I’m taking you behind the scenes of what I do in a vocal coaching session, along with the tools I use and a look at my studio space.
Now, I have been a professional singer for 28 years and if you’d told me back then that I would love vocal coaching more than I love singing, I would have laughed, but it’s the truth.
I think it’s down to the fact that I get to work with the most amazing singers who are emerging or established music artists which means I get to be a part of that artist development journey.
I get to help them hone the signature sound, build confidence in their vocal ability and really craft killer performances, which I love.
Here is a collection of the singers and specific songs I have been lucky enough to workshop with the artists for live performances or studio recordings.
And in this video, I show you the tools that I use, the steps, my process, where I coach, how I do it, basically everything.
Watch the video to learn how to:
- (01:16) – How to find me/find a vocal coach
- (01:41) – See the Big Notes Get Votes website/resources
- (02:26) – Intro chat booking calendar
- (03:07) – Artist questionnaire
- (04:44) – Zoom call
- (05:01) – My coaching calendar
- (05:49) – Video Performance Review
- (06:23) – My in-person studio space
- (07:09) – My coaching tools
How to find a vocal coach
- Get a referral from someone who has been to a vocal coach.
- Google Search for vocal coaches in your area
- YouTube
If you do a search on Google for Big Notes Get Votes or Cherie Mathieson, you will find my website.
Most of my clients are referred to me by industry professionals or other singers I work with.
I also have a YouTube channel with my singing and performance related videos. This is a great way to get an idea of coaching style and method.
You can also find me on Facebook and Instagram.
My Coaching Method
My coaching framework is Prepare, Practice, Polish, and Perform. These are the cyclical stages of the creative journey.
When I’m coaching, these are the stages that we will work through. Before we get started, I will figure out what it is that you’re wanting to work on and where you’re at within that particular creative cycle.
1. Book an intro chat
The first step is to book an introductory chat. I have a calendar that’s on my website home page where you can make a time to have a chat with me.
It gives us a chance to see if you like me and I’m able to help you with what it is that you want to achieve.
Once you’ve booked your info chat, you instantly get an invitation to complete my artist questionnaire.
2. Artist Questionnaire
This gives me so much information about where you’re at and what you’re currently doing.
It also helps us to get laser-focused on what we’re going to work on when we get into our sessions.
Some of the questions I like to ask are:
- What style of music do you like to sing and play?
- Who are your favorite artists?
- Do you play any instruments?
- Are you performing live regularly?
- What is your practice routine?
- How do you warm up your voice?
- Have you had any vocal health issues in the past?
It’s also good to know what challenges or frustrates you in relation to your voice so that I can help you.
3. Zoom call
Once you complete your artist questionnaire, we’ll jump on zoom and have a chat. I’ll ask you a couple more questions and basically I’m also there for you to ask any questions of me, but I often chat through a little bit more about what you’ve completed in the artist questionnaire.
After our chat, if you decide that you enjoyed what we talked about, and you want to work with me, I will send you a link to my coaching calendar.
4. Coaching Calendar
In the coaching calendar, you can see the coaching options that are available.
- Online sessions
- In-person sessions
- Video performance review
- Artist development sessions
Once you’ve booked your slot, that is when we get down to business!
5. Coaching Session
The foundations for amazing singing are a healthy voice and techniques that help explore your voice, enable you to produce sounds safely and efficiently so you can tell your stories and connect with your audience through your performances.
The sessions focus on:
- Vocal health and general wellbeing check-in
- Sirens – an amazing wake up and stretch for your voice so this starts the session well. I use a spectrograph tool called Estill VoicePrint Plus to help me SEE the voice.
- Technique focus/review
- Song Study – sing through the songs you are working on and overlay any techniques.
I audio and video record the session, delivered in a personalised Dropbox, so you can be in the moment and review the techniques as part of your implementation and practice process.
After the session I send through notes in a shared Google Doc. I also like to encourage communication in-between sessions using an app called Marco Polo.
This is a great way to nurture, keep momentum going and offer accountability to my singers when we aren’t in session.
I love working with singers and sharing the techniques, both vocally and creatively, that have helped me feel confident about my singing and performance.
If you have any questions about the tools or my process please comment below and I would love to answer them.
Cherie
