The Full Singing Success Programme - A completely Honest Review

Click here to get your copy of the full Singing Success programme now!

If you're not sure if you should get it, read on...

Thanks for visiting!

To save you time, I have summarised my review into a list or pros and cons. If you would like to read my full review, scroll down past the lists and you will find it.:) Hope this review helps!

Pros:

1. Extremely comprehensive

2. Very systematic

3. Well-planned out

3. Well-explained

4. Clear teaching style

5. Straight to the point

6. Little to no self-promotion

7. Knowledge of the anatomy and physiology during singing

8. Strong focus on good vocal health and habits

9. Both female and male demonstrators for each vocal exercise and examples or singing style

10. Mainly revolves around vocal technique, but teaches how it applies to practical singing and style as well

11. Very effective vocal exercises based on Speech-Level Singing

12. Builds excellent foundation for beginner singers

13. Very easy to follow

14. Has many intermediate to advanced exercises as well

15. 7-installment payment plan offered, so it really is very light on the wallet

16. 6-month money-back guarantee

 17. Probably cheaper than a one-hour private vocal lesson with Brett Manning himself or the cost of one month's worth of Speech-Level Singing lessons

Side note: Singing Success has a very strong scientific approach, meaning they focus a lot on the physiology of singing, which is excellent for any singer, especially beginners, because the teachings are not abstract statements that need you to do much self-interpretation. The system makes the voice and singing seem "tangible", making it very easy for beginners to start grasping an understanding of the voice.

By the way, as with any home-study course, you get to do the work any time and anywhere you want, without having to commute for lessons.

Cons:

1. Pricy (resolved with a long payment plan as mentioned above)

2. Home-study course means a lack of one-on-one feedback and guidance from a professional

3. Little to no emphasis on breathing (which I now know holds a greater importance in singing than Singing Success and SLS gives it credit for)

4. Being a big company and all, I'm not sure their support would be as quick with their responses as compared to the smaller brands (forum and Singing Success TV resolves this issue)

5. With professional vocalists used to the exercise doing demonstations fort he vocal exercises, though you would be able to know for sure how you ought to be doing things, but it can be quite intimidating, and could hinder a beginner's motivation and confidence, and hence, their progress

6. Once you are done with Singing Success, it might be a good idea to expand your knowledge by going into other courses or lessons that has a stornger focus on singing as an art, since Singing Success has such a strong technical focus.

Right then...

I think that is all that I can think of.:)

So, have you made up your mind yet? If you have...

Click here to get your copy of the full Singing Success program now!

Okay, now for my full review. Here goes...

I have seen many vocal training courses online--both free and paid ones. I've seen many many videos of creators of these courses--vocal coaches--talking about their courses, giving tips and sharing their influences and beliefs on singing and the voice.

Well, what I liked most about Singing Success was how detailed, systematic, and well-planned the information and training was. Going through the lessons, not once did I feel like I missed a step, or like they introduced a piece of knowledge too early or late relative to the lessons. All went very smoothly and lessons were really enjoyable.

The amount of information in the course is actually quite amazing. I've never realised this before I wrote this review, but most of what I have learnt about the voice was from the Singing Success programme--and I have read and watched a LOT of voice and singing-related videos and articles. This course makes for an excellent start for beginners because it starts by explaining a lot of what you need to know what the voice--definitions of the different vocal registers, the physiology of the body involved in singing, the reasons why your voice sounds like this or that, common bad vocal habits, etc.. Then the programme takes you right from building the basis of your voice, all the way to the coveted "mixed voice" and beyond.
 

To be continued...

