The Vocal Coach, Defined

If you're looking for a clear explanation of the difference between a voice teacher and vocal coach, look no farther than Elizabeth McDonald's recent post on the subject:

The voice coach (aka: collaborative pianist) is the person who deals with the musical, language and dramatic demands of the vocal repertoire. They are pianists who have done training in diction, repertoire, collaborative piano and opera. The goal of the vocal coach is to serve as the other half of the music (piano part or orchestra reduction) and help the singing put everything together. They expect a singer to arrive with notes learned, language translated, and an idea about how the song should be presented. From there the coach is the musical "mirror" for the singer and reflects back what they hear and makes suggestions on how to make any necessary changes.

I like the mirror comparison a lot, which I had never considered. I've also previously written about the difference between voice teacher and coach.

Vocal Teaching Resources

Sarah Luebke at the Music Teacher's Helper Blog has written a very useful list of books for the private studio teacher of voice. Among her recommendations:

• The Private Voice Studio Handbook: A practical guide to all aspects of teaching by Joan Frey Boytim
• The Singer’s Life: Goals and Roles by Clifton Ware
• The Private Music Instruction Manual: A Guide for the Independent Music Educator by Rebecca Osborn

Sarah's list of books on technical development is also very useful. Voice teachers: what essential books on teaching voice do you keep around your studio?

National Singer Training Forum This October in NYC

Anne Choe, Artistic Services Manager of OPERA America, sends the following open letter about the upcoming National Singer Training Program to be held October 13, 2007 in New York City.

Dear Singer Training Professionals,

As you know, opera is a highly competitive field. Less than 5% of the singers who apply to the Houston Grand Opera, Metropolitan Opera, and San Francisco Opera young artist programs are accepted. While talent and solid vocal technique are foremost requirements, there is an array of other factors that contribute to the success of an opera singer. As experts in the field of vocal pedagogy and singing techniques you are a young singer's best resource for career advice, but how do you find the information to relay about their life beyond the voice studio?

OPERA America recently formed the National Singer Training Forum, an action oriented think-tank which is comprised of stakeholders in the field of opera (including voice teachers, young artist program managers, opera company administrators, and artist managers, among others) who are dedicated to the identification and development of aspiring singers. The Forum meets twice each year for extended facilitated discussion organized around specific topics. The objective is to strengthen mutual understanding, improve practices across the field, and encourage collaboration among the network of professionals who share a devotion to the art form.

We invite you to audit the discussion on October 13, 2007 in New York, NY. There is a $35.00 registration fee to audit the discussion. The registration fee includes a continental breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and a special 6-month trial subscription to Opera Source - OPERA America's comprehensive, online career resource for administrators, singers, technical/production professionals, teachers, and all creative and performing opera artists.

Please contact me via e-mail at AChoe [at] operaamerica dot org or call 212-796-8620 ext. 202 to register. Space is limited, so please register by September 14, 2007.

F. Paul Driscoll wrote about the National Singer Training Forum in a recent issue of Opera News. "A stimulating dialogue on the critical issues surrounding singer training has been inaugurated by Opera America, the national service organization for opera. In response to concerns voiced by academic institutions and by opera companies - and as part of its commendable ongoing mission to foster a sense of community within a highly competitive field - Opera America created the National Singer Training Forum. At Forum meetings in spring and autumn 2006, participants discussed ways in which stakeholder organizations in the opera field - teachers, companies, schools, artist managements - could work together to resolve issues, create change and advance shared goals. The Forum has recommended several action plans, including creating professional development programs to enrich voice teachers' understanding of the challenges facing today's emerging artists. Last month, Des Moines Metro Opera and the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) offered a weekend workshop for voice teachers that provided its participants with insights about the demands of the Des Moines young-artist program and other intensive singer-training regimens. The next meeting of the National Singer Training Forum will take place in autumn 2007 in New York. In collaboration with NATS, voice teachers and singers will be invited to audit sections of the NSTF meeting and ask questions about terminology, concepts and partnerships. The discussion is sure to be lively, passionate and partisan - as any discussion about opera should be. "

I look forward to seeing you this fall.

Dicey Topics for Singers

Elizabeth Prescott's website offers some fascinating articles about singing, on topics that are generally difficult to answer. Here are some of them:

What do I do with my hands?
Voice Teacher vs. Vocal Coach
How young is too young to study?
How long does it take?
What to take and not take when ill

But the most useful article I found was What they didn't tell you about your singing audition..., difficult advice, and useful for both musical theater and opera singers, who must brave much more rejection than acceptance before getting hired. Also take a look at breakdowns of several musicals for role and skill info.

Vocal Coach vs. Voice Teacher

I recently discovered an article by David L. Jones entitled Taking a Professional Coaching and Protecting Your Voice, one of the many resources available on www.voiceteacher.com.

David's article takes a generally harsh at coaches and what they offer, and I think he is completely on the mark when he talks about numerous coaches that cross the line between vocal coach and wannabe voice teacher.

