title: Gender differences in long-term average spectra of children's singing voices.
abstract: This paper forms part of a larger study into the nature of singing development in children and examines gender differences in long-term average spectra (LTAS). Three hundred and twenty children in age groups 4-11 years learned a song and were then recorded singing alone. LTAS curves were calculated for each voice. Age of each singer was estimated and gender attributed by a panel of independent listeners. Rate of gender identification (71%) was consonant with that reported for children's speech. Progressive statistically significant shifts of spectral energy as a function of increasing age (reported in a previous study) were found to be present in the data for both genders, but the developmental timetable over which the changes took place was earlier for girls than for boys. A theoretical basis for the developmental changes is proposed.
authors.affiliation: School of Arts and Humanities, Institute of Education, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Desmond C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Sergeant
authors.forename: Graham Frederick
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Welch
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009146:Music; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012938:Social Perception; D013018:Sound Spectrography; D014831:Voice