Children will naturally sing along with music they hear, particularly if it is something that appeals to their natural instincts. The style the child sings will be directly related to culture. the kind of music they listen to, and their voice will evolve accordingly. In little boys (on the one hand) they will generally sing in what is called their head voice or in a monotone. On the other hand, little girls (if singing loudly) will sing in their chest. In either case, when singing softly, both voices will sing in their head voice.
- The male child: When the young boy starts puberty that head voice lowers to chest. With that change comes a distinguishable break as the child enters puberty. This is a natural phenomenon because the natural tessitura for the male child is his chest voice. As his body starts to change so do the vocal cords. They begin to thicken and not understanding how the vocal cords are changing in thickness (which causes the break) that child will continue trying to sing as he did before the change. Unfortunately, the results from trying to do so can be very discouraging. However, if the child is naturally talented he will find his range and, under the guidance of a skilled teacher will learn how to access his upper register and blend it with the middle.
- The female child generally sings in her chest voice (also known as the speaking voice or middle register). However, again, just as the male child enters puberty, so does the female. Generally by this time, the female has powered her chest voice to the point where her range is limited to no more than an octave. When she attempts to sing higher notes, it comes out as a scream and out-of-tune!! That doesn’t have to happen. As with the male child voice entering puberty, the female child voice under the guidance of a skilled teacher can expand her range by teaching her how to access the head voice. What is important to remember is that culture and the child’s environment will determine which voice will dominate — the head or the chest.