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(More customer reviews)Some people will not like my review of this book. However, that doesn't change the truth of what I'm about to explain. Dena Murray's book is marketed as a "vocal technique" book for contemporary music, however the "technique" this book does focus on is more the classical training: Keep your larynx low, you're throat open, focus on placement of the Italian vowel sounds, and practice scales to improve pitch and work the registers. This is nothing new, this is the formula that has been applied to train opera singers for many generations and if you want this information then Dena's book does an ok job of putting that form of traditional training together in a nice package here. I say 'ok' because I believe there are better books out there; the techniques that helped me the most are not found here.
Considering that this book is marketed towards popular music vocalist and not traditional/classical singers, I'm giving this two stars. My problem with this book is outside of theater, I think the classical approach, while proven- has become a bit stale. Modern research by Thomas Appell and others have shown the science behind the human voice, we all do not have two registers as Dena states. This is probably what she was told years and years ago and that's why she teaches it, but if you read Appeal's book you'll discover a detailed report of the science of the human voice. Dena seems to dodge middle voice altogether, in this book she says "there is a middle voice, but you need to develop chest and head first". this is the classical training school of thought. Dena's approach is what you want for opera and theater vocals. It's also ok foundation. If your practice the scales she provides and the techniques she presents you're voice will improve. But that's not the bottom line here. There are other systems that will get you there faster, more modern techniques that teach style along with technique.
Dena's classical roots are also revealed in her classification of the registers, you simply calls the head register "falsetto", which implies ignorance. Since falsetto implies a technique (low tension which blows the chords appart to produce an light airy sound), head voice can most certainly also be full voice and not falsetto. This was one of a few red flags found in this book to me. Ms. Murray may be an excellent teacher, she is definitely a good writer, but a lot of her information is just beyond subjectively wrong.
SLS (Speech Level Singing) is a system developed by Seth Riggs, it's a different approach to vocal training than the classical system presented in this book and by classical instructors that's geared for popular music. SLS is not a gimmick as it now the leading system for popular music. Used for almost two decades now by amazing vocalist like: Michael Jackson, Keith Urban, Ozzy Osborne to name a small few. SLS focuses on building middle voice instead of giving it a back seat for months (or years) as Ms. Murray's approach would. "Middle voice" which is really just a SLS term for sweet notes found where the chest and head voice meet is crtical for popular music, you hear popular artist focus there (and seldom jump into head).
Some other problems I have with the material: C1 is presented as "middle C", I would have thought this a misprint except Ms. Murray goes on to talk about it. In case you're wondering "middle C" is commonly known as C4 on a piano. The most disturbing problem I found with Ms. Murray's material was information on vocal range, on her diagrams she shows a tenor should be able to sing from F2 an octave and a half below middle C up to G5, an octave and a half above middle C. This supports her comment that "everyone should have a three octave vocal range", which isn't true. In opera parts written for the Tenor will span from Bb below C3 up to "tenor high C" which is C5. That's just a tad over two octaves and most parts are written from C3-C5. Also almost all popular music for male tenors is between this range as well (actually most popular music stays within an octave and a half).
If you follow her advice you're likely to find yourself feeling inadequate with your range and you're "true voice" will emerge very clean with no color of style. If you want to sing opera this is perfect, if you want to be a rock or pop vocalist you may want to use this material as a foundation that's ok, just realize it's a very light foundation and if you stick with this you'll be a very generic singer. I actually think quite a bit less of the Musicians Institute series after reading this book. To her credit, it's possible Dena Murray's classroom material is distant from this book. There really is no implied connection by her own written words, but it is part of the MIT series, so my comments are not without merit.
My advice: See books by Seth Riggs, Roger Love, Thomas Appell and Jamie Vendera. These guys have current techniques that can be proven. While this book may give you a foundation suitable for move to the next level in any genre, there are better places to start for popular music vocalist.
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Vocal Technique - A Guide to Finding Your Real Voice: Book with Two CDs (Essential Concepts)Stop straining to hit those high notes! Unlock your true potential and start singing easily and effortlessly with this book/2-CD pack by Musicians Institute vocal instructor Dena Murray. She teaches how to: breathe naturally; improve your speaking voice; stop holding, pushing and squeezing; develop your natural three-octave range; place your chest and head voices; and bridge the registers to sound like one voice. Includes two CDs with demonstrations, guided exercises, and plenty of practice tracks.
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