this ability is lost with the growth of the tongue and airways.
The length of the tube between the lips and the larynx also grows, changing the tube’s characteristic
resonance (or ‘formant’ – see ‘Filter: the upper vocal tract’ in Chapter 2 to find out more), giving the child’s
voice a different sound quality. This change in sound quality, along with a change in pitch caused by the
growth of the larynx, means that we can often identify the age of a child just by the sound of his or her voice.
To summarise, the young child is less able to sing long, high or loud notes, or make frequent changes
of pitch.
Singing technique for children aged 2-6
• z Posture: standing whilst singing is the best posture, even though the children may get fidgety after a
while. If they sit on chairs, encourage them to sit up on the front of the chair with feet flat on the floor. If
you ask them to hold their heads up, they may well misunderstand and put their chins into the air. This
is a particular problem of sitting on the floor. Instead, ask them to imagine being pulled up by a piece of
string attached to the crown of their heads.
• z Movement: a really good way to ensure good body use during singing is to incorporate movement.
Most children’s songs for this age group are action songs. This is helpful for memorisation as well as
effective and balanced body use.
• z Breathing: this will mostly be an instinctive action at this stage. If children are asked to take a big
breath, they may lift and tense their chest and shoulders, which is contrary to good singing. If they are
standing or sitting well, their breathing will probably be fine.
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CHAPTER 4
• z Pitch range and voice timbre: children can be encouraged to explore
and use the upper pitch range. This can often help them to sing pitches more
accurately as they move away from their habitual speaking pitch. It will also
help to make them less shouty. If they find this pitch range difficult to access,
they can find it using comic-strip noises (ie. the type of noises children make
when playing with toys) or whooping, wailing or mewing. Descending sighs
and sirening (sliding the pitch of your voice up and down, as though on a
rollercoaster track) can also help. The more intuitive the noise, the more likely
it will be made with low, connected breathing; when we make sounds with
genuine emotion, we tend to use our voices more efficiently.
Children’s voices - 7–12 years
Physical development
The physical development of the voice and the body during this stage is one of gradual growth before the
more dramatic changes related to puberty (see ‘Adolescent voices – 12-18 years’ on p7). The lungs gradually
increase in size and the larynx lowers slightly. The most noticeable differences are those of coordination and
control. From the age of 7 or 8, the child becomes able to learn movements and gestures with increasing
levels of complexity and skill. Pitch range, loudness, flexibility and stamina all grow, but are still limited.
Singing technique
Although it can be taught earlier, this is the age when children can most usefully begin to learn effective
breathing technique, related to balanced posture. They can learn to allow the belly to move inwards as
they sing and then for it to release outwards as they breathe in (see Chapter 5 for tips on helping them
improve this technique). This should always be gentle and flexible; there is no need to ‘hold’ anything.
Children of this age can also learn different voice qualities and choose between them appropriately for
the music they are singing.
• z Loudness: partly limited by the growing size of the larynx and vocal tract. This may be hard to believe if
you are in a school dining room at lunchtime! However, asking children to sing too loudly can encourage
a harsh quality.
• z Stamina: children at this age are unable to sustain loud or high singing to the same extent as adults
or their older peers (a limitation to remember if they are singing repertoire written for adults). They will
have to sing more quietly, occasionally down the octave, and have more frequent breaks. If they are
singing solo repertoire written for adult voices, they may need to take more breaths and sing at a slightly
faster tempo.
• z Flexibility: as their voices
are not as flexible as adult
voices, rapid pitch changes
are not as easy for children at
this age to achieve.
Diagram 3: Range increase in children
(middle C)
• z Pitch: extends downwards
as the larynx grows and
the speaking voice lowers.
The top of the range varies
greatly from child to child.
Some manage to sing C6
and beyond (see Diagram 3). 1
Other children will find it less
comfortable to sing in their
upper range, which is not
surprising as it requires great
flexibility and practice.
