The voice of the adolescent male is a diabolical paradox.

Consider that when the machinations of puberty take hold, the larynx grows and the voice drops, most young men are left with a usable vocal range that is fraction of what they had prior to the change. To make matters worse, they are left with a “blank spot,” or a range of frequencies over which they cannot phonate. To add insult to injury, that blank spot tends to be right where they were just singing prior to the change, making up a significant portion of the octave C4 to C5. Young men are left with a voice literally in pieces, having the lower notes come in while losing what will one day be the “money notes.”

What is this all about?

This happens because of the non-linear growth and development of the structures of the larynx. What is happening on the outside of the body – the awkwardness of the bodies of young men, legs and arms seemingly too long, abounding clumsiness in most things that they attempt – is happening elsewhere out of obvious sight, and specific to this discourse, the vocal folds and their related structures. Although the structure of the larynx may have expanded, and with it the lengthening of the vocal folds, the layers of the folds themselves have not fully developed. The thyroarytenoids, the muscle that lies within the vocal folds themselves, take significantly more time to bulk up and increase the relative mass of the folds. These two processes are central to the expansion of the adult male voice, and its full development.

The fact that this process takes time, and that there is nothing that can be done to ameliorate or accelerate the process, is discouraging for young male singers. Imagine, one day you are the toast of the youth choir, singing the melodic line or nailing the counterpoint that deepens the emotional content of a musical selection, and the next day those things are out of your reach through no fault of your own. These young men find themselves relegated to the “baritone” section, able to sing the lower parts while straining for notes that all too recently were afterthoughts. Many talented and capable young men simply walk away, particularly when there is no progression plan in place. Sound familiar?

More tomorrow!

No singer is immune to the laws of physics. 

Put another way:
Drink your water

And still another:
Be sure to work on technique daily, not just repertoire.