Customer Reviews

Voice Lessons To Go Volume 2: Do Re Mi Ear and Pitch Training

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I warm up with this cd in the hotel before a show. I waited a couple months to buy CD2 after I had CD 1. I had started taking vocal coaching and using cd 1 reinforced how important breathing is. I am glad I waited before buying this cd. By the time you get to the higher level exercises of CD 2, you'll need some concept of breathing properly.
This cd starts very simple with the first few tracks asking the listener to identify if two notes are higher, lower or the same. Then it proceeds to identifying if a voice part sung after a vocal part is the same or different. These ear exercises are direct and to the point and really do help. Don't worry, you start singing soon enough.
Solfedge is explained in a concise manner so if you don't know it you will, and if you do your money hasn't been spent on more than a few minutes of review.
The singing starts with Do Mi Sol Mi Dos. I'm a baritone and the singer I would guess is a soprano. Problem? Actually, the beneift was I had to focus and identify the same note a few octaves down. This extra "lesson" on my own is an unintended plus.
Major, minor, augmented and diminished chords are practiced. Your ear will improve and you will hear the chords sung more in songs after getting this down.
I've been using it on my drive to work in the mornings. I have had the cd a few weeks and am just reaching tracks 18 and 19 with confidence. Sometimes Ariella Vaccarino sings quite fast as the exercise proceeds. Simply hit the back button and start at the slower part at the beginning of the track.
It really is great to have this in the car or home as I am getting more out of my weekly voice lessons. Add to that, I don't have to play the piano myself. I can stand in front of the mirror and focus on posture.
This brings me back to cd 1. Though my breathing needs work, a weekly lesson and the time I spent with cd 1 before trying this out helps me recognize when I have tension in my throat or am not controlling my breath.
Why is this alone not enough? There is no way the cd can tell you you are leaning too far back and squeezing your lungs, give you a sense of how to raise your soft pallate or make sure to cover every point such as men usually jump straight from chest voice to falsetto at first while women have more of a gradual mid voice.
When I give this cd 5 stars it means for 15 dollars you are getting a product with no fluff that is the perfect compliment to some type of training. Even if the training is just a few lessons to get you started. You'll get out of it what you put into it.

As a choral teacher I was apprehensive to approve these CDs since it is so hard to learn with out a live teacher. But they are great. Ariella Vaccarino knows what she is doing. She keeps the exercises and ranges general enough so that everyone can learn. I really love her second volume. It teaches some excellent musicianship skills.

This second volume is an excellent tool for singers. Unfortunately as a choir teacher with shortened class periods, there is not enough time to teach enough musicianship. My students have a great time with these because they get to sing with them and they are learning as well. -Love them.

I snatched these up the minute I heard about them. I have always wanted to sing. I was not sure whether or not I should have tried both volumes. I am so glad I did. The first one is a great lesson and this volume is awesome for training your ear. I feel so confident. Get them both!

My Mom bought these for me to work with over the summer while I "lounge around the house". Next year I will be in honors choir for 10th grade. They are great. I am sure that I am going to know more solfedge than any of my classmates. My teacher touches on this stuff in class but we never really get into it. I hope I will always be singing one way or the other in life. This I'm sure will help me be a "smarter singer".

Who knew? This solfedge is awesome. Why don't we learn this in school anymore? I am really getting a grip on my musicianship.

I wanted to sing with more confidence- always felt great when singing with people but rocky on my own. So I got this CD, now I understand solfedge- beyond the "Do a Deer" song. It's like my ear now has finer tuning.

I tried the voice coach with Paula Abdul- can't recommend. Then I tried this Voice Lessons To GO series, because of all the great reviews and of course a friend of mine swore by them. Anyway, these CDs are all about teaching you how to warm up your voice and this volume intoduces your ear to all kinds of crazy stuff called- solfeg? Confusing for me at first- thank God its written for you on the cd insert or it may have taken me a bit. Got to see I'm think do so mi stuff all the time now. I've even noticed the different patterns in some music that I listem to because I recognize the sounds from some of her warm ups. Maybe I am musical after all. I don't think I will quite make it to idol but I know I am singing better and smarter.

This CD (Volume 2) takes you to a whole different level of voice instruction from the Volume 1 CD. The exercises are much more difficult (for some of us) than the exercises in Volume 1 of the same series. However, I want to stress that this is not a complaint about the CD. After practicing the Volume 1 exercises for some time, I believe that this CD will take the voice student to the next level of instruction for voice improvement. It will take some time and work to master these lessons. But, once mastered, I believe that your singing and voice control will be at a much higher level.

If you can't have a personal voice coach this CD is a good way to go to help you exercize your vocals and stay in top form.