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
C5
Sing Up’s own research on 10,000 children, carried out by a team led by
Professor Graham Welch from the Institute of Education, shows how the
average comfortable singing range increases throughout this period.
INSIDE THE VOICE www.singup.org 6
C6

CHAPTER 4
Adolescent voices - 12-18 years
Physical development
Puberty can last from as little as eight months, to as
much as four years. The physical growth happens in
spurts or stages. As the child grows noticeably taller,
the larynx also grows. However, the rate at which
the larynx grows is different for boys than it is for
girls: over puberty, the male larynx grows an average
of 66%, while the female larynx only grows at an
average of 33% (see Diagram 4).
Although the vocal folds have essentially reached
adult length at the end of puberty, the connective
tissue of the folds continues to increase in size and
quantity into early adulthood.
Singing technique
Diagram 4: Larynx growth
Female
Male
This shows the upper cartilage of a child’s larynx
(solid line) and adult’s larynx (dashed line). Both
boys’ and girls’ larynxes grow during puberty, but
the size increase in boys is much greater.
Starting to learn appropriate vocal technique at this age is particularly helpful if adolescent students are to
sing solo repertoire. Although it is possible to sing without technical input, the right sort of help will maximise
the potential in the child’s voice and prevent bad habits occurring.
One problem encountered when working with teenage singers is in allocating the traditional soprano,
alto, tenor and bass choral parts. This repertoire has generally been written for adult voices, with ranges and
abilities different from those of teenagers. Whatever the solution, it will involve some compromise. A modest
amount of high singing is good, as it will exercise and extend the range as it develops. However, singing in
the lower registers is often easier for adolescents because it is closer in pitch to the spoken voice. Don’t ask
singers to sing too high for too long, especially teenage boys.
Adolescent girls’ voices
Physical development
Although less so than in boys, girls’ larynxes get slightly bigger during puberty, meaning the pitch of
their voices gets lower. Alongside this, there can be an increase in breathiness or roughness for a period of
time before it stabilises. Women also have a greater tendency to have a small
gap at the back of the vocal folds, which makes the voice slightly breathier. This can be reduced or
eliminated with technical work.
Onset of menstruation
Girls’ voices can be affected by the onset of the monthly cycle. In the few pre-menstrual days and days 1-3,
the vocal folds may become slightly swollen. This makes it harder to sing quietly or high without breathiness,
in addition to the overall instabilities caused by growth. It can take several months after it begins for the cycle
to settle into a more predictable pattern. In some girls and women, the discomfort and vocal unpredictability
of their monthly cycle requires them to take a contraceptive pill, and use of the more recent low-dosage pill
has been shown to reduce the unfavourable symptoms in the voice.
INSIDE THE VOICE www.singup.org 7

CHAPTER 4
Singing technique
• z Breathing: developing and maintaining effective and energised lower-abdominal breathing (see
Chapter 5) is particularly beneficial at this stage. Technical aspects, such as onset and sustain, can be
worked on, as can a variety of musical styles and their related vocal timbres.
• z Breathiness: can be worked on effectively (see ‘Clear tone’ in Chapter 5).
• z Register breaks: teenage girls often have a strong and well-developed lower range, but a
comparatively weak and breathy upper range. They may try to avoid singing high notes, but there are
many ways in which register breaks can be worked on:
• Lighten off the voice in the lower range and work on deconstriction (see ‘Avoiding constriction
in the larynx’ in Chapter 5).
• Explore upper pitches with clear and energised sounds using non-singing sounds (eg. by
using the Siren warm-up from the Sing up Voice Box).
• Blur the boundary, bringing the upper voice down below the pitch of the usual register
change, and give the singer options of different voice qualities on the same pitch. It’s important
for all singers to develop this movable register.
Singing high notes can be an unfamiliar sensation, as it’s not a regular part of our everyday voice use.
Girls may need to be encouraged to try it out as they might think it sounds horrible! Play with noises and
have fun; the laughing pupil will learn more easily than the anxious one.
