Applications Legit/ Mix 16. # 7 Sustained 'ooh' to 'oh'/Octave Scale 17. #8 Sustained. Take your time mastering the techniques as well. Just because you have listened to a lesson once. Brett Manning has been teaching voice for over fifteen years.
So, I finally bought Thomas Appell’s Can you Sing a High C without straining. I was dying to listen to this. As you may have guessed, I am all for range extention and anything relating to this appeals greatly to me. This program is supposed to make you hit a tenor high c (males) or a soprano high c (females) without any strain. I yet have to do it routinely and decide its worth but I’ll just summarise what is in it. I purchased the download version which is around $24.95. It comes with pretty large files that can be downloaded within ten – fifteen days.
There is a.zip file which contains two books- Can you sing a high C and Never get a cold and three folders with mp3 audio files- Secrets to successful speaking, Can you sing a high c vocal exercises and vocal examples. It also comes with a 1.58 gb and 1.8. Gb video of male and female demonstrations. The smaller one is the female video. I yet have to download this because my internet is so incredibly slow these days. As for the main part (the.zip file), the book is around 180 mb (that’s quite a lot for a pdf file). I did not find it to be as useful as I imagined.
There is a lot of infromation but it is very technical and not written in an accessible style. I am another one for ‘easy to understand’, ‘beginner friendly’ and accessible material. I recognize all the exercises from Jaime Vendera’s program (which is quite similar). There is a ‘eh’ exercise to be done in falsetto to increase falsetto range.
It is followed by a ‘nah’ with similar purposes. Two vibrato exercises are also there.
As for me, these are the most effective and hard to mess up part of the program. Other exercises get time to get used to and show results slowly (I am hoping) but these show results almost instantly. There is another exercise for extending full voice. The last exercise is a crescendo exercise also called transencing tone, messa di voce etc. I like the fact that there are only a few concentrated exercises which take less than twenty minutes.
I think (just my opinion) that this should work well with Jim Gillette’s Vocal Power. The speech exercises are all scales on various vowels. They are helpful for warm up. As for my first impression, I really didn’t feel anything breakthrough about it.
I have come across ‘support’ in various books and programs but this book explains it the best and I was fully able to grasp it. However, just pushing from the stomach pushes out excess air and the vocal chords fo furthur apart.To make the use of it, it has to be followed up with a ‘grunt’ resists the excess airflow.
I could not grasp this part fully. Also, adducting, abducting are a little vague. They look nice in theory but Thomas has not given enough info on how to put these into practice. This book has the exact same weakness I feared it would have- lack of application oriented teaching. Even though SLS is not scientific (in teaching not in technique) and I am not even a fan of it, I have to say the reason for its success is that is is application friendly.
It’s just about learning the exercises and repeating them again and again till you perfect them. Thomas’s book requires a lot more understanding and is not written from the viewpoint of doing the exercises correctly but rather as a manual for understanding vocal mechanism. I don’t know how easy it is to learn this way. The book makes private lessons with him kind of mandatory because it leaves gaps in understanding.
The range, the very thing it concentrates on is a little lacking. Males and females sing in the same rnage (all upto soprano high c) which is strange. Aren’t women supposed to sing higher? For females, notes above the high c go in whistle voice and it would’ve been better if he had expanded a little more on this. For males, the range goes up till a soprano high c which is more than most men will ever sing in their lives but for women, there are Mariah Careys and Minnie Ripertons whistling out there so, whistle register definitely gives a competitive edge.
These are only first impressions and may change with time but I just wanted to clear up the suspense (Maybe I’m the only one who is curious). I get the feeling that most rock programs are aimed at men and don’t cover as much range and explanation for the female voice (I might be wrong and I hope I am). Well, I’ll write a proper review after a month or so of doing this program.
