r/singing • u/Cultural-Echidna-312 • 2d ago
Conversation Topic Is this normal? Vocal coach critique
I’ve been seeing a vocal coach for a little over a year. I sing in a community choir and also do some
Open mics around town, so nothing too serious. Sometimes when I practice a song in front of her, usually when I am playing guitar at the same time, she seems to focus on my facial expressions and jaw movements more than my sound. She seems turned off by the way my jaw moves when enunciating certain words and has told me to record myself so I can see what I look like. I’m trying to be open to all feedback but sometimes it just seems mean, not to mention unnecessary since I’m more concerned about how I sound, not how I look when I play. Should I just take it on the chin or does anyone else think it’s a strange thing for her to focus on?
For the record, I did do a video recording of a song and I didn’t see anything crazy with my face or jaw movements 🤷🏻♀️
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u/wolfanotaku 2d ago
The voice involves the entire face and body so she may be checking for tension. I have had it said to me before and heard directors mention it to others. So it's not uncommon.
If your coach is trained in the voice, she will also have been trained in the physiology of the voice as well as just the production of sound. So she may be taking things into account that aren't obvious to people who don't have that background.
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u/Cultural-Echidna-312 2d ago
That's the thing though - she doesn't connect it to the sound. She just says it looks bad haha!
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u/JohannYellowdog Countertenor, Classical. Solo / Choral / Barbershop 2d ago
I’m more concerned about how I sound, not how I look
Tension in the face and jaw will absolutely affect how you sound, as well as create problems for your vocal health if you sing through that tension for a couple of years.
And even if something doesn't affect your sound at all (such as, imagine if you had a habit of always closing your eyes when you sing, or if you always stuck your tongue out when playing something tricky on the guitar), the visual component of music shouldn't be ignored. Little tics can become a distraction for the audience.
That shouldn't be the only criticism your teacher makes, but it is normal for a teacher to critique this aspect of a performance.
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u/Cultural-Echidna-312 2d ago
Thank you for your feedback. She also critiques me for closing my eyes lol!!
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u/calliessolo 🎤 Voice Teacher 10+ Years ✨ 12h ago
Because closing your eyes cut you off from the audience.
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u/Cultural-Echidna-312 2h ago
Totally. I struggle with feeling really awkward looking out at the crowd though. Do you have any tips?
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u/dem4life71 2d ago
Not mean at all. My first voice teacher had a mirror installed in his studio just so I could see my own facial expressions. Your facial expression kind of “is” your voice. Pulling the corners of your mouth back can give you an overly bright sound. Changing your mouth shape too drastically takes away the sense that you have one consistent vocal tone. Singing with a clenched jaw is just bad form. You need to address those things.
The difficulty of teaching voice is that there are no buttons to push. Everything has to be taught by feel, look, and sound.
Also, out the guitar down. I’m a classical and jazz guitarist myself as well as a singer and choral director, but I would insist any vocal student stand with their weight balanced evenly and did NOT have anything in their hands. Even if you intend on playing and singing, you need to isolate the two things until you have the singing part worked out and (most importantly) consistent.
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u/Cultural-Echidna-312 2d ago
Thank you for the insight. I guess I wish she'd tie the jaw movement/facial expression more closely to how it could improve my sound, not just what I look like. I think I need to communicate with her better about what exactly she's critiquing. Interesting point about putting the guitar down!
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u/SonicPipewrench 🎤 Voice Teacher 5+ Years 2d ago
The position of your mouth and jaw have a great deal to do with the quality of your sound. The tall oval is what we want, a wide mouth really sounds off once you hear the difference. A relaxed jaw sounds very different than a tight one.
The mirror/camera of yourself is so you get some idea of just how much and often you change your jaw and mouth.
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u/Cultural-Echidna-312 2d ago
Totally fair. She's just not necessarily connecting it to my vocal output and more makes it seem it just doesn't "look nice". Maybe in my next lesson I need to clarify if she is more concnred about the sound it emits than what it looks like. Maybe I'm just not understanding what she means.
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u/Magigyarados 🎤 Voice Teacher 0-2 Years 1d ago
She may be trying to steer you away from unnecessary tension.
If the way you're moving your jaw is perfectly natural and doesn't impact your sound, then you should probably just tell her that. You would ideally be able to sing well while making whatever kind of facial expression you want, but as long as it's not impeding your sound it shouldn't matter.
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u/Cultural-Echidna-312 1d ago
Thanks for the response. I don’t know if the jaw moving is affecting my sound, honestly. That’s a good question though.
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u/DrBlankslate 1d ago
Facial expressions can seriously affect sound. She may not be clear about that, but that's probably what she's talking about.
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u/veryanxiouscreature 2d ago
she’s not worried about how you look. if a guitar teacher said “your fingers are too stiff when you’re reaching for that fret” would you be offended that she thinks you have ugly fingers? she’s adjusting your instrument.
if this is mostly happening when you’re singing while also playing guitar, you’re probably introducing tension into your face either from having to hold the guitar or from forgetting about your vocal technique because there’s another instrument involved, or both
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u/Cultural-Echidna-312 2d ago
She literally says its unsightly.
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u/Temporary_Evidence74 2d ago
I would fire my teacher over that, personally.
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u/Cultural-Echidna-312 2d ago
I walked away feeling kind of embarassed and down and I wondered if that's normal.
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u/Temporary_Evidence74 2d ago edited 2d ago
As an educator and a singer, I think insulting comments are unacceptable. There is a wide chasm from being demoralized from honest critique, and being called unsightly.
A good voice teacher would be horrified.eta: I’m seeing your other comments as well- while it could be helpful to learn what you look like performing (people listen with their eyes!), I would expect “hey I recommend recording yourself, having your eyes more open/looking composed etc. will help you communicate with your audience” also- your voice teacher is YOUR choice to hire a service. You can switch for any reason, even if it’s just that your communication styles don’t match. I encourage my students lesson 1 that they can switch and I won’t be offended because I’m confident in what I do.
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u/Cultural-Echidna-312 2d ago
Youre right, her delivery can be kinda harsh/blunt. She has admitted she can rub people the wrong way. It could just be a mismatch. She can make me feel like whatever I'm doing is annoying to her personally/distasteful to look at.
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u/Temporary_Evidence74 2d ago
That’s a bummer. Just know you have no obligation to continue lessons. If you had the same complaint about several teachers I would look inward, but it sounds like perhaps this one is just kind of mean.
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u/Cultural-Echidna-312 1d ago
I really appreciate the thoughtful responses. I need to give it more thought and plan to pay attention to how I feel when I leave lessons. Thank you again.
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