Raise Your Voice by Jaime J Vendera
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Book Reviews of Raise Your Voice
Book Review: The first NIGHT - huge changes
Summary: 5 Stars
I have always been able to sing pretty much whatever I wanted. Now, I'm not saying my tone was great, lol, but range has never been an issue for what my band plays which is a lot of 80's rock. We've been getting into higher and higher stuff and I just felt like I was working so hard for those notes that I would benefit from some training. I'd be hoarse after practice, and while I've got a pretty wicked scream, one too many and there's no singing the next day.
I stumbled across the author's site via Google and tried some of the free lessons. I was quite impressed. I ordered Raise Your Voice that day (ebook) and said, "Tomorrow I'll start trainging my voice." That day was yesterday. I'd also like to mention that I picked up his accompanying publication, "The Ultimate Breathing Workout" and it is fantastic too.
I spent all day yesterday working on breathing and realizng I didn't know how to breathe correctly at ALL. I even take voice lessons each week. I was doing pretty much every single thing Jamie says, incorrectly. I realized that I couldn't keep constant pressure coming out of my mouth. I worked on the exercises all day and really tried to get the visualization part of it. I will admit that it's a bit tough to do, but the author provides so many ways to "get it," you're sure to find the light. What's amazing to me is that I pay $40 per half hour for a lady who's standing in front of me, and Jamie's book taught me how to breathe.
Anyhow, I went to band practice last night. I told myself there's no way I could apply all the techniques I read up on, so I'd just focus on my breathing. I did my usual warm up, then we started. I sang "Poundcake" by Van Halen as the second song and just destroyed it. I could NOT believe how easy it was to hit the high notes. I sang the rest of the night like it was nothing. Now I won't blow smoke up your butt and say "I hit every single note perfectly, had huge vibrato, and etc" but I can tell you for me it was a night and day difference. Please understand this is after ONE DAY of practicing.
Got home last, and there was an email from the guitar player saying, "You sounded much fuller tonight, with a much more pleasing tone/sound on the high notes; what are you doing?" I kid you not!
I'm always concerned about technique changing my sound, but Jamie's book I believe is going to help deliver the singer in me. Hell, if ONE DAY was that good; imagine what three months practice will do?
Hats off to Jamie for his customer service too. I had a weird issue with Paypal, called him, and he fixed it asap. He's quite attentive to your concerns and I would reccomend this book time and time again.
Book Review: Great Book Jaime
Summary: 5 Stars
In this book, Jaime has taken all of the known voodoo and tricks for rock singing and whittled them down into the stuff that actually works for a R O C K singer. Jaime's approach is methodical without getting totally bogged down and turning into a course in anatomy as some other singing books do. There is that info in here, but I really don't need to know how a car is built to drive it. I just need to know WHAT to do with it and what NOT to do to not wreck it. Again, that info is here but is not overwhelming. Dangit Jim! I'm a singer not a doctor! uh... wait, that's not quite the right Star Trek quote.
Jaime's book answers a lot of questions and I can think of one time where it really helped me. I was doing a gig for the second night in a very smoky, yet hi-profile club. I had sung well the first night, however, by the second night, the smoke and the over 4 hours of singing had really roughed up my voice. I had just gotten Jaime's book and was sitting in my hotel room looking for a magic fix. Weird enough, it was there in Raise Your Voice. There's a section there on massaging the neck and throat muscles that TOTALLY loosened me up and allowed my voice to get out of it's own way. Evidently, my muscles had all contracted during the previous gig and trying to sing was really putting more strain on them, tightening them up and locking up the voice. I used his massage techniques and I could INSTANTLY feel the difference and I sang my tail off that night. Granted, this is ONE story about this book but hey, if it works, I'm an advocate! Aside from that story, there are more things in his book that I have also collected over the years from other sources and other teachers and yet, I've never seen them published anywhere except for in Raise Your Voice.
If I had one sort of "whine" it would be that Jaime talks too much about the glass shattering deal that he did on Myth Busters. While that's a cool trick, it doesn't mean much to me in the way of protecting my vocal longevity. I think that rather than that kind of gimmick, Jaime's real talent lies in being able to help his fellow rock singers achieve their goals.
Also, the book REALLY needs an editor. Grammatical errors are rampant but it's a great book for rock singers~!
thanks Jaime- Great job!