I’m going to be very busy this year so, reviews might be infrequent. So, I have lots of free time on my hand today and decided to catch up on all that I missed. I am reviewing a few books I tried over the last few months and will give you a hint of the exercises in them so that you can judge if the book is good or not. I will also rate it according to my opinion. I try to rate every book from a beginner’s perspective because when you read a new book you’re new to it so, you’re a beginner.
Singing for Dummies- This is no dummies stuff. The book is wonderful and detailed and so is the CD. However, unlike other basic vocal training programs, this covers a lot of advanced concepts (at least gets you started on those). The only complaint I have is that all the singers sound very operatic and professional which could be intimidating for a beginner. However, the 60+ tracks have a lot of stuff (and exercises) in them. There are exercises for chest voice, head voice, middle voice, whistle register, belt voice, articulation, breathing and many more.
Belt and Whistle exercises are quite hard to find so, this can be a good beginner’s resource. The belt exercises are mostly the pharyngeal nyahs and talking. The whistle exercise is not really beginner friendly or easy to do but okay for seasoned pros. The workouts are hard to follow.
Anyway, if you’re even an intermediate or advanced singer, you can learn lots from this book. 3.5/5 Singing Voice Lesson series- This is created by Shelley Kristen, a gospel singer.
I know gospel sounds boring but all the great talents were gospel trained so, this method is a great one to work with, There are two parts to it. You can either buy the foundations 2 CD course which I absolutely recommend for beginners and anyone who is not acquainted with this method. There’s the work out and warm ups CD too which pretty much build up on the foundations vocalises. The 2CD course is enough for anyone.
In fact, I recommend it over the other 2 CDs. It has an explanation of Shelley’s ‘mask placement’ method which is the foundation of proper singing and the light at the end of the tunnel for those looking for salvation from stress, lack of power and limited range. This will make you a good singer instantly if followed properly.
Of course, keep practicing for making the results permanent. The exercises are pretty common- humming, lip bubbles, nays, mee, mee may mah mo mu, ng, hey you-yelling etc. However, awareness of breathing and placement make these exercises more effective than your usual SLS ones and this is quite different in terms of power and range. The exercises go upto high C and beyond so there’s lot of space to apply this new knowledge. This is not the end of the world and belting, screaming and other advanced techniques need to be learned after this for a seasoned pro but this programs is two steps in the right direction. It completely kills stress, throat singing, dull resonance, gasping for breath and all the bad habits and replaces them with a free throat, lots of confidence and power. For beginners- this is it.
Well, let’s talk about the other two cds- the total work out and warm up now. The exercises are pretty much copied and tracks are shorter due to less instruction. Buy this only when you’ve one the exercises correctly for more than a month or two. The additional exercises are not extra helpful, frankly and the range is not extended either. The added exercises in the work out can be heard on the samples on her website- a variation of hey you, ma may me mo mu, eay, yeah, weay are pretty much the new ones.
The warm up is great too but the foundations warm up was long enough, as it is and you don’t need to warm up for an hour with this. The exercises are wonderful though only if you know the mask placement that Shelley often emphasizes. I praise it so heavily because I was at the rock bottom of singing with swollen vocal chords and no confidence when I downloaded this and thought that this is just another one of those SLS influenced programs that never seem to work. But I was wrong. The first time I did it, I knew it that this was the beginning of a new life for me. I could it that high C without any strain and middle and head voice flowed without effort.
I had never known such a feeling of elation and freedom. SLS frowns upon mask placement and all that’s related to it like support but this method works much better for me perhaps because Shelley explains it better. Again, this might not work for everyone but it is definitely worth a try. Right now as of March 22nd, 2012, it is going on a 60% sale in her website with additional $5 off if you like their page on facebook. Don’t miss this golden opportunity to purchase this program.
Let’s get to the drawbacks. I seem to find flaws in everything. Even this wonderful programs may have a few drawbacks. One is lack of consistency. The problem with the placement method is that you don’t feel the same placement everyday or at least not that easily everyday. That’s why lots of coaches say that you should go by feeling. Anyway, for a beginner, keeping this up is difficult.