Singing For Beginners - The Dangers Of Misunderstanding Breath Support In Singing

This is an article I wrote about a week ago, which recently got published on Ezine Articles. Hope you find it helpful.

~~~

Breathing is the foundation of life, and efficient breathing spells unmistakable importance in great singing. However, it is very easy for novice singers to mistake breath support for necessary vocal power, and in the process, cause harm to their voices. This article aims to help clarify this dangerous misconception that so many new singers have.

What is considered good breath support?

Before all else, it is important for everyone to understand what good breath support is. Good breath support stems from what vocalists like to call "diaphragmatic breathing". Yes, it is very likely that you have heard about it, but no, it's not anything you haven't done before. With diaphragmatic breathing, each inhale of air should have you feel your stomach expand, and each exhale of air would suck your stomach in. If this happens in reverse for you, that is, your stomach gets sucked in when you breathe in, and out when you breathe out, you aren't breathing from your diaphragm. This article will not go into the physiology of breathing, but it is important to at least know if you're breathing right for efficient singing or not.

Now here comes the misunderstanding...

Have you ever heard someone comment on a weak and "airy" singing voice, saying how the singer lacks breath support? Well, that comment is not necessarily true.

Sound is produced when our vocal cords close, interrupting the flow of air pushing outwards from our lungs. With excellent breath support, one would have a lung filled with air that is just waiting to come out. Along with that, our vocal cords will instinctively position themselves in a way that allows sound to be produced. Even so, one should be aware that not everyone's vocal folds can do that effectively. The absence of a balanced vocal cord closure would in turn, produce a voice that would sound both weak and airy. With that much air blowing rapidly past the vocal folds, it wouldn't be long before the singer feels the desperate need for a drink. Singing in such a manner would in time, cause vocal damage.

In essence, it is unreasonable to expect a voice to be powerful or pleasant to the ear, if the vocalist's vocal cords don't have the coordination and strength to handle the magnitude of a strong exhale of air. It takes years of vocal cord training, good breathing technique and a battery of other skills to make a singer sound good, or even just powerful.

Otherwise, all professional athletes would be fantastic singers, especially swimmers!

New icon for bookmarking!

I have added an OnlyWire icon on the side to the right, and at the bottom left corner of this blog. It will make adding this site on your favourite social bookmarking sites much easier, and you get a broader range of selection to boot!

Let me know if it gets annoying though, 'cause the list that pops up when you hover your cursor over it is pretty big, and it won't minimise itself until you click the "X" button at the top right of the small pop-up.
I'll remove it if it causes you more trouble than help.

But I still hope it helps somewhat.

P.S. If you like a particular post or page, please click on the title of the post or page so you actually bookmark that particular webpage, instead of actually bookmarking the entire blog as one site.

P.P.S. If you do find any of the content I have on this blog useful, it would mean a lot to me if you could "Like" it on Facebook, Tweet it, add it to your tumblr, or any other social networking site you might use.

'Appreciate it!

apologies for the delay

Hi everyone! Hope you're doing well.

I'm sorry the promised summary for the Vocal Technique post is taking so long, but I'm trying to record a backing track so you could follow along as you do the lip trills. It's just taking me a while to get the recording right, but I'll get it up as soon as I can.

Happy singing!

Understanding Open-Throat Singing and Its Uses in Different Styles of Music

Here is a helpful video for those of you with a choir background. It will help narrow the gap a little for you, between your understanding of classical and contemporary singing. But even if you don't have a classical singing background, I'm sure you would still pick up little anecdotes here and there.

I know I did.:)

Check out the falsetto on her!

As the title says, check out the falsetto on her! She has a lot of Mariah Carrey stuff on her channel, which kinda explains why this original of hers and how she sang it sounded so much like Mariah.

But back to her falsetto -- she uses it a lot in this song and stylistically, it makes the whole piece does sound really pretty, or to me at least. Technically speaking however, I'm not sure if all that breathy singing would harm her voice in the long run.

So, lesson for the day everyone -- be careful with using your falsetto, even though using it may sound reeeeally good.:)

