First of all, this is not a comprehensive description, but just an overview. If you'd like to read more about it, this article is going to be based on the book Finding Ophelia's Voice which you can find on Amazon by clicking here. I'm going to cover the phases of the female voice change and the effects they have on the voice.
Phase 1 -- Prepubertal: Unchanged
Average vocal range: Bb3 to F5
Age: Up to ages 8-11, potentially and rarely to age 12.
Vocal Characteristics: Clear/flute like quality, similar to a boy's voice at this age, no obvious breaks, flexible and agile.
Phase 2A -- Pre-menarcheal: Beginning of Mutation
Average vocal range: A3 to G5
Age: 11-13
Vocal Characteristics: This phase pairs with the beginning of puberty in girls. There will be a breathy tone that cannot be eliminated. The breathiness will sound like tone and breath instead of a breathy tone, similar to oil and water instead of lemonade. The breathiness is in two layers instead of combined. Breaks also begin to appear around F4 to B4. Some girls will have difficulty producing their higher range at all and some will having difficulty in the lower range. They are not "alto" or "soprano," but rather their voices simply have a current temporary difficulty producing these pitches because of vocal fold development.
Phase 2B -- Post-menarcheal: Pubertal/High Point of Mutation
Average vocal range: A3 to F5
Age: 12-15
Vocal Characteristics: Huskiness throughout range. Register/Tone changes appearing between F4-Bb4 and D5-F#5. Lower notes suddenly easy giving the illusion of a low alto. Occasional difficulty with phonation (just air comes out without any sound instead of reliable use of vocal folds). Comfortable singing range can shift up or down sporadically. Voice cracking and breathiness return frequently. Vibrato may begin to naturally happen.
Phase 3 -- Young Adult Female
Average vocal range: A3 to A5
Age: 14-18
Vocal Characteristics: More richness in vocal quality. Range increases, sometimes dramatically. More consistency throughout voice with less breathiness. Only one large break instead of two around D5-F#5. Vibrato may happen naturally and somewhat uncontrollably. The voice becomes more flexible and agile with greater ability for volume and resonance.
This is a very VERY brief overview of the female voice change. The main takeaways are the unfixable issues that girls will run into as their voice changes paired with the dramatically larger range of ages than in a boys voice change. A boys voice will change over a summer, a girls may take 10 years. Additionally, the change is somewhat less dramatic for women. I've heard it described as a boys voice changes from light blue to red while a girls voice changes from light blue to royal blue. Both change a bit but a girl's is at least the same color. If you need help adjusting through any issues, please sign up for singing lesson with me by clicking here.
Reference:
Gackle, Lynne. Finding Ophelia’s Voice, Opening Ophelia’s Heart: Nurturing the Adolescent Female Voice: An Exploration of the Physiological, Psychological, and Musical Development of Female Students. Heritage Music Press, a Lorenz Company, 2011.
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