Emily F. OB 6: "Classification is a tricky business." We need to be able to discover our unique voices before putting labels on them. This is especially important in young voices that are still developing and growing. Teachers and conductors need to be sensitive to the vocal health needs of children's voices. Monotones don't exist! There are people who are not pitch-sensitive, though.
Key concept: It is unfair and potentially damaging to pigeonhole a young person's voice.
Key terms: spinto, lyric, coloratura, dramatic, heldentenor, tessitura, monotone
Making connections: My middle school choir teacher wanted me to sing soprano but I insisted on singing alto because I loved singing harmony. She was then grateful that there was an alto who could hear and sing that line. When I got to high school, my choir teacher thought I should sing soprano, but my voice was bigger than everyone else's, and I could sing harmony, so she had me sing alto or second soprano. After that, I pretty much told every conductor that I sang alto and they had me do that. I'm finding now that when I sing alto in choirs it's not comfortable on my voice if I sing at the volume asked for. The advice on not pushing kids to sing too much is great in this chapter. And here's a funny thing about monotones: my husband is totally pitch-blind, particularly when it comes to the female voice. He hears ring and timbre but not pitch, and he can't hear parallel harmonies at all! He will truly think that only one voice is singing when there are parallel thirds going on. If he was interested in learning to hear more I'd love to use the suggestions in the book.
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