Second, the exercises are all the standard ones. For a pro, these might hardly have any effect. This is stuff all the pros know and have internalized.
This program is basic- both it’s biggest strength and weakness. Since I will review everything from a beginner’s view, this is good. Overall, definitely worth a try. I have summarised all the contents so you can judge for yourself. From my side, this will be my number one recommendation to any beginner and even advanced singer struggling with strain. If there’s a light at the end of the tunnel- this has got to be it! 4.5/5 Roger Love- Any book- Specifically Set your Voice Free- Roger Love is a great guy.
I’ve never been to him but that’s the impression his book gives me. I did a small review on the previous post but I’m expanding now since I have the time. All his books contain the same chapters in different order. He begins with diaphragmatic breathing which is basically expanding your belly life a balloon and breathing through the nose. He then goes on to the most elusive part of the voice and they key to the success of his method- the middle voice.
He explains this and devotes a whole chapter in every book (even more than two in some) to explain the working and how to achieve a great middle voice. He demonstrates the chest, middle and head voice though the middle voice sounds quite weak. He means mix and middle as same but to me, the mix in Seth Riggs and Brett Manning’s works sounds much more powerful than Love’s middle voice which doesn’t sound magical in the least.
It is not powerful- sounds like a lower head voice to me than a higher chest voice (which is more powerful) but it magically stitches together your voice that is in pieces. It helps in bridging which is a problem area for most singers. He makes sure that you achieve the middle voice if you ever shelled out money on purchasing his books- and that means much more than Brett Manning’s money back guarantees. The basic difference between Love and other SLS people is that he makes everything very simple and achievable. Listening to singers in mix on SS other sls programs is intimidating but when Roger gives you the tricks to achieve it, it suddenly seems to lift the veil of mystery from singing. That’s his greatest asset as a teacher. He doesn’t talk in terms of bridges, passagio, mix, head etc.
He talks in terms of the magical sound of middle- the magic that all our singing dreams are built of. He offers a promise, a hope that he will take you beyond your current state and lead you into a much better world. Singing is not only physical but psychological and spiritual too.
Love taps on this well. I think he’s pretty good. He keeps the exercises limited and allows you to focus your energy on achieving your mix through repetition of these exercises rather than overwhelming the beginner with thousands of exercises. He guarantees you three octaves of range with no break and vibrato- though I very much doubt that three octave range part. The exercises fyi are all the typical sls ones- goog, gug, moom,mum,no,nay,nah yeahthat’s pretty much it in all his books.These exercises are there in one octave, one and half octaves and octave skip patterns in each of his books.
Trust me, if you’ve got one of his books, you’ve got it all. The exercises are ditto without the slightest variation. In singing like the stars, it is a 22 minute long warm up track and in Set your voice free, it is broken up but the exercises are the same. I would recommend Singing for the stars for kids with short attention spans and singers who are just focused on the exercises and not the theory and psychological aspect. For people looking for a little more depth, Set your voice free is better. It tackles speaking as well. His books have sold millions and every person who speaks or sings should at least do this as a part of their daily workout.
Now let’s get to the criticisms. Are there any drawbacks to this fabulous program? Yes there are. As long as I exist, faults will exist in everything. The first problem is that is is very basic. Even more basic than Shelley Kristen’s stuff- that seems so advanced compared to this. My biggest complaint is that Roger never let’s us go into the head voice except one note in one exercise that too only on Singing for the stars.
This allows scope only for the bridging of the first passagio and when we get to the second passagio which is much more difficult to tackle than the first, there’s no support. Love emphasizes the middle voice endlessly, I feel at the cost of head voice.
He thinks of it as advanced stuff. For men, it might be, but for a woman (I am one, by the way), head voice is very important. For women, most of their range lies in head voice register and leaving that is a demerit of this program. To take a zoom out view, I would say range expansion is left out in the program.