• z Repertoire: the repertoire possibilities begin to open out with the developing emotional and musical
maturity of the singer, although adolescent girls still have limitations of the vocal extremes of loud and
high. In general, repertoire written to be sung over a large orchestra is not suitable, even when it is sung
with a piano. The phrases are often long and expansive, there are more sustained higher pitches and
the vocal timbre is generally fuller. There is much enjoyable repertoire of more modest demands which
encourages development of a good, healthy and efficient singing technique.
Adolescent boys’ voices
Physical development
Male vocal development through puberty is best referred to as ‘changing’, as the term ‘breaking’ can be
construed as a negative or destructive process.
Boys’ larynxes grow primarily in the front-to-back direction, often forming the prominent Adam’s apple on
the front of the neck. Within the larynx, the vocal folds increase in both length and thickness. This increased
size means that they vibrate at a lower frequency, hence the drop in speaking pitch.
Although the changes are continual, paediatricians often refer to five phases of puberty, with growth in
physique closely related to the voice lowering in pitch (see Diagram 5 on p9). The maximum change in pitch
often occurs at the same time as the biggest growth spurt, between Phases 3 and 4.
It is more reliable to judge the developmental phase by the lower singing range and by the average
spoken pitch. The upper pitch range can vary more between individuals.
Assessment
When working with adolescent boys, it’s crucial to assess which phase of vocal development they’re in. Invite
the child to recite an unexciting list (eg. months of the year) and work out where his average speaking note
is on the piano. Then look at Diagram 5 to find out which phase he’s in. Remember that these are based on
averages and there will be many individual variations.
Occasionally you may come across a boy whose lowest singing note is not a third below his speaking
pitch. This may be because he is artificially lowering his speaking voice in order to sound older (which is
common in late developers). Alternatively, he might be holding his speaking voice up through trying to
preserve a high singing voice. Any pushing down or holding up of the speaking pitch will result in vocal
tension and is best discouraged.
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CHAPTER 4
Diagram 5: Phases of boys’ voice change
Maximum sung range
Easiest sung range
Spoken pitch
Unchanged Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 5
Boys’ voices gradually lower as their larynxes grow during puberty. The above pitch range averages are without
use of falsetto or observable sign of strain and are based upon research by Cooksey and Welch. 2 Whilst
boundaries and the speed of change vary between individuals, the general pattern is universal. As the voice
lowers, the usable range contracts before expanding again into manhood.
Range
The key strategy for adolescent boys’ voices is for them to follow their voice change downwards. Letting them
sing occasionally in falsetto is not going to be a problem (and can help with vocal agility), but for the most
part they should sing within their current comfort zone.
If the boy is in the early phases (Phases 1 and 2), then singing in the soprano range is still fine as long as
it’s comfortable. However, once he enters Phase 3 he will be less able to sing the higher pitches. Occasional
use of falsetto pitches, particularly in warm-ups, is fine as it can encourage flexibility in the upper ranges.
What is crucial is that most of the singing is within the fundamental comfort zone, ie. at the lower end of the
pitch range.
Most boys are thrilled by the prospect of developing an adult voice. Guard against making them feel bad
about it; any display of disappointment at the loss of the ability to sing higher pitches can be unhelpful in the
long term.
Singing technique
At this stage, the voice not only has limitations of range of movement but also ease of movement. As the
voice lowers, there may be a temporary reduction in dynamic range and a loss of agility. The singer may
also only be able to sustain shorter phrases.
• z Breathing: as with girls, working on developing and maintaining effective and energised lowerabdominal
breathing (see Chapter 5) is particularly beneficial at this stage. Technical aspects such as
onset and sustain can be worked on, as can a variety of musical styles and their related vocal timbres.
• z Posture: this may be an issue, as boys are often growing rapidly at this stage. Many boys develop
a bad habit of pushing the head forward, especially if they are trying to reach high notes. This is to be
avoided, as good posture is critical for future voice development.
