Others say...

"And best of all, it's FUN!"
For would-be professional singers or even "American Idol" wannabes there are superior singing programs out there, but this sure seems to be the one that provides the most fun. This package is ideal for people who perhaps have never had a singing lesson ever and who have a hankering to improve their singing while having some fun in the process.

The software adjusts to each individual's vocal range, and the program begins with some valuable warm-up exercises. The interface employing a talking microphone, a singing squid, and the cute-and-sassy "Carry A Tune" female student character is clearly geared for children, but it's certainly fine for teens and adults, as well.

The lessons start VERY easy, and gradually work up to more demanding tasks about halfway through. Yes, it's a bit hokey to begin with "Hot Cross Buns," but the point here is that one must crawl before one walks or runs, and the use of very simple tunes allows singers to concentrate on getting just a few notes right before moving on to more complex note sequences.

The theory behind the lessons is that by providing an onscreen guide to notes that tracks the actual frequencies associated with the singer's voice, the student can learn to control the notes through a kind of self-adjustment feedback process. There are no miracles promised here, however, and if a person has an inborn tendency to waver or wander off key, I really doubt that the twenty lessons provided in the program will totally eradicate these problems.

However, seeing where and how one has a tendency to miss notes is, in fact, helpful, and the learning process can be augmented through slowing down the inherent beats of songs. Once one masters the note changes while singing slowly, the metronome speed can be gradually increased. This is a very useful feature!

What makes this package even more enjoyable is that the program doubles, essentially, as a vehicle for karaoke. One can download up to twelve free MIDI with lyrics songs from the program's own website. These files are set up in the same way as the lesson tunes, i.e., with words on screen and a tune/pitch guide that the singer follows as he or she sings the song. The choices of free songs is pretty limited, but fortunately, there also are links to a few MIDI karaoke resources where there are hundreds of additional songs available. These can be purchased at what I think are reasonable prices, and this way a user can establish as large a library of singalong while training files as one likes.

Yes, the microphone headset provided is cheap, but it's actually quite adequate for the task at hand (and as an environmental science teacher, let me assure people that the "lead hazard" warnings are a kind of pro forma thing; only if you chew on the microphone are you likely to have any chance of experiencing ill health effects here). The sensitivity of the microphone is not impressive, but it's good enough for training purposes, and one can always purchase a higher-quality mike if need be.

Overall, I think this program is a terrific value. It provides some real vocal training for beginners, turns itself into a kind of self-contained karaoke machine, and best of all, it's FUN! Highly recommended


"Singing Coach Unlimited"
It is really geared for children, and is not really flexible to allow someone to customize it for their own needs, - at least so far, it is too pedestrian

"Terrible support"
After loading this program I cannot open it. I contacted the company with this issue and received a form letter type email about shutting off my firewall and virus protection and updating all of my drivers. That didn't work. I have now tried this program on 6 computers in all and none of them can open it. The Carry-A-Tune support solution? Ignore me. I have not heard back from them in a week and a half, after I told them I tried everything they said and it didn't work. I wasted around $100 on this program and the best they can do when it doesn't work is to ignore me. Please, do not take the chance and waste your money like I did.

"Just what I was looking for"
I sing in a choir and am getting into solo performance. I've been told I have a good voice but I can't always hit and hold the right pitch. I had a sense there must be software available for pitch tracking, so I did a Web search and found Singing Coach.

This software is exactly what I needed. I would have been happy with the pitch tracking part alone, but the lessons are also very helpful. I get a kick out of the cartoon characters that teach the lessons. I also use the compose part to customize melody tracks for practicing when I can't find music on the Carry A Tune website or MIDI sources that sounds the way I want it.

I think even for an experienced singer, this could be a "quality control" tool and it can help speed the learning of new material.

Wish list:
1. Carry a Tune expands their library of songs on the website - a lot. It's a good start but there's a lot of missing material.
2. Let me modify downloaded MIDI melodies in Compose Mode.
3. A better, more comfortable headset with no Prop 65 warning needed, also higher mike sensitivity, and/or more mike gain in the software.
4. Maybe sell a professional version with the features above and more, I would be willing to pay $150 if it had these features and more.

These are quibbles and not real distractions, it's just I'm really into this product so I'd like to see it continue to evolve and grow.

"Great product for the price!!"
I was a bit sceptical when I purchased this product but was plesantly surprised to discover just how great this software is. Some other reviewers mentioned it is more geared toward children but it works great for adults too. I would recommend this product to anybody with only one little caveat, get a better headset to use with this. The headset that came with it died very quickly.