What are the qualities of a GREAT Voice Teacher?

[MacMorighan]

Posted: 5/2/17 at 12:31pm

Hey guys, in your individual opinions, what qualities does a GREAT Voice Teacher possess (not just a good one)?  Have you had a bad Voice Teacher?  Care to share your experiences? How do you differentiate and quantify between just a good or mediocre Voice Teacher from a Great Teacher, as well as from a poor teacher?

When I went to college my first Voice teacher was a fellow student who emerged from the womb with a gorgeous singing voice!  She had taken voice lessons throughout college for years as requirements for her degrees in musical theatre and choir conduction, yet...she didn't seem to have learned anything from her respective Voice Teachers!   At least nothing that she would apparently use with a student!  She didn't know how to trouble-shoot with her students and didn't seem to understand the mechanics of the voice with appropriate exercise to deal with respective issues.  In fact, she kept criticizing me for not progressing under her tutelage.  (I wonder if it's because she didn't understand the male voice?!)  She criticized me for having a "shallow range" and did nothing about it, she didn't help me develop natural vibrato, and her method for getting me to "project" was pretty based on pseudo-psychological hokum!  During one lesson that I recall she kept saying, "sing like a big, fat Italian man!," and advised me to imagine that my voice was a laser and to visualize my voice blasting a heavy hinge off of the heavy rehearsal room door.  I was practically screaming, whilst singing, with all my might and it still wasn't good enough for her.  So, again, she criticized me.  :P  She had a pretty high opinion of herself, though!  Heck, I had even heard from friends that she was criticizing me to them behind my back!

When I returned the following year, I assumed that she would be my Voice Teacher again, but she had left the program when a traveling Jazz Ensemble asked her to join their company.  Thank the gods she left! As a student I would have become so despondent afterwards, mistakenly believing that her approach was all there was to Voice Lessons!  I did not know, then, that it was within my rights to request another teacher if I felt that I wasn't getting my money's worth for my private lessons!  Though, I probably would have been told that none of the other teachers had an open slot in their studio!  Thankfully, however, during my second year I was assigned to my second Voice Teacher who had his Master's Degree in Vocal Performance/ Pedagog, and the difference was like night and day!  To make a bad musical theatre joke, I had no idea how good good-teaching could be!  (Listen to "Sunset Boulevard"!)  

He was excellent at trouble shooting in order to address problems and other issues that prevent the personal progression of his students.  For example, the reason I have trouble projecting was because--like him--my tongue creeps down my throat and muffles the sound so we had me do some exercises to absolve that.  We also addressed vibrato by singing airy and breathy to get the air to flow,;but flexibility exercises also helped a great deal (staccatoed "Ha"s on various intervals), but also assist singing technically difficult music such as that of Sondheim.  He also led me through range stretching exercises and explained to me why they work because certain bowls elongate the throat and the vocal chords while singing.  He also knew precisely why the exercises he was using with me worked and how they benefitted my growth as a vocalist.  Now only that, but he also passed on much of what he knew to me so that I could teach others by modifying many of the exercises that I was learning!  To me, that is the hallmark of a GREAT teacher!  He also inspired me to become a much more well-rounded musician since he could sight-read almost anything you put in front of him at the piano, as well as write his own music.  Oh, and every Voice Teacher worth their salt should have their students regularly sight-sing music!  It's a necessary skill!  My first Voice Teacher didn't bother with this.

So, what are your experiences with a bad and a GREAT Voice teacher?

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 5/2/17 at 12:40pm

I'm not a singer, but Barbara Cook is. A great singer, in fact.

In her autobiography, printed last year, she talks about her voice teacher more than any other person. I realize techniques may vary between men and women, but the issue in the book is teaching, not technique; it's worth reading (even for me, still not a singer).

[MacMorighan]

Posted: 5/2/17 at 1:35pm

HA!  I was able to skim Barbara Cook's memoir, and I had similar experiences to her re: her first two poor voice teachers!

Updated On: 5/2/17 at 01:35 PM

[MacMorighan]

Posted: 5/4/17 at 9:52am

Wow!  Considering how many musicians were once a part of this forum, I was expecting a more lively exchange of experiences!  :P