Voice Teacher vs Vocal Coach: Key Differences Explained

Glad you asked! The two terms are often mistakenly interchanged to describe a single approach to either developing or presenting the voice.

The truth is — ah, who cares?

You can use both to describe a person who helps to guide you through your singing journey, but be forewarned that old school Broadway folk and professional singers know the difference.

Here it is:

A Voice Teacher is a person who develops your voice in pitch, tone, quality, volume, range and stamina utilizing warm-ups, scales and a variety of musical styles to get your voice to grow, “stretch” and “tighten” safely. A Voice Teacher would definitely offer artistic insights into presenting a song, but you can’t race a car without a proper engine, so the main focus would be vocal development. Learning to sing from scratch should take one to three years depending on your practice schedule.

A Vocal Coach is a person who takes the material you’ve learned with your voice teacher and helps you “put it on its feet.” You bring the voice and they help you polish the performance. And now that you’re a skilled singer, a Vocal Coach would also suggest songs that could work well for you in your auditions as well as with your performances. A Vocal Coach will help you with points of focus, footwork, some staging, lyrical interpretation, entrance/exit and other performance prep.

In my studio, I do both voice teaching and vocal coaching because in my development, I made it my mission to find the very best teachers out there.

Thank you to Lee & Sally Sweetland (Voice Teachers), David Craig (Vocal Coach) and Charles Conrad (Acting).

What Do I Do With My Hands When I Sing?

This is the number one question from singers who have trained hard and now want to “show their wares” in a club or cabaret setting. “What do I do with my hands?!”

“Leave ’em attached to your arms,” I say.

Amateur singers use their hands for emphasis. As if pitch, poetry and dynamics just aren’t enough in the presentation of a song, newbie singers often find themselves waving their hands all over the place to make it look like something good is going on.

Which doesn’t look that way at all… It looks awkward and performative (read that as “insincere.”)

So, put your hands down. Both of ’em. Leave ’em down. If you absolutely have to move your hands, then move one hand at a time, but keep that ramblin’ hand below your waist.

And now that your hands are tied, let’s get back to what your real focus needs to be in order to nail a song. It’s not going to be the beauty of your voice or the dimple in your cheek that engages your audience. It’s the thought that counts.

Every song begins with a thought. That thought starts on the downbeat of the intro – not when the lyric begins. The arrival of a thought and the arrival of music are simultaneous. An intro is a musical thought percolating in the mind of the singer. The intro plays, the thought develops, pressure builds and finally that singer bursts into song. In a musical, that thought might have been spoken out loud in the prior scene or perhaps the character is now putting all the thoughts together in real time. To drive the energy of a pop song – one with not as much context – we definitely need to create some powerful arguments in our head in order to have a dialogue or “back and forth” with our audience. That’s how we keep them engaged, not by throwing our hands or walking around the stage, but by having an open, direct conversation with the crowd. Share your thoughts with the audience and they’ll pay attention. Pose, prance, gesticulate… they’ll check out until someone else comes along who can keep them engaged.

Removing The Doubt In Vocal Performance

When it comes to vocal performance, I guess we can put “doubt” and “fear” into the same wordsphere. Only problem is that doubt and fear are extremely personal; based on a performer’s lifetime of unique experiences. When I was 17, I sang “Yankee Doodle Dandy” in front of a halftime homecoming crowd. I was decked out in a sequined white tux with tails (thanks, Michelle!) and a stars and stripes top hat. Cheerleaders were in position down on the field – maybe they formed a star, I don’t remember that part very well, but I do remember that I sang and danced on that field. And my microphone was off. The whole time.

The microphone didn’t have an on/off switch, so there wasn’t much I could do about it. As I was performing what appeared to be a mime act, Donna, one of the celestial cheerleaders said, “Your mic’s not on.” And I said, “Yeah, I know” and kept dancing (box step, walk, walk, grapevine…).