The exercises are not three octaves because the second bridge would definitely be there if it were. It is encouraging to know you can hit all the notes but not so encouraging to know it is at the cost of range expansion (not exactly cost). The books are strictly for beginners. Also, the middle voice is not as powerful as he makes it seem. You’ll see this when he sings the three songs (beautiful, don’t know why and one usher song which I can’t seem to remember) in Singing like the stars.
Overall, this program does what it intended to do- get you started on singing and give you at least two octaves of range with vibrato and middle voice. This is for everyone not just superstar aspirants. That’s how I think Roger Love felt while creating this program- he envisioned one in everyone’s home. Everyone speaks so, everyone needs Love’s program- that’s what he thought maybe (I am only guessing).
The exercises are only warm ups remember and not everything you need to become a pro but it will establish a base for a decent range, stress free singing and end your frustrations.Roger Love has trained greats so in these exercises lies the foundation of greatness. 4/5 Jim Gillette- Vocal Power- I’ve already been writing for two hours and this is the last one I’ll review. Jim Gillette is again, very approachable and a great teacher- more than he gets credit for. Many people make the mistake of thinking that a person with a music degree and large client roster is the greatest coach but Jim will prove you wrong if you’re one of those who thinks so. He’s like a friend- probably the best and most famous one you have.
He makes singing fun and easy. He emphasizes hard work endlessly which is the key to success no matter what field you’re in. This program is unique because it teaches you how to sing using operatic exercises. For those looking for growl and scream exercises, this is a disappointment but it compensates for that with Jim’s entertaining teaching and effective exercises. I have the video without the practice guide so I’ll say the clips that are played in between can become very annoying- but endure this because this program is much more than that. There are around fourteen exercises. I’ll write them down if your recognize but I really didn’t know any of these- ee, miner maein, yah, zee lee maein, ze ay oh ah ay ay lay maein and some really long ones which I can’t comprehend.
The thing that’s important is like Shelley Kristen, he tells you how to perform each exercise. The mouth position, the breathing, posture- everything is taught so that you can’t do it wrong. He emphasizes head voice a lot because it is the base of all screaming. He indirectly teaches the mask placement though the focus is heavily on head voice. Jim Gillette has an infinite range so this program concentrates on developing range. That’s what I love the most about this program. The first time I did this, I felt no strain and I was hitting notes that I didn’t even know existed in my body.
Although the ee mouth posture takes it toll in terms of over-active diagrastic muscles after some time, for a beginner or an injured vocalist who just wants to keep up with one or two heavy demands, this is great. I say again, the greatest asset of this program is the range expansion. I will disagree with those who say it makes the voice more powerful. It makes the voice free and adds range but not power. Head voice can hardly be called powerful and that’s what he emphasizes most of the time. He doesn’t need belting maybe because he screams.
He teaches a ‘secret’ scream exercise in the end which those doing RYV will be familiar with as transcending tone and opera singers know it as messa di voce. Since he was trained in opera, this was it. Jim answers a few questions in the end that might be helpful.
There are only fourteen exercises but they’re great. Okay, weaknesses- the jaw hurts sometimes after the exercises because the position is so artificial and forced.
Number two- This is strictly for serious singers. In this way (and range way), it is completely opposite to Roger Love’s work. You need lots of determination and courage to do these funny exercises day after day, night after night to gain a better voice. Never give up and you’ll definitely gain a much wider range than you ever thought possible. Another weakness is that he points out the diaphragm but never teaches how to use it for support.
He just says support from here but what is that supposed to mean? Pushing it in doesn’t help.
The program also lacks in the belting and screaming department. After that last exercise I could’t help asking “Nice, but how do I SCREAM?” Wider range doesn’t necessarily mean more power (though that’s the title.).
