Ranks of C of E boy trebles thinning
The Church Times reports,
Whereas, in the past, boys continued singing treble until they were 15 or 16, now musical directors and choir masters often find that boys’ voices are changing at 12 or 13.A Danish study, carried out at Copenhagen University Hospital, has found that, over the past ten years, the voices of boys in a leading choir school have broken earlier and earlier. Researchers have linked this change to weight and diet, and an earlier start to puberty in both boys and girls.The Telegraph has more,
At some schools, a scholarship is still honoured after a boy's voice breaks; at others it is downgraded, meaning parents have to pay more in fees.Meat heavy diets and improved prenatal diet of mothers have been attributed to earlier onset of puberty. In boys, however, obesity is associated with a delay in puberty.Choristers usually start from the age of about eight, although at some cathedrals they are now recruited from the age of seven.
In boys, however, obesity is associated with a delay in puberty.
That was my understanding: fat produces estrogens (hence, inhibits the testosterone needed for male puberty).
I believe I've heard that prior to the 19th century, male voices broke around 18-19 (meaning that it was---sometimes!---more like an adult choice, to become a castrato).
In the 1970s, the buzzword (about socio-economic development) was "the Limits to Growth": one wonders if it's true of the human being (individually and collectively), too.
JC Fisher
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October 15, 2010 12:28 AM