Another recent research carried out by Schneider et al (2002), and showed school difference on vocal range. 186 aged 7 - 10 children were from three urban schools and two rural schools in Austria and/or Hungary. Three schools were without any music specialization and another two with singing specialization, whilst one of them is music school. Children in this study sang scales beginning at comfortable speaking level, then ‘upward to the upper limit and later to the lowest limit of voice range’ (p 155). This is voice range profile (VRP) (singing by the softest and lowest level). In other words, they were not CSR. As a result, they reported a relative big range (see Figure). This was wider than studies used CSR (e.g. Welch et al, 2009; Wilson, 1979). However, it closes to studies used VRP (e.g. Wuyts et al, 2003; Hacki &Heitmuller, 1999; Bohme & Stuchlik, 1995; Heylen et al, 1998).
In this study, children from schools with singing specialists, showed 3-6 ST wider vocal range than children from schools without any specialist, regardless of ethnic. The music school participants have the widest vocal range (33.2 ST). They also reported that urban school children had 2.4ST wider than that of rural children in Austria. According to this study, music specialization has the biggest influence on children's vocal range, flowed by economic states, and ethnic difference was the last variable. All children reached at least a mean singing voice range of two octaves (24 st). The school difference caused by musical or singing training, as the research of Welch et al.
Toole (2003) reported an investigation with 289 subjects from female public school, ranging in age from 6 to 16 years. Each child was called upon to sing a major scale with syllable / i/ with self-selected starting pitch, ascending and descending within their comfortable range. Toole reported that no significant difference associated with race, but associated with vocal training, which is similar with Welch et al (2009). The range expanded by aged from approximately 14 semitones in aged six to 17 semitones in aged twelve (see Figure).
Toole’s vocal range was supported by Wassum (1979), but the difference is that Wassum used interval range, instead of semitones (see Figure). Children in this study showed no difference on sex.
Although Toole and Wassum reached an agreement on CSR, data from these two studies were narrower than that of Welch et al (2009). For Toole’s study, the high pitches in CSR were almost unchanged. It might be as the CSR were composite of means from highest and lowest singing frequency in each age group (see Figure). As the means were easier influenced by extreme figures, resulting in the relative stable CSR in Toole’s study. Instead of mean, median might be a better value in this study.?
Another important early research was carried out by Wilson (1970). It was a twelve - year longitudinal study with 69 subjects in the first year and end with 25 subjects in Primary school age. His investigation into vocal range, and each grader was tested six times in 12 years. The vocal range was tested by ascending and descending chromatic scale with syllable ''oo'' and ''ah'' respectively, and several familiar songs singing started in the comfortable level. A difficulty was reported that some children have a break in singing the ascending scale, as they ran out of breath. As a result, they were allowed to restart, even in a lower starting point. The same problem did not occur in the descending scale. One song was reported as a poor selection as 'it was difficult to discern whether the child had accurately sung the quick upbeat' (p18). Wilson only concern the pitch range, not the quality of tone.
After 12 years study, Wilson reported that vocal range expanded by age from grade one to six (see Figure). The second graders showed rapid change to the third graders. Sex difference has been reported in this study whilst boys slightly sing 1-2 ST lower than that of girls, and this is opposite in Toole's finding.In this research, children's comfortable singing pitches was lower than traditionally recommended for children’s singing range. Wilson also reported that individual did not developed at the same rate, similarly with Toole's research, and this is similar with SFF in the prior chapter.
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