The Child-Voice in Singing Treated from a physiological and a practical standpoint and especially adapted to schools and boy choirs

"The Child-Voice in Singing" by Francis E. Howard is a manual from the 1800s about training kids to sing right. It looks at how children's voices work physically and gives teachers methods to use in schools and choirs. Howard wanted to put singing instruction for kids on a scientific basis by promoting gentle singing and using the head-voice correctly. In the beginning, he points out that many people mistakenly think children's voices are naturally unpleasant. He claims that kids can be taught to sing softly and beautifully if done correctly. Howard talks about the physical differences between children's and adults' voices, setting up what he will say later about how singing works and how to teach it. The first part of the book strongly argues it is important to train children's voices well and shows that the author knows what he is talking about.