Where Voice Teaching Meets Vocal Coaching: Helping Singers Grow Through Every Stage
When people ask what I do, I often say, “I teach and coach singers.”
At first glance, those words might sound interchangeable — but they describe two very different, yet deeply connected, parts of a singer’s growth.
In the classical music world, coaching usually means working with a collaborative pianist — a musician who specializes in vocal repertoire and understands how the piano part supports the voice. A classical coach helps a singer refine language, phrasing, and musicality, guiding them to interpret the composer’s intentions and bring the piece to life. Their ability to play the full orchestral texture at the piano allows the singer to experience the depth and structure of the music as it was written. The teacher, on the other hand, focuses on how the voice itself functions: breath, resonance, tone, and coordination.
Outside the classical setting, the word coach is often used more loosely — sometimes as a stand-in for teacher. But in truth, the best learning environments blend the two. Teaching builds understanding; coaching nurtures awareness and artistry.
In my studio, both happen in the same lesson.
When I’m teaching, I’m showing a singer how to do something — how to breathe efficiently, release the jaw, or shape a vowel. When I’m coaching, I step back and invite the student to use those tools. We might work through a song, and I’ll ask, “Where did that feel effortless? Where did it feel challenging?” From there, I may offer one small idea — “What would happen if you opened your mouth a little more on that note?” The student tries it, feels a shift, and begins to recognize that difference for themselves.
This process works for singers of every age and experience level.
With children and young teens, their bodies and voices are constantly changing. How something feels one month can feel completely different the next. Coaching helps them stay curious about those changes — to notice, explore, and describe what they experience as their voice grows right along with them.
That’s what I love about this blend of teaching and coaching: it empowers each singer to understand their voice from the inside out. Teaching offers tools and language; coaching builds confidence, trust, and independence. And together, they create a path where singers of all ages can grow, discover, and express themselves fully.
Voice Teaching – Building the Foundation
While teaching and coaching often blend together in a single lesson, there are times when the focus leans more toward teaching. This is especially true for younger singers or beginners who are still discovering how their voice works. In these moments, lessons become about building understanding and coordination — giving singers the tools they’ll later use more intuitively in coaching and performance.
For younger singers and beginners, lessons often begin with teaching — building a foundation of coordination, awareness, and understanding. Singing may seem simple on the surface, but it’s a beautifully complex process that involves breath, muscle balance, and imagination working together. Helping students understand how their bodies create sound is at the heart of teaching.
One thing I find myself saying often in lessons is, “We already know how to use our voice.”
We all know how to speak — softly or loudly, quickly or slowly, higher or lower. Children do this naturally in play. They already use their voices in expressive, coordinated ways every day. So rather than asking them to learn something entirely new, we start from what they already know. Teaching becomes a process of helping them take what’s natural in speech and elevate it to singing.
In these lessons, we explore how the voice works through curiosity and play — learning how to use breath efficiently, release tension, and find freedom in sound. Alongside this vocal exploration, singers begin developing musicianship — learning to read notes, rhythms, and intervals, to follow a musical score, and to understand phrasing and dynamics.
This part of teaching connects deeply with a child’s cognitive growth. As their brains develop, so does their ability to recognize patterns, decode symbols, and process rhythm and pitch relationships. Reading music strengthens those very skills, and vice versa. For children, learning musicianship isn’t just about understanding notation; it’s about developing focus, memory, and a sense of connection between what they see, hear, and feel.
As children and teens grow, their voices — and their brains — are constantly changing. What feels easy one month might feel brand new the next. So teaching at this stage is less about achieving perfection and more about nurturing awareness. Each week offers new opportunities to notice, explore, and rediscover what their growing instrument can do.
Teaching, at its core, is about planting seeds. We give singers the tools, language, and confidence they need to explore their voice. Over time, those tools become second nature — the foundation for a lifetime of musical expression and growth.
Vocal Coaching – Bringing the Music (and the Voice) to Life
As singers gain experience with their voices, lessons naturally begin to shift. The more time someone spends singing — whether they’re a professional vocalist or an adult who simply loves to sing — the less teaching is needed, and the more coaching can take place.
That’s because experience itself builds a foundation. A singer who’s spent years exploring their voice already has a sense of how their instrument works. They know what feels comfortable and what doesn’t, how to prepare for a song, and how to navigate different vocal styles. In these lessons, my role isn’t to teach them how to sing, but to help them refine how they use what they already know.
