Vocal trainers can help their clients develop personalized warm-up routines, use exercises to improve their clients' range and breathing, work on articulation and projection ability, or provide other specialized instruction in advanced vocal techniques. A vocal coach, also known as a voice coach (although this term is often applied to those who work with speech and communication rather than singing), is a music teacher, usually a piano companion, who helps singers prepare for a performance, often also helping them improve their singing technique and to care for and develop their voice, but it is not the same as a singing teacher (also called a voice teacher). Vocal coaches can give private music classes or group workshops or master classes to singers. They can also train singers who rehearse on stage or who sing during a recording session.
Vocal trainers are used both in classical music and in popular music styles such as rock and gospel. While some vocal trainers provide a variety of instructions on singing techniques, others specialize in areas such as breathing techniques or diction and pronunciation. A voice trainer is a professional who works with anyone who wants to improve their voice, whether it's talking or singing. There are many ways in which one can improve one's voice, either by minimizing an accent to appear on television, learning a different accent to speak on a role in an interpretive role, or by improving one's ability to sing, just to name a few.
A voice trainer is usually a professional who has studied voice training. Many vocal coaches work independently, although some may be employed by choirs and other musical organizations to train their singers. For example, a specialist in the Alexander technique, yoga or medical aspects of the throat and vocal cords may begin to specialize in training and training singers. Once again, while good vocal coaches will also address a student's problematic technique during their classes, this is not the primary purpose they usually serve.
The work of a vocal coach is based on the assumption that a student is already able to sing well and only needs training to achieve a goal. Usually someone who takes lessons from a vocal coach does not have any speech problems, but simply wants to improve what he already has. A vocal coach could help with issues such as pronunciation, musical phrasing, performing practice, as well as helping the singer “own” the song. However, a vocal coach would be remiss if he did not address any errors in his students' technique, even if technique is not his main focus.
Singers who prepare for specific performances usually work closely with a vocal coach as they prepare. I highly recommend not hiring a coach until you have a very solid understanding of the technique, as many songs are more vocally challenging than you suppose, and employing inadequate technique when trying to sing these challenging songs can lead not only to frustration but also to worse technique and possibly to injuries. Essentially, the vocal coach will help the student prepare and polish a song or repertoire of songs to be recorded or performed in front of an audience. As helpful as a vocal coach is in solving the problems of performing a song, you can't achieve flawless performance without solid technical skills to back it up.
Vocal coaches can also identify singing opportunities for their students and help them prepare, and they can help people prepare for singing auditions. I've heard that many great rock singers have vocal trainers who teach them to sound intensely without hurting themselves. .
