Voice Teacher vs. Voice Coach vs. Voice Therapist

The terms of voice teacher, therapist, and voice coach are often used interchangeably by advertisements.  However, those term mean very specific skill sets that designate the focus of an instructor.

A voice teacher is an instructor who specializes in building the vocal instrument of a student, usually in a one-on-one lesson.  In many ways, voice teachers are similar to a good doctor: they listen to you, analyze your vocal strengths and weaknesses, and devise a course of action to make you a better singer.  A good voice teacher should be able to work with all types of voices, male or female, but may specialize with certain types of genres and singers depending on their knowledge and experience.

A voice therapist is an actual doctor (ENT) who specializes in treating singers who have developed physical impediments to their singing.  Before you get worried, most singers will never need to visit an ENT!  However, if you are singing professionally, bad habits can cause physical problems such as nodules and polyps.  These problems need the help of a doctor before a student should resume their normal singing routine.

A voice coach is a pianist who specializes in the style of a certain genre of music, such as Mozart opera, modern musical theater, or French art song.  Their job is not to improve your singing technique but to make you a better singer stylistically.  While some coaches do have knowledge of vocal instruction, they generally refrain from that instruction and refer you to a voice teacher for help.

DS