On the danger of the coach as teacher, David states:

The majority of coaches know little about vocal production. However, there are those who think because they have worked with lots of singers that they have the ability to offer technical advice. RUN from this red light! This is the ego interfering with the singer's process. Usually if a singer listens to the technical advice of a coach, that singer will undoubtedly end up in vocal trouble. Some coaches have played for many master classes and for many private studios. This coach may have heard lots of vocal concepts, however most of the time the knowledge-link of 'how to apply' the concept has NOT been achieved.

I agree. Singers have so many things to learn--drama, repertoire, language, stage deportment, poetry, not to mention the responsibility of growing and developing the voice that they are born with. The primary mentor for a young developing should be a voice teacher, period. A teacher's responsibility is to build the physical mechanism of the voice and integrate it with actions such as breathing and articulation. If a young singer works with a coach that respects these boundaries and chooses to work on issues such as ensemble, diction, style, and the like, great progress is generally made. However, the danger of working with both voice teacher and coach is that if the technical instruction a singer receives from the coach happens to be the slightest bit different (even identical instruction worded differently) confusion may result in a singer, with subsequent vocal damage even possible.

Which is why as a vocal coach I have always steered away from giving technical advice to singers. When I notice that something is awry, it is much better to diagnose the problem and send them back to their primary teacher to solve the problem much more efficiently than I ever could. In the case of professional singers (especially with master's degrees and above), I diagnose the problem and recommend they learn how to fix it themselves, which all career musicians eventually need to do anyway.

Nevertheless, there are a large number of coaches who set themselves up as technical authorities. David Jones is entirely correct in stating that it's difficult for singers to deal with coaches that overstep their bounds, especially when the coach has a great deal of power. His list of deflection (survival!) tactics for singers to use in dealing with ill-advised technical advice is useful. Differences of opinion in this regard are numerous between coaches, and I've taken a lot of flak over the years on my firm position about the separation of teacher and coach over vocal technique.

So what does enable a vocal coach to wear the badge of authority as a voice teacher?

One well-known voice teacher from Eastman suggested this litmus test: if the coach has had at least some experience on the opera stage as a professional singer, they have business giving out technical advice. Otherwise no.

As always, feel free to leave your comments below.

Update 2:35pm

I just came across this--a few days ago, Campbell Vertesi asked:

...a coach who tells the singer to come "off the voice" for a particular passage - whch the singer knows, will render the line inaudible beyond the third row, and toneless up till that point. Or a conductor who insists on real vowels through and above the vocal passaggi - which can damage a voice. Do you smile and nod in rehearsal, making a note to sing it properly onstage? Do you bring it up in discussion with the coach/conductor? Even if the person is a much more experienced musician?

Update 7/27/07

Here's another discussion of the topic from Elizabeth Prescott's website:

The voice teacher generally is, or has been, a singer themselves. At a lesson, they will typically lead a student through a series of vocal exercises, and possibly through songs, with a focus on vocal technique rather than interpretation of material.

A coach may also be a singer, but most coaches have a stronger accompanist background than voice teachers. Most of my voice teachers over the years were pretty rotten pianists, and it was fine. When I wanted an accompanist, I went to an accompanist. So many wonderful voice teachers have limited skills as pianists and performers. And many coaches steer clear of the controversial arena of vocal technique. A coach's focus is on repertoire, interpretation, performance preparation, and sometimes, but not always, acting. Most professional conductors and musical directors also coach privately, and they offer a unique perspective.

How Can Opera Singers Be Heard Above the Orchestra?

One of the most important abilities for a singer is to be heard singing above an orchestra. Wise voice teachers over the years have taught that the key to achieving this feat is not by singing louder, but with greater vocal resonance, meaning a more diverse signature of higher frequencies. This is the type of sound a singer makes that causes your ears to ring even though the singer is not necessarily singing loudly.

In a recent Scientific American, a reader asks the question "Why can an opera singer be heard above the much louder orchestra?". SA's answer provides a scientific basis for this vocal wisdom:

Usually, the fundamental frequency has the greatest acoustic power, but the very high harmonics, although less powerful, have the advantage of residing in a range above about 3,000 Hz, where the orchestral accompaniment provides less competition. Sopranos have an advantage over lower voices, such as the bass and tenor: Due to their higher range, the auditory frequency at which they sing, as represented by their f_o, lies in the neighborhood of frequencies to which the ear is most sensitive. In contrast, the lower fundamental frequencies of male voices cannot compete as easily with the power of an orchestra; male singers, therefore, must often rely on their higher harmonics in order to be heard.

Learning this concept requires more than simple understanding. Voice teachers have a host of exercises and concepts to teach the actual physicality of developing a sound with a wide resonance signature since the singer's voice must be actually built step-by-step (via correct daily practice) inside their body.

The parting words from the column give an evolutionary hint as to why we respond so viscerally to singing (italics are mine):

Furthermore, it is quite likely that there has been considerable selection pressure to pay attention to very loud sounds produced by people in any context, as such sounds can be a warning of impending danger.

If you're interested in reading more about the technical foundations of singing, I recommend Richard Miller's The Structure of Singing: System and Art of Vocal Technique.