Why Don’t Kids Know How to Sing?
Kenneth H. Phillips

Reprinted with permission. Iowa Music Educator, September 2001.Sandra Lemberg, Editor

Why don’t kids know how to sing? Research has shown that it is not because some can and some cannot. Some do not learn because they do not want to sing. Boys often think singing is a “girl activity” or is not becoming to the male “image.” Also, kids tend to value what society values; our society does not place much value on being able to sing. It is a big problem. I do not know the answer; I wish I did. Our National Standards state that all children should be able to sing as a result of their music education. We are falling far short of that goal.

One thing I suspect we have a better chance of helping students find their singing voices if they are successful singers before third grade. I have noted that third grade is the time when “boys become boys” and “girls become girls.” Prior to grade three, students seem to be more willing to explore their voices without embarrassment. They actively participate and do not particularly care what style of music they are singing. After third grade, “school” music and “our” music seem to separate in their minds. As one fifth-grader said to me, “Yeah, I’ll sing in your choir if we can sing ‘our’ music.” Their music, of course, is not conducive to healthy singing.

Why do so many students fail to find their singing voices by grade three? Probably because too many music teachers still do not understand how to teach vocal skills in general music. It is really not that hard. Singing is a psychomotor skill; it involves the development of aural acuity and motor coordination. I remember speaking at a conference in Nebraska a number of years ago. Speaking on this topic, I demonstrated some simple exercises for developing audiation and motor skills. A few years later I returned to speak at the same conference, following which a music teacher approached me with a story both depressing and triumphant. It seems that she had a fifth-grade boy named Billy who was very enthusiastic about music, but who could not find his singing voice. Finally, one day the teacher told Billy that he just didn’t have it–one of the unfortunates whom God passed by when singing voices were bestowed. However, after hearing of how simple it can be to help kids learn to sing, she tried out a few of her newly-learned techniques on Billy. Voila! Billy learned to sing in a very short time. The teacher regretted all the years of telling students they just did not have it. I rejoiced that one more child found his innate ability to sing, and that one more teacher found the way to teaching kids to sing.

Research suggests that children who do not develop early-on as singers may be deficient in audiation skills. They need to learn to “sing and hear on the inside” and understand what they are hearing. Most importantly, they need to recognize their own voices and match those voices (via a feedback loop) to the aural image of sound. General music often entails much group singing; this does not help children to identify their own voices. Karen’s voice may become lost in the crowd. Karen, if never asked to sing alone, may fail to recognize the sound of her own voice. If she lacks feedback in this way, Karen will fail to match pitch. I tell teachers all the time to “sample” the singing in class by asking various children to sing short “snippets.” Kids will do this very readily when it becomes a common practice. This does not mean singing a solo in front of the class, which may severely intimidate children. However, once children become confident of their singing, they often will volunteer to sing solos before the class.

The second problem in singing development comes when students cannot coordinate the motor process, especially that of breathing. Humans are wind instruments. If sufficient breath energy is not generated, the voice will not respond properly. Also, children need to experience singing “over the break” as they find the different vocal registers. Kids who can talk like Mickey Mouse will naturally discover the upper voice mechanism. Teach a kid to generate breath pressure and support tone in the upper voice and they will whistle like a tea pot!

An interesting finding in my research has been that after age nine, aural acuity does not seem to be a problem among inaccurate singers i.e., they can hear. While scoring slightly below accurate singers on tests of audiation, inaccurate singers do not exhibit the psychological barrier of being tone deaf. They do, however, demonstrate a significant lag in development of motor coordination. Test it out yourself. Give a simple test of “higher-lower” or “same-different” to inaccurate singers in the intermediate grades and you are likely to find that these children can discriminate quite well. This may be why there are always more boys who sing inaccurately than girls; boys are physically less mature than girls in the elementary years. However, research has shown that boys tend to be more responsive than girls to vocal coordination exercises that involve physical activities. Get a boy to “shoot a basket” with his voice and he will find his upper vocal register; so will girls!

Singing is a psychomotor skill. Teachers need only do two things to make it happen: (1) develop audiation skills, and (2) develop motor coordination. Doing both activities early in children’s musical development may help to anchor them in singing confidence. And thus, we keep them from the “image dragon” that is waiting for them as they mature. It may be our only chance for ever coming close to fulfilling the first of the National Standards.

Dr. Ken Phillips is professor of music and music education at the University of Iowa, where he teaches courses in conducting, undergraduate choral methods, and graduate research. His latest book, Directing the Choral Music Program, will be published in 2002 by Oxford University Press.