Shannon Coates - Voice & The Art of Teaching

Just over here jumping on this bandwagon because … we’re really, REALLY not responsible for our students’ learning.

Which is not to say that we throw our hands up and let the chaos ensue.

OBVS.

We are responsible for the power we hold and the way that we use our expertise and knowing our defaults.

Which all shows up in:
➡️ the questions we ask.
➡️ the frame we bring.
➡️ the co-creation of goals.
➡️ the holding of space.
➡️ the exploration options.
➡️ the direction of attention.

But the actual learning?
That belongs to the learner.

And I knowwwwww. For those of us trained in systems where “good teaching” meant having the answer, fixing the problem, choosing the right intervention, and making the student do the thing correctly, that can feel… ALARMING.

(Because: how will they know when they’re learning AND how will I know if I’m a good teacher … if I don’t tell them what they’re supposed to learn, how they’re supposed to learn it, and whether or not they were successful at it?! )

Buuuuut - trust me on this one - there is a whole boatload of freedom and joy and quiet confidence on the other side of trying to carry learning that was never ours to carry.

This is the heart of what I’m writing about, and what I’m building toward in the Community of Practice for Voice Teachers.

So if you want the behind-the-scenes book boops and first word when the Community of Practice is ready, hop on my mailing list. (Or get a head start by working with me directly or checking out How We Learn 101 and Diagnosis 101 in The VoicePed 101 Library.)

Aaand … what would it feel like to let go of the need to know exactly what every singer is doing and how to change it?

What would it feel like to NOT see your students as puzzles to be solved or problems that need to be fixed?

What would it feel like to have confidence in the studio that comes, not from knowing all the things, but from trusting yourself?

I mean … Understanding vocal function matters. (DUH)
�And … Learning to listen with intentionality matters. (DUH)
�And … Having frameworks for what we’re hearing matters. (DUH)

But knowing all that? Is NOT knowing how to teach.
Teaching is its own area of expertise. ( )
Teaching involves knowing how humans learn, and (especially in singing!) how we acquire procedural knowledge, not just declarative knowledge.

It requires us to think about how skills are built, how feedback can support or impede learning, how goals are negotiated, how meaningful assessment happens, how power systems impact learning, how students understand their own learning, and how we can use our expertise to support agency rather than require compliance.

So … when voiceped peeps promise teachers a metric-tonne o’ information about the voice, but nada about teaching and learning, I’m all:
woah (x10).

Because voiceped should include the voice. (DUH)

And?
The pedagogy part.

ahem.

ETA: this post isn’t about any particular academic programme, or voiceped class, course, text, or institute (although, feel free to glance through the description of your fav VoicePed product to see if they mention teaching or learning …) - this is about the very pervasive belief in our industry that understanding how the voice works (or how to diagnose the voice, or which exercises “solve” which “problems”) EQUALS knowing how to teach.

Which: nuhuh.

Awwww yeah.

It’s all data.

❤️