ONE Boy, TWO Voices! …. and they’re both mine!!
Hello everyone, I’m CORMAC THOMPSON, I’m 15 and I WAS a very successful ‘boy treble’ And since no one else was talking about it, this podcast is about my journey as a young singer experiencing that scary phase when our voice's take on a MIND OF THEIR OWN.
One minute a boy soprano is soaring over the high notes, to the delight of many and the next... BANG! Your voice CRACKS louder than the school bell and you could give the neighbour’s cat a run for its’ money.
But here's the thing because no-one’s talking about it! It's like we're all in this secret club of voice-breaking boys, silently suffering through the chaos while everyone else carries on like nothing's happening. Except of course for the keyboard warriors, sharing their pearls of wisdom on your YouTube videos about how ‘puberty will hit your career like a train’ or ‘you’ll have to kill yourself when your voice breaks cos you won’t be able to sing any more’ just charming, for sure.
So I wanted to help. In this podcast, we DO TALK about it, we NEED to talk about it. So many boys just stop singing and if we can reassure, even just some of them, that it’ll be ok, I’ll be happy.
So, whether you're a boy and you sing, you’re the parent or the grand - parent or a teacher of a young boy singer or maybe you’re just curious to learn more about this, please JOIN me and Professor Martin Ashley (Author of 'How High Should Boys Sing' and 'Dead Composers and Living Boys') and my regular guests, as we embark on this daunting trek, navigating the highs, the lows, and everything in between.
Thank you for listening and sharing : -)
WATCH me singing https://www.youtube.com/@CormacThompson
STREAM my songs
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/cormac/1539007742
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5h3EGN6IPU6J9fMWszrNWy
LEARN more and FOLLOW me on social media https://www.cormacthompson.com/
LEARN MORE about the science
https://www.martin-ashley.com/vocal-stages
https://pressbooks.pub/deadcomposers/
Please do listen to the end of this one because there's clips of 3 new songs!
Here's a nice short final episode for you and I promise never to mention my changing voice again ; ) I hope you have found my podcast helpful.
We did not set out to educate. Our hope was to help inform those who enjoy listening to young boy voices and we wanted to create a source of reference for all the other boys who will go on to navigate their own changing voice as well.
And back to the songs! I recorded them in April with the wonderful Producer Simon Hanhart (who has mixed all my songs) and even though they are NOT quite finished yet I thought they were still good enough to let you have a listen. They are still very much a work in progress but as they are more recent than any of my other recordings, I thought it would be good to let you hear how well my voice is settling now too.
Thank you very much for tuning in to my podcast, this one is a bit different, especially as we didn't all quite make it in to the same room like we did before and there's some more general info that you might not want to miss.
Doing it this way though meant I got to see how me and all my guests had the easy bit, we just had really nice chats!! I think it's fair to say that all the extra work needed after that, to actually turn those chats into each episode, took a lot more work than my mum realised it would but we are still very glad we persevered.
A HUGE thank you to EVERYONE who has contributed to this project and here's to the next one!!!!
Useful links for me - and don'y forget you can get to all my songs and music videos from my website
Cormac Thompson - Homepage (https://www.cormacthompson.com/)
A Borrowed Gift: CORMAC'S STORY - ft. him singing Cinema Paradiso (Se) (youtube.com) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9Od9zbkFUs&t=20s)
https://www.youtube.com/@CormacThompson (https://www.youtube.com/@CormacThompson)
https://facebook.com/Cormac.musicofficial/ (https://facebook.com/Cormac.musicofficial/)
https://instagram.com/iamcormacthompson/ (https://instagram.com/iamcormacthompson/)
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5h3EGN6IPU6J9fMWszrNWy (https://open.spotify.com/artist/5h3EGN6IPU6J9fMWszrNWy)
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/cormac/1539007742 (https://music.apple.com/us/artist/cormac/1539007742)
Useful links for Professor Martin Ashley
Vocal Stages (https://www.martin-ashley.com/vocal-stages)
| Martin Ashley (martin-ashley.com) (https://www.martin-ashley.com/vocal-stages)
Dead Composers and Living Boys: how high should boys sing in a (https://pressbooks.pub/deadcomposers/)
digital age? – Simple Book Publishing (pressbooks.pub) (https://pressbooks.pub/deadcomposers/)
Useful links for Matthew - who also edited all the episodes
Matthew Todd - Scottish Tenor (matthew-todd.co.uk) (https://www.matthew-todd.co.uk/)
17 May 2024
May There Always Be Angels
Episode 5! we had to miss a week .. I released a song, Jim Croce's classic 'Time in a Bottle' I hope you like it. Please do check it out, it's out now on all platforms.
Lots more chat this week with me, Max and Robbie about our personal experiences and just how different, the same thing was, for us all. There is still quite a few years to go for me with my changing voice and it is really good for me to hear from Max and Robbie about what it was like for them too, especially as they are much older and further down the line than I am.
For me this episode really highlights just how different each boys journey really is unique to them.
The final episode of 'One Boy, Two Voices' will be released on the 31st May.
