For this post, we welcome Guest Contributor – Gretchen Greenfield. Gretchen is a Vocal Coach and Artistic Consultant with Vocal Artists Management Services. She has an extensive background in classical singing and offers support to singers of all levels. For more information about Gretchen see her author bio below.
For any vocalist, there surely is no greater thrill than finding the right singing coach. Your self-confidence soars, as you begin to discover your best singing ever. Your vocal technique finally feels good, makes sense, and is fast becoming more consistent. Welcome to your real voice, sounding so much better than you ever dreamed, with a new artistic palette for expressing whatever you want.
Let’s dive into exactly what you want to find, when you are on the hunt for your best match in a vocal coach.
There is no “one size fits all.”
Did you know that your voice is as unique as your fingerprint? True! No one else has your voice — not in the present, past, or future. It is 100% your own personal means of communicating with a matchless vocal color, timbre, shape, size, and weight that are your one-of-a-kind singular original creation.
A pre-recorded set of singing lessons typically is designed so that the instructor never hears your singing. You only get generic instruction, the exact same as every other singer who buys those pre-recorded lessons.
This is unacceptable. The vocal anatomy is delicate and fragile. Voices can easily be damaged by neglecting the careful listening and individual guidance each singer needs and deserves, from a
good singing teacher. For your unique vocal instrument, you must have individual attention and private, personalized teaching from a quality teacher, who is dedicated to listening with great care to your own singing, providing expert instruction that is right for your specific technical and musical needs. Settling for anything less is a risk to your vocal health and a waste of your money.
Please do not rely upon pre-recorded singing instruction to take the place of individual vocal coaching. You will feel infinitely better with a teacher who offers guidance that is carefully tailored to your own needs, from one day to the next.
Numero Uno: Your Vocal Health
Let’s get real: when your vocal health is compromised, it becomes impossible to freely express yourself as a singer. Your coach should constantly safeguard your vocal health, teaching you how to protect your irreplaceable vocal anatomy.
The two most essential needs for your best vocal health are getting a lot of good sleep and staying well hydrated. Sleep and good clean water are two necessities for which there is no substitute. Sleep deprivation itself is dehydrating, plus being physically exhausted causes the vocal cords to be particularly vulnerable to swelling. Once that swelling begins, your vocal quality, your signature sound, begins to degrade. Your vocal range will shorten, and the attempt to “power through” will most likely cause you to feel like being trapped in quicksand.
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Everyone needs to drink ample water. But for a singer, unless your doctor says otherwise, you should be drinking about 80-100 ounces per day of good clean unflavored water.
Your vocal coach is your trusted pair of expert ears— the person who knows and cares about your unique singing instrument. Each singer’s personal vocal health needs will of course vary. You should be able to rely upon your coach to advise you on every vocal health need that arises. Your teacher should also be trusted to recognize when you need a good ENT (ear, nose, throat specialist) doctor and be able to assist with a referral.
Your vocal anatomy cannot be replaced. The best vocal coach has the expertise to advise you on your daily journey toward optimal vocal health.
The Third Ear
You want your coach to have success teaching vocalists who sing styles of music similar to what you sing best. But there is something deeper, a kind of secret sauce that can be far more valuable, to serve your needs. This is the specialized know-how that comes only from broad experience.
With years of teaching singers of many genres, a singing teacher does develop a “third ear.” Healthy vocal technique leads to the miraculous place where east meets west. So regardless of which genre of music is your specialty, your coach should automatically listen universally, meaning that the sound and condition of your natural vocal instrument is paramount. Your coach should provide expertise focused on guiding you to sing your personal best, so you can sing any style of music that you desire.
The best vocal coaches are usually older than you. It just takes longer to cultivate the exact kind of caring attention that singers need, to continue evolving into the best versions of themselves.
Boundless Enthusiasm and Support
Artistic people are by nature very sensitive creatures. Few if any of us can honestly say that we have never suffered from imposter syndrome. At some point, the stench of negative beliefs seems hell-bent on destroying your ability to believe in yourself. This is the moment when having the right vocal coach becomes a lifeline. When the chips are down, it is so easy to fall into the trap of believing that you are not good enough. Your coach is the strongest iron who has personally been through that fire. Having a trusted mentor to call upon in a moment of crisis can be the most powerful remedy.
Your vocal coach should believe 100% in your talent and in your musical potential. When you are lost and feeling down on yourself, this is the person you rely upon to reassure you in the most meaningful ways, guiding you back to feeling like yourself again.
Choose a coach who will be there for you in a crisis, to immediately offer the help you need to pull through. You should not suffer alone. In an emergency, having the right vocal coach can make all the difference.
From my personal history as a touring solo classical singer and as a teacher of singing, these are a few of the most valuable qualities you can find, when searching for the right vocal coach. How do you personally look for a good coach, and what are some of the basic attitudes and qualifications you want to discover, when you choose your vocal coach?
At the end of the day, the best singing teacher or voice coach is the person whose inspiration is most beneficial to the artist who is inimitably you.
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