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Rating: 
Summary: A great book to learn by!
Review: I am a professional jazz/blues and gospel singer here in Japan. I am currently singing at a 5-star international hotel here and also have contracts in many jazz clubs and concert halls. For For jazz aficionadoes, my second CD was produced by Hugh Masekela. Aware of my own weaknesses, I am constanly looking for ways to improve my singing and be the best I possibly can. There are two books that I highly recommend, one is "Singing for the Stars", by Seth Riggs, and the other is this one, "Set Your Voice Free". The exercises are fantastic and very easy to understand. I also enjoyed his commentary on the strength and weaknesses of singers we admire. It's so easy to think that just because one is famous and making millions that one must be perfect...not so, and Robert Love explains it. Some of his lessons are similar to Seth Riggs, but then he studied with Seth Riggs (lucky thing), so it's understandable. My voice has certainly gotten better since employing some of the exercises described in this wonderful book. I am booked to sing spirituals(in a semi-classical style...something I thought I would never do...)in a large concert hall next year in March. I thank Mr Love because after reading his book I realized that I have many 'voices' and can develop all of them in a rich manner. My resonance has improved incredibly! I also teach scores of students and I can proudly attest thatmost of them have advanced greatly, and it is many thanks to some of the exercises in this book. The trill exercises are wondeful, don't sneer at them, an I always do the "goog" and "gug" exercises, great way to smoothen the bridge. I highly recommend this book for pros and for aspiring singers!
Rating:
Summary: A great book to learn by!
Review: I am a professional jazz/blues and gospel singer here in Japan. I am currently singing at a 5-star international hotel here and also have contracts in many jazz clubs and concert halls. For For jazz aficionadoes, my second CD was produced by Hugh Masekela. Aware of my own weaknesses, I am constanly looking for ways to improve my singing and be the best I possibly can. There are two books that I highly recommend, one is "Singing for the Stars", by Seth Riggs, and the other is this one, "Set Your Voice Free". The exercises are fantastic and very easy to understand. I also enjoyed his commentary on the strength and weaknesses of singers we admire. It's so easy to think that just because one is famous and making millions that one must be perfect...not so, and Robert Love explains it. Some of his lessons are similar to Seth Riggs, but then he studied with Seth Riggs (lucky thing), so it's understandable. My voice has certainly gotten better since employing some of the exercises described in this wonderful book. I am booked to sing spirituals(in a semi-classical style...something I thought I would never do...)in a large concert hall next year in March. I thank Mr Love because after reading his book I realized that I have many 'voices' and can develop all of them in a rich manner. My resonance has improved incredibly! I also teach scores of students and I can proudly attest thatmost of them have advanced greatly, and it is many thanks to some of the exercises in this book. The trill exercises are wondeful, don't sneer at them, an I always do the "goog" and "gug" exercises, great way to smoothen the bridge. I highly recommend this book for pros and for aspiring singers!
Rating: 
Summary: Love has talent -- but hard to apply for a struggling singer
Review: I can't vouch for the physiology involved with singing as I know little about the subject. What I do know is that working with the excercises on the included CD has helped me in 4 months more than anything in the 5 years I've been singing. I have gained considerable control and consistency which has so frustratingly eluded me up until this book. I work the exercises in my car to and from work with astonishing results. I recommend this book to anyone who has the discipline to make the exercises part of their daily/weekly routine.
Rating:
Summary: Set Your Voice Free has dramatically improved my voice!
Review: I have always been very self conscious about speaking in public and I never thought I would be comfortable singing in any environment. After reading Set Your Voice Free, I have noticed a dramatic change in both my speaking voice and my newly found ability to sing along with my favorite music on the radio. I have read the book several times and done the excercises on the CD and I am very happy with the results. The book also has some great tips and some fun insider information about famous celebrities. This book really helped my voice.
Rating:
Summary: Very helpful book!