For those reading this who don't exactly know what falsetto is, I'll explain what it is in a later post, along with head voice. People seem to always mix the two up, lol.

Helpful Article #03

Good Vocal Health - How to Have a Healthy Singing Voice
By Dileesa Hunter

The health of one's voice depends largely on how one treats it. If one could actually see their vocal cords in action, one would note that they are delicate ligaments that are easily manipulated, and easily bruised.
It is important to note that good general health precedes good vocal health. "Good" health is relative, so let's cover the basics.

• If you are a smoker, STOP. Smoking doesn't take you from soprano to alto, its takes you from soprano to nothing.

• Drink plenty of clear fluids daily. Singing is an athletic activity that involves the entire body, so you must be hydrated.

• Increase fruits and veggies. Why? Again, singing is athletic!! Just as a track runner prepares for a race by eating right, so should singers.

Now, more specific to singers, it is important to recognize that many times we wear our voices out before we even get on stage! How? The way we speak. Please remember, our speaking and singing voices use the same vocal cords. So, talking in a loud cafeteria, on the phone with the car windows down, rounding up the kids, all wears on our voice. People who consider singing their vocation must 'baby' their voices. Here are some tips:

• Find a note that you can easily hum on, and speak on that tone. It may sound funny at first, but your voice will love you for it.

• Make people move in closer to hear you, as opposed to you shouting over a noisy room

• Limit phone conversations in the car, or at least wind the windows up and turn the radio down!

• ALWAYS stay hydrated.

• When you are sick, REST. Trying to sing when you are already sick with a cold or flu can cause permanent damage, so take it easy.

Here's another tip that's easier said than done: Find your 'mix' voice, and sing in that as much as possible. This will dramatically increase your vocal stamina. A 'mixed voice' is the technique of mixing your chest voice with head voice to find a middle voice that makes your voice much more fluid, full, and even from top to bottom. Having sung and still singing Gospel music for so many years, (I believe) it's the only way I survived!!

Some also refer to this technique as speech- level- singing. The basic idea is to place your singing voice where you talk, to make the most natural sound. We speak with our teeth, tongues, lips, but so often when we sing, our voice is in the back of our throats! SPS, or singing in our 'mix' , brings us back to this basic truth of forward placement.

I want to hear from you! If this article was useful, please let me know your comments! Also, please visit http://www.AmericanSingingStudio.com for more information and products.

Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dileesa_Hunter
http://EzineArticles.com/?Good-Vocal-Health---How-to-Have-a-Healthy-Singing-Voice&id=2019493

How The Voice Works

Here is an interesting video I found while researching on the role of breathing in singing. It explains how a voice is produced. Have a look-see, it's pretty cool.:)

Helpful Article #02

Singing Techniques - Facial Expressions Can Hinder Your Singing
By Al Koehn

Did you ever notice how easy it seems for good singers? Even when they are singing loud rock songs or the big endings of pop or country songs, it almost seems like they are just acting like they are working hard to produce the volume or high notes. That's because much of how they look is actually acting.
They really aren't pushing and shoving nearly as much as they try to make you believe Much of what they are doing is for show.

Audiences are very perceptive when it comes to recognizing whether a singer is having to strain and stress, or whether he is in complete control of the song. The singer who actually has to push, shove and strain is subconsciously labeled an amateur by the average listener. The audience may not know why, but they can feel that this singer isn't very good.
I'm going to list and discuss a few of the causes of the singer having to work too hard.

1. The song is simply too high or low in range for them to handle well. Much of the time this can be solved by choosing the right key, but all too often singers perform songs they just shouldn't be singing in public. At least not until they've increased their range, etc. through working with a voice teacher or a recorded singing course.

2. The singer should be practicing the song WITHOUT USING ANY FACIAL EXPRESSION. This also applies to any vocal warmups or exercises they may be working with. Nothing you do with your facial and throat muscles is going to help your singing. In fact such muscle activities get in the way of all aspects of good singing.

Does this mean you should never perform using facial expressions? Of course not. But consider the guitar or piano player whose facial expressions mirror their emotions. Do they really need those expressions to play better?