Overall, despite its faults, it is a great program for beginners as well as advanced singers which points out the universal appeal of this great program. It does not go into anatomy and physiology but gets straight to the point with effective exercises to increase range. This is not for a vocal coach but an aspiring serious singer with professional dreams (hint: the blog’s title). It teaches you how to sing better now how your voice hypothetically works or the function and anatomy of vocal chords, larynx, diaphragm etc. Jim also gives advice on diet. One usually thinks a rock star’s life is hard drugs, alcohol and fun parties but Jim proves us wrong with his advice ‘and that means no alcohol, no smoking and no drugs’.
A great rockstar is more than drugs and alcohol- He/she is the one who has the courage to sacrifice everything for their dream-Jim teaches us this. This makes me respect him a lot. Jim’s easy teaching style and the range increasing exercises make this program a great one- one that you’ll look back to someday when you’re a great singer and say “That’s the program that got me started.” 4.5/5 Phew! This has become quite a long post but if it helps anyone, I am fine with it. These are my opinions based on what works for me so it might vary from others. I still want to try the following so if someone has it, please send it over to me so that I can offer a helpful review: 1) Thomas Appell- Can you sing a high c without straining 2) Christin Bonin- Belt Voice Training 3) Bettina Sheppard- The everything singing book (something like that) 4) Darlene Koldenhoven- Tune your Voice 5) Judy Clark-Vocal Gymnastics 6) Any book book by Breck Alan or Jeffery Allen Disclaimer: These reviews are my personal opinion. Please don’t write rude comments and ruin my day.
So, I have been trying out various programs for rock singing and here are some of my top favourites. 1.) Roger Kain- The Complete Vocal Workout- This man has trained many famous british singers in the rock and pop scene. His book is very comprehensive and worth every penny.
It is around $20 and contains two CDs and a 150 page book with a lifetime of information. If done correctly, these exercises WILL make you a pro rock singer with good screaming skills and an amazing range. However, the exercises have to be really loud and are defninitely not recommended for beginners. This can’t be downloaded online anywhere so, even I had to order it. But it’s really worth the money and this defninitely looks like Mariah Carey’s or Skin (Skunk Anansie)’s daily workout. 2) Melissa Cross- The Zen of Screaming- This one is pretty good despite half of it being an infomercial for Melissa Cross.
She really has some solid techniques that have trained heavy metal legends. However, I would advise buying the scream extra and warm ups cd to go with this otherwise practicing the acquired skills systematically becomes difficult. The DVD is pretty good though a little vague at some places. TZOS 2 concentrates totally on screaming but this one should be mastered before moving onto that. I personally liked TZOS 1 better than 2. 3) Jim Gillette- Vocal Power- These exercises are great for beginners to pros. Jim Gillette has a nice approachable style of teaching that it straight to the point minus the nonsense.
I love how he condenses exercises and makes them simple and approachable so that anyone can do it right and benefit from it. This is the stepping stone for every rock vocalist and should not be missed. That’s all for now. Those are my top 3. I know there are lots of other great programs out there like Raise your voice, Breaking the Chains, Can you sing high C without straining?
But I can’t vouch for these because I haven’t tried them yet. I got RYV but didn’t like it. It is not as approachable. I want to try can you sing high c but can’t seem to get it anywhere.
I have been doing some other great programs and books too and I an just including a mini review in this post. Roger Love- Set Your Voice Free- This is done by vocal coach to the celebrities Roger Love and is very very popular in USA. It contains one book and a CD and I think can be downloaded on ebookee and bought almost anywhere. Personally I think this is where every singer irrespective of genre should begin. Though he brags a little (nowhere near Melissa Cross though), he is really great at work. It has more stuff than plugs and is a condensed alternative to ALL the speech level programs in the market.
I have made a rather strong statement but I truly belive it. While all the others may be comprehensive, this is much easier to udnerstand, more focused and gets all the work done in less time. With this book, you see improvements pretty fast but persevere for at least three weeks and more to make it permanent. I like Love’s appraoch better than all other SLS coaches. Denna Murrray- Vocal Strength and power- This is really in between.