When I quietly left the field with the cheerleaders, Scott the sound guy confirmed on the sidelines that, yup, my mic was off the whole time. The drama teacher, Mr. Ruehle, saw my reaction to that news and complimented me on my professionalism, mentioning how I just “shook it off.”

It was disappointing for sure, but I did shake it off. You see, just two years prior, at the gargantuan annual high school musicale extraordinaire held in the sold-out gymnasium, my mic was off for the entirety of my big solo debut at my new school. Now, that was horrifying.

Performing can be a very humbling experience and your willingness to surrender to mayhem is one of the keys to happiness.

So, as a vocal performer, what is in your control?

The Lyric.

You can’t do much about the mic, the mixer, the accompanist or the sound system, but you can know your lyrics inside out.

Here’s your checklist:

  1. Without singing it, how fast can you enunciate every word of the song in a monotone with no spaces/word stretches? Can you do it in under 30 seconds? Time it.
  2. How few breaths can you take in that 30 seconds? One? Two?
  3. Can you look at or read an article on your phone while saying your lyrics as quickly and as understandably as possible? Can you then tell us what the article was about?
  4. While facing in one direction, focus on one item in the room and tell the lyrics to that item, then change to north, south, east or west, focus on another singular item, repeat and continue.
  5. Be joyful in your practice.

Performance 101: The Tri-Force Of Performing

Performing with a busy brain is exhausting. Performing with worry or anxiety is, really, not performing at all. What kind of performance can an artist give if they’re stressing out whether the microphone will cut out or a wardrobe malfunction is about to happen or a set piece is about to fall over?

Problem is, much of the aforementioned is out of your control anyway, so you have to trust the others who actually control those aspects to do their jobs. And they will because they are almost as exposed in their job as you are in yours.

What you CAN control is much more important and the reason for everybody gathering together in the first place.

You are in control of the energy.

What you deliver is energy. Focused energy.

A busy, unfocused mind in performance is a torturous thing to watch.

How do we unbusy the mind?

“Energy, Attention, Awareness”

That is our performance mantra and it is fundamental to our work.

If you’re nervous before a performance, join the club, but why focus on nerves when you have a job to do (that you love)?

Focus on Energy, Attention, Awareness.

Take time to figure out what each of these words means to you before and during your performance and utilize these fundamental ideas to unbusy your mind and clarify your focus.

Technique 101: Barbra Streisand

Pre-recorded vocals on TV have fooled audiences for decades now. It’s really too bad because developing singers have lost out on witnessing (and emulating) that edge-of-your-seat/risk-it-all energy required to deliver a stunning live vocal…like Barbra Streisand’s knockout punch with Evergreen at The 1976 Academy Awards. No pre-recorded safety vocal on display here. This was live TV, broadcast to millions of viewers worldwide. Her voice was in beautiful shape (awe-inspiring, really) and fully under her command. She may have made it look easy, but the amount of preparation and hours/weeks/months of work that probably went into delivering this one performance would make an American Idol contestant quit and go into construction. Her fundamental technique is great. Watch how she pulls the corners of her mouth, presses the jaw down and then bites to create that seamless and glorious high belt. Then, because she completely trusts her instrument, the artist takes over and this is the gift we get. A legendary artist giving a master class on art, love and communication in motion. And, moment to moment, it sweeps you away. A vocal performance that clearly stands the test of time.

Auditioning 101: Five Songs In Your Back Pocket

As a musical theatre performer, you want to be prepared for any audition, but the one mistake many young performers make is trying to “find a song” rather, “the perfect audition song” at the last minute.

So they scramble around, asking everyone’s advice until they finally find the 16 or 32 bars (“thanks, grandma!”) that they must learn, memorize and perform brilliantly in two or three days. And, unsurprisingly, the audition goes about as well as all the other times they found the perfect audition song at the last minute – which is, not very.

As singers, we should know and be able to sing hundreds, if not thousands, of songs. In a nightclub setting, I can sing for four hours without repeating a song.