3. Poor inhalation and breathing techniques are prime causes of the singer having to push and strain. Breath is your singing fuel. Just as good driving habits can save fuel (keeping the speed down, not gunning the motor, etc.), so good breathing techniques can save singing fuel and put it to better uses. Do some research, and you will find a treasure of information on good breathing techniques.

4. Stay in good physical shape, and eat right. The stuff you put in your body has a direct bearing on how well, and how easily you sing. Think about this: your body is your instrument. No other musicians can claim this. The guitar player is not the guitar, the sax player is not the sax. But you are your voice. Take care of your instrument.

5. Don't take your work, family and other stresses to performances. If you really get into the songs there will be no room for other thoughts. Keep your thoughts and emotions where they should be: in your song and performance.

If you feel you are having to stress and strain your voice, you are, and the audience can tell.

Want to learn more easy techniques to improve your singing? Download my powerful new FREE eBook: "TIPS & TOOLS FOR ALL SINGERS" at: http://vocalvision.com/ebook1

Al Koehn is a nationally recognized voice teacher, known for achieving amazing results with simple and highly effective techniques.

Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Al_Koehn
http://EzineArticles.com/?Singing-Techniques---Facial-Expressions-Can-Hinder-Your-Singing&id=4368893

Helpful Article #01

Singing Lessons - How To Get The Most Out Of Them
By Aaron Lim

Singing lessons are very useful for those of us who love to sing and would like to improve our vocal technique as well as our overall pitch and rhythm sense. However, some singing students may be a little overwhelmed whenever they attend lessons, and may not know how to best make use of the time that they have with their vocal coach or singing instructor!

Here are some important tips for all singing students, so that you will be able to make the most out of your singing lessons, and be able to improve quickly in your singing and vocal technique:

Get A Good Vocal Coach

For your vocal lessons to be genuinely useful to you in developing a better singing voice, you will need an experienced vocal coach who is able to 'diagnose' your voice and know exactly what exercises you will need in order to improve your singing! For example, you may need more exercises to strengthen your chest voice, or more pitching or rhythm training, or even some basic lessons in pronunciation and diction. Your vocal coach should be able to tell you what you need, and be able to communicate these ideas to your clearly!

Always Come Prepared For Lessons

Every singing lesson is an opportunity for you to talk to an expert in singing and to learn as much as you can from your vocal coach! So, always come prepared with questions that you may have had during the past week or are genuinely curious about. This will show your vocal coach that you are motivated about learning how to sing, and he or she will be more inclined to teach you even more! Your instructor will also be able to understand better what are your main concerns and how best to answer them so that you will be able to improve even more!

Practice, Practice and More Practice

Make sure you practice whatever vocal drills or pitching exercises that your singing instructor has given you during the singing lessons. Learning how to sing is just like learning how to play any musical instrument, and as with any instrument, practice is absolutely essential if we want to improve in our playing or singing skills! Also, pay attention to how you practiced during your lesson with your vocal instructor so that when you practice at home, you know how to do it correctly and certainly not inadvertently harm your voice during your self-practice!

Be Patient

Learning how to sing well takes some time and effort, and certainly does not happen overnight. Just like how it takes a piano player many years before he or she is able to be great at playing the piano, so it will also take us a certain period of time before we are able to master our singing voice! Even professional singers take regular singing lessons to keep their voices in top form, and to keep improving in their vocal technique!
One reason for a longer learning curve is because our voice learns through what we call 'muscle memory'. Many of the functions of our vocal cords and voice box are involuntary reflexes that we cannot control consciously. In order for us to correct our singing habits, we need to practice positive reinforcement through muscle memory, using the correct singing methods often so that our voice and our brain remembers them and uses them each time we sing!

Enjoy The Learning Process

One great thing about singing is that it is fun and enjoyable even during proper lessons, and we would certainly be able to enjoy the learning process that we must go through in order to get a better singing voice! Once we accept the long learning process, we will certainly be more relaxed during our lessons and be able to improve our voice even more! It is a virtuous cycle that singing students will be able to benefit from with the correct mindset and attitude.