I didn’t benefit much from it, very frankly. It is more or less about breath support and uses classical concepts. I found it fine but nothing great and didn’t add another milestone in my vocal journey.
Anne Peckham- All books and DVDs- Frankly, I didn’t like her books. I bought one and was completely confused what to do because she talks about breathing and nothing else.
The DVD was much more helpful than the CDs and explained things more clearly. However, I find these better for a Berkleee method trained singer’s workout retaher than someone who wants to learn this method.
Vocal Master Class- Renee Grant Williams- I finally tried this out. It is good for a basic introduction of Renee’s method but very very basic. It can be applied instantly to exercises and songs but breathing might take some time to master. An easy skip. Complete Vocal Technique- Katrin Sadolin- Lovely theory, but no exercises to achieve those concepts. Shelley Kristen- Foundations 2CD set- I loved this.
It helps one palce the voice in the mask that instantly increases range and frees the throat. This is a must buy for any beginner not wanting to follow the SLS path. Mask palcement and proper breathing taught in an appoachable and easy-to-understand way in this program will have you beginning your vocal journey to a pro in no time. Comprehensive enough to expand range, make you a decent singer and give some performance tips.
I will recommend this. Programs I want to try: 1) Can you Sing high c without straining- Thomas Appell 2) Singing for Dummes- Pamelia S Phillips 3) Belt Voice Training- Christin Bonin 4) Dena Murray- Advanced Vocal Technique. Until then, goodbye and happy singing! Do you dream of learning music from the top vocal coaches in the world but live far away? Or you can’t seem to do the exercises right and need some help?
The good news is: Many vocal coaches offer skype lessons to people all over the world. I have compiled a list of top vocal coaches as well as affordable ones below: Lisa Popeil: She charges $75 for half an hour and $150 for an hour. It is a little expensive but those who want the best teacher can try this one out.
If you don’t have too much finds, go for half an hour lesson. Brett Manning Brett Manning and most of his associates are available for skype lessons though they charge exorbitant fees. Helen Monks Here is the answer for those looking for cheap vocal tuition. Helen Monks is a UK based speech level instructor.
She even offers taster lessons for free! Jeannie Deva Jeannie Deva’s contemporary vocalist is a superb vocal instruction program which can be bought on her site. She passe d out from Berklee and offers vocal lessons at $50 for half an hour. The site doesn’t seem to contain any one hour lessons options. Ariella Vaccarino She specialises in opera and has made a series of singing tapes for opera singers. However, her singing lessons consist mostly of vocal assesments.
Richard Fink Check out his site. Renee Grant Williams She’s the superstar vocal coach of singers Christina Aguilera, Faith Hill, Tim Mcgraw, Martina Mcbride etc.
Vocal lessons with Renee are expensive. Also, she gives lessons only through telephone and not skype which could lead to additional costs. But it is worth the trouble if she helps you develop a voice like one of her celebrity clients. Thomas Appell Charge is around $115 an hour. And finally, free lessons Mnay of you might be thinking, “It would be wonderful if skype lessons were free.” Well, your wish just came true.
Some people in the skype community put up offers for free lessons. Keep checking the skype site for this. Here’s one such person who teaches opera. So now, it is time for the jumbo article on writing resources. If you read the article on singing resources, you might have an idea how big this is going to turn out. In writing, unlike singing, the resources will focus on publication and marketing over teaching to write.
I will of course add some important writing resources which cover writing techniques but writing generally doesn’t require the rigorous training that singing does. Here are a few sites to get you started: Fiction factor: This site covers everything from beginning a novel to writing it, plotting and publishing. Its sister sites can be very helpful to genre writers.