But in an audition setting, we need to carefully choose quality over quantity. We need “tried and true” over the new. It is through trial and error that we find five songs for our audition toolkit that pretty much guarantee a callback if we are even remotely right for a part. This can’t happen if we’re always learning a new song for every audition.

Basic: For your auditions, have an uptempo song and a ballad that you know like your DNA. You don’t even have to try to remember the lyrics as they are a living part of you. Make sure these songs represent positivity – that you’re a winner or at least a person who sees the light at the end of the tunnel. Don’t sing a song about how disappointed you are or what a big loser you are as you will run the risk of us sharing that dim opinion of yourself.

Advanced: Five songs in your back pocket. You know them backwards and forwards and you’ve sung them for a very long time. You could read a magazine, practice yoga and still sing them without missing a note. Every song has a “money” note in it. Something that absolutely shows off your best high note. Have an uptempo and a ballad from shows in the 1930’s to the 1980’s. Have an uptempo and a ballad from shows in the 1990’s to the 2020’s. Have a high-energy rock or pop song that is fun and shows off your range. In an audition, you and the song are one. Show us you’re a winner.

Singing 101: Whether Pop Style or Legit, Your Technique Stays The Same

Here is an example of me singing “Musical Theatre Legit” style:

Words and Music by Geoff Levin & Chris Many

And here’s an example of me singing in more of a pop style:

From Musical Beans: Animal Songs For Children

In both instances, these were three to four hour recording sessions. Actually, for “Follow The Dream,” I really didn’t like my vocal performance from the first session, so I called Geoff and offered to come back to get it right the next day. That took another couple of hours, but we all were much happier about the result.

Bottom line is, recording sessions can take hours, days, weeks, months. Whether you choose to sing in a big belt, legit or pop style is up to you, your instrument (meaning your entire body) and your artistic inclination. However, if the vocal instrument breaks down, the session ends right there. You don’t finish because the vocal sound is different than the sound you started with. In other words, you don’t want to start off with a clean sound only to end up all scratchy-sounding.

In both tracks, I sang with the exact same technique because as singers, we need to make sure we last for the entire session, whether it’s four minutes or four hours. The only thing I changed was the quality of sound I was going for. “Follow The Dream” required a much more Josh Grobin-type approach. With “I Wish We Didn’t Have To Say Goodnight,” I was the voice of a Teddy Bear.

Performance 101: Creative (Empty) Space In Your Brain

Great performers are like race car drivers; the idea being that, in order to win the race, one needs to stay in the moment, assume a calculated amount of risk and operate instinctively and creatively when the opportunity arises.

The simple goal of a pro race car driver is to win the race.

What are some of the “simple” goals of a singer in a performance?

Get all the words right?

Sing all the notes right?

Make a beautiful sound?

Truth is, those are the initial rehearsal goals achieved with hours of practice. “Getting the song into your body.” While these goals provide the basis of performance, if that is all you intend to give your audience, it’s definitely time to upgrade your approach.

Performance Goal: Creative Open Space In Your Brain

Basic: Be able to say the lyrics as fast as you can say the ABC’s – without thinking about the order of the letters and without singing the song. Say them in a monotone very quickly, do not accent or stretch out the words. Move your lips and mouth in an animated/exaggerated way. Be able to plunk out the melody – one note at a time – on a keyboard. Be able to use the same vocal tone (dark, warm, brassy, bright, light, etc.) throughout the entirety of the song. If you have to change your tonal quality to hit a high note or rumble a lower note, chances are you need to find a more suitable key for your song.

Advanced: Having set the muscle memory (remember, race car drivers drive in a circle for hours), now we let go of the worry and practice creative risk. Creative risk involves letting go of anxiousness, trusting that you have drilled the basics and are ready to live in the moment on stage. Thoughts and thought impulses beget words (for some, it’s the other way around, but we call those folks thoughtless anway). Your goal now is to live within the thoughts of the lyric and having/experiencing/expressing each thought before actually singing the lyric. Now your brain is full again, but it is focused and there is no room for anxiety. It takes energy, concentration and a whole lot of pretending to stay there, but by upgrading your performance approach, you can enjoy sharing a song as much as your audience can enjoy receiving it.