Songs featured this week
In The Arms Of An Angel (Mesmerising Cover/ Cormac) (youtube.com) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qIgDDK3J2o)
Aragorn Sleepsong (Lord of the Rings) Secret Garden cover - Cormac Thompson (youtube.com) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtP0HTfucTE)
Useful Links
https://www.cormacthompson.com/ (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbWNDcUlPcmpxYWxlRXR1ME1pc2VZdk1QaWdDZ3xBQ3Jtc0ttXzNEa1RsWHpYaDdCV2dPR25GaEUtaGVadHg0cU9TNkotb3NkYUZYbHFQNy1YWVhnMVc0R29QeURQajRQZ2FiSFRobW9lNzNXWXdEWXlLOWo1VHdKUlZTbEM4c2dqQWUzREdxanhpSXV4MS1hLVZmaw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cormacthompson.com%2F&v=7Ll55T8BbNw)
Dead Composers, Living Boys | Martin Ashley (martin-ashley.com) (https://www.martin-ashley.com/forthco... (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbFl2ZGpIa2dRVGtnUkNZQ3lFMTFfc0djaFAwZ3xBQ3Jtc0ttd3F1Zk5WdWI1aVpfSWpnU2pjeXNVbzZ3b1Y0VnlXa0wxd1VvZ1NTenJPb3lKNGlPMHNtVkdoWTdMNlp2dld6SWtNQzlOVy1TWTRsX3hsY3VVMEt6UzR3SUVwYlRZZnNhbHhzU0hlQ19MZVRMOEZKaw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.martin-ashley.com%2Fforthcoming-first&v=7Ll55T8BbNw))
Morland Choristers Camp – A residential summer course for choristers (https://morland.org.uk/)
3 May 2024
We're doing it for the boys!
Episode 4 already, that was quick.
This week we welcome two new guests, Max and Robbie. I compare notes on what it was like for them when their voices changed. Former boy trebles (boy sopranos) themselves but a little longer ago than I was, Max is 21 and Robbie is 18.
Max has featured a lot in Martin's research over the last 10 years or so and Robbie, still sings in Carlisle Cathedral (UK) but he's hoping to take up his offer to be a choral scholar at a top UK university in September 2024.
With lots more topics touched on this week, please do share this any young singers grappling with their changing voice. Our hope is that we can help them make sense of it all a bit more too.
Songs featured this week
Bernstein: West Side Story - SOMEWHERE - Cormac (youtube.com) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrRqCyG67LM)
Useful links
Cormac Thompson - Homepage (https://www.cormacthompson.com/)
Dead Composers, Living Boys | Martin Ashley (martin-ashley.com) (https://www.martin-ashley.com/forthcoming-first)
26 Apr 2024
So does the journey end here?
Welcome to episode 3, it's the last one with Mum and Matthew. Next week we have two new guests, more on who they are at the end of this episode.
In episode 3 our chats range from cowboy hats at Nashville's, Grand Ole Opry to the stage at London's equally iconic Royal Albert Hall!
We even cover how some 'Empty Chairs' can lead to 'Country Roads' ....... when we share with you how we choose the songs I sing and how I prepare for recording them as well.
The most difficult part of when my voice changed is in this episode too. The sound I made when I sang was far from pleasant and singing in public during this stage is not something I wanted to do.
You guys all get a mention too 🤗
As we chat about the pull to listen to a young singer, Martin explains just why this can be so appealing to hear. We also touch on, the teenage singer phase that I'm in now, when I'm not so cute and I don't sing so high any more and the challenges that throws up too.
With lots more topics touched on too, please do share this with any young singers grappling with their own changing voice. Our hope is we can help them make sense of it all.
Songs featured this week
Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver, cover by Cormac (youtube.com) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0asp13olkV4)
'Empty Chairs At Empty Tables' from 'Les Miserables' (Cormac Thompson Cover) Charity single (youtube.com) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBQMzrrhyIo)
Useful Links
ALL EPISODES SO FAR PODCAST - ONE Boy, TWO Voices .... - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8D0uGEUONMXMG11jIY0i6RIN8fZSHmEE)
Cormac Thompson - Homepage (https://www.cormacthompson.com/)
Vocal Stages | Martin Ashley (martin-ashley.com) (https://www.martin-ashley.com/vocal-stages)
Matthew Todd - Scottish Tenor (matthew-todd.co.uk) (https://www.matthew-todd.co.uk/)
19 Apr 2024
'You made that song your version Cormac' - Simon Cowell!
Please do check out the related links listed below.
In episode two, we chat about when I performed on Chorister of the Year (October 2021) and Britain's Got Talent (January 2022, it aired May 2022) and what it was like recording new songs with Dominic Ferris and Simon Hanhart. We have linked all these different events back to the changing stage that my voice was at, at the time I did them.
Again, I'm joined by my mum, Alison, who still keeps me right on the order of things and she helps explain what it was like from a grown - up's perspective too.
Professor Martin Ashley, a renowned voice change expert and author of many books on the subject of voice change and Matthew Todd, professional tenor and music educator, join me too.
Getting to do all these things as a very young singer has given me a lot of experience in a very short time for a young boy singer and at the end of last year I realised just what a good position that put me in to try and help other young boys to keep singing when their voices change too.
