!Book - Singing For The Stars, WOKALISTÓW folder
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Foreword
The wide diversity of singing styles that exists in the world today demands a singing
technique—a way of using your voice—that can be applied in the performance of all
those styles. If a singing technique can't be applied to
every
style of singing, something
is wrong with that technique.
That's the premise we began with when Alfred Publishing Company's editors
and I discussed the development of a totally new kind of book about singing. We
wanted to do something that had never been done before—publish a book that
actually taught people
how
to sing.
But where would we find the author? There was only one person I knew of who
could fill such a tall order—Seth Riggs, considered by many to be the best and most
successful voice teacher in the United States. He is certainly the busiest. No other
teacher, past or present, has ever matched his phenomenal track record. His students
are a veritable "Who's Who" of singers, actors, dancers, and entertainers throughout
the world.
When you first meet Seth Riggs, you are overwhelmed by his dynamic
personality, his flair for the outspoken, but most of all, his sense of purpose—his
"mission" to clean up the mess being made of singers' voices by voice teachers in
schools, colleges, and private studios everywhere.
The day I met with Seth about the possibility of putting his method in writing so
more people could benefit from his work, his initial reaction was, "Impossible,— you
can't learn to sing from a book!" Well, I could understand his point of view. When
Seth Riggs teaches, it's strictly on a one-to-one basis. He quickly diagnoses a singers's
vocal problems and then prescribes specific exercises to correct those problems. It's a
very individual process, one not easily adapted to the printed page. But we decided to
give it a try. It
had
to be done.
I proceeded to do my research and to observe him closely over a period of
several months, trying to find a general or systematic approach to something that,
there was no question about it, was working miracles!
The first time I sat in on a lesson, I thought I had gone to singers' heaven! Seth
had his students doing incredible things with their voices—things you would have
thought only those with a great natural gift could do. In the weeks that followed, most
of the students I observed weren't even part of the "star" clientele he has become so
famous for. But they
sounded
like stars.
Like so many others, these singers—young and old—had struggled un-
successfully for years with other "voice teachers" to increase their range and
* See Appendix for a listing of his clientele on pg. 138.
vii
improve their tone quality. With Seth Riggs, however, the results were very different,
and achieved in a very short time. You see, the Riggs method is application. Although
he likes his students to understand the basic principles underlying his method, he
feels that just telling you how your voice works does nothing to help you sing. You
have to know how to get it to work!
Well, finally the "impossible" had been accomplished. The manuscript was
complete, as well as an audio tape that actually demonstrates how to do the exercises
used in the training program. Yet, something wasn't right. Oh, it was all there—the
theory, the exercises, all the facts. But that special quality of the man you experience
between the actual moments of instruction—his charisma, if you like—was missing.
To remedy this, we included a section entitled "The Author Speaks Out," in
which Seth talks more informally about his method and responds very frankly (that is
his way) to the controversial issues surrounding the teaching of singing in this country
and abroad.
I am confident that readers of this book will appreciate and utilize its direct,
no-nonsense approach to developing a workable vocal technique—to begin
Singing
For The Stars.
The Editor
viii
Preface
Sing from your diaphragm!" "Place the tone forward!" "Open your throat!" "Keep
your tongue down!" "Give it more support!" Sound familiar?
The language of voice teachers and choir directors abounds in such confusing
and dangerous cliches. Every day, singers who never question the "wisdom" of their
teachers manipulate and strain their voices until one day they discover their voices are
"burned out."
What most teachers never seem to understand is that you don't need to think about
twenty different things every time you open your mouth. And you don't need to study
singing for more than a few weeks before you begin to experience positive results.
It doesn't matter whether you sing pop, rock, opera, or musical theatre. You
should sing with a technique that allows you to just relax and concentrate on
performing—which is what it's really all about, anyway— right?
This author has worked successfully with hundreds of singers, actors, and
dancers—top professionals—in all areas of musical performance and entertainment.
And although some may not sing as well as others, all have achieved the ability to
always sound confident and natural when they sing.
Their secret is a technique called
speech-level singing,
which allows you to sing
with the same comfortable, easily produced voice you use, or should use, when you
speak. No matter if you sing high or low, loud or soft, nothing feels different in your
throat or mouth. Your tone and the words you sing always feel natural to you, and
sound natural to your audience.
With this book and the accompanying cassette tapes, you can now learn the
same singing technique the pros use—one that will let you sing with a strong, clear,
and flexible voice over a range that you never dreamed possible. But it does take
patience and the ability to follow instructions carefully.
Good luck! I wish you all the success in the world.
ix
Contents
Foreword
vii
Preface
ix
About the Author
1
Introduction
4
How To Use This Book
11
Basic
Principles
13
How Your Voice Works: The Creation of Vocal Tone 13 Vocal
Cord Vibration — Where Your Voice Begins 14 Breath
Support 16 Vocal Cord Adjustment 23
Resonance — Why Your Voice Is Unique 25
Physical Sensations 26
What To Remember 27
How Your Voice Works Best: The Natural Technique of
Speech-level Singing 28
Your Speech-level — A Foundation For Vocal Freedom 29
Speech-level Singing — Feeling and Sounding Natural 32
Singing Low Notes 32
Singing High Notes 32
The Passage Areas of Your Range 33
Singing Through the Passage Areas 33
Vocal Cord Thinning 35
Vocal Cord Shortening 35
What to Remember 35
How To Get Your Voice To Work For You: The Training Process 36
Developing Coordination—The First Step 36
Building Strength—All in Good Time 37 What To
Remember 37
xi
Part 1 Building Confidence
39
Exercise 1 40
Exercise 2 44
Exercise 3 46
Exercise 4 48
Exercise 5 52
Exercise 6 54
Exercise 7 58
Exercise 8 60
Exercise 9 62
Exercise 10 64
Exercise 11 66
Exercise 12 70
Exercise 13 72
Part 2 Toward Speech-Level Singing
75
Exercise 14
76
Exercise 15
78
Exercise 16
80
Exercise 17
82
Exercise 18
84
Exercise 19
86
Exercise 20
88
Exercise 21
90
Exercise 22
92
Exercise 23
94
Exercise 24
96
Exercise 25
98
Exercise 26
100
xii
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