Others say...

"not great"
This book is standard nothing special. Like most books in this genre you don't leave feeling that you and tackle any songs as the exercises are weak or usually lack of them. What I would recommend is `an introduction to singing with style' I came across this book quite by accident on amazon.co.uk and it has helped me a lot. It goes into great depth about how to develop a great singing voice, vocal projection, vocal clarity and this book even tells you what diet to avoid and what food is good for healthy living it's amazing! If you're looking for vocal stamina then this book has it! It is packed with breathing techniqe too so there you have it

"Best Vocal Training Course Ever!"
This course has done more to improve my voice in a few short months than all of the vocal coaches that I have had put together. It doesn't try to teach you to sing like some one else. It just shows you how to get the most out of whatever you have been gifted with and sound like you at your best. It will also teach you how to be able to keep singing for years to come without damaging your voice. It will make you the best you can be and help you keep that. Buy it and use it! You will be glad you did.

"Something all voice teachers should read!"

I do agree that it is way too full of testimonials. But regardless, the method is the best out there and the exercises on the cd are great. The philosophy is that there really is no distinction between the chest and head voice. ( and all good voice teachers know that there are even more changes) It's kind of like an automatic car if you think about it (or even a stick once you know how to drive it and it's just instinct) That there are shifts that take place in your throat but it's none of your concern. The more you think about it, the more prominent they will be and this method teaches you to use your whole range smoothly. People get so caught up in what's "high" and what's "low" but dynamics are what makes the voice interesting to listen to so the smoother the tone, the more flexibility you have. Ahh, I could go on forever.

It's a good guide and as a book, it's a very good lesson.
My best advice as a vocal coach is to find a teacher that teaches exactly the genre you are interested in learning. I was first trained in classical, then jazz, then finally rock and pop. That's where I took off and that's what I teach now. Most of the students that come to me are in rock bands and many have had previous lessons with classical teachers who taught them to sing classically which is really different from singing pop music. For instance, the breathing is VERY different. You don't need nearly as much stored up for pop music.

If you want to sing rock, find a rock singing teacher and preferably one that is familiar with this method of speech level singing as this is the best method out there. And watch out, there are many stubborn teachers out there who will teach you to sing how they sing which will only work if you have the same tone.

Good luck everyone.

"Worst Book I've Bought"
This is one of the worst purchase I've ever bought ... I ignored some of the negative reviews that Seth's book got, and bought it anyway just to give it a try.

Singing For The Stars have around 100 pages more or less (don't remember cause I gave the book away 3 days after I bought it), and the fist half of the book is NOTHING but SELF-PROPS (I'm NOT exaggerating). The other half of the book have some informations and some, yet again, self-props. To put it all together, almost every page in this book have some kind of self-props. I skipped all the self-props and finished the book in about 15 minutes. I also found it funny how Seth criticized other competing books and he ended up doing the same thing ... throwing out things without fully explaining it.

The CDs are just ok. This book CD combo is really an exercise program to help you increase your vocal range, so IMHO it will not make you a better singer. To sing good, you'll need more than just hitting the notes. The exercises in his CDs are incomplete ... it goes up in scales but not down.

For beginners: I would not buy this book. Go get voice lessons. This book (even though it have some useful exercises), will NOT make you a better singer. A good personal instructor can and will make you a better singer. If you don't want to spend the $ for an instructor, then search for "voice lessons" on Google & you'll find plenty of lessons for FREE. And yes, these free lessons on the internet (youtube for examble) have the same exercises as Seth's CDs.

For advanced singer: I noticed some reviews said this book is really for the intermediate/advance singers. Probably true ... but if you're at that level, you'll either can play some kind of instruments or know someone that does. You can record variety of scales on your PC and burn it to a CD for around 20c or less (if you buy blank CDs in bulk). Do it yourself CD will not only have better coverage than Seth's CD but will cost less.



"One book, one teacher not nearly enough"
In my opinion, this book has too much self-congratulation in it. It's the mark of insecurity, isn't it? The voice has registers that you have to learn how to smoothly connect; Riggs is quite right about that. Manuel Garcia, the legendary Spanish teacher, wrote about that 150 years ago! Also, the Englishman, Herbert-Cesari wrote brilliantly about these vocal qualities in the 1950's.

Life is short and art is long; and no one teacher or school of thought has a corner on the market of wisdom. Seth Riggs is most likely one of thousands of people on the planet who could give you helpful feedback about your voice. The main thing is to start singing along with studying. Then you learn by doing! Remember a singer sings and doesn't need anybody's approval or permission to do so.

You accumulate knowledge and skill by networking with others, not by getting addicted to hypnotic suggestions that an "exclusive" method guaratees success, or becoming in turn addicted to the personality of a charismatic teacher who may, in part, exploit your dreams; or you may exploit the teacher because you want to dream.

In any case, a real living teacher that you can afford to see regularly can help much. Seek knowledge without looking for magic-wand, short-term solutions or letting yourself be dominated by any fanaticism regarding method. Whether or not you achieve something depends on yourself in the end.

I live and work in Europe as a professional singer. I've sung opera, art songs, negro spirituals, jazz, Irish, etc...

I've also had a chance to get to know a lot of great singers. And since they've walked the walk and not just talked the talk, they have much good to say. They have integrated what they've been taught by others, but also what they learned themselves. They're superteachers!

Singing is about soul...and connectedness to the music and the words. It's also a lot of work to keep the voice healthy and stretched, and the rest of your body too. I have studied in my life with at least 20 teachers. They've all taught me something valuable. I've taken classes at universities, read scores of books and had countless conversations with fellow musicians about music. There's just so much to learn and nobody will be or should pretend to be your fairy god mother. It's a life-long, self-motivated project qua passion.