You may have heard about Speech-Level Singing or SLS and wondered what it is all about.  You may even have taken lessons from a SLS certified instructor and still have questions about the approach.  Sometimes it is best to go to the master, even if you have a great SLS vocal coach.  Singing For The Stars is a concise book with two audio CDs of commentary and practical exercises.

Here is an outline of the contents of the book and CDs:

• How Your Voice Works
  • The Creation of Vocal Tone
  • Vocal Cord Vibration—Where Your Voice Begins
    • Breath support
    • Vocal cord adjustment
  • Resonance—Why Your Voice Is Unique
    • Physical sensations
• How Your Voice Works Best
  • The Natural Technique of Speech-Level Singing 
  • Your Speech Level—A Foundation For Vocal Freedom
  • Speech-Level Singing—Feeling and Sounding Natural
    • Singing low notes
    • Singing high notes
    • The passage areas of your range
    • Singing through the passage areas
    • Vocal cord thinning
    • Vocal cord shortening
• How to Get Your Voice to Work For You
  • The Training Process
  • Developing Coordination—The First Step
  • Building Strength—All In Good Time
• Practical Exercises
  • Part 1, Building Confidence (13 exercises)
  • Part 2, Toward Speech-Level Singing (13 exercises)
  • Part 3, Technique maintenance (4 exercises)
• The Author Speaks Out
  • General Questions
  • Classifying Voices
  • Range Extension
  • Tone Development
  • Using Microphones
  • Singing in Different Styles
  • Singing Outdoors
  • Choosing a Teacher
  • Exploiting Student Voices
  • Voice Science
  • Performers as Teachers
  • Singing in Choir
  • Choir Directors as Voice Teachers
  • Popular Music and Traditional Teaching
  • Selecting Music
  • Singing in Foreign Languages'
  • Practicing
  • Singing in Rehearsals
  • Voice Competitions
  • The Young Voice
  • The Aging Voice
• Health and Care of the Singer's Voice
  • Posture
  • Bad Habits
    • Using alcohol and drugs
    • Smoking
    • Eating before singing
    • Shocking your cords
    • Using excessive volume
  • Other factors
    • Imitation of other singers
    • Remedies that don't work
    • Unnecessary vocal rest
    • Emotional stress and fatigue
    • Hormones
    • Your environment
• Appendix
• Glossary

The program is designed for use on its own or with a good voice teacher.  The exercises on the CD provide Seth Riggs explaining the exercise, a singer demonstrating the exercise (often with Seth making suggestions), and the piano part for you to do the exercise.

I think anyone who works through the exercises regulary will be rewarded with a stronger, more natural voice with an extended smooth vocal range. 

Some of the singers and producers providing testimonials include Michael Bolton, Quincy Jones, Natalie Cole, Stevie Wonder, Bernadette Peters, Luther Vandross, Thomas McKinney, Douglas Sills, and Michael Jackson.  Perhaps a future edition will have your name on it :-)

Book & 2 CDS reviewed by Greg Dixon
For Shared Visions Unlimited
Tuesday, June 29, 02010

Please see Amazon.com for online ordering, sample pages, and more reviews for Singing For The Stars: A Complete Program for Training Your Voice