On Studying Singing

Rating:
Summary: Excellent reference for beginners
Review: As a young college music student, Kagen's book was an excellent starting point in my vocal study. I would recommend giving this book to read to anyone considering studying voice professionally. Not only does Kagen write realistically about who can and cannot learn how to sing like an opera diva, but he goes through and breaks down into steps the process of learning a song or a difficult florid passage. Though he can be rather repetitive (this is the reason for three stars) and hold to much of the "old" in vocal pedagogy, his ideas are an ideal starting place for further discussion in both the study and teaching of voice.

Rating:
Summary: Not true!
Review: It was unfortunate this was the first singing book I ever read and so I gave up on singing. Pretty much the author say singing is a borned talent and cannot be taught. Not true! Recently, I started taking some singing lessons to find out for myself and I have improved dramatically. You can do anything in life if you have good discipline and alot of perserverence! Don't let anyone tell you that you can't.

Rating:
Summary: Not true!
Review: It was unfortunate this was the first singing book I ever read and so I gave up on singing. Pretty much the author say singing is a borned talent and cannot be taught. Not true! Recently, I started taking some singing lessons to find out for myself and I have improved dramatically. You can do anything in life if you have good discipline and alot of perserverence! Don't let anyone tell you that you can't.

Rating:
Summary: Hey, this isn't a pep talk
Review: The reason some readers are turned off by this book is because Kagen's opening point is that not everybody can sing professionally, no matter how much training they receive (just like the point that some people aren't ever going to be cut out for professional basketball). That said, Kagen does have some good things to say about the importance of developing your inner ear and not getting bogged down by too much technical twaddle. If you want to read about singing or learning how to sing, this probably shouldn't be your first book, but it shouldn't be the last you get around too, either. Other helpful books are by Clifton Ware, Richard Miller, and James McKinney.