Coaching is where artistry and self-awareness meet. It’s the space where we focus on communication — what the song is saying, how it feels to sing it, and what story the singer wants to tell. But coaching isn’t only about expression; it’s also where technical refinement happens.
In coaching, we explore technique through awareness rather than instruction. Instead of me saying, “Lift your soft palate” or “Engage this muscle,” I’ll ask the singer to notice what happens when they sing a phrase with a specific feeling, shape, or breath intention. They might discover that a small change — a freer jaw, a different vowel, or a shift in attention — makes the sound feel easier and more resonant. In that moment, the technical and artistic merge.
Coaching also invites singers to self-assess. Instead of me saying, “You need to fix this,” I’ll often ask, “What did you notice?” or “Where did that feel free?” That question opens up reflection and trust. When a singer can describe their own experience, they begin to take ownership of it — and that’s where growth really accelerates.
This kind of exploration connects closely to my work as a NeuroVocal Method® coach, where we focus on how the brain, body, and voice work together. By helping singers notice the physical sensations associated with ease and flow, they begin to understand that vocal freedom isn’t about “doing more,” but about allowing the body to do what it already knows how to do. This awareness builds self-reliance and resilience — skills that extend far beyond singing.
For professional and avocational singers alike, coaching is less about correction and more about refinement. It’s about developing the inner awareness and flexibility to express what they feel authentically — to move from just singing notes to truly making music.
Where Voice Teaching and Vocal Coaching Meet
No matter a singer’s age or experience, every lesson is a balance of teaching and coaching. Sometimes we’re learning something brand new — how to find steady breath support, read a rhythm, or understand what “resonance” really means. Other times, we’re applying those tools in song, noticing how the body responds, and refining how it all feels.
The beauty of this process is that it’s never fixed. Each student walks in with different needs — and even for the same student, those needs shift week to week. A lesson that starts as technical teaching might end in coaching through confidence or expression. Another might begin with a song and reveal a new coordination that deepens their understanding of technique.
That fluidity is the heart of how we grow as musicians. Teaching gives singers structure and vocabulary. Coaching builds trust and awareness. Together, they cultivate independence — the ability to sense, adjust, and express without relying on someone to tell them what to do.
At The Growing Musician, this balance is at the center of every lesson. My goal is not just to help singers learn songs, but to help them learn themselves — to understand their voice as part of who they are, and to find joy, confidence, and connection through music.
Because in the end, teaching and coaching are simply two parts of the same journey: growing into your voice and discovering the many ways it can help you grow as a person.
But here’s the truth: singing isn’t a mysterious talent that some people are born with and others aren’t. It’s a skill — one that can be developed, strengthened, and refined at any age.
Just like learning a sport, painting, or practicing yoga, singing involves coordination, awareness, and repetition. It’s part art, part body learning, and part mindset. The voice is made up of muscles, breath, and resonance — systems that respond beautifully to mindful practice. With the right guidance, anyone can learn to sing more easily, freely, and confidently.
For many adults, the hardest part isn’t producing the sound — it’s believing they’re allowed to. Years of self-criticism or fear of judgment can make people hesitant to even try. But when we approach singing as something to explore instead of something to prove, the learning process becomes joyful and empowering.
When adult students come into my studio, we start with what already feels natural.
We all use our voices every day — speaking, laughing, expressing emotion. The difference between speaking and singing is simply coordination and awareness. Singing lessons help reconnect those natural instincts with gentle, structured guidance. Sometimes that means discovering how breath moves, how vowels shape sound, or how to sing without pushing. And sometimes it means simply remembering what it feels like to play again.
Adults have a unique advantage when learning to sing: self-awareness.
They bring emotional depth, focus, and a lifetime of listening and communicating — all qualities that make them receptive learners. Once they understand how to connect sensation with sound, progress happens quickly. And perhaps most importantly, adults can reframe singing as self-expression rather than performance — a way to connect to joy, not judgment.
As a NeuroVocal Method® coach, I help singers explore how their brain and body work together to create ease in sound. This approach emphasizes awareness over effort — learning to trust what feels free, rather than forcing what feels “right.” The result is often more than just technical improvement; it’s a reconnection to confidence and creativity that many people thought they’d lost.
It’s never too late to sing because the voice never stops growing.
Like any part of us, it responds to curiosity, attention, and care. Whether you’ve sung your whole life or haven’t sung a note in decades, your voice is still there — waiting to be rediscovered.
Singing isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being present — with your breath, your sound, and your story. And once you allow yourself to begin, you might just find that the voice you thought you didn’t have was there all along, ready to sing.