Singing for Dummies

Rating:
Summary: A Must Buy for Anyone
Review: About two months ago, I was attending an open-call audition for a Broadway show. I'd have to say that I would have been no where without this book! With practicing with the cd and book everyday, I could tell that my singing voice was becoming stronger and more in tune. This is a wonderful book for singers of all levels, even the tone-deaf can become singers with this!

Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: As a professional singer of 30 years and a voice teacher, I found the book very interesting. The basics were there, and she did make a good point of stating that these were only suggestions (there are as many "correct and only way to sing" methods out there as there are teachers). I found nothing wrong with the book at all, except one thing --- one can't know if they are doing things correctly just because they immitate the sound their hear. One can learn a lot from a well written book on singing, and this one is very easy to understand (many are so filled with jargon the real purpose behind the instruction is lost). A real key missing in this book is the things to watch out for. An example: She mentions "Lip Trills." Some teachers really rely on these stupid exercises (where you sound like a horse blowing air through its lips, and even sing while doing them) to help the student manage breath. There are real dangers doing them without proper supervision, the least of which is a super raised larynx and a depressing tongue. Those things only ruin one's ability to sing with a free open throat and with the full range.

Most singers sing with a too wide of an "east-west" facial position and not a large enough "North-South" position. Though she slightly mentions this, in order for a person to hear themselves, they are required to use more of the "east-west" facial position thus actually making their tone louder in their ears, but quieter and less ringing to the audience. She talks about "feeling how you sing and not relying on your hearing, or on listening" but she doesn't explain how to do that. If you don't have a teacher, the only way to do it is through a very good quality tape recorder (poor quality ones give you no real image of what you sing like as they cannot record either the volume of the voice or the natural resonance of the sound; and even with an excellent recorder, you are only getting maybe 20% of your sound reflected back to you). Then you MUST figure out what is a good sound quality, when you hear it on the tape, then concentrate beyond belief on what you felt like, what sensations you had while producing that sound, and learn to reproduce those sensations all the time. Gently cupping your hands IN FRONT of you ears can reflect what the audience actually hears, but it will be softer than the sound they hear. Although testing the voice that way is fine, one must never come to rely on those things. One must rely on the feel and then when you find the correct feel to maintain it all the time, even while singing when ill.

I rated it a five star because it is well written, and it covers many aspects of singing, not just technical, and well, is very approachable. It is a good introduction to singing, but as a warning: anyone really interested in serious singing, and perhaps in a serious career, get a real teacher who can watch what you are doing, and show you when you are doing something wrong. It is very easy to immitate the correct sound, but to do it in a very incorrect way. When you are very young, you may get away with that, but your voice will not last for very long. And she doesn't make it very clear that for popular singing, even the broadway belt (belting is not loud singing, or shouting out the song, or "belting it out" like a lot of people think; it is using the voice with much more forward resonance than in classical singing, less inner dome, and with the sound very concentrated on the upper lip area; one can sing very loud, or very soft and should not be confused with the "norm" amongst young "would be stars" of just yelling and screaming their way through a song at top volume), one still needs all the same foundation they use in classical singing, but that the use of the raised soft palate is less pronounced. However, there is a correct way of working the voice that won't hurt it and brings the extreme forward focus used for Broadway into the voice; she doesn't cover this (and I think most people will use this book not to become opera singers, but so they can study a week or two and sing popular music and musical comedy). When incorrectly done, belting can ruin the voice in no time flat; a classic singer can often sing for decades with incorrect technique before real problems get out of hand; not so with a poorly produced belting tone used in popular singing or broadway; the voice dies quickly because the voice is being abused to produce that sound.

Again, a great introduction, but only an introduction to singing. One needs a second pair of ears, and a second pair of eyes, to make sure they entire body is coordinated to produce the best sound quality possible.

Rating:
Summary: Great start!
Review: I always wanted to learn how to sing, so I picked up a copy of this book. I have been using it for a month now, and I'm actually starting to sound good (it's a lot of work, though). Overall, the content and explanations are excellent, and the CD-ROM is good, as well. I think Pamelia Phillips has done an excellent job here!

It probably shouldn't be your only source if you want to become a serious singer, however. But, it's a great start, and it should give you the confidence you need to start taking singing lessons. It might also save you considerable embarrassment.

I easily give this book 5 stars!