I'm 15 now, my voice is through the most difficult part of it changing and I'm very fortunate to still be singing. I hope episode two continues to spark your interest in my podcast.
If you have any connection to young boys who you think would benefit from listening to this please share it with them too.
We also thought it would be helpful to define CAMBIATA
"Whilst a boy goes through puberty, his comfortable modal singing range fits none of the conventional SATB choral parts. Cambiata are specific part ranges based on the principle that "the music must fit the voice, not the voice the music".
The cambiata 1 part for boys in early puberty ranges from A3 - A4 and shares some but not all notes with treble. The cambiata 2 part, for boys in later puberty ranges from E3 - E4 and shares some but not all notes with tenor."
This is all explained rather well by boys of the National Youth Choir in the film Populating the Parts, available at here: Populating the Parts | Martin Ashley (martin-ashley.com) (https://www.martin-ashley.com/populating-the-parts)
Cormac Thompson - Homepage (https://www.cormacthompson.com/)
Cormac's SECOND album 'A Borrowed Gift' - Cormac Thompson https://a.co/d/0odkjsH (https://a.co/d/0odkjsH)
Cormac's first album 'Hear My Voice' https://amzn.eu/d/fLpngxJ (https://amzn.eu/d/fLpngxJ)
Links to songs mentioned during the podcast
'Arms of An Angel' https://youtu.be/1qIgDDK3J2o?si=LNeeOXvDKhDGpsjw (recorded May 2022)
'May it Be' https://youtu.be/7QI7ExXBRHs?si=DmzlxiKWqILBeK4D
(recorded August 2021)
October 2021 https://youtu.be/U9QFxrnNWS8?si=1eozoiIvNyPkh_hC
Cormac performing 'Ave Maria' in the semi - final on BBC1's Songs of Praise, Chorister of the Year singing competition
All the different times Cormac sang Snow Patrol's 'Run'
Recorded August 2020 (aged 11yrs 5 months) https://youtu.be/KpjcSK0C_ZE?si=oWH_YLaUXJXnM0NA
released as the lead single from the Decca album 'Hear my Voice'
January 2022 (aged 12 years 10 months) https://youtu.be/OzWjG6dvi4k?si=aTeE7Xf-Bf0HkcGx
Cormac singing Snow Patrol's 'Run' live on 'Britain's Got Talent'
May 2022 (aged 13 years 2 months)...
12 Apr 2024
Right Place, Right Time! & Why my TWO Voices DO Matter
A very big warm welcome to episode one of 'One Boy, Two Voices'
I've been very lucky. When I sang in my younger boy, high voice, it really did create some amazing opportunities for me.
In episode one, I take it right back to the beginning and we chat about how it all began and highlight how I really wasn't even thinking about my voice changing then. I'm joined by my mum, Alison, who keeps me right on the order of things and explains what it was like from a grown - up's perspective, Professor Martin Ashley, a renowned voice change expert and author of many books on the subject and Matthew Todd, professional tenor and music educator, himself a former boy treble and survivor of his 'breaking' voice as he's still singing but he remembers it vividly.
We also talk about how I was signed by global record label Decca (UMG) when I was just 11, dropped by them when I was 12 and how we kept recording and releasing music for the next few years with no label support at all.
That's a whole lot of experience in a very short time for a young boy singer (and his mum and dad) and at the end of last year I realised just what a good position that put me in to try and help other young boys to keep singing when their voices change too.
I'm 15 now, it's happened and I'm very fortunate to still be singing. I hope episode one sparks your interest for the rest of the story in the next 5 episodes too. It's a fun listen, I promise! there's really no science at all and if you have any connection to young boys who experience this please share with them too.
Cormac Thompson - Homepage (https://www.cormacthompson.com/)
A Borrowed Gift: CORMAC'S STORY - ft. him singing Cinema Paradiso (Se) (youtube.com) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9Od9zbkFUs&t=20s)
https://www.youtube.com/@CormacThompson (https://www.youtube.com/@CormacThompson)
https://facebook.com/Cormac.musicofficial/ (https://facebook.com/Cormac.musicofficial/)
https://instagram.com/iamcormacthompson/ (https://instagram.com/iamcormacthompson/)
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5h3EGN6IPU6J9fMWszrNWy (https://open.spotify.com/artist/5h3EGN6IPU6J9fMWszrNWy)
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/cormac/1539007742 (https://music.apple.com/us/artist/cormac/1539007742)
Vocal Stages (https://www.martin-ashley.com/vocal-stages)
| Martin Ashley (martin-ashley.com) (https://www.martin-ashley.com/vocal-stages)
Dead Composers and Living Boys: how high should boys sing in a (https://pressbooks.pub/deadcomposers/)
digital age? – Simple Book Publishing (pressbooks.pub) (https://pressbooks.pub/deadcomposers/)
Matthew Todd - Scottish Tenor (matthew-todd.co.uk) (https://www.matthew-todd.co.uk/)
10 Apr 2024
Introducing ... The One boy with these TWO voices?
This trailer tells you all about my podcast - Hello, I am Cormac : - )
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