Vocal Coach or Vocal Teacher – What’s the Difference?

I know that finding the right vocal instruction can be a daunting task. I thought I’d try and help you differentiate between vocal coaches and vocal teachers or technique instructors and help you take some of the mystery out of why coaches and teacher can be so different. And depending on your skill level and what you are looking for, you should be able to ask specific questions to teachers so you can quickly find the one that will help you in you’re the most with what you’re trying to accomplish. So as briefly as I can, I’m going to summarize the basic roles, as I see them, of vocal coaches and vocal teachers or technique instructors.

Vocal Coaching

A vocal coach helps a student through his or her songs and gives feedback on how to improve those songs. They focus on helping the student improve arrangements, phrasing, pitch, diction and articulation, pronunciation, lyrics, volume, breathing (when to breathe and when not to breathe), rhythms and how they approach the song. A vocal coach many times even assists the student in picking the right songs.

They should, at the very least, have a working knowledge in different genres and eras and their respective styles. And since repertoire comes in a variety of languages, the vocal coach should help students with diction, pronunciations, and translations of whatever language they are required to sing in.

Vocal coaches can also work with the singer on how to interpret the meaning of lyrics and how best to convey those emotions to the audience. Not only is this done thru the actual singing, but thru the effective use of body language or good stage presence. The coach may work with the student on making eye contact, gesturing, and microphone technique, how to move with the music, basic choreography, blocking and posture.

Keep in mind that a good vocal coach should be able to address errors in technique and be able to work thru basic technical solutions even though technique is not his or her primary focus.


Vocal Teacher or Vocal Technique Instruction


A vocal teacher or someone who focuses on technique instructor works with students mainly on singing fundamentals. They will spend much of the lessons working on breathing techniques, building and developing the support supporting muscular systems required for good vocal control and endurance, posture, placement, tone, range and flexibility, blending, A technique instructor doesn’t usually spend much of the lesson working on the intricacies of a particular song with his or her students. Again, they should be able to do so if asked. Again, a good vocal teacher or technique instructor should be working on such skills as correct breathing techniques, pure and altered vowel sounds, correcting nasal tones, correcting breathy or throaty tones, correct sliding between notes, blending and transitioning between registers, and increasing vocal range, flexibility, power, endurance and control.

Because of my 30 plus years of live performance experience and working both in front and behind the scenes on many different shows, I am often asked to wear both hats so-to-speak; and although I am very competent at both, I would always prefer my first focus to be that of voice teacher or technique instructor and then vocal coach. It is next to impossible (not impossible but it sure makes it more difficult; and who needs that added pressure) to build a strong and lasting career on a shaky foundation. I also believe it is important to train the whole body because the muscles of the whole body are involved when you sing.

I hear time and time again as many singers age they aren’t capable of doing what they used to do. As a general rule, the more instable, weak, or feeble your foundation is the faster your house will fall down. If your technique is solid, you will be able to sing and sing well as long as you want to do it. I like to first focus on empowering the singer. I want to give you the choice of how to run your career, not be at the mercy of a faltering body and technique.

All that being said, I believe that coaching and teaching can and should go hand in hand. A serious, professional or aspiring professional singer might want to have both a vocal teacher and a coach. If you are not a strong technical singer and don’t have a solid grasp of technique and use improper technique when you sing, you are most likely going to face frustration and quite possibly injure your voice.

Be over prepared… I think if you have good solid technique under your belt, your abilities should exceed whatever technical magic is required in the songs you’re singing. If you’re on top of your game and in top vocal and physical shape, singing should be effortless…. Not thoughtless… remember… THINK – BREATHE – SING!