How Do You Know That What You Are Learning Is Worth Learning?

Sometimes we think we know all the facts. We’re certain those “facts” are indeed facts because, to gain access to them, we’ve had to jump over hurdles, negotiate selection processes and pay a lot of money to an institution or organisation. That can make it harder to question whether our voice training is evidence‑informed or simply traditional.

But does that automatically make the information any more valid? Any more reliable than something someone is offering for free? That question lies at the heart of evidence‑informed voice coaching and continuing professional development.

“I spent fifteen grand on that information…”

Recently I was working with a young performer who had just left post‑graduate training. After working together for about half an hour, the performer said:

“This goes against everything I thought I knew – and I spent fifteen grand on that information.”

It’s a confronting moment. Not because money spent is wasted – experience, colleagues, opportunities and skills all matter – but because it reminds us that cost and selectivity are not guarantees of accuracy.

Free knowledge, open knowledge, better knowledge

In many technological fields, free software and open sharing of knowledge are celebrated. They’re encouraged and seen as a way to move the field forward, as more people test, refine and build on what’s known. That benefits the people whose lives are improved by the technology and those who take inspiration from the discoveries and slingshot off into new territory.

The same principle can apply in voice and performance. Over the last few decades, research into vocal function has produced remarkable, sometimes game‑changing evidence about how healthy voices work. This newer information has generally been embraced by most of the scientific community and by many forward‑thinking clinicians who work with voice.

Crucially, the scientific community is, in principle, willing to change its mind when high‑quality research demands it. A previously strongly held understanding can be revised when new evidence with proven rigour emerges. The shift isn’t based on emotion; it’s based on data. Emotions are involved, of course – frustration when a colleague “gets there first”, or when we realise we’ve been looking in the wrong direction – but the mechanism for change is evidence, not sentiment.

Why creative industries can be slower to change

The creative industries are often slower to adopt a new point of view. There is a huge amount of emotion involved in performance. The disassociation between what we do as professional performers and who we are as people is complex.

We tend to feel that the work we create is us, so when it is dissected and critiqued, it can feel as though we are the ones being taken apart. We hold the information we received from our training (however recent) as gospel. We imbue this “technique” with enormous sentimentality.

This isn’t just true for current performers. It’s true for those who used to perform and now coach the next generation. But what if – like the young performer mentioned earlier – some of that information wasn’t entirely accurate? What if the person providing it didn’t actually know?

What would it be like if you were able to accept that a cherished piece of information was incomplete or outdated, and simply move on to the next, better‑supported understanding?

From flat earth to updated maps

If we all still believed the world was flat, we’d have a very limited view of what’s possible. Accepting that the world is spherical did not invalidate people’s entire lives; it gave them a more accurate map.

The same is true in voice and performance training. You can acknowledge that some things you were taught are no longer supported by current evidence, without needing to hate your previous teachers or throw away everything you learned.

(If you want to think more about how people can cling to outdated models, you might enjoy exploring the Flat Earth Society Homepage and Flat Earth Society Wiki – not as science, but as an example of how strongly humans can hold onto a belief.)

Continuing professional development and outdated methods

Continuing professional development is essential in every job. Yet there are areas of performance coaching that often go unchallenged. Singing and voice coaching are two of those fields where people can be trained and then continue teaching using arcane ideologies and methodologies – long after the science has moved on.

It’s the equivalent of using a quill and ink to write on papyrus rather than using a computer or smart device to send an email. You could do it. But why would you, if your aim is to communicate clearly, efficiently and in a way that fits the modern world?

We work with a wide range of voice users – from undergraduate performance students to CEOs of multinational companies. People often mention how they “used to have singing lessons”. When we probe a little deeper, we often ask:

What did you learn about your voice in your singing lesson?

It’s striking how often that question is greeted with a blank expression, or with a negatively framed answer: “I was told not to…” followed by a long list of prohibitions.

What we see as our responsibility

Both Gemma and I believe it is an essential part of our work as coaches, teachers, educators, performers and directors to keep our knowledge and practice at the forefront of new information in all related fields. For us, evidence‑informed voice coaching means continually testing our methods against current research and updating what we do when better information appears. That is especially true when it comes to:

Understanding the vocal mechanism (larynx).
Understanding its fuel source (breath).
Understanding the relationship between those systems in the production of sound.

Then comes the exciting bit: how we manipulate that sound into words, phrases, melody, inflection and intonation. How do we effectively and efficiently articulate the thoughts being generated inside our head? How do we perform a speech, a song, a poem? How do we manage – or make room for – the fight/flight/freeze response when standing in front of an assembled group?

These are not questions that can be answered once and for all. They are areas where evidence‑informed voice coaching and genuine curiosity need to work together over a lifetime.

If you’re curious about how this connects to vocal health more broadly, have a look at our Vocal Health: Looking After Your Voice article.

Is what you’re learning worth learning?

A few questions you might ask yourself about any current or future training:

Do I know why this works, beyond “because my teacher says so”?
Can my teacher connect what they’re asking me to do with what we know about anatomy, physiology, acoustics or learning – in language I can understand?
Are they open to new research and willing to update their approach, or is everything framed as immutable dogma?
Do I leave sessions knowing more about my voice and how it works, or just with a longer list of things I’m “not allowed” to do?

If you are interested in working with people who are committed to keeping their practice current and evidence‑informed, we’d love to hear from you.

If you’d like to attend a workshop or arrange 1‑to‑1 coaching, please contact us via our website: www.tempervox.co.uk or sign up to the newsletter to hear about upcoming opportunities.

Is Your Voice Training Worth It? Evidence‑Informed Voice Coaching and CPD