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CHAPTER 4
Repertoire
Adolescent boys need to be guided carefully into the right repertoire, and finding appropriate solo repertoire
can be a challenge. While most boys will have a usable range of about an octave, some may have as
little as a sixth. Pick songs that have a small range, and change the key of the music (also known as
‘transposing’) to suit the range of the boy’s voice. Many pianists can transpose on the spot, and electric
keyboards normally have a transpose function. You can also use the Scorch song sheets to transpose songs
from the Song Bank.
Whatever the repertoire, it’s important to encourage adolescent boys to put energy and passion into their
singing. They tend to enjoy exploiting their new-found manly tones by singing dramatic and epic songs,
whether pop, musical theatre or classical. However, remember that frequent, high-impact vocalising may
damage their voices.
Adult and ageing voices
As the voice matures in the years after puberty, it gains in pitch range, stability, richness, agility, sustainability
and dynamic range. This process may take several years, with adult voices not normally settling down until
the mid-twenties. There then follows a golden period of several decades in which the voice, if looked after
well, will continue to strengthen and increase in stamina.
The age at which the voice starts displaying audible signs of ageing varies from person to person. Some
well-known singers are still at the peak of their form in their late sixties, but for others the decline starts
happening much earlier.
As we get older, there are three ways that changes in our vocal structure lead to decline in our
vocal ability:
• z Reduced mobility and flexibility of the larynx can reduce pitch and dynamic range, hinder pitch
stability and make it harder to make rapid pitch changes.
• z Bowing of the vocal folds can make it difficult to voice as efficiently.
• z Loss of muscle tone in the larynx and respiratory system causes instability, as well as a loss of control
and sustainability. It can also be the source of a very wide vibrato.
The ageing process in the voice is tied up with the ageing processes of the rest of the body. While it’s
impossible to stop the biological clock, keeping yourself fit and eating a healthy diet are two of the few
proven ways to keep what you’ve got, for as long as possible. ‘Use it or lose it’ applies to singing; if you keep
singing regularly, your voice will be slower to succumb to the effects of ageing.
In women, the menopause can cause additional problems with the voice. The symptoms may be similar
to pre-menstrual ones, but there can also be dryness in the larynx. Sometimes the upper pitch range is also
reduced, and the whole system becomes less flexible.
Summary
•z The infant larynx has a very different function to that of a child or an adult.
•z Larynxes grow throughout childhood, in line with the rest of the body.
•z During puberty the larynx grows much more in boys than in girls.
•z The development of the male voice during puberty is divided into five phases. Boys’ voice ‘change’ is a
preferred term to voice ‘break’.
•z In late middle-age, the voice starts to age alongside the body’s overall ageing processes. Staying fit
and healthy is the best way to keep the voice in shape as it ages.
•z It’s essential to choose repertoire and exercises that are appropriate for the singer’s stage
of development.
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CHAPTER 4
1. Welch, G.F., Himonides, E., Saunders, J., Papageorgi, I., Preti, C., Rinta, T., Vraka, M., Stephens Himonides, C., Stewart, C., Lanipekun,
J., & Hill, J. (2010). Researching the impact of the National Singing Programme ‘Sing Up’ in England: Main findings from the first three
years (2007-2010). Children’s singing development, self-concept and sense of social inclusion. Institute of Education, University of
London.
2. Welch, G.F. (2006). Singing and Vocal Development. In G. McPherson (Ed.), The Child as Musician: a handbook of musical
development. (pp. 311-329). New York: Oxford University Press.
Cooksey, J. (2000). Voice transformation in male adolescents. In L. Thurman, & G. F. Welch (Eds.), Bodymind and Voice: Foundations of
Voice Education. Revised Edition (pp. 718-738). Iowa City, Iowa: National Center for Voice and Speech.
INSIDE THE VOICE www.singup.org 11