TMEA 2020 Convention

Working the Rubik’s Cube: Strategies for Use with Male Choirs
Sandy P. Hinkley, PhD (sxh080@shsu.edu)
Sam Houston State University

Basic physiology of the male voice change

• Hormone changes
• Larynx is growing in size and cartilage is still developing
• Vocal folds are lengthening and thickening; the folds grow 4 to 11 mm and the tissue underneath the
mucosa of the vocal folds develops

These physiological changes can produce…

• Instability in phonation and/or pitch matching
• Huskiness and/or breathiness in the voice
• Blank spots in registers
• Difficulty in accessing registers and/or shifting between registers
• Weakness and/or lack of flexibility in the voice

What is a register? In simplistic form— it is a set of pitches with similar timbre produced with the same
set of laryngeal muscles.

Male registers
• Falsetto voice – upper register- cricothyroid (CT) muscle dominant
• Mixed/head voice – mid/mixed register (this register is the most difficult for inexperienced singers, as
it requires the coordination between two sets of muscles, one of which may not be fully developed
yet; male singers often cannot regularly access this register before years of formal study)
• Modal/chest voice – lower register- thyroarytenoid (TA) muscle dominant

What causes a voice to “crack?” Voice “cracks” or “breaks” are most often due to the instability and
lack of coordination of the vocal folds and supporting laryngeal muscles.

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 TMEA 2020 Convention
Working the Rubik’s Cube: Strategies for Use with Male Choirs
Sandy P. Hinkley, PhD (sxh080@shsu.edu)
Sam Houston State University

Pitch matching…is an extremely complex process involving the discrimination, perception, and recall of
pitches, all the while asking singers to reproduce and adjust as needed
• To date, no definitive link exists in research between pitch perception and pitch production
• Researchers report that elementary children (including unchanged male voices) match most
accurately to child, female, and male falsetto models, respectively—whereas changing/changed voice
male singers match most accurately to same gender/same octave models

Typical pitch matching ranges

unchanged E4-E5 (or higher on the upper end of their range)
changing/cambiata A3-E4 (often even more limited than this)
new tenors F3-C4
new baritones C3-G3
settled tenors E3-E4
settled baritones C3-C4
new basses A2-A3 (sometimes when voices quickly drop, they lose some top notes and may
not have the full octave)

Labeling Male Voices

• The label is much less important than you hearing male singers individually and on a regular basis
• It is also important to understand that the label you place on the voice may not be congruent to the
label that the composer has placed on the piece of music—you decide!

Beginning of the year - determining singers’ pitch matching range (“Jingle Bells” on tah)

1) Pitch the song in D Major (starting on F#) –singers who match down the 8ve are your changed voice
baritone/basses; singers who match up the 8ve are your unchanged voices

2) Move to the key of F Major (starting on A)- singers who match down the octave are your newly
changed tenors

Note: For those few singers who can match down the 8ve in both D Major and F Major, listen
carefully to the quality of their voices in both keys—assign the voice part based on where they have
the most clarity, stability, and control.

3) Move to A-flat Major (starting on middle C) – singers who match in this range are your
changing/cambiata voices; depending on where they are in their development, these singers may not
match all pitches in the phrase

4) For singers who do not match in any of the above keys- schedule one on one time with them; invite in
other male singers as needed to stabilize pitch-matching; singers tend to pitch match more easily with
familiar songs, so choose easy nursery rhyme or holiday tunes that they don’t have to learn

5) Once singers are divided into voice “parts”–determine through your daily vocalization the specific set
of pitches that the majority of the group can sing with clarity, stability and control (i.e., “comfortable”
pitches); often this may only be about 5 pitches; then, choose repertoire based on these pitches.

Note: Remember, your voice part label may not match what is listed on repertoire, so cast a wider net
when looking for appropriate pieces.

