Pro Secrets of Heavy Rock Singing (Paperback)

by Bill Martin (Author) "People have asked me, 'Why a book about heavy rock singing?'..." (more)
Key Phrases: taken vocal lessons, resonating sensations, raspy singing, Geoff Tate, Rob Halford, Bruce Dickinson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This is the first instructional singing book to address exclusively rock sining in the singer's own words. Learn what it takes to sing like a professional, maximize your vocal range, increase power, and avoid burnout. Learn what to do on the road before and after a show to maintain your rocking voice. All that and more as international stars such as Bruce Dickinson, Geoff Tate, and Joe Lynn Turner among others share their insider knowledge in "Pro Secrets of Heavy Rock Singing".

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1860744370
• ISBN-13: 978-1860744372
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #146,319 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good book, great insights from the Stars, January 12, 2003

By	Reader - See all my reviews

* First off, this is a very good book that I ejoyed quite a bit, and will go back to re-read several times, I'm sure. I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could. I say this because most of my comments below will sound a bit critical, but I don't mean to convey a negative impression, necessarily, I just state where this book might have been even better. Bill Martin did a fine job overall, IMO.

This book was supposed to be entitled "Metal Pipes" from what I'd heard about beforehand, and only recently learned that it had been released under the eventual title. It's a very good read, mostly because of the interviews with star rock/metal singers. A couple of comments...

1. The first section of chapters, which is actually quite short and repeats phrases/views from the subsequent interviews with the singers, is actually sort of okay, but not that good. If you've never learned anything about singing at all (e.g., the importance of hyrdation, warmup, and sleep/rest), it will be of help, but it is of limited value and really is a rather half-hearted attempt at delivering the basics of vocal production/technique and maintenance/care. It probably would have been better to integrate more on these topics with some of the sources cited on vocal technique/production and the interview comments/opinions in a summary section at the end of the book. The section on producing 'rasp' was quite unique, however, and one I've not seen before, even in Mark Baxter's "Rock and Roll Singer's Survival Manual".

2. Most of the interviews are quite good, but they are of varying quality, not because of the questions asked, but rather because some of the singers didn't really say that much in their responses (e.g., Rik Emmett, surprisingly). My favorite interview was with Tim "Ripper" Owens, who was very forthcoming in his responses (and he's a really good guy, I e-mailed with him a few times on vocal technique). I'd heard that Michael Matijevic, of Steelheart and "Rock Star" fame, was going to participate, but apparently this didn't ultimately happen.

3. Finally, a word of caution - although most of these singers have had some lessons at some time in their careers, none of them are experts in vocal production, so I'd say to take their advice if it seems logical or workable, apply it, and if it doesn't seem to be working out for you, drop it. Just because they sing well does not mean that their advice will necessarily work for you - every voice is different.

* Bottom line: Very good overall, could have been a bit better. Maybe I'll write a follow-up that addresses some of the shortcomings I saw in this book and interview some of the missing greats (e.g., Halford, Dio, Kiske).

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars True Metal vocal techniques to the max!, February 18, 2003

By	Mark Lyon (Danbury, CT) - See all my reviews

This book is overall a great read. I am not a lead vocalist, I am a guitarist, but I know a lot about singing and other instruments. A few things I suggest you skip over are anything said by Chuck Billy(although I'm a huge fan of Testament, his vocal techniques are very harsh and damaging on your vocal chords)and the guy from Disturbed(he apparently damaged his voice so bad that he needed surgery). Other than that, this is a great book. Winger-haters, don't skip over the Kip Winger interview...Although Winger had horribly cheesy music, Kip is a very knowledgable musician and gives great advice. Bruce gives awesome but common warm-up tips, and James Labree obviously knows what he is talking aboot, eh? Geoff Tate's advice did not impress me. I expected more out of such a vocal god. I do recomend this book for any lead or backup vocalist. It gives great insight to whatever style you are playing, especially Metal. Well, I hope this review helped you. My Metal Hails hgo out to all of you!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Jaime Vendera, Author of Raise Your Voice", December 18, 2005

By	Jaime Vendera "Author of Raise Your Voice and... (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This is the first vocal instruction book for rock singers, which addresses the voice from the professional singer's point of view. Pro Secret's of Heavy Rock Singing contains 25 interviews from professional rock singers, such as, Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, Geoff Tate of Queensryche, James Labrie of Dream Theater, and David Draiman of Disturbed.

This book presents the "secrets" of professionals that will help you to sing like a professional, improve your range, increase your power and avoid vocal burnout. Bill covers the basic aspects of a rock singer's voice starting with voice types. He discusses voice range classifications and differences between male and female voices. He explains breath control and utilizing resonance for power. He then moves on to explain how to warm up the voice. Rock singing is about range and rasp, both of which are covered in detail. Finally, Bill touches on vocal health, discussing such important factors, such as hydration and sleep.

This is an excellent book for getting the basics of rock singing. The book is worth buying for the interviews. What better way to learn how to sing rock, than by words of wisdom directly from the masters. Many of the singers discuss singing metal music by way of falsetto. I am not a big fan of using falsetto for singing all of your upper notes because I know that you can develop your full voice to achieve the same range. Regardless of each individual vocalists approach, each interview has several gems detrimental to developing your voice. I recommend this book for all serious rock and hard rock singers.