Teaching the Art of Singing: Do You Have What It Takes To Be a Vocal Coach?
Written by Tom Cohen
Last updated · 7 min play time
Not everyone can sing, or at least sing well. There are some tricks to the trade, as this quiz will highlight. If you have a tone-deaf friend or spouse, ace this quiz to help them discover their inner singer.
Everyone has that friend who thinks they know how to sing and keeps saying "I should try out for American Idol." Well, singing is a skill like any other. Not everyone is born with the gift. To master it, you need patience, training, hard work, and a great vocal coach. And a shower with great acoustics.
In this quiz, we'll test how much you know about how singing and whether you have what it takes to be the next coach to the stars. Once you ace this quiz, you'll be able to help that friend realize his dream of becoming the next Kelly Clarkson.
Quiz written by
Tom CohenI'm a 3-time Emmy-winning game show producer, writer, director and published author. I dig traveling, watching hockey, photographing wildlife and exploring the cultural and social fabric of society.
DIY Vocal Coach Quiz Questions
20 Questions · 95 Plays · No comments
Question 1
Known as "Mama Jan," Jan Smith is one of the most famous vocal coaches around. Whose voice was she famously hired to guide through puberty?
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AShawn Mendes
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BNick Jonas
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CJustin Bieber
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D"Weird Al" Yankovic
Justin Bieber
Jan Smith helped Usher in the early 1990s and was brought on to help Bieber when his voice started struggling. In an article in The Guardian, Bieber was quoted as saying: "She has me doing vocal ... exercises regularly."
Question 2
For any singer looking to improve the quality of their sound, this question will resonate. Which of the following is NOT a form of vocal resonation?
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AChest
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BStomach
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CHead
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DNasal
Stomach
Vocal resonation refers to areas of the body where your sound can be altered depending on where it's resonating. The four main areas are head, mouth, chest, and nasal. The stomach isn't included.
Question 3
Any good vocal coach will explain that how fast your vocal cords vibrate is instrumental in determining your what?
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AStamina
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BVolume
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CPitch
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DRhythm
Pitch
Pitch is all about how quickly your vocal cords vibrate. When seeing in your upper register, you're making your vocal cords vibrate more quickly. The slower they go, the lower your pitch.
Question 4
For better or for worse, the celebrity mentors on the series The Voice have become symbols of what vocal coaches do. Which of the following singers has served as a coach on the show?
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AMiley Cyrus
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BJohn Mayer
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CHarry Styles
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D"Weird Al" Yankovic
Miley Cyrus
In seasons 11 and 13, Miley was one of the coaches on <i>The Voice</i>. While she was always very invested in her contestants, critics lambasted her for making bad song choices for them.
Question 5
As Simon Cowell would say: "it's all about song choice." About how many octaves does a typical song cover?
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AOne-half
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BJust five notes
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CThree
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DOne and one-half
One and one-half
Most songs fall into the 1 1/2 octave range, including classical, pop, rock, musical theatre or folk. You'd be hard pressed to find a song that covers only 5 notes, maybe "Mary Had a Little Lamb"?
Question 6
Understanding your anatomy can help you become a better singer. While they're more commonly called "vocal cords," they are more accurately what?
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AVocal pools
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BVocal ridges
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CVocal folds
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DVocal clips
Vocal folds
The stretchy fibrous tissue inside the larynx which we call “vocal cords" vibrate as you breathe air out over them. But they're not really cords, they're more like “folds” of skin.
Question 7
If you don't start with the basics, you can't learn to sing. What specific part of a person's anatomy is known as the "glottic chink"?
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AA small airway in the nostril
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BIt's another word for the larynx
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COpening between vocal cords
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DNotch in the diaphragm
Opening between vocal cords
Another name for the airway at the level of the vocal cords is the glottis, and the opening between the cords is called the glottic chink. The size of the glottic chink is important in respiration and phonation.
Question 8
As laid out by Voices.com, which of the following is NOT a good way to protect your voice from getting damaged?
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AAvoid smoke
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BGo fragrance-free
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CWear a scarf
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DDrink carbonated beverages
Drink carbonated beverages
Carbonated beverages are actually bad for your voice, as they contain carbonic acid, a weak chemical that is said to trigger nerve receptors in your mouth. This type of irritation could affect your voice and tone when you sing.
Question 9
To help a singer hit a convincing high note, a vocal coach might steer them to a combination of a chest voice and a head voice. What is this voice called?
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ADouble voice
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BBetween voice
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CThe sweet spot voice
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DMix voice
Mix voice
A mix voice is a convincing combo of the head voice (falsetto) and the chest voice, which is typically deeper. When employed correctly, singers can hit impressive high notes without screaming in their chest voice. It's a win-win for singers and the audience.
