A voice change or voice mutation, sometimes referred to as a voice break or voice crack, commonly refers to the deepening of the voice of men as they reach
puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a female, the testicles i ...
. Before puberty both sexes have roughly similar vocal pitches, but during puberty the male voice typically deepens an
octave
In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...
, while the female voice usually deepens only by a few
tones.
A similar effect is a "voice crack", during which a person's voice suddenly and unintentionally enters a higher register (usually
falsetto
Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ...
) for a brief period of time. This may be caused by singing or talking at a pitch outside the person's natural
vocal range, stress, fatigue, emotional tension, or the physical changes associated with puberty. An instance of a voice crack (when associated with puberty) lasts for only a moment and generally occurs less frequently as a person grows into maturity.
Anatomical changes
Most of the voice change begins around puberty.
Adult pitch is reached 2–3 years later, but the voice does not stabilize until the ages of 21-25. It usually happens months or years before the development of significant
facial hair. Under the influence of
sex hormones (namely
testosterone
Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone and androgen in Male, males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of Male reproductive system, male reproductive tissues such as testicles and prostate, as well as promoting se ...
), the voice box, or
larynx
The larynx (), commonly called the voice box, is an organ (anatomy), organ in the top of the neck involved in breathing, producing sound and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. The opening of larynx into pharynx known as the laryngeal ...
, grows in both sexes. This growth is far more prominent in males than in females and is more easily perceived. It causes the voice to drop and deepen. Along with the larynx, the
vocal folds
In humans, the vocal cords, also known as vocal folds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through Speech, vocalization. The length of the vocal cords affects the pitch of voice, similar to a violin string. Open when brea ...
(vocal cords) grow significantly longer and thicker.
The facial bones begin to grow as well. Cavities in the
sinuses, the nose, and the back of the
throat
In vertebrate anatomy, the throat is the front part of the neck, internally positioned in front of the vertebrae. It contains the Human pharynx, pharynx and larynx. An important section of it is the epiglottis, separating the esophagus from the t ...
grow bigger, thus creating more space within the head to allow the voice to resonate.
Occasionally, voice change is accompanied by unsteadiness of vocalization in the early stages of untrained voices. Due to the significant drop in pitch to the
vocal range, people may unintentionally speak in
head voice or even
strain their voices using pitches which were previously
chest voice, the lowest part of the
modal voice register.
History of voice cracks
Historical changes in the average age of puberty have had profound effects on the composing of music for children's voices. The composer
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...
was known for typically singing parts in high pitches throughout his 17th year.
Unchanged voices were in high demand for church
choirs, which historically excluded women. The British cathedral choir ideal remains based on
boy sopranos (or trebles), with the
alto
The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...
part executed by adult
countertenors. In German-speaking countries, however, the alto parts are also sung by boys.
Sometimes the voice lowers at stage 3 for females dropping to b3 or C4 for some the change in voice mostly happens at stage 4 including cracking and breaking for girls and same for boys.
Historically, a strategy for avoiding the shift altogether was
castration
Castration is any action, surgery, surgical, chemical substance, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical cas ...
. ''
Castrati'' are first documented in Italian church records from the 1550s.
[ John Rosselli, "Castrato" article in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', 2001.] Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
's ''
Exultate Jubilate'',
Allegri's ''
Miserere'' and parts of
Handel's ''
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
'' were written for this voice, whose distinctive
timbre
In music, timbre (), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes sounds according to their source, such as choir voices and musical instrument ...
was widely exploited in
Baroque opera. In 1861, the practice of castration became illegal in Italy, and in 1878
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...
prohibited the hiring of new castrati by the church. The last ''castrato'' was
Alessandro Moreschi, who served in the
Sistine Chapel Choir.
Singing
Children are able to sing in the same octave as women. When the voices of male teenagers break, they are no longer able to sing in the same octave. For music sung in the same key as women, they can sing in
falsetto
Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ...
or drop an
octave
In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...
.
See also
*
Puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a female, the testicles i ...
*
Voice masculinization and
feminization
References
{{Authority control
Puberty
Human voice
Testosterone