Writing.com An online community of aspiring writers where you can get your work reviewed, critiqued and participate in competitions. It requires membership though. Inkpop/ Authonomy Both these sites are manager by Harper Collins.
They choose a manuscript from these sites for publication based on its ratings. If you think your work ought to be published but don’t have any high profile contacts, posting on these sites might help.
Wattpad One of the most convinient and fabulous resources avaiable to amateur writers who don’t want to follow strict novel structures or don’t have the time and patience to write and edit a full length novel. Wattpad is the largest e book community where members post their works and other people read them.
It is much like mahou no i land in the japanese scene. Textnovel.com, another similar site offer these services for those who read cell phone novels. Smashwords.com This is a site where writers can publish, price and sell their e books. Books Here are a few books that are a must for published as well as aspiring authors (I have included links to buy them): John Kremer’s 1001 ways to market your book Writer’s market Plot and Structure That’s all for now.
Drop any comments and suggestions. A cute anime pic to inspire you Hello again, I this post, I have tried to list a comprehensive list of sources from where you can download singing programs such as Singing success, mastering mix, singing for the stars, vocal release, sing with freedom, zen of screaming and many more. Remember, these downloads are illegal and download at your own risk. Also, if you happen to like any of these, patronise the creator by buying it from amazon or other retail sites. For those who plan on buying the programs, there are links at the end of the post.
Since this site is for the pros, I should assume that you have already had good training. However, singing is one field where there always room for improvement. This article examines only audio or video based voice guidance programs. I will write another article for marketing and publishing aspects of music.
Till then, enjoy and don’t forget to add comments. If you have any other program in mind, drop a comment.
Singing Success, Mastering Mix and Mastering Vibrato Brett Manning’s programs focus on speech level singing which is the secret to the fabulous voices of countless grammy winners. Invented by Seth Riggs, this method has gained widespread popularity. All these three programs have been known to yield great results.
Try to judge by your won standards. These are available on Singing Success online. Mini review: A good way to kick start your training. While all the exercises are useful, it is very very important to do them correctly. Speech level emphasizes on eliminating strain and smoothing breaks. Some exercises are difficult to do right (especially on the higher octaves) but the singer should be relaxed and not involve swallowing muscles at all times.
Mastering mix is strictly for advanced singers who have completed Singing Success. Mastering mix is wonderful in one word. It is much more effective than Singing Success in my opinion. Mix is used by almost all commercial singers. Mastering vibrato is Brett Manning’s sure shot way to develop vibrato. I haven’t finished it yet but so far, so good. Sing with Freedom After doing Singing Success, you might probably have realized the importance of doing the exercises without strain.
If you’re still having trouble with relaxing, try this one out. Mini review: Sing with freedom helps a lot in eliminating strain. Most exercises are simple with limited pitches which allow you to relax. However, it is not as comprehensive as Singing Success and needs companion programs to derive maximum benefit. This no strain technique cannot be applied to songs directly. It needs to applied to speech level exercises which are applied in songs.
Frankly speaking, I have never tried this one out so, no mini review for this one. I have however, tried her Born to Sing which combines classical and contemporary singing.
The program teaches you bleating and not singing but not before long, you begin to relaize that bleating helps a lot in singing. Again, being relaxed is the key. The Zen of Screaming For all you die hard rock and heavy metal fans, this is THE program.
Melissa Cross, a world famous vocal coach teaches the basics of screaming and singing correctly which are expanded in the Zen of Screaming 2. Mini review- The Singing exercises are very useful. The bonus screaming and warm up CDs are great too. What is not so great is that half of the program is an advertisement commercial. But these parts can be skipped for the greater benefit that the exercises offer.
Using Melissa Cross’ method to sing and scream is very effective. Zen of Screaming 2 is required to expand the knowledge of screaming. This program is incomplete on its own. Singing for the stars If you already purchased Singing Success or other speech level programs, this isn’t very useful. It repeats the exercises of Singing success. I made the mistake of buying this one after that. The whole program is available on You Tube.