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 TMEA 2020 Convention
Working the Rubik’s Cube: Strategies for Use with Male Choirs
Sandy P. Hinkley, PhD (sxh080@shsu.edu)
Sam Houston State University

General vocal production to encourage pitch matching

• Enforce proper posture and spend LOTS of time on breath management (they need to learn how to
move their air to successfully pitch match!)
• Use descending warm ups starting in falsetto to connect the upper to the emerging lower register
• Avoid tension, strain or over singing
• Provide lots of appropriate vocal models (both live and in recordings—very important for female
choral directors!)
• Allow singers to sing only where they pitch match (use instrument analogy)
• Ask often: Where do you feel it? so that singers begin to tune in to sensations and resonance
• Allow singers to “try again,” especially during warm-ups, to allow for re-coordination of muscles
• Be quick to recognize/correct when they switch to their speaking voice (“ya-ya” mode)

Specific warm-up exercises:

• Lip trills in any range- awakens resonators (effective w/descending exercises starting in falsetto; can
also be used in modal voice to work breath energy)
• Onset/ PM exercises on “oo” or “oh” (start with limited range and expand- MMMRD, MMMRDT1D,
SSSMD, SSSFMRD, SSSFMRDT1D etc.)
• Hee-hah-ho (DMSM, DMSM, DMSM, D) requires them move air and practices setting tongue
position for various vowels
• Ee-oh (SSSS SFMRD) reinforces closed vs. open vowels with steady air through both
• Non-examples/example – any exercise repeated 3x at each pitch level (1-collapsed/nasal, 2-
wolfy/covered 3-balanced); helps singers discriminate the extremes and find the middle ground
• Registration exercises:
o Descending scale on neutral syllable “doh”; 1/2/3 octaves; pause at each tonic to re-adjust
o “I sigh to sing” (SD1SMD); when more skilled at pitch matching, reiterate the “I sigh to” part
o DMFS, D1TLS, LSFMFS, FMRD on various vowels (pitch in E-flat)
o Extended song-like warm-ups from Ken Jennings “Sing Legato” book (Sigh the Tone,
Flexibility, Sing Legato)

Phrases found particularly effective with male singers:

“Move something”
“Move your air”
“Sigh into the note/phrase”
“Change muscle sets”
“Registration violation” (Dr. Chuck Chandler, FSU)
“Don’t press, just because a note feels comfortable to sing”
“Sing above the teeth” (Dr. Kevin Fenton, FSU)
“Don’t muscle the sound out, let the air do the work”
“Put a hat on that sound”
Phrases found effective with all singers:
“Release the jaw/tongue”
“More space and air, in that order”
“Re-adjust space with each new breath”
“Lifted palate”
“Sing THROUGH the high note, not TO the high note”
“Long tones spin and grow”
“Beginning singers sing to themselves, experienced singers sing to the audience”

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 TMEA 2020 Convention
Working the Rubik’s Cube: Strategies for Use with Male Choirs
Sandy P. Hinkley, PhD (sxh080@shsu.edu)
Sam Houston State University

Avoided expressions:
• crack/break (potential negative connotations for singers who’ve yet to understand their voices; I use
“shift” or “flip” to prompt them to make transitions between registers or allow them to “try again” to
encourage more effective coordination)
• breath support (singers often clench; I use “breath management”)
• use your air (not specific enough; I say “move your air!”)
• louder (tends to produce tension; I use “fuller”)
• softer (often results in breathiness; I use “lighter”)
• drop your jaw (tends to produce tension; I use “release your jaw”)
• stand tall (tends to produce rigid posture; “stand with alignment” tends to be better)

What does “appropriate” repertoire look like in the process?

Choosing “appropriate” repertoire for developing male singers

• Recognize the difference between “available” and “comfortable” pitches; choose limited range music
based on singers’ comfortable pitches – a lack of success in pitch matching can quickly lead to
singers’ frustrations, which leads to off-task behavior and discipline issues
• Choose music that doesn’t frequently cross or hang out in the passaggio area (B3-E4), especially for
baritones and basses
• Choose music with a clear tonal center that doesn’t have a lot of modulations or harmonic shifts
• Choose music with simple stepwise melodies and short phrases
• Choose music that doesn’t have a lot of voice crossing and whose accompaniment reinforces the
voice parts; also avoid pieces with frequent dissonance between parts or with the accompaniment
until pitch matching is more stable
• Choose a key for your unaccompanied pieces that keeps all voice parts out of the passaggio area (this
is why F Major isn’t usually effective because one voice part is hanging out around the dominant
middle C)
• Choose music with moderate tempi and less complex rhythms to stabilize pitch matching
• Choose music with moderate dynamic ranges (avoid extremes they cannot yet control)
• Choose pieces in simpler languages (English, Hebrew, Latin, Italian)
• Choose pieces that do not have overly repetitive text (Gloria, Gloria, Gloria...etc.) which can cause
fatigue/tension and interfere with pitch matching/intonation
• Given all of the above- choose music in which there is maximum chance for pitch matching, so that
you can concurrently address healthy vocal technique and expressivity in singing