Singing 101: Jobs For Singers

For many years, I’ve had a running joke with my kids. At random inopportune moments I would ask them, “Hey, would you like a free song? I’m a professional singer. No charge.”

To which they’d respond, “No, Dad, I don’t want a song right now.”

“But it’s a really good song and I’m a great singer. And it’s free.”

“No. Go away.”

“It’s FREE – other people would have to pay to hear me sing. This won’t cost you a dime! This is a great offer!”

“No thanks.”

But, feeling generous, I’d usually launch into a song anyway. Typically, “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah,” a terrifically catchy song in my opinion, and they’d keep playing their video game…Win/Win.

Here’s the thing: Singers Are Their Own CEOs.

As a singer, you are your own Chief Executive Officer from the very start. If you’re “hired” by a theme park, cruise line, restaurant, Broadway show or tour, record label, video game company, animation house, Film/TV production house, chances are that even if you deliver a great/fantastic/amazing job as a singer, you won’t end up being named the president of that theme park, cruise line, restaurant, record label, etc. Corporate upward mobility is not a thing for singers. We create our business. We drive our business. We are the CEOs of Singing, Inc.

Basic (Paying/Post-Covid) Jobs For Singers: Church gigs (include weddings and funerals), theme parks, cruises, live corporate industrials, restaurants/karaoke bars, rest homes, Christmas caroling groups

In-Between: Produce music, play music, write/compose music, read music, record music and appreciate ALL music. And while you’re adding these skills to your toolkit, practice singing, stay in shape and never turn down an opportunity to sing, even for no money. Get the work in until the day arrives when you don’t need the work.

Advanced (Better Paying/Post-Covid) Jobs For Singers: Recording (anything and everything including Voiceover work), Anything contracted via SAG/AFTRA/Equity/Musician’s Union, Animation, Film/TV, Broadway and tours, video games.

Summary: Writers write. Dancers dance. Singers sing.

Singing 101: Smoke, Fires, Vocal Irritation and Preventative Measures

Ah, 2020…a pandemic, social injustice, a recession, climate change, a divisive fool in the White House, no live music or performance since mid-March and now the West Coast is on fire. I hesitate to ask what else could be thrown our way in case a meteor is currently considering the Los Angeles Basin a fun landing spot in the next few months. Don’t wanna jinx anything.

Heavenly bodies aside, let’s discuss toxic air and how to deal with it as a singer.

Basic: When faced with smoke and air pollution, your body will create all kinds of defenses, but our immune systems can only do so much, so stay out of it. If you don’t need to go outside, don’t go outside. Get an air purifier with a decent filter. Fires aren’t just burning trees in the forest, they’re burning cars, buildings – anything that will feed the flame. Dioxins – the byproduct of these fires – are incredibly dangerous to our lungs, hearts and overall health. However, indoor pollution from these fires is just as bad – if not worse – so make sure the air conditioner in your apartment or house has a clean filter and that the windows and doors in your place are properly sealed. Your pets will thank you, too.

Advanced: Once in your lungs, PM10 and PM2.5 (microscopic particulate matter sizes) remain resident. You can’t cough them out. N95 and N99 masks have proven helpful in the reduction of particulate matter taken into the body via mouth and nose, but remember that your skin – your largest organ – can also absorb pollutants, so, along with your mask, cover up with long sleeves, pants, etc. There’s no such thing as healthy smoke. Be aware that hanging around the barbecue on the weekends ain’t doing you any favors, either.

Summary: As singers, our performance spaces can be hot, cold, dusty, moldy, dry, damp, odd places. There’s no need to act like a germophobe, but we have plenty of reasons to reduce the risk of bacterial infections, lowered immunity by being proactive. After all, we are living instruments.