One thing that has always struck me as interesting about shows like American Idol and The Voice (moreso with the voice, because we get to see the coaching that the contestants receive) is the way that people talk about music ("It's a bit pitchy, dawg."). I always tell my students that music theory gives us a language that we can use to communicate efficiently about music. On the one hand, there isn't a whole lot of Schenkerian analysis happening on The Voice; on the other, they are somehow able to communicate what they intend. My argument would be that there is a more efficient way of doing it.
Having said that, I was at a masterclass the other day that featured a very well known bass pedagogue and some local university students. I was somewhat surprised by the kinds of things the master was asking the students to do: "Play this like you're in love;" "This needs to be more happy--play a 'happy' note for me."
What's most interesting to me: his suggestions worked. They effected immediate physical changes in the way the person approached the instrument. He could have just as easily said "Use a shorter bow stroke" or "Move the bow closer to the bridge and use a wider vibrato." But "Play it like you're in love" worked. That to me seems a rather efficient way of communicating quite a lot of technical information...