With these important pointers in mind each time we attend our singing lessons, we will certainly be able to get the most out of our lessons and achieve a great singing voice through practice and patience!

Singapore-born Aaron Lim has been a Vocal Coach for the past 8 years, and has taught a variety of vocal students ranging from teenagers to mature adults. He is the founder of an online singing guide: http://www.your-personal-singing-guide.com , which provides a wealth of resources and tips available for any singer! Find out everything you want to learn about singing from this useful and comprehensive website!

Aaron is also the director of Intune Music School, a dynamic and vibrant music school in Singapore that provides professional music programmes in singing, songwriting, keyboard and guitar sing and play, music arrangement and audio engineering! Find out more by visiting the school website at: http://www.intunemusic.com.sg

Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Aaron_Lim
http://EzineArticles.com/?Singing-Lessons---How-To-Get-The-Most-Out-Of-Them&id=1208241

Vocal Technique Tip #01 - Lip Rolls/Trills

*I had only noticed how long this post turned out after having submitted it. I'll summarise all this into bullet points so it wouldn't seem that overwhelming. Shall either upload a Word document with the notes or just put it as my next post. I'll keep you posted.

Pretty much anywhere you look on the Web, if the site teaches the fundamentals of vocal technique, they would almost certainly start you off with what is called lip rolls, or lip trills as others like to call it. Basically, what you would want to do is use the tips of your four fingers to lift the weight of your cheeks a little, use one hand to support each cheek. You could use your dimples as a guide to where you should place your fingers. It's hard to explain with words, but htis video should help:


Blow a steady stream of air out, causing your lips to vibrate rapidly, making that "motorboat" sound. As the teacher in the video above advises, pay more attention to the sound you're making with your lips, and just blow enough air to make a light, gentle sound. It shouldn't take much air at all.

I'll write something about breathing in my next post, so you could use that to help you with your lip trools.

Don't worry if you're struggling with it. It takes a few tries for some to get it. I've heard people take a couple of weeks just to manage a sustained sound from the rools, so be assured you aren't the only one if you're having trouble with it.

The lip roll exercise is a fantastic way of warming up your voice. It not only helps prepare your vocal cords for singing, but also exercises your diaphragm a little, while helping you learn to manage your air better, just in case your body forgets it after a night's sleep.:)

Do this exercise on a five-tone scale for starters. I'll upload a practice track soon for anyone wanting to give this a try.

Feel out of breath, feel tired, but you shouldn't feel like your jaw, neck or throat is straining to hit the notes. If you are, don't let yourself go so high up your range for the moment. Lip rolls are meant to only warm up the voice, and should be really comfortable, almost relaxing, for the vocal cords. Don't worry about your volume, especially if you're doing it after having just gotten out of bed. Do it softly, or at a volume that you feel completely comfortable with. If you're doing it softly, but are hardly making a peep from your lips. I think breathing exercises would make it a little easier for you. Will have that up soon as mentioned before.

Doing vocal exercises should really feel more like aerobic exercises than anything else. I'll go more into that later 'cause I'd like to dedicate this post mostly to lip rolls.

Personally, I didn't have as hard a time as others to get my lips "motoring", but it did take me months before realising I could do it with a whole lot less air than I was used to. Took me an epiphany just to get that. After a few minutes of doing this exercise during my first vocal exercise, it kinda felt like I had taken my lungs and abdomen out for a jog and then returning them back to my body. My "core" was tired, but my legs were perfectly fine.

Well, that's my pexerience with lip rolls.

You could search "lip rolls" on YouTube to find out more. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them for you. Feel free to send me a link to your attempt at lip rolls, and I'll do my best to give you helpful feedback on it, if you'd like.

Send your recordings to:
help.sfb@gmail.com

if you don't feel up to sharing your recording to the rest of the world.:)

Good luck with it, and remember to have fun doing it!

The importance of sounding you

Okay, now I'm going to pass on to you a little piece of wisdom that has been taught to me so many times by teachers and online material that it has turned into a preset mentality and expectation of mine.

