Three parts belong to the common performance practice of ballad singing in the North. This group has also added a fourth voice, which has the basic task of enriching the harmony by maintaining the fifth degree, F-sharp. The male style is physically demanding. This style seems to communicate vocal strength and fusion among the singers. It seems to me that this choice of style suggests that men are interested in emphasizing the social and cohesive nature of singing and in this way they express one of the basic tendencies of human beings.
Music is an ideal means toward fusion, better than any other symbolic activity.
The male emphasis on fusion and strength in choral singing sometimes leads choruses to assume the simple action of singing together as their ultimate aim. For example, male choruses sing ballads together with other songs, without making any distinction among the different repertoires. This may explain why the emphasis on the narrative in the male tradition is generally less than in the female tradition of singing. They say that to sing long texts in their style is demanding and those old songs are boring. In this way, the verbal texts of ballads are often shortened in their choral performances and the meaning of the narrative is lost.