Customer Reviews

Finding Your Voice: A Practical and Spiritual Approach to Singing and Living

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Carolyn Sloan was my voice teacher for over 6 years. I am away in college now, but having a copy of Finding Your Voice with me at school keeps everything I learned from Ms. Sloan fresh in my mind. Learning from her was really an incredible experience. Unfortunately, not everyone is as lucky as I was, to be able to study with her privately. However, Finding Your Voice gives people everywhere a chance to benefit from Ms. Sloan's teachings. I recommend this book highly, for anyone curious about a new, more spiritual and natural approach to singing. You will be amazed and delighted by what she has to say, I promise!

I have been singing now for numerous years, but only now do i realize all the spiritual apects of the art. This book helped me find these, and become a better singer, and person.

I highly recommend this phenomenal book. I have been singing for years, and this book has been a true blessing, combining spirituality with using your body as a cherished instrument. It is about a wholistic approach to singing, which is essential for anyone wishing to be a truly outstanding vocalist. After reading this book, you will have a greater awareness of each note and each subsequent vibration in the body, *feeling* instead of just singing the song, and how to approach your instrument without constant judgements, but with love and acceptance and a sense of discovery. I have read many books about singing and music, and this is the most important book to read to be a truly phenomenal vocalist.

Sloan's book is a handy guide to a path of spiritual awakening and personal growth through singing. Readers are guided through a transformational process of "learning to be whole," a truly educational experience with voice and song. Should make us rethink any proposals to diminish the role of the arts in all forms of education, especially public education.

I could'nt help reading the "Excellent" reviews before I wrote mine. Sloan has a powerful imagery and an explosive way of communicating it to the reader. I am specially impressed with her work since it's her first book ever. If you have technical aspects of voice under your belt (which is like having a thick crust already) Sloan's concepts would make a good icing. But the book is no substitute to a disciplined course in vocal technique. And as every aspiring singer should know no book no matter how inclusive can replace actual coaching from a teacher. Of course lots of books can supplement lessons from teachers and mentors. Singing is a spritual experiance and not just screaming to match pitches. If that's where you are lacking this book might open a door for you.

What I loved about this book is that the author gives a succinct explanation of how our voice works-how sound is produced-but doesn't belabor the issue. The focus here is NOT on how our voice sounds, but how we feel when we sing. This is a valuable lesson, as most people are concerned about how they sound when they sing. Everyone can sing! I felt like I was taking a workshop, and there are very valuable exercises to do, both for the voice and the mind. Highly recommend.

I found this well crafted, polished, and insightful. It has something for any singer -- and it integrates the ideas well. It is mostly thought-evoking and it also has practical exercises. It is very readable too.

If you are not a singer -- you should still read this book -- it's also about life, expressing yourself, speaking, dancing, and simply "being" in a practical and thoughtful way.

I'm personally not a fan of new-agey books, but I found the spiritual approach in this book to be very palatable to my overly-intellectual mind.

I'd recommend this as a nice gift too.

Spare me all of this "new age" garbage. I sing therefore I am.....blah blah blah. Students who are looking to learn to sing don't need to visualize themselves as warriors, scientists or whatever ridiculous creatures the author proposes. Envisioning yourself as some space traveling harmonious astronaut doesn't solve any problems if you can't carry a tune. If you are going to take advice on a creative art from someone in a book, shouldn't it be from someone whose musical accomplishments are at least documented? If the author spent less time dreaming of ways to feel the music through sappy role playing and concentrated more on improving her own abilities to the point where her name was recognizable, perhaps her teachings would lend some actual credibility. If someone like Celine Dion wrote a book like this..tacky as it may be, at least she has some accomplishments behind her that justify her methods. This book lacks integrity in that it fails to adequately teach the reader anything about music....if you want to discover your spirit, save the $15 and turn on Oprah.