You have gotta sound like you when you are singing!

"Duh," you might say, but you'd be surprised how so many people manipulate their voices while singing, to the point where they don't even notice it anymore. It's a little sad, to be honest.

Have you ever heard the saying,

"Copycats will never be number one,"?

Especially if that particular style you're trying to imitate was created or made famous by a great artiste, copying it may bring you closer to that singer emotionally, but it's going to be really hard to succeed as a singer that way. You have a unique voice of your own, a one-of-a-kind combination of your physiology, personality, predispositions, sense of style, habits, even a native accents etc.. Use it to chart your own territory in the music world! Don't trap yourself in someone else' shadow.

Let OTHERS copy you! Be the one leading the trend!

Still, while that's all well and good, how does one know if he or she is singing with their unique voice? That's simple. We have already covered that in our first post. If you're singing the same way you speak naturally, that should be your own voice that you're using. It's important that you get a vocal coach to help you with that, just to be safe.

It takes a little practice, but over time, if you have seen enough vocal lessons and heard enough singing from professionals with sound vocal technique, yours ears will learn to anticipate a person's singing voice from his or her speaking voice. I don't know how, but I'm somehow able to tell if a person isn't using his or her natural singing voice. My guess would be that if one is imitating another singer, apart from him or her sounding strikingly similar to the original, there tends to be inconsistencies in the tone as the singer goes up and down their vocal range. And of course, the sound of a strained or tense voice on top of that just confirms suspicions, lol.

Hmmmm, what do you think?

If you can speak, you can sing

"If you can speak, you can sing."

If you have spent some time looking around the Internet for free singing lessons and tips, you most likely would have come across that saying, and believe or not, I don't have the expertise to tell you confidently that that's true. However, I do believe it's a good quote to live by, 'cause everyone with a voice should deserve the joys of singing. Expressing one's self through song is one of the most enjoyable experiences in life, and it's cruel to think that they are those out there who would rob people of that right without thinking twice about it. I know people like that...which is why, I'd like to teach anyone willing to learn, to improve their singing, so they would be able to not only enjoy self-expression, but also bring joy to those around them through their singing, especially to those who previously had the practice of telling others to stop singing. That would be really amazing.

But of course, I'm no vocal coach, just merely a student of two vocal instructors at the moment, poking around the Web, learning as much about the voice and singing as I can through video lessons, courses and books. Even so, I do believe I've learnt enough to impart bits of vocal wisdom to the non-singer, enough to help them understand their voices a little better, just enough to nudge them in the right direction of great and healthy singing.

Anyways, back to topic:

"If you can speak, you can sing."

You see, singing, in its most basic form, is elongated, melodic speaking. Ideally speaking, the physiology of singing shouldn't stray too far off from that of natural speaking, the way your voice was meant to be used. If it does, you would probably be looking at vocal strain and even serious vocal damage, but nobody wants.

Having said that, here is something you could take away from here to try on your own...

Pick a line from a song -- any song. Say it out the way you would normally, as if talking to a friend or family member. Hmmmm, let's think of an example...

Oh, how about this?

"I'm still alive but I'm barely breathing."

Say it a couple of times to get it internalised a little.

Now, say it sloooooowly, dragging out the vowels as you do that. It should sound something like...

"IIIIIIIIIaaaaaam stiiiiiiiiill aaaaaliiiiiiive buuuuut I'aaaaaam baaaaaaaarelyyyyyyy breeeeeeeeathiiing."

If you could imagine that, lol.

Well, do that a few times. Be sure to do it the same way you would speak normally. No singing yet!

Now, try saying it a little more melodically. You could try saying it along with the melody. Don't do anything different now, just say it out with melody...intonation. Don't try to sing it.

Now...how did that feel?

Hope that felt natural, or natural-ish at least, because it should. It may feel very very different from how you would normally sing, but believe me, this way would serve you better in the long run. I'm not saying it's polished singing yet, but it is a stepping stone. More imprtantly, it proves that anyone who can speak, CAN indeed, sing!