Mini review- Seth Riggs teaches better than Brett Manning. Some exercises are challenging but with his instruction, most are easier.
The program’s one con is that it is not comprehensive. The workbook is filled with praises of Seth Riggs. Singing for Dummies This is a book published in the ‘For dummies’ series.
It mostly explains the technical aspects with a few useful vocal exercises. I haven’t tried this one either so, no mini review. Sing like a star Basic speech level exercises. Mini Review: Similar to other speech level programs. Voice lessons to go For those looking for advanced vocal exerices, here is the answer. Ariella Vaccarino, an ex opera singer teaches opera singing. Mini review- Great exercises for advanced singers.
Do not attempt if you have not learnt basics of singing opera or it could damage your voice. The breathing exercises are great for any level of singer. Most exercises are really hard and the program is (I am saying it again) for advanced singers. Contemporary singers probably won’t benefit much from it since the program focuses on teaching opera.
A great program, nevertheless. Vocal Master Class Renee Grant Williams is the world famous killer coach of Christina Aguilera, Tim Mcgraw, Faith Hill and many others. I have heard that the DVD is great for warm up and basics.
I haven’t tried it yet so again, no mini review. Vocal Coach series Chris and Carol Beatty are renowned gospel coaches who have devised their range of vocal programs to help struggling singers who can’t afford expensive vocal tution. Mini review- I have tried all three. Breathing is the most effective.
Expanding range has very few useful exercises. Warm up is a great way to warm up the voice. The exercises are limited in range and help singers sing with power and release.
Other programs There are other programs like Belt Voice training, Vocal release by Eric Frey, Singing made simple by Roger Burnley and Singorama that I am planning to buy. I have bought almost all of the ones listed above and have tried them. Apart from the ones above, I have also tried Total Singer by Lisa Popeil which is amazing. I would defninitely reccomend it to everyone. Note- In case any of the programs cause strain or tension and you are sure that you’re not doing them correctly, please consult doctor and take voice lessons from a qualified teacher.
All the coaches who have designed the above programs offer skype voice lessons. If you live far away, these can be useful. Below are links to buy all of the programs listed above. Please buy those after sampling from the souces I have given.
Spread the word and tell everyone how good the program was and urge others to buy it too. Singing success Voice lessons to go Renne Grant Williams Total singer Singing made simple Sing with freedom Singing for the stars can be purchased on amazon.com The same goes for Sing like a star Vocal coach series The Zen of Screaming 1&2 This post was quite long but if anyone benefits from it, it is worth the trouble. Don’t hesitate to post comments questions and views. All the best with you singing endeavours!
Brett Manning Mastering Mix The Mix is the most elusive part of the voice. It creates a smooth transition between the chest voice (bottom) and the head voice (top) which enables singers to reach their full potential. Ninety percent of singers experience some kind of break-flip or disconnect between these two qualities.
Without the mix, the extremes of pulled up “chest voice only” will kill a singer. The extremes of “head voice only” will bore an audience. Mastering Mix exclusively tackles the conundrum of building the middle, blended or 'mixed' areas of the voice. With the mix, you have the power of chest voice and the freedom of head voice - The same commercial tones used by greats like Keith Urban, Hayley Williams of Paramore, Take 6, and many more are unveiled. Testimonials: 'Brett Manning's newest creation, Mastering Mix, is totally revolutionary.
I've been waiting for this one for a while.' - Hayley Williams (singer of Grammy-nominated band Paramore) 'As a producer and writer I've found Brett's system to be an invaluable resource. I've produced several singers before and after they've worked with Brett and the difference is night and day.' - Rob Graves (Grammy-nominated, multiple Dove Award winning producer) 'Brett really helped me find my mix. And his methods gave me so much more confidence when singing live.' - Michael Barnes (singer of Grammy-Nominated & multiple Dove Award winning rock band, RED).