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 TMEA 2020 Convention
Working the Rubik’s Cube: Strategies for Use with Male Choirs
Sandy P. Hinkley, PhD (sxh080@shsu.edu)
Sam Houston State University

Strategies for pitch matching with repertoire suggestions:

• Use the “phrase method” with round and assign each phrase to voices according to range; if male
singers are in a mixed choir, female singers can be added for support on any phrase; loop phrases to
prepare for part independence

O How Lovely is the Evening (cpdl.org)

Line 1: Unchanged sing up

the 8ve; new tenors down 8ve

Line 2: Unchanged sing up the 8ve; changing voices sing down

the 8ve around middle C; some new tenors might also match here

Line 3: Unchanged sing up the 8ve;

baritones/basses sing down the 8ve

• Use the “phrase method” with a unison piece and have voices only sing phrases where they match up
or down the octave (ex: Ching a Ring Chaw- Copland; Wee Little Piute – Mark Hierholzer)

• Use an equal voiced piece and assign voices where they can match (ex: Alleluia Incantation- Miller)

• Transpose a 2-part treble piece down the octave and perform it TB (ex: Dodi Li-arr. Chen)

• Take a 3/4 part treble piece that has limited ranges within each part and assign male voices to parts
up/down the octave where they can match (ex: Ghana Alleluia-Arr. Armstrong)

Additional pitch matching strategies:

• Swap parts (swap vocal lines as needed stay within the singer’s range)
• Octave displacement (have singers drop down or up the octave)
• Doubling parts (have male voices double female voices up/down the octave)
• Rewrite a pitch (look within the harmonic structure and rewrite a pitch to better fit a singer’s range)
• Transposition (shift the key of the piece up or down)

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 TMEA 2020 Convention
Working the Rubik’s Cube: Strategies for Use with Male Choirs
Sandy P. Hinkley, PhD (sxh080@shsu.edu)
Sam Houston State University

Research about motivation and male choral singers

Stamer (2004) examined high school choral students’ (N = 268) perceptions of the music contest
experience and reported that males more than females enjoyed choir because of choral contest and were
more motivated to prepare for choral contest experiences.

Motivating male singers

• Make time for rehearsals with male singers only
• Provide specific instructions (no room for interpretation)
• Keep the pace moving and change activities frequently
• Take the “laugh” factor out of it—keep it focused on voice science; avoid use of potential negative
language (e.g., voice cracking) since they don’t yet understand the physiology behind it
• Educate them about their vocal development and hold demonstrations that dispel myths about the
male voice
• Chart individual ranges, so they can see vocal changes (staff paper hung in room works well)
• Sell the fact that have an extremely versatile instrument
• Create a safe environment where they feel comfortable to sing alone
• Ask them to model for each other often—builds confidence and instills a sense of leadership
• Find appropriate repertoire that isn’t about boats, drinking, and women (yes, it’s out there!)
• Build in games –they LOVE this! (endless possibilities with music literacy here!)
• Keep them physically engaged as much as possible; when working with a small group or section of
the choir, try combining several activities below, so all students are actively engaged:

✓ Sing pitches on solfege

✓ Use solfege hand signs
✓ Sing pitches on rhythm syllables/numbers
✓ Inaudibly tap a steady beat or rhythm of the text
✓ Chant rhythm syllables
✓ Chant text in rhythm
✓ Touch part and track with eyes in the music
✓ Mouth text and practice vowel shapes
✓ Conduct the meter
✓ Raise hand on a designated pitch/rhythm value/word/vowel, etc.
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References

Bowers, J. (2006). Motivation in Middle School Choir. The Choral Journal, 47(5), 90-93.

Bowers, J. (2008). Building Early Choral Experiences—Part Two: The Middle School Choral Program. In The School Choral
Program: Philosophy, Planning, Organizing and Teaching (pp. 367-370), Michele Holt & James Jordan, editors.
Chicago: GIA Publications.

Hinkley, S. P. (2019). Choosing appropriate choral repertoire: What does that really mean? Florida Music Director, 73(1), 18-23.

Joyner, D. R. (1969). The monotone problem. Journal of Research in Music Education, 17, 115-124.

Stamer, R. A. (2004). Choral Student Perceptions of the Music Contest Experience. Update: Applications of Research in Music
Education, 22(2), 5–12.

Website: http://www.ncvs.org (The National Center for Voice and Speech)