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I once attended a voice conference where it was said from the front that generally “Women make better singers than men.”
Now, this assertion has been stuck in my mind for a long time. Firstly, is it true? Secondly, if it IS true, why might this be the case?
So let me qualify my answer into four different areas that might help clarify my thinking on this for you.
DISCLAIMER: This is not 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, and therefore their voices improve quicker. The lighter nature of the average female instrument enables it to more quickly adapt to what I’m asking it to do as a voice coach and builder of voices. This leads to greater extended range, ease of movement in and around that range, etc. Lighter male voices often enjoy this same benefit, but the average male voice is heavier than the female voice so more work needs to go into it. This ties neatly into point 2.
2) Less chest voice = less holding them down
Generally speaking, the more chest voice a singer has/is meant to have, the longer it takes 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 before they leave the bottom of their voice. 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. If you listen to modern pop, you’ll hear a more androgenous female vocal sound. 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, whereas 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 (though of course this is talking generalities), and men often being more hesitant to fully express themselves. 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.