Here's how you can cultivate long-term benefits by developing resilience as a vocal coach.

In the dynamic field of vocal coaching, resilience is essential for long-term success. Embrace a growth mindset to view challenges as opportunities. Cultivate emotional intelligence to understand and manage students' emotions. Develop strong support networks for guidance and encouragement. Practice self-care to maintain well-being and prevent burnout. Stay adaptable and flexible with teaching methods and technologies. Commit to continuous learning and professional development. Set realistic goals and celebrate small wins to boost motivation. Reflect and learn from experiences to refine your techniques. By fostering resilience, you can create a supportive & effective learning environment for your students and thrive in your coaching career.

Although embracing technology and trends in the music industry, no matter what genre, are vital to staying relevant and resilient, singing coaches and teachers have a serious problem with “shiny object” syndrome. Typically when singing teachers or coaches have trouble getting consistent results and consistent income, they grasp on the latest shiny object presented by someone with good marketing skills. But the qualities that make a singing teacher/coach effective and resilient, are age-old. Master your craft, and get a mentor to train your teaching skills. Burnout happens when you are repeating the same things all the time without getting results, like a hamster in a wheel.

I agree exploring musical styles outside of traditional CCM vocal training can extend vocal development by incorporating new sounds and ways of phonating that may ultimately help free vocal ‘faults’ in many CCM singers.

One of the most important skills for a singing teacher or coach is critically reflective thinking. Sadly, it is the least taught skill! If you are always reflective on your skills and the way your singers are responding to you, you’ll always be resilient. Some of the topics you can reflect on: how much are you speaking during training sessions? What questions do you ask your self while listening to a singer? Did the singer experience a positive change in their singer today? ( not weeks from now).

This is so true! I remember when I first started developing my ability to create layered vocal recordings… I had a setback that was discouraging! But I decided to learn from it and improve rather than getting down on myself. And the growth that afforded was excellent!

Yes! It’s so important to cultivate healthy habits. How can we encourage healthy practices in our students if we are not even being faithful to develop our own? We lead by example! We can give more if we are receiving enough ourselves.

Continuous learning is vital for any profession but especially when your a teacher/coach dealing with people who are paying you to help them create change. The biggest obstacle to continued training for most teachers is money. Look for a quality mentor who can recognize where you need to focus and help you move forward. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on huge national conferences, or take years of weekly sessions. Develop a strategy that fits your budget and your needs.

Yes! I enjoy participating in singing competitions where I am critiqued so I can continually grow in any blind spots I have in developing my vocal skills. As I learn and grow, it empowers me to pass on helping others learn and grow in those ways, too.

Innovation is a double-edged sword in singing teaching and coaching. The human voice, mind and body has been pretty much the same for a few thousand years. Teachers get into trouble when they try to reinvent the wheel. Certainly, develop your emotional intelligence, your communication skills, understand technology but remember that innovation doesn’t mean changing the fundamentals that every vocalist needs no matter what genre they sing.

I learned to sing and teach singing through years of working with two mentors who providing training and support. Becoming a voice teacher or coach without spending time with a mentor in developing specific skills for teaching will lead to frustration, burnout and inconsistent income. I’m fortunate that I found my mentors and I’m thrilled to be mentoring singers and teachers today. I’m seeing their lives change by developing their skills and their own sense of self worth, strategic thinking and compassion.