Hey, was wondering if anyone would like to share their experiences with these voice products I was considering buying. I'd to know which ones worked best for you and which one I should get first. I'm know some of these products have been mentioned in threads before, but I thought it'd be best to put them all in one place.

1.) Voice Lessons to Go - Ariella Vaccarino
2.) Can You Hit a High 'C' Without Straining
I was also wondering if I should go with the original version or get the latest edition.
3.) Explore Your Singing voice - iTunes product
4.) Complete Handbook of Voice Teaching
5.) Discover Your Voice: How To Develop Healthy VoiceHabits
6.) Vocal Power by Jim Gillette

Well, I have #2 and #6 from your list.

Thomas Appell's High-C package is awesome.

That is what I would suggest getting - you can buy it directly from Jaime, which is where I got mine - he had it to me in just a few days.

It's worth every penny - it comes with 3 CD's (One is examples, 1 is lessons, and 1 of them is for developing your speaking voice.... which is a great thing. He kind of sounds like Jerry Seinfeld when he talks - he has a very musical voice, and he constantly changes pitch - which means he is actually applying what he is teaching.
And last but not least, it has a videotape of lessons.

It's an excellent package to have.


Jim Gillette's Vocal Power.

Get it. This is what started me out singing, but I was unknowingly still trying to push too much air.

Everyone here needs to own Vocal Power. It is loaded with some extremely excellent vocal scales. Plus you get to see that Jim is also one of the funniest guys around. When he was here in town with Nitro in the early 90's, he was a riot. Actually, I could only imagine Jim and Jaime together, because both of them are hilarious guys.

Jaime called me really early one day last week, and it was like,"What is he doing up this early?!?!



Tim

I have only 1 thing to say about vocal power as I just got it. Only people who have already seen it will understand why this is funny.


PAUSE DUDE!

As soon as I get a job i'll probally buy vocal power and can you hit a high C without straining because I hear of 'em a lot on this forum.

Ive got discover your voice, all i can say it is great. Good info by an old voicecoach guru, most of the emphasis is on singing opera.
Imagine Ryv but for opera and you will be pretty close.

i have vocal power and its awesome

thats what its all about...POWER!

I also have "Can You Hit a High 'C' Without Straining?" I disagree with having to tighten your stomach muscles in order to reach high notes. I can sing high notes with varying degrees of volume and power without tightening my abs. Also, I noticed that my ab contractions caused my neck muscles to tense if I didn't concentrate on keeping my neck relaxed. In summary, this product did not work very effectively for me.

Like I just said on the Voice Council; Contracting the stomach might not work for everyone because we are all human instruments. That is fine, do what works best for you. If i isn't broked, don't fix it. But know that that if you disagree, that is your own personal preference because of how you personally sing. But I bet that if you wailed on a high note and put your hand on your stomach, it is tightening and you just don't realize it;) All I can tell you is that this approach is used by just about every high rock singer out there and the ONLY way to protect me from vocal burnout when breaking glasses or singing high songs;)

BTW- If you decide to try tightening the abs and you still have tension in your neck, try doing the exercises or singing while moving the head continuously from left to right very slowly as if you were saying "no". Some students have a hard time with separating the abs from the throat/neck, because of years of associating the two through things like grunting. If this happens with one of my own students, I make tyhem breathe deeply, do the "no" as the sing and have a speaking converstaion with me with super tight abs. The goal with the conversation is to get them to speak as they disconnect that association. Then we'll tighten/speak, relax the stomach/speak in a rhythm until they cannot notice any physical or vocal difference in the throat area and speaking voice;)

Yes I fully agree with you Jaime. That is my own personal experience and opinion. You are correct, my abs do tighten to a degree when I sing high or full-on with power. However, I don't contract them as if I'm preparing to be punched in the stomach. I suppose that kind of techinique could be used better for me if I screamed or growled alot, but I don't.

Yes that is what it is exactly what is for and I don't state to contrac tthem as if you are getting ready to be punched;) There IS a difference. I ONLY push straight down as if I am sitting on the toilet. Now, that movement actually contract the muscles in that "ready to be punched manner" but with the focus redirected. That slight change makes all the difference in the world. But I only tighten thyat tight when doing grit, banshee metal screams or breaking glasses. Other times there is STILL that downards sensation but it varies depending on volume, pitch, etc...

Hi Greg,

Your abs normally tighten your throat because when you lift, the folds (IIRC it is the false folds) tighten to allow you to lift heavy weight. You have to learn to disconnect the abs from these. You can sit and tighten your abs and make sure that your throat doesn't tense. it will take a while to get it, but it can be done - just like anything else, it just takes practice.

It's sort of like learning to sing without raising your larynx - most of us have a natural tendency to lift the larynx high into the throat when we are going after high notes because in our mind we equate that lift with hitting higher notes. So, we have to learn to not lift the larynx.




Tim

Hi Skullsplitter (Tim),

I appreciate the advice, but I'm not having issues with that. I was just pointing out the fact that the technique of tightening the abs in "Can You Sing a High 'C' Without Straining?" is the technique I choose not to use. It's just merely an opinion. I watched/listened to Thomas Appell's dvd's/cd's again after not doing so for many years. I have to admit, there is some really good information in his program. However, he covers basically the same principles and techniques that Jaime advises. In fact, Jaime offers a lot more because he also teaches how to sing aggressively and hardcore whereas Thomas Appell does not. So in response to ..., Thomas Appell's program is not bad, but you won't learn as much if your goal is to sing hard rock to heavy metal.

Thomas doesn't approach the support the same way I do.I learned my method from Jim Gillette and Elizabeth Sabine;) Hoever, Thomas program did help me in the early 90's but that is also because I took some lessons from him;)