by Mark JW Graham – Vocal Coach in Nottingham, UK | Book Now
As a professional vocal coach here in Nottingham, I regularly attend industry conferences and professional development events. At one such voice conference, a speaker made the claim that, generally speaking, “women make better singers than men.”
That statement has stayed with me for a long time. Is it actually true? And if so, why might that be the case?
After many years of teaching singers, I’ve given this question a lot of thought. While the idea isn’t without some foundation, it’s far more nuanced than a simple yes-or-no answer. In this article, I’ll break the issue down into four key areas to explain what’s really going on.
DISCLAIMER: This is based on my own personal experience and opinion over many years of teaching, and is not meant as anything other than a discussion on the different aptitudes I’ve noticed between male and female singers.
1) Female voices are generally more receptive to exercises
Over the years, I have generally found that the female voice is often more mechanically and technically receptive to vocalises. As a result, their voices improve quicker. The lighter nature of the average female instrument also gives it an advantage.
This enables female voices to more quickly adapt to what I’m asking it to do as a professional vocal coach. This leads to greater extended range and ease of movement in and around that range. Lighter male voices often enjoy this same benefit, but the average male voice is heavier than the female voice. Consequently, more work needs to go into it.
This ties neatly into point 2.
Get Expert Help
2) Less chest voice = less holding them down
Generally speaking, the more chest voice a singer has, the longer it takes to build the voice. It takes time to both build the chest voice and then integrate it into then upper part of the instrument.
The average female voice tends to have less chest voice (both in terms of range, weight and volume), and therefore there is less for them to have to deal with. Both before they leave the bottom of their voice and more generally.
This means that even if a female singer comes in with a very weak chest voice, it doesn’t need as much work before it’s engaged correctly for their voice when compared to a similarly light chested male singer. Lighter male singers have less work
3) Men are expected to sound masculine, whilst women are not JUST expected to sound feminine
If you listen to women singing folk music or lighter forms of older music (bordering on classical), you’ll hear a very light ethereal female vocal sound.
When you listen to modern pop, you’ll hear a more androgenous female vocal sound.
While if you listen to modern gospel, RnB etc, you’ll often hear a very powerful very masculine female vocal sound. And we are all very accepting (sociologically speaking) of this great range of vocal sounds.
In contrast, male singers are fundamentally expected to sound masculine regardless of genre. There are a few male singers that sit outside that realm, but generally men are expected to sound masculine. Whereas, women can traverse the full range from extremely light soft feminine vocal sounds to more aggressive masculine sounds.
This gives women singers a greater range of options for their voices within which listeners will agree that women sound good. Yet at the opposite end, men are typically more restricted in the possible vocal sounds they can generate which will sound good to listeners.
4) Emotivity is a BIG part of being a singer
Finally, I’d say that women tend to be more willing to fully express themselves using their voices. Part of this is generally due to women being more emotive than men. Whereas, men often are more hesitant to fully express themselves. This of course this is talking generalities.
Men sometimes lack the sophistication in their emotions that women often have nailed, which therefore leads to a less nuanced performance or even the listener hearing a disconnect between the singer and their voice.
In summary, I’d broadly agree that women generally find it easier to sing better than men. There are a number of factors involved in this (in my opinion), but in my experience women have a lot of advantages straight off the bat that men have to work harder for.
Suggested Reading
Mark JW Graham - Mark is a high-end vocal coach and singing teacher based in Nottingham, UK.
Certified in Speech Level Singing ®, and with over 20 years of musical experience, he is known as the "go-to vocal coach" for singers wanting dramatic improvements in their singing voice in a short space of time.
Trusted by singers worldwide, Mark’s expertise as a coach, singer and musician helps clients transform their voices and raise their musicianship to new levels.
SLS Certified Vocal Coach · 20+ Years Experience · Trusted Worldwide