Question 10
A good coach will tell you that your diet can affect the quality of your singing. According to Soundfly.com, which of the following is acceptable for a singer to eat before he or she sings?
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ACaffeine
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BDairy products
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CNuts
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DFried foods
Nuts
All vocal coaches agree that fish, chicken, and nuts are great foods to eat to help you sing better. Clean proteins are the best, while caffeine, sugar, fried foods, and alcohol are discouraged. Pretty much anything healthy is good, anything unhealthy is bad. Kind of like in life.
Question 11
When men sing, they can be in one of four ranges - bass, baritone, tenor, or alto. Which of the four is the "average" range for a male singer?
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ABaritone
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BBass
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CTenor
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DAlto
Baritone
The baritone range is usually between the second G below middle C and the G above middle C. As you can see, it's right in the "middle". Some examples of baritone singers include Bruce Springsteen and Neil Diamond.
Question 12
One technique your vocal coach might suggest is that you lower your larynx and increase space in your pharynx. What does this do to the sound of your voice?
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AIncreases vibrato
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BMakes you sound like Michael Jackson
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CMakes you sing louder
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DDarkens your tone
Darkens your tone
A website called The Naked Vocalist describes it this way: "For singers who have an uncontrollable habit of a raising larynx with a raising pitch, the lowered larynx is also useful to break this habit and generate some stability and independence in the larynx."
Question 13
The best coaches teach their clients how to read sheet music and about music theory. If you're singing in the key of C major, how many sharps or flats does it have?
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A0
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B1
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C3
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D7
0
C Major is one of the most common and pleasing key signatures in Western Music, with zero sharps and zero flats. One of the most famous pieces of music in C Major is John Lennon's "Imagine".
Question 14
To quote the Beach Boys, it's all about "good vibrations". About how many times per second do a soprano's vocal cords vibrate when she's belting out a "high C"?
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A5000
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B100
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C1000
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D1 million
1000
As described by Mental Floss: "The vibration of your vocal cords being 'blown' apart and then 'sucked' back together repeats hundreds and even thousands of times per second, producing voice. So about 1000 vibrations per second would produce that distinct high C in the soprano range."
Question 15
As with anything, practice makes perfect. Which of these techniques do most vocal coaches agree is recommended for people who want to learn to sing?
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ASing as loud as you can
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BPractice in front of audience
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CCopy a singer you like, not specific songs
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DAlways sing into a microphone
Copy a singer you like, not specific songs
Almost every great singer found their style in same way: by copying their heroes. You know your voice, you know what you sound like, so finding a match can help you learn more quickly and successfully. Just because you like a song doesn't mean it's right for your voice.
Question 16
According to the School of Rock website, one of the best ways for a singer to warm up is a technique called "Yawn" what?
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AYell
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BSigh
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CYodel
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DWeep
Sigh
In the "Yawn-Sigh" technique, a singer simply yawns by taking in air with their mouth closed. Then they exhale through their nose as if you are sighing. Apparently this helps warm up the vocal cords. Going ahead; try it.
Question 17
As seen in The Sound of Music, what is the term for the method of assigning syllables to notes, as in "do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do" to make sight singing easier?
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ASuffrage
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BSonessence
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CSufjan
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DSolfege
Solfege
Solfege comes from the French language, and is a music education method used to teach aural skills, pitch and sight-reading of Western music. The most famous example is from the scene in <i>Sound of Music</i> where Julie Andrews is teaching the Von Trapp kids how to sing.
Question 18
Seth Riggs is one of the most famous vocal coaches of all-time, having taught Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder. What type of singing is Riggs famous for trademarking?
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AStutter Singing
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BFalsetto Singing
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CSpeech Level Singing
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DSinging in the Rain
Speech Level Singing
Riggs realized that when you speak, there is no tension or manipulation in your voice because your motive is to communicate with others. He believed the same should be true about singing.
Question 19
We all know about bass, alto, tenor, and soprano, But only the truly educated singer can pull off "coloratura soprano," which is what?
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AIt's nothing - we made it up!
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BA soprano who sings higher than normal
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CA soprano who uses runs, leaps, and trills
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DThe cousin of Tony on The Sopranos
A soprano who uses runs, leaps, and trills
A coloratura soprano is a staple of very high-end opera singing, in which the lead voice uses elaborate and complicated runs, trills, and other tricks to sound fancy. It requires skill and years of training.
Question 20
William Hung proved that even if you're pretty much tone deaf, you can still make waves in the music industry. What is the scientific name for "tone deafness"?
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ATonal amorphia
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BAmusia
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CTonapathy
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DMelody lackadasica
Amusia
Amusia is defined as "the inability to recognize musical tones or to reproduce them." Amusia can be congenital (present at birth) or be acquired sometime later in life. Studies have determined that only about 4% of the population is truly totally tone deaf.
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