comment: >
  
  I took lessons for bass and guitar. Same instructor, but those lessons were incredibly helpful. I felt like my ear got stronger, and my understanding of the instrument grew like crazy. I have never felt the same with my two singing instructors.
context: It's a vocal coaches job to impart you with technical ability, not necessarily with artistry. It's great to sing with emotion, but when the focus is on learning technique it can be beneficial to take that aspect out of it, as it can compensate for improper technique. You can always put it back in once you are comfortable with actually being able to sing. >
  
  They can also help prevent you from hurting yourself in the long run if you’re singing a lot. >
  
  Imagine going to an art teacher and saying you want to paint like Jackson Pollock. You don't start with throwing paint on a canvas. You'd need to learn proper technique before you can understand how to paint like he did. Even Pollock had to do that.
  It's the same with singing. If you want to be a better singer, you need to learn the fundamentals before you can understand how to diverge from them.
  The other thing to consider is that different vocal coaches specialise in different things. There's no point going to an opera teacher if you want to be a rock singer.
  If you want to sound like an untrained singer, you need one of 2 things - a unique and appealing voice that comes naturally, or a good vocal coach who will teach you how to use and control your instrument. >
  
  I've taken guitar and bass lessons before, running drills and listening exercises, and my instructor for both of these instruments specifically did not want me practicing music I was accustomed to so I could expand my palate. I fucking adored those lessons, and they turned me into a way, way better player than I was when I started. I feel like my singing classes have a less generous side to them. Maybe they're not the teachers I should be aligning with? >
  
  Maybe these teachers are not the right ones for you. But there are brilliant ones out there. >
  
  Maybe you didn't stay long enough? A musical skill like singing takes years to develop, especially if you are starting as an adult. If you only use a teacher for a few months before going to another, it's like restarting high school every few months and complaining why you haven't graduated yet. >
  
  
  I can hear when my teachers sing that they have power and range, that they can control their breathing, but both of these people's singing voices has been devoid of any emotion whatsoever. I fucking hated their singing. Hated it.
  
  Have you listened to any recordings these teachers have done? Bear in mind that when you go to someone for a voice lesson and they sing something for you, they are literally at their jobs, working. Yes, they are artists, but in the lesson you are a client and they are an educator. Demanding to hear "emotion" in someone's voice, if you can even define what that means, at their job is a bit ridiculous. They're not there to have some kind of emotional experience. They're just trying to show you a little breath control. Imagine demanding a barista put emotion into your latte art. Like...yeah, it's art, but it's also just tuesday afternoon at work and it's weird when customers expect you to be in a perpetual state of heightened emotion. 
  Also, bear in mind that it is not a voice teacher's job to get you to sound like someone you're not. Maybe you like malkmus' voice and that's, uh...fine, but you're not him. You're you. One reason you may sound bad when you sing is that you're trying to skip everything fundamental about singing and instead want to instantly sound like someone you're not. That's a fundamental difference between voice and instrument lessons. Anyone can play the guitar like any other guitar player, given enough skill and practice. But you cannot make yourself sound like someone with a different physiology. You can only learn how to make sounds in an artistic and healthy way with your own voice. >
  
  Some people have poor experiences with vocal coaches, other people have good ones. Essentially what you're saying could be said about any kind of teacher, and in every case it's the same; it just depends on who's teaching you.
  I've had a couple vocal coaches. The first one was alright, second one didn't help at all and the third was a strict, somewhat abrasive but talented and skilled classical singer/violinist who actually helped me learn to control and use my voice to some degree. I never sang classical, never cared for it. But under his instruction, I improved far more than with the others, even though they adapted to my preferred style and he didn't.
  Many famous singers (maybe even the vast majority these days) utilize vocal coaches. Even when you reach peak vocal proficiency, you need to learn to protect your voice. Vocal coaches/teachers are not a waste of time if you're serious about singing, you just need to find someone who you can work with. >
  
  I have two children, one could hold a note immediately, could pick out a tune on the piano without any training, the other struggles with singing, always sounds flat and off key, even though she does Piano lessons, cannot pick up a new tune as fast. I'm not usually one to push the some people are born to it cliche, but in the case of singing I think it's true.
  I have sung pretty much my whole life, I still suck at it, I know from recordings my voice sounds very different to what I hear. >
  
  
  Vocal Coaches/Teachers are a waste of time.
  
  You've encountered a total of two teachers that you, personally, did not gel with. That's not at all enough experience to draw such a broad conclusion. 
  And even if you consult every vocal coach in the city, and none of them are a good fit for what you want, that doesn't mean they're a waste of time generally, it might just mean they do not provide the service you are actually looking for. 
  You wouldn't conclude "plumbers are a waste of time" because two of them looked at your garden sprinklers and said they couldn't help with that kind of work. >
  
  Have you taken lessons for other instruments?