Tyler Turner wrote: [snip]
My point was in part to say that it wasn't necessary. But if you're interested, there are many articles on the subject. Here's one: http://www1.wfubmc.edu/voice/nodules/singer.htm
[snip]
Thanks for that link -- it seems very good. While there is a statement that singing "out of range" may cause nodules, it doesn't define how to determine that. Many females who sing tenor do so because it is their natural range. Many males who sing soprano do so because it is their natural range.
I agree with an earlier point that many teachers may be forcing women to sing tenor to balance the sections, not because of any concern for a person's natural range. Those teachers should be fired because they are obviously not good for the students. To bar all female tenors (or male countertenors) because some students had been forced to sing outside their range is an illogical step. Those students are STILL being forced to sing outside their range -- they just are prevented from participating in the honor of being in the All-State chorus. Punishing the students because of the actions of the teachers seems silly and extremely unfair.
But to return to the link you posted, the actual comparison that they seem to make the most of involves two people singing in the same range, and discuss how proper vocal training seems to be most important in the prevention of nodules.
So if the Texas All-State committee is actually making their ruling based on solid research into vocal health, they should bar anyone who hasn't had proper vocal training, regardless of range. Of course, that would be jumped on as totally unfair, that only students who have demonstrated proper vocal technique could audition for All-State Chorus.
But isn't that what the audition process is for? I would imagine that those with proper vocal technique would sing at a high enough level to pass the incredibly competitive audition, and those with improper vocal technique wouldn't sing well enough and wouldn't be accepted. So the judging process itself would weed out those who are likely to be harming their voices. That would be regardless of the range, which would remove the necessity of separating the voices by sex.
Nowhere in the article you cited does it say that "women singing tenor are harming their voices" or "men singing soprano parts are harming their voices" as if such an occurence is de facto harmful.
Anybody singing in any range, using improper vocal technique, may be harming their voices. The Texas All-State Committee doesn't address that at all, which makes their concern over women singing tenor and men singing soprano seem to have another agenda. Whether that is a sexist agenda or simply a "See what we're doing to protect our students' voices" while not actually protecting our students' voices agenda remains unproven.
-- David H. Bailey [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
