Sad fact: Boys are less likely to sing in mixed school choirs than girls. So, let’s explore ways to turn the tide and get more boys singing.

Ask musical directors about the challenges of running a community choir, and you can bet the gender gap will get a mention.

Many choir leaders voice frustration at the difficulty in recruiting tenors and basses. 

While the gender ratio may vary from choir to choir depending on geography and genre, the reality is it’s tough to recruit men, especially younger men.

For example, Sing Space, which runs 40 community choirs in the UK, has a 95:5 female-to-male split.

Where does it all start?

The gender disparity doesn’t magically materialise in adulthood. You can trace its roots back to the education system, where girls tend to outnumber boys in mixed school choirs.

Many music campaigners believe that to get more men singing, we need to get more boys singing – and keep them engaged throughout their teenage years.

Why don’t boys want to sing?

Researchers believe gender stereotyping plays a role; choir singing is often perceived as something girls, not boys, do.

Then there’s the issue of puberty and voice change. Boys can feel uncomfortable singing in public if their voices are changing and unpredictable.

If boys stop singing when puberty hits, it can be a struggle to get them to return to group singing once their voices have settled. By then studies and socialising are higher priorities.

So what can singing teachers and choir leaders do?

Baz Chapman and Celi Barberia from the Sing Up Foundation discussed how to get boys singing on the Singing Teachers Talk podcast.

Here are some of their suggestions.

• Look for ways to make connections with boys. Consider the language you use when you discuss singing and music and the imagery you use in posters.
  
  
• Choose repertoire that boys want to sing. When one choir leader found his male students resistant to singing, he asked them what music they loved. When the response was drill rap, he started a rap club. You may not want to go down this route, but giving boys a role in choosing repertoire may help. They’re much more likely to want to perform songs they connect with.
  
  
• Normalise singing across the day. Some primary school teachers ‘sneak’ singing into lessons by turning roll call into a call-and-response exercise or singing a tidy-up song at the end of the day.
  
  
• Remember, boys need role models; they’re more likely to consider singing if they see older boys doing it.
  
  
• Think of ways to make the boys who want to sing feel special.
  
  
• Consider setting up a boys-only choir. This may seem counter-intuitive if you want more boys to sing in a mixed setting. But if they enjoy being in a boys-only choir, they may feel more comfortable moving to a mixed choir.
  
  
• If you run a mixed school choir, ensure it doesn’t feel like a boys-versus-girls scenario.
  
  
• Recognise that vocal change can be daunting and make teenage boys feel exposed.
  
  

Listen

Check out our full-length interview with Sing Up’s Baz Chapman and Celi Barberia, where they also discuss:

• Singing for wellbeing – and how it differs from singing for performance.
  
  

• The scientific evidence that supports singing for wellbeing.
  
  

Read more

Here’s our blog on Helping Male Adolescent Singers Access the Upper Register.