LAUSR

Martin Ashley’s introduction provides a clear rationale for the publication of this volume, which is based on his practical experience of working with adolescent voices, as well as upon his well-established research in this field: Firstly, despite being highly trained musicians, not all secondary school music teachers have expertise in singing or choral direction; although this book will have broad appeal, these practitioners are Ashley’s ‘key target group’. Secondly, facilitating singing in the lower secondary school is a ‘specialism within a specialism’ (p. 1), which requires a wide range of practical, musical and vocal skills, alongside knowledge and understanding of the vocal development of young adolescents; this book is designed to provide some of the insight required for leading singing effectively with this age group. Thirdly, there is a lack of singing in many English secondary schools; in just under half of them there is ‘no singing at all’ and the singing has been assessed as ‘good or excellent’ by OFSTED in only about a quarter of them (p. 1), and Ashley explores the reasons for this. He suggests that a widespread misunderstanding of vocal development in adolescent males may have contributed to the current limited provision of singing for boys with changing voices, and sets out to challenge some of the myths and misconceptions around the voice change process. He also tackles some of the more contentious topics, including the reasons why singing is more likely to be flourishing in private, fee-charging schools than in publicly funded state schools. Ashley proposes that this has less to do with the socio-economic background of the pupils than ‘the quality of senior leadership and music teaching’ (p. 2), and seeks to confront some of the contributory factors. He also contends that singing is currently in danger of becoming a spectator sport that revolves around individual vocal performances being exposed to the often humiliating and degrading progression through various rounds on televised talent shows, rather than a participatory activity which is open to, and enjoyed by, everyone. Finally, he suggests that, even in schools where singing is strong, it is not always appreciated for its intrinsic value, and that more use could be made of voice-based pedagogy as a tool for acquiring musical skills and knowledge. These are all complex subjects to address in one volume, even before Ashley raises the question of the whether puberty is starting earlier these days, and the effects that this is likely to have on physiological, social, cognitive and vocal maturation. However, he starts in a very accessible way by defining ‘singing’ and the age range covered by the term ‘lower secondary school’, providing useful background on government targets for vocal achievement for this educational and developmental stage, and outlining the biological effects of puberty and the impact of socio-cultural considerations upon singing provision in schools. Helpful distinctions between ‘choral work’, ‘vocal work’, ‘just singing’ and the ‘class chorus’ are also provided. An approach to whole class singing is suggested in which the vocal development of the students should be prioritised when selecting suitable repertoire, whilst also considering