Pedagogical approaches for the female adolescent voice in Southern Baptist youth choir rehearsal

Children and youth choirs in the Southern Baptist Church have historically been used as a training ground for future adult choir members. These future choristers received a musical education from music ministers utilizing a graded choral curriculum. More recently, youth choir leaders, who are often volunteers, no longer receive educational materials to aid in the musical education of the children and youth choirs. This change is of concern, given the importance of pedagogical approaches and repertoire selection to the vocal health, self-awareness, and identity of young singers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the pedagogical practices and repertoire used by youth choir directors in SBC youth choir rehearsals. Using Gackle’s (2011, 2019) pedagogical framework for vocal health, I sought to identify what vocal training, repertoire selection, and rehearsal methods are used by SBC youth choir directors, as it relates to the female adolescent voice. Utilizing a collective case study approach, I conducted interviews with youth choir directors and youth choir members in SBC of Virginia churches, completed observations of female adolescents who sang in the choirs, and completed document review of repertoire used in these choirs. Interviews centered around participants’ general knowledge, preparation, and perceptions regarding choral rehearsal techniques. For the observations, I observed a performance of a song of each female adolescent participant’s choice, to evaluate their vocal technique while singing. I conducted a critical analysis of the music literature used in rehearsal by the youth choirs involved in the study. I enlisted a committee of five musicians, who were either educators who had church youth choir experience or were music ministers who worked with female adolescents in youth choir, to review the repertoire utilizing a Repertoire Assessment Protocol I developed using criteria from Gackle (2011, 2019). I completed initial coding of all data to discover what vocal pedagogical concerns, if any, leaders considered and utilized during rehearsal. I then completed second cycle coding to find common themes connecting the repertoire analysis, interviews, and observations. Although the youth choir directors considered their repertoire and techniques to be appropriate for their young singers, in five out of six situations, the repertoire and rehearsal techniques did not fulfill healthful and pedagogically appropriate criteria as outlined by Gackle (2011, 2019). The female adolescents exhibited vocal tension and strain while singing but still expressed a deep respect and appreciation for their youth choir leaders. Most of the singers mentioned that they admired their youth leaders’ strong walk with Christ, and the students expressed a desire to follow this example spiritually and musically. Out of ten foundational techniques for healthy vocal production, the students and directors disagreed in their perspectives on five: tone production, breath management, important singing skills, vowels, and intonation. In general, the students stated that their directors had not addressed these items in rehearsal as often as the directors stated. Additionally, the directors’ opinions of repertoire appropriateness differed from that of the repertoire committee, who stated that the Contemporary Christian Music they examined was not conducive for female adolescent vocal development. With many obstacles to youth choir programs in church, the future of youth choir in the SBC church is in question. In this study, pastoral lack of support, competition with youth bands, lack of qualified leadership, and lack of quality repertoire availability all appeared related to a decline in youth choir membership. Youth choir leaders may improve the pedagogy in rehearsal by increasing their knowledge of the adolescent voice, seeking out reputable publishers who have curated music that is conducive to supporting adolescent voices, and finding healthful repertoire or by adjusting current repertoire to fit the capabilities of their singers