What is The Difference Between a Vocal Coach and Teacher?
I’m sure you’ve all seen videos of “Vocal coach reacts to,” circulating around online and wondered what is a coach versus a teacher? Are these the same thing? In my experience, coaches and teachers are two different teaching styles that focus on different aspects of singing. Of course if you are someone who teaches voice and you like the sound of “coach,” more than I suppose there is nothing stopping you from calling yourself one. I personally like to separate them, as to me they are teachers who want the student to arrive at the same goal, but have slightly different experiences or expertise to help the student reach that goal. As I understand it, a voice teacher is someone specializing in the technique of singing, including all of the inner workings of the instrument and how it all comes together to produce your singing voice. Most singing teachers may take a more technical approach to working on repertoire, solving tension or vocal health issues.
A vocal coach will usually be more focused on polishing the end result of a performance. Working on the more subtle aspects of expression and interpretation, coaches tend to have strong instrumental skills (like piano), and allow the singer to experience the entirety of a piece of music, while seeing how the voice works with the accompanying instrument. Coaches can help a student see “the big picture,” of how the accompaniment supports and works with the singer to create an effective performance.
Once again, these two terms are just labels. Some voice teachers may do a little bit of both, or strictly focus on one aspect of learning. Personally in my teaching, I try to take an all-encompassing approach. Building the students' vocal technique, while also supporting their learning with the use of expression and musicianship, to understand firstly how to make their voices work easily, while then being free to explore and interpret how they want to present the performance. A performance doesn’t need to be on a stage in front of a large audience. You can perform for yourself and find ways to grow and learn through personal performance.
Finally if you are really curious what a teacher or coach means by calling themselves such, just ask them! If you are going into voice lessons with a clear understanding of what you are looking to accomplish, talk openly about this with your teacher so both you and the teacher can get the most out of the lessons you take.
DISCLAIMER
I am not a medical doctor. These posts are all anecdotal, based on experiences through my own learning, understanding and teaching. My musical knowledge is based primarily in the Western classical tradition, which by no means defines the only perspective to learn and understand music.
