The Complete Idiot's Guide to Singing (Paperback)

by Phyllis Fulford (Author), Michael Miller (Author) "Discover the many different outlets for your singing talent..." (more)
Key Phrases: common pronunciation problems, proper singing posture, vocal imagery, The Least You Need, Frank Sinatra, Frere Jacques (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
An easy-to-read guide to becoming a singer (or a better singer)-from finding an ideal singing range and how to practice, to gathering enough courage to sing in public.

€ Includes an audio CD with examples of different techniques and accompaniments for the singing exercises outlined in the book
€ Tips on how to stand and breathe properly
€ Techniques on singing in various styles
€ Resources for finding a teacher
€ Also available: The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to Songwriting

About the Author
Phyllis Fulford, a lifelong musician and educator, earned her Masters of Music from Butler University. She taught at the high school and junior high level for 27 years and continues to teach voice and piano to private students. She is currently on the Board of Directors of the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir.

Michael Miller is an author, musician, and consultant. He has written more than four dozen books, including The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to Music Theory and The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to Playing Drums.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Alpha (September 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592570860
• ISBN-13: 978-1592570867
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #92,270 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Idiots singing (some comparison to Dummies singing), July 11, 2007

By	D. Truter (Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While the guidance to good singing in this book can be found in other books, the presentation is reader-friendly, and makes good use of imagery to help improve the singing voice. Basic ideas about singing are introduced early in the book and are elaborated in later chapters. This is repetition but it is repetition with good effect - it makes it easier to understand and retain the advice. The diagrams, summaries, tips, cautions, glossary and trouble shooting are all useful. The CD provides a standard with which to compare your efforts. The book covers a range of singing styles, though some chapters would be of greater relevance to some types of singers than to others, eg a budding pop singer would probably find the chapter dealing with proper posture too restrictive.

The sequence of the material in the book could have been better in two respects. The authors claim that you dont need any initial knowledge to get started. A reader with no initial knowledge is soon confronted with music notes on staves and a diagram of a keyboard. Material on these is included in the book, but much later. So, someone with no initial knowledge would benefit from reading the first 5½ pages of Chapter 10 before tackling Chapter 4. While the book does inform the reader when there is a track on the CD which is relevant to an exercise or a song, the track numbers are not provided in the text where they would be most convenient. The reader needs to consult an appendix for descriptions of each track on the CD.

The exercises in the book are well described, though little guidance is provided on how frequently the exercises should be performed. There is a practice checklist in an appendix which suggests in broad terms the time to be spent on different activities. I think a beginner needs more guidance than this, especially in the first weeks. Is this exercise, for example, one that ideally should be practiced say 6 times every second day for 3 weeks before moving on? Is it an exercise or warm-up that should be done for as long as the singer sings? Should this exercise be done in conjunction with other exercises? It would have been helpful if the authors had suggested a program or provided a chart for say the first 6 weeks to get a beginner started. The book does not address basic questions about frequency that a beginner may want expert guidance on. Questions like: Can I practise every day or is it best to rest my voice on one or more days of the week? Can I practise more than once a day?

One of the breathing exercises entails inhaling and holding the breath for as you long can. There is no caution about what to do if you feel dizzy. Another says that you should exhale slowly - rather than slowly and evenly, especially at the start and end of the breath.

The section of the book on sight singing is elementary. The authors acknowledge that it is a starting point. Most singers need to work through many exercises and a lot of unseen music if they want to become proficient sight singers. There are whole books that specialize in developing just this skill.

In the section on the art of phrasing it is suggested (among other things) that you evaluate the sense of harmonic movement underlying the melody - in other words, the songs chord changes. Someone with no initial experience would find it impossible to do this given that the book does not include material on chords, harmony or harmonic movement.

It seems the authors view their breathing and voice exercises as useful both for improving a singers breathing and voice and also for physical and vocal warm-ups. However, there is no separate account of warm-up exercises in the book. A separate account could have addressed questions like: What is the difference between a warm-up and the remainder of a practise session? Should vocal warm-ups be soft, slow and gentle before a stage appearance? Is humming of any value?

How does the book compare to Singing for Dummies? The main differences are in the topics covered, depth of coverage and presentation. Dummies has no material on sight singing and almost none on how to read music. It
has no glossary and very few diagrams. It does not systematically describe different styles of singing. Idiots has little or no material on how to act a song, developing a practise routine, belting or on how to select music material. However, it devotes 5 chapters to different styles of singing. It is generally more inviting and easier to follow. It is a quicker read. I think the book (not the CD) would have greater appeal to a younger reader.

On the otherhand, while Dummies is heavier going, it deals with its topics in greater depth, especially topics that are basic to singing. It is not a book you can read from cover to cover without being overwhelmed. It is more like a reference book to be consulted over the longer haul.
The CDs for each book are different too. The Dummies CD has a leader who introduces the CD and tells you what the next exercise will be before it starts. You are encouraged to sing along with almost all of the exercises (with piano accompaniment). The CD ends with one complete song. The Idiots CD takes a different approach. Most of the CD is used to demonstrate the correct way of doing the exercises described in the text. It ends with a few more songs in different styles that you can sing along with. Many of the exercises on the CD are for rhythm and interval recognition and for sight singing. These topics are not covered on the Dummies CD - but Dummies provides more help on basics like singing vowels correctly and it is much more fun to use.
Neither book explicitly addresses the starting and ending of notes (attack and decay).

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best introductory book, March 18, 2008

By	Chen Sun "WebAndNet.com" (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Most of the reviews written prior to me (3-13-08) seem to be from those with professional vocal training background. My brief review is from a layman who read or perused many introductory singing instructions books to teach myself.

This is, by far, the best single introductory book I've seen. Clearly written, well organized, Complete Idiot's series uses better paperstock and graphics design than Dummies series (easier to read), and, the author is clearly more knowledgeable than most other authors.

Most other authors describe and favor a way of preferred singing and focus on preferred styles of music. The authors here are far more understanding--recognizing that some may want opera, jazz, rock, etc, and they recognize that different types of training are suitable for these.

From among the many singing books I've reviewed, this is the single best introductory book to begin with.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite possibly the best introductory to singing I've found., December 27, 2007

By	Priscilla A. Arnold "Music Is Life..." (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Granted, music "snobs" will dislike the idea of being called an "idiot", but this book covers it all. It includes the concepts of classical, jazz and popular singing. it is written for the average aspiring student to receive some of the much needed information on the basics of singing.

Written for the average "idiot", this book provides a very simple explanation of important concepts such as costal breathing, placement and resonance. The CD that it comes with is quite valuable in learning intervals, and includes concepts that must be heard in order to understand. The exercises are also quite valuable.

Please do NOT use this as a replacement for private voice lessons. But keeping this as a resource will increase your understanding, and this book may be used as a reference guide as you study. it even includes a very small repertoire of songs to study, along with demonstrations and accompaniment tracks for practice!

I read this book, as a voice teacher, in order to assist me with simplifying my explanations to my students. Great stuff here!