How can you balance performance analysis with a positive coaching environment?

Remember that your goal is to help the student achieve their goals (not to be the smartest or make them reliant on you or achieve what you THINK should be their goal) 1. Make sure you know their goals. ("What are you looking to communicate in this song?") 2. Ask lots of questions. ("What are your goals today?" "Which part of the song feels the strongest to you?") 3. Point out the positives. ("You have a sense of calm that puts the audience at ease. I wonder if we can increase the energy without losing that calmness") 5. Encourage the student to approach the work with curiosity as opposed to seeking to get it "right." ("I wonder what would happen if you stayed more still in this moment. Let's try that.")

Sincerely appreciate them for them. When you have a healthy respect and appreciation for your vocalist, as a friend more than as a student, they will perform well, however, when maintaining a professional front, you do not want it cold. You want them to feel you're on their level. It takes an act of humility. Vocalists need emotion. Be emotionally whatever they need in the moment. They will perform well. You will have coached well.

Always look for positive similarities between you as a professional and the student. This takes time and is best done at the intake consultation.

The most positive experiences happen when the student is part of the process. Treat them almost as a teacher themselves in asking how can I best assist you in reaching this goal.

Having been a musical graduate with classical vocal tuition thoughout my own learning years, I have brought priniciples with me in my teaching. I always feel that vocal tuition should focus on vocal exercises - specific to each singer, forming a self awareness of the instrument - every voice different.

Honesty, clear ideas, objectivity and love. The teacher must have precise criteria and standards and inform the student of this while being forthright and kind. If a singing teacher is indeed capable of recognizing a student's strengths and weaknesses, they must never point out everything that is "wrong" all at once, but rather begin removing defects in the least invasive way by showing the student the correct approach, while being encouraging and supportive and answering questions with simplicity and clarity. It is important to help the student learn to listen, observe and be introspective, and to choose repertoire that balances development of technical skills and the joy of musical exploration.

To balance performance analysis with a positive coaching environment: 1. Provide constructive feedback with a supportive tone, highlighting areas for improvement while acknowledging strengths. 2. Set realistic goals and celebrate milestones achieved along the way, fostering motivation and a sense of achievement. 3. Cultivate a safe space where singers feel comfortable expressing themselves, encouraging open communication and mutual respect. Striking this balance ensures growth, maintains motivation, and creates a positive and nurturing coaching environment.

In my experience, I’ve performed more than teaching, though know the positive ideas I give kids and/or adults comes first and then I get to the nitty-gritty as Kim points out. When I say nitty-gritty, I mean very specific ways of reading music, looking ahead in the score and pointing out tougher rhythms are examples of the detail needed to make great music, i.e. drum and percussion parts. (Or even piano music - my secondary instrument). My performances include(d) on the road band experience, small bands in Nashville, TN, Theatre, and three (3) years playing percussion with Holland America Line (Cruise ships). From my Education, I work and balance out teaching from performances and education.

I've been a teacher for thirty years, but I've also been a student for many years. I've had teachers who used humiliation and degradation as their way of motivating students. As their student, this method never worked for me. I also had a teacher who praised everything I did, but never pointed out or addressed my weaknesses. While the self-confidence boost was amazing for me (I was in high school), later I had problems with my vocal ability and had to seek out help from an expert to heal from damage I'd done to my vocal cords. That's why I believe in a healthy balance of pointing out all the positives first, then getting into the nitty gritty of what the student needs to work on, while reminding them that they can achieve their goal.

For the past 20 years of teaching and training singers and singing teachers the most successful teaching I’ve found has come through a process called ‘Edifying Analysis’. This is the opposite to constructive criticism. Edification means building someone up in truth and love (making them confident in your teaching ability and safe in your care - opening the way for growth) and the analysis of the voice is about listening to their fears, anxieties, voice techniques, working through mindset blocks, encouraging growth mindsets and discussing growth areas for the voice and performance then making a plan together through techniques and processes to reach the persons goals. It can be life changing and I highly recommend it.

By performance analysis I’m guessing that the question refers to the type of technical or interpretive suggestions that each vocal coach contributes to their students regularly. Primarily it’s important to understand the role of a vocal coach. Unlike a voice teacher, whom one may work with for several years while they hone their technique, a coach is generally someone that a singer will work with to prepare specific music in a short time. This can be for a concert, theatrical show, competition, audition, or church solo. Knowing the training and reputation of one’s coach is key. There has to be mutual respect for these sessions to not just feel positive, but produce noticeable change in a short period of time.

Over years of private teaching, learning to adapt to each individual student's learning style has been incredibly important. While some are kinetic learners, others are visual. Then there are those who are visual, and kinetic. I had a student who needed to play his guitar in order to find pitches. I had another student who needed to read the notes on a page to find pitches. Experimenting with each individual is so important, which is why private lessons are so beneficial. It is possible, but much more challenging to discover the learning style of a student in a group lesson.

In my years of teaching, the one thing that stands out is that every student learns with a different ability. What I found was the one-size-fits-all approach limits my students… some do well, while others only get by and lose interest. Adopting different teaching styles is the best way to fill the needs of every student. It keeps them curious and looking forward to trying new things.

In my experience, the job of the coach is to be a resource and provide an outside ear. However, true and lasting improvement always comes from the self.

Encouraging self-reflection and self-evaluation is something I only began to do about ten years ago. I never had this modeled to me by my private teachers, so I never thought it was something I should do. But I took a master's class ten years ago, and was given a journal to document my mental processes. I was blown away at how much my belief affected my performance as a vocalist. Taking the time to self-reflect helps a person to identify limiting beliefs, and self-evaluation is necessary for a student to achieve growth. Now, I include time for this as an integral part of my lesson plans.

At the end of the day, analysis should be with the purpose to provide some sort of positive outcome. It’s great to analyze for the same of understanding, but as a teacher, analysis should also be provided to the student and to performers to know where they are at. The best thing you can do for them is to get them comfortable with self-awareness and self-regulation. Being able to reflect and analyze oneself is how you best realize your goals, your progress, and how much work we have left for that goal. It’s one thing for a student to get feedback from a teacher/coach, but it does way more for them to be able to use self-evaluation and ultimately build their own confidence and strength.

Fostering a growth mindset means encouraging the benefits of curiosity, growth, and change to attain and expand our goals. Notice what's going and encourage asking questions. Tell them what you love, then relay how it is effective to bring this out more, to find our internal beat in order to flow more freely, to focus on the image or the the pitch in the accompaniment or whatever it is and help them to rejoice in looking forward to this action making what is great become exponentially better. Calming and celebrating the performer opens up a whole new world of performance in itself, and here is where we can foster curiosity that will expand a growth mindset that will blossom.

To balance performance analysis with a positive coaching environment, provide constructive feedback, emphasizing strengths first. Foster a growth mindset, framing challenges as opportunities to learn. Focus on specific, actionable feedback, celebrating achievements regularly. Establish open communication channels and a strengths-based approach, highlighting individual talents. This blend inspires continuous improvement and resilience in vocal students.

Cultivate an atmosphere of excellence that creates a desire to always be better. This will in turn create in your students a readiness to receive feedback.