How do we know this coaching is the best objectively when there are so many opposing techniques and systems for vocal coaching?

Hi, I'm so happy this site was setup! The vocal coaching industry feels like a minefield to me!

I don't like to bad mouth but previously I was with singing success and eventually got lessons with brett manning who I realised was actually damaging my voice and I was paying him a ton of money. I became extremely confused about how to get good vocal coaching and assumed the only vocal training that must be good is coaching that celebrities use because they must be able to know or have people find out which is good. So I landed on a celebrity vocal coach who many many celebrities use and again he was extremely expensive but he did definitely improve my voice but I was slaving away with work just to pay him so I eventually gave up and assumed I'll have to do this myself somehow because it's just too expensive to get good vocal training and I still don't even know what that is, so even if I could find a good cheaper teacher how would I even know! I was so scared of damaging my voice.

There are sooooo many different techniques and 'systems' out there for vocals that for an outsider its very hard to know who is right and what is damaging. I obviously believe you guys are doing the right thing that's why I'm paying but can you please give me some kind of reassurance on your techniques and what kind of research has gone into the techniques so I can objectively get behind it. 

In vocals there always seems like there's some coach coming up with a new 'breakthrough' or 'secret' for vocals. I just want to make sure this system of techniques is a distillation of all that and we are getting the best stuff that's out there.

Any other insights on how to navigate the minefield of the vocal coaching industry would be really helpful too!

Please take your time in your response.

(Someone please show this to Abram if they can, because I'm getting lessons with him!)

Daniel

Hi, Daniel!

Great question, and I understand it's quite confusing to sift through all the coaches online. Since I write most of the curriculum currently on the site, I can tell you that in addition to my formal training (BA in Music Ed + CA teaching credential in music), I'm constantly reading and researching to stay up-to-date on voice science and methodologies. Any lessons I teach on this site are the result of my continued education and the exercises/explanations that have worked with my private students (many of whom are beginners, from age 5 to 80). Good vocal technique is no secret! What we offer is a step-by-step program to teach a beginner the fundamentals of singing, with shorter lesson series on more advanced topics that are still easy to understand and apply. 

As far as how to sift through the vocal coaching industry: you want a coach who's educated, experienced, sings well, explains things in a way you understand, and helps you grow. I'd check out any blog articles, lessons or singing examples that teacher has online before booking with them. Student testimonials are another good thing to read or ask for. 

With online coaches: I regularly watch YouTube videos to see how other teachers explain a certain concept, and I often refer students to specific videos. My favorites are New York Vocal Coaching (great explanation and exercise recommendations), Sam Johnson (mostly reaction videos, with solid info and healthy technique), John Henny (great at breaking down voice science in an understandable way), Cheryl Porter (she mostly coaches advanced singers, not beginners, but her technique is solid) and recently I watched a few lessons from Freya Casey that I found helpful. Each teacher has their strengths and weaknesses. Ideally, we can learn from the best each of them have to offer! I'm not entirely sure how to guide you on analyzing other coaches - but those are a good start.

Wow Camille. What a fantastic response! Thank you so much. That has given me so much confidence on this system and your teaching approach specifically. I think I might even change and get coaching with you because you seem obsessed with the topic of coaching and that's exactly what I want! I just thought it might be better to go with a guy because I am a guy. Do you think the gender of your vocal coach matters because men and females have different vocal ranges? 

Also is it possible to get lessons sooner, I'm so keen to get my first lesson!

My pleasure, Daniel! Some singers do like to learn from a coach of the same gender so they can hear examples within their range, but it's really up to you. My Google calendar is synced with Acuity, so the availability you see on the site is up to date!

Yeah that's true. I don't think that's enough of a disadvantage to avoid opposite sex teachers though. I'm sure you'll know how to cater for it :) and I'm mainly focussed on knowledge to self teach as you said in another post. 

Sounds good, Daniel!