A voice teacher is a technician and his main focus is singing technique. Voice teachers understand breath support and resonance by guiding students through vocal exercises (also known as vocalizations) and breathing exercises. They help you put that technique into practice in your repertoire. A singing teacher is a professional who helps students improve the technical use of their voices.
We could think of these professionals as technicians. They can teach individual or group classes, and can specialize in a particular genre of singing. Singing teachers vary in their background, as well as in the style or styles of music they know. Most singing teachers will have some kind of musical training and will be able to play the piano at a basic level.
Using a combination of practical experience and technical knowledge, vocal coaches nurture and instruct developing singers and mentor and support experienced singers. A vocal coach, also known as a voice coach (although this term is often applied to those who work with speech and communication rather than singing), is a music teacher, usually a piano companion, who helps singers prepare for a performance, often also helping them improve their singing technique and to care for and develop their voice, but it is not the same as a singing teacher (also called a voice teacher). Vocal trainers can give private music lessons or group workshops or master classes to singers. They can also train singers who rehearse on stage or who sing during a recording session.
Vocal trainers are used both in classical music and in popular music styles such as rock and gospel. While some vocal trainers provide a variety of instructions on singing techniques, others specialize in areas such as breathing techniques or diction and pronunciation. The singing teacher is one who is able to guide a student, from a beginner to an experienced professional, towards better singing. As a voice teacher, train students to sing and improve vocal range with proper techniques.
They offer different strategies to improve music, teach breath control, speech exercises, note accuracy and other methods. You prepare a student for performance and work to involve them in music. He is also responsible for instructing students on how to read music and music theory in general. You should know a variety of musical styles, although many instructors specialize in a particular area, such as jazz/pop.
Voice teachers offer individual and group classes. In the music industry, singing coaches and voice teachers perform many of the same functions and can even be performed by the same person. When I was doing street music at train stations in San Francisco (street music is performing in a public place to ask for tips), I sought the help of a voice teacher because he kept hitting a wall vocally. If you live in Alpharetta or the Roswell and Milton areas, and are looking for a voice teacher or vocal coach, stop by North Fulton School of Music.
A voice coach may not be comfortable in technical singing issues and, if technical problems arise, may suggest that you consult the singing teacher. The distinction between singing teacher and voice coach is nebulous and can often depend on the definition of the particular teacher. Generally speaking, a singing coach is someone who “trains singing while a voice teacher” teaches singing. A vocal coach usually works with advanced students, and a voice teacher works with singers of all talent levels.
Voice teachers can do a lot, but you can't learn to sing from them if you don't have a lot of emotion or natural talent. Voice teachers work on things like range, note accuracy, breath control, head-to-chest voice and many other techniques vital to the singer. However, there are no legal licensing requirements for someone to call themselves a voice teacher, so the student must “search” to find a teacher with good grades. That is the problem with at least some, I think, that many vocal teachers are former performers who are no longer very successful, so they become teachers.
However, it is the ability of the voice teacher to develop the singing voice that distinguishes him from the “vocal coach”. To start vocal training or prepare for an upcoming performance, check out my full Master Your Voice singing program or book a singing lesson. . .
