The Composition of a Voice Lesson: How a Motor Learning Classification Framework Affects Teacher Effectiveness

Abstract: In the author’s recent survey, sixty-two singers and teachers were asked: “What percentage of a voice lesson should be comprised of student singing?” The average response was 75 percent of the lesson. Yet a separate IRB-approved pilot study found that students sang, on average, 25 percent of the time in observed lessons. This suggests that there is a disconnect between teachers’ beliefs and what actually occurs. Yet there was a positive, strong correlation between the amount of time students sang and teachers’ self-rated effectiveness. These results imply that when students sing more, teachers feel a greater sense of effectiveness.