The Boy's Voice

The Boy's Voice, by John Spencer Curwen, is described as a book of practical information on the training of boys' voices for church choirs. The book says that no doubt cases can be quoted of boys who have sung on uninterruptedly and developed into good tenors or basses, but there are cases equally strong in which the man's voice has completely failed after such a course. The book says that Sir Morell Mackenzie is the only medical writer who has advocated singing during change of voice.

The book quotes a letter by Mr. E. H. Saxton, choirmaster of St. James's church, at Buxton, whose writer carefully watches each boy when expecting the change to commence. A numbered list in the book includes prohibiting all shouting on high notes and establishing what is known amongst scholars as singing in a whisper, that is, singing as softly as possible. A writer in the book says of a lofty tune that the writer believes the boys really enjoy its loftiness, but there must be no shouting.