How do you measure and evaluate your students' progress and performance?

I agree, although the process I use is a bit more informal. I have a rubric that I call a progress report, in which I have an intake section where I ask standard questions about their experience and their goals or concerns, a section that lists the vast majority of exercises I utilize and the supporting theory, sight-reading texts, vocalise books, etc. I often recommend, and the final section that is left open for me to make notes at each lesson we have. After each recital (I try to offer two recitals a year in which my students may perform), I have them complete a S.O.A.P. (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan) evaluation which is a model used in several business settings and seems to be a very helpful guide for them.

Very complicated! Assessing a singer you haven’t met before has two simple issues: 1, what is their experience with singing, music, and health, 2. Can the singer sing through their first and second bridge - connecting the lower and upper voice? When you have the info from those two things, you can provide a transformative coaching experience

Although the great majority of students initially squirm at the thought of recording themselves in any manner, when used carefully by defending their privacy and praising every success in each recording, his tool can be one that helps improve the fastest. It’s not make believe. It’s right there in the recording to be celebrated. When I capture a student’s success with something that had been a struggle, I can keep referring back to it. “Even if, from here on out, it’s not good again for awhile, you *can* do it, and we have proof. Because it is much easier to see our flaws, when I ask them to evaluate themselves, first, I ask for only things they *liked* that they did - often a much more difficult assignment.

Again, this is very complicated! Singer is a motor skill, and the proven requirement to learning a motor skill is feedback from the senses and from an outside source. If you are training the singer in scales and applying to songs, the progress is fast and easily measurement by their own experience and by the range, ease and resonance. Many of the issues mentioned above are just symptoms, when the cause is trained, man of the symptoms go away. Please keep training clear, focused and uncomplicated. Then the singer is empowered by their own experience.

My progress reports have a section for written notes and I usually send those to the student/parents (if minors) once or twice a year. At recitals, I ask students to write positive, specific comments for each other.

Feedback and communication is vital. The coach/teacher has to use precise language with clear and direct feedback in as few words as possible. There are two kinds of feedback. Specific to what is happening in the bridges and in the ability to mix, and musicianship, and global, how they focused, connect to the lyrics, phrasing and beat. Many of the advice here is applicable to instrument learning, like piano with kids, but doesn’t easily transfer to singing because singing involves more sensory awareness and it highly connected to our survival instincts.

- Have an action plan and an activity guide adapted to each student. -Boost their careers as professional singers based on their desires and possibilities. - An advice: Not to rush processes, the voice as an instrument develops over time. This is important for a healthy voice. Iliana Diaz Lopez. Vocal Coach

- Voice is the only instrument where you are building your instrument while you are learning to use it. Remembering that this is a very dynamic process helps us to choose potentially exponential excellence versus crippling diminishing perfectionism. - If you’re not thriving in the environment where you have been focusing all your time and talents - go somewhere else; diversify; enjoy the journey. - Don’t allow yourself (or anyone else) to be defined (define you) by your success or failure at an institution. It is a wide beautiful world. If you don’t like the options, make your own way. - It is better to work hard with a little talent than to have a lot of talent. (Though if you have a love of talent, you go!! And *work* it!!).