Book Review: Apprehensive, but now a believer.
Summary: 5 Stars
So, I'm going to preface this with a little information on me. I'm 19, and I have had about 4 singing lessons, which I did after buying the book. I'm considered a bass/baritone. Before buying the book the lowest note I could sing was about an A2, and the highest was an F4 above middle C.
Well, I read the whole book and sort of understood what was going on. It was really hard not having someone there to help me, but I tried applying the things in the book. My range expanded, going down to a Gb2, and up to an A4, but that was really pushing it to the limit. I then took several lessons, and he helped me to better understand how to apply what Jaime was teaching. My range went higher from there, but after I dropped the lessons due to not having time to take them, I totally forgot what I learned and was back to where I was before.
All the sudden, I had some sort of drastic change happen. I was driving home late at night, and tried doing a vocal slide; started on my lowest note and slid up as high as I could.
I have NO CLUE why all the sudden it happened, but it did. I went past my break point, and up into the Robert Plant zone, which was really crazy and something I never thought could happen. I thought it was a fluke ,and tried it again the next day. I could still do it, and this time I measured it. I slid all the way up to a C6. Almost 2 octaves higher than where I usually flipped into falsetto. I seriously can't believe it.... I can't automatically start on a high note and sing Communication Breakdown in a single try, but just the fact that I am hitting these notes means it IS possible.
Sing a whole lot, read the book, and just have fun. It took me awhile to get to where I am ( and even then I still don't know how it happened), but I'm almost starting to take this for granted. I pretty much don't remember what it was like to have a break point and not get past it, but MAN am I glad it's gone!
This book is a complete must. Check his forums after you buy it. I also think there is a new revision coming out.
-Allen
Book Review: THIS BOOK IS A ROCK SINGERS BIBLE ON THE ROAD!!!-Phil Talyor FUTURE LEADERS OF THE WORLD
Summary: 5 Stars
Hey what's up everyone? This is Phil Taylor singer of Future Leaders of the World. Jamie Vendera has been my personal friend and vocal coach for nearly a year now and he has just released "Raise Your Voice," the most revolutionary vocal training book I have ever read! He has worked with the likes of Shaun Morgan from SEETHER, Brent Smith from SHINEDOWN, Josey Scott from SALIVA, Miles Kennedy from ALTERBRIDGE, David Draimand from DISTURBED, and too many more to list. He has worked with me on tour as well and is currently creating my vocal warmups for our new material which he will probly be doing in the studio with me when we cut the new record. I have had the priviledge to recieve a sneak copy of this book which is extremeley helpfull and inspiring to any genre of music, but especially hard rock singers. If you are a singer in a rock band or know a singer in a rock band you have to check this book out because it will truly open your mind and improve your overall performance in endurance, consistency, and control in all areas of the voice. As you know I scream alot in our songs and Jamie has been my guru in maintaining this ability and bulding it as well. Now all this information and training is consolidated in his new book "Raise Your Voice," and I personally recommend you to check this book out if you are serious about being a pro singer, want to sing better in any style, or even know someone who could benefit from this training. This book has changed my life for the better and is a must have for all Singers!!
Phil Taylor
FUTURE LEADERS OF THE WORLD
Book Review: I said this to Jaime himself "You deliver the goods far better then anyone else"
Summary: 5 Stars
and I stand by that. I have studied many programs regarding vocals and if I had only gotten this book a long time ago it could have saved a lot of money. I was thorougly impressed with Jaime's knowledge as well as his dedication to his students. This book contains everything you need to know to become the singer of your dreams. I have actually spoken to Jaime and what I found was a guy who was loaded with knowledge that was as anxious to teach as I am to learn the secrets of the voice. I think the fact that I talked to the man himself instead of an associate speaks volumes. Another great thing is that when you buy the book you get access to the members only area of his website which includes a message board of other singers so you can share your experiences as well as setbacks so it remains a constant source of knowledge. If I could recomend 2 products it would be this book and "Vocal Power" by Jim Gillette. The 2 work hand in hand and give the most bang for the buck. You wont need expensive voice lessons to become a great singer. Just the knowledge here and a bit of dedication. If I was able to hack this site and give him a 10 star review I would thats how impressed I am. I honestly can't "sing" enough praise about it...but then again I am only 2 weeks into the course :)