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POPUP VOICE PED CLASS

Child Voice

Ya’ know what?

Since the advent of Reality Talent TV Shows, independent teachers have seen younger and younger singers come through their studio. And the old myths around teaching children to sing are being busted one by one:

  • Children ‘hurt their voices’ if they start singing before puberty (ummm … tell that to every human being who -WAIT FOR IT- sings before puberty. because: have you NOT NOTICED that children sing ALL THE GOSH-DARNED TIME? And that maybe, JUST MAYBE, it might be a good thing for them to be guided along their singing journey by a PROFESSIONAL WHO CARES ABOUT THEM BEING ABLE TO SING FOR A LONG TIME?)
  • Children should have a grounding in piano and choir before taking voice lessons so that we’re not ‘wasting our time’ in the voice studio (ummm … DO YOU NOT THINK THAT A FABULOUS VOICE TEACHER WHO WORKS WITH CHILDREN CANNOT INCORPORATE MUSICIANSHIP INTO THEIR VOICE LESSONS?)

Hooo boy. I better stop it before this entire page devolves into me just yelling away into the void.

So. All THAT to say: now that we’re working with more and more younger and younger singers in the voice studio? Let’s be sure we understand the anatomy and physiology of the child voice so we can adjust our expectations around vocal growth accordingly AND let’s get even better about structuring voice lessons around child development so their learning is both deep AND fun. 

Soon this class will be a stand-alone, self-directed mini-course – be sure to join the #voicepedrev(olution) mailing list to be the first to know when it’s ready!

Here’s what some of the #reallifevoiceteachers who have participated in past POPUP Voice Ped Classes have to say about them:

  • Engaging, Thorough, Truthful


    Erin Milley-Patey, Voice Teacher (Port Elgin, Canada)

  • Dr. Coates's wealth of information, warmth, and vivacious energy made this practicum an absolutely wonderful and enriching experience.


    Tatum D'Souza, Singer, Voice Teacher, Founder at The Vocal Studio (Mumbai, India)

  • I have always believed that understanding how young voices work from a physical and pedagogical point of view is extremely important, not only just for training solo voices but also for choral directors and school music teachers. It was an honour for Mississauga Childrens’ Choir to host a teachers' workshop with Dr. Shannon Coates as our guest clinician. Dr. Coates was such a dynamic presenter with lots of helpful information for our participants. It was especially interesting to me to discover what is reasonable to expect from young voices and why (from a physiological point of view) which will help me to select appropriate choral repertoire for my choristers. I would recommend Dr. Coates to anyone/organization who would like to learn more about how to teach/engage young voices. Thank you for being our guest clinician and we look forward to having you with us again soon!!"


    Jennifer Tung, Artistic Director at Mississauga Children's Choir (Mississauga, Canada)

  • Dr. Coates was such a dynamic presenter with lots of helpful information for our participants.


    Jennifer Tung, Artistic Director at Mississauga Children's Choir (Mississauga, Canada)

  • You've brought me full circle in my teaching, Shannon! I spent years teaching voice based solely on imagery (which was the way that voice was taught to me) and then I retired from classroom teaching and had the time to take some voice pedagogy courses.

    Suddenly, I felt like I had missed out on the past twenty years of research and was intimidated by all the voice teachers using what seemed like purely technical terminology to teach voice.

    Then I listen to you, and I see that, although you know all the anatomy and physiology and can teach it, you still stress the need to communicate to our students about feeling and imagery rather than getting too "sciencey". So, I take inspiration from that and am learning to combine the imagery with the technical terminology to facilitate the deeper learning of my students.

    Thank you for all that you do!


    Elspeth Maynard: Voice Teacher & (Retired) Classroom Educator (Windsor, Canada)

  • I am a singer and voice teacher from India and I primarily focus on training young voices. I look for opportunities to learn more and update myself in vocal pedagogy and techniques pertaining to children and I decided to attend Dr. Shannon Coates’ Voice Pedagogy Practicum - Child Voice. The course was fantastic and we all learnt soooo much. The knowledge sharing through Marco Polo with voice teachers from across the globe, daily interactions and ingenious ideas by everyone, the amazing session with the one and only Ms. Nikki Loney and last but not least the fabulous Dr. Coates’ with her wealth of information, warmth and vivacious energy made this an absolutely wonderful and enriching experience. Thank you so much


    Tatum D'Souza, Singer, Voice Teacher, Founder at The Vocal Studio (Mumbai, India)

  • I feel like you've brought me full circle in my teaching.


    Elspeth Maynard, Voice Teacher & Educator (Windsor, Canada)

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