Voice Teacher vs.Vocal Coach

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.

By the way, if you're auditioning for a singing role that matters to you, try to find out who the audition accompanist will be and hire them as a coach beforehand. It's less costly than you would think, and at the very least you'll avoid unwanted surprises at the audition. At best, you may be buying a private audition with the conductor or musical director for the show - so go prepared to do your best work!! This is not the coach you want to hire to spoon feed you the notes.

Although some coaches will help the singer analyze subtext and decide what to do with their hands, this is not necessarily part of the coach's job description. So if performance technique is what you're looking for, be specific in your questions when interviewing coaches.

NOTE to the unsure: Accompanist is pronounced UH-CUHMP-A-NIST, not UH-CUMP-EE-A-NIST, or A-CUHMP-AN-EE-IST. Just remember, there's no "e" in accompanist.