Vocal Coach – Australian Idol

Briyah Paley

Australian Idol vocal coach Erana Clark is something of an idol herself. New Zealand-born Clark has been singing since the age of four and had a No.1 single by the age of 14. She still sings professionally but for now her main focus is her job at Idol and the private students she coaches in her own home studio.

Clark was trained by her father, a musician, and didn’t study formally.
She believes it is important to gain experience in her field by approaching it the way she did when she was younger. “Television is a totally different level of discipline and it’s really tough,” she says.
Clark is also quick to point out that there is a difference between a vocal coach and a vocal teacher.

“As a coach, I don’t teach them how to sing, but I help maintain the game plan,” she says. “I prepare them vocally but also spiritually. It’s live television and the ordinary person can’t … imagine what it’s like.”

Clark says vocal coaching is a new field which has only come about as a career choice since reality programs such as Idol took off.
At her studio, she assists students with song-writing and recording as well as with performance technique.
“I’m coaching them through the writing and inspiration to actually delving into the way they feel,” she says.

“That’s what coaching is … connecting the singer with their soul and being able to draw that out of them.”

Students find her through Channel 10 and through her gigs around Sydney. Clark has weekly workshops with the top 12 Idol contestants, spending an hour with each singer.

She’s been with the show since it began, after being approached by the executive producer while she was coaching in Asia and America.
“It was fantastic because it meant I could come home to Australia and not have to be away all the time,” she says.

Clark has two children, a daughter in Year 11 and a son in Year 9. They think their mum has a very cool job and she suspects it won’t be long before they get involved in the business as well.
“It’s very rewarding. Just learning about it isn’t enough, you have to love it. You’re dealing with people’s dreams and emotions and sometimes … it doesn’t always work out the way you want it to,” she says.

How to be a vocal coach

 Qualifications: To be a vocal coach, it is necessary to have a strong background in musical performance.
The Sydney Conservatorium of Music offers a combined degree in Bachelor of Music Studies and Bachelor of Arts for musically and academically talented students aspiring to a professional career in music performance, composition, musicology or music education. It is taken over four years or eight semesters of full-time study or can be taken on a part-time basis.

Course description: Students in a Bachelor of Music Studies program need to select a unit of Principal Study that will consist of instrumental or vocal lessons as well as concert practice or small group study and chances to perform.

Assumed knowledge: To be admitted, students must pass an audition for instrument or voice (classical) presented before a panel at the Conservatorium so having talent in singing is recommended, as well as being able to read music.

Costs: The annual tuition fee for full-fee paying students commencing in undergraduate courses from 2008 will be approximately $18,480.

From the inside:
Australian Idol vocal coach Erana Clark started in her field after she was an established singer. She says there aren’t many vocal coaches because an overall knowledge of singing and performance is required and that can be hard to get.  “Go to a vocal teacher,” she says. “You have to be able to sing. And find some area where you’re learning about performance.”
More information: www.music.usyd.edu.au