Review: I have always loved to sing, but was very inconsistent. Breathing from my diaphragm comes naturally to me, but the only way I knew how to sing notes was to use power to reach them, so I was hit and miss. I also had no chest voice to really speak of and was sure that I could only sing high.
Desiring to be on the worship team at my church and wanting to improve my singing and finally having the money and the time, I started taking lessons about 3 years ago with a private teacher. She is great! From the beginning of my lessons with her I had to tone down my power dynamic as it interfered with learning her technique. I kept pushing my notes.
Studying with her I greatly improved my high voice and developed my chest voice, which we were both surprised to discover I had. Still, there was that bothersome range that frustrated me. My husband kept telling me that my mid range notes were often flat. Also, with songs that had notes in that range I found myself either straining in my chest voice or popping into my head voice, neither of which felt or sounded all that great. No matter how hard I tried I could not bridge that gap smoothly.
A few months ago I decided to read books on singing to see if I could pick up some more tips. This is the third one I have read, and so far it has been a gold mine for me. It is easy to read and not overly technical, as the other books were. Some other reviews are critical of the science, but I never really read the science part anyway. ;-)
Roger's exercises really helped me with those pesky notes that are right in between my high and low voice. His exercises really showed me my flaws there. The first time I did them I was so bad that I wanted to quit! But I persisted and the second time found that they were easier to do. His description of the middle voice being a blend of high and low voice and his demonstration on the CD makes it easy to understand and grasp.
It explains breathing in a way that I can easily understand, and from what Roger wrote I realized that I needed to bring my power dynamic back. I had shackled it for so long learning my teacher's technique that I had lost touch with how to use it. My husband told me that my voice had lost it's passion, and by giving myself permission to really let my breath go again, I am re-discovering it.
I realized that when I let my natural breathing ability fly the way I had before I took lessons that I discovered this middle voice. I taped myself as he recommends (you really need to do this to hear the improvement) singing songs that used to give me fits and found that I kept sounding better and better on them. I am glad I taped it because it feels weird at times singing that way and I was sure it did not sound good until I played it back.
I am not sure though, if this book would be helpful to someone who never took lessons. I cannot say for certain, but I really don't know if this book would have been as helpful to me if I had not already developed the technique I have with my private teacher. This book helped me improve on her technique.
I suppose it is possible that someone can grasp the concept without the benefits of private instruction. The book is inspirational and fun to read and the exercises are fun, also. I highly recommend!
Rating: 
Summary: I recommend this book
Review: I picked this book up on a whim, and I was very pleased to read that someone had put together a book that contains much of my own philsophy of teaching voice. I'm only giving it 4 stars because the name-dropping throughout the book is irritating at best, and as some others have noted, his descriptions of what the vocal folds are doing during vibrato, etc. are not very scientific or accurate; however, the descriptions do help with visiualizations and it truly isn't necessary to know the science to learn to sing well. Other things I like about the book are:
-connecting the speaking voice to the singing voice
-encouraging people to train their own ears by recording themselves
-exploring the middle voice
-the "do-it-yourself/imitation" approach; this works for many people It's good that a CD is included; it really helps people hear the difference between doing it wrong and doing it right. This is a good place to start if you want to learn to sing.
Rating:
Summary: Love has talent -- but hard to apply for a struggling singer
Review: I was so into this book and was totally convinced that Roger Love would help me find my voice. I went so far as to meet him in person to get a one on one session. After 2 months of reading the book I found no improvements whatsoever in my voice. I was doing all the exercises, trying to breathe correctly -- and I just couldn't do. So I figured, if I met him in person, maybe he'd show me what I was doing wrong. So I paid the heavy sum to meet him personally and thought -- this is it -- I'm on my way. He did tell me what was wrong with my voice -- but no real tricks on how to fix the problems. I figured I paid this vocal genius the money -- now tell me the secret -- show me how to find my voice. The lesson unfortunately didn't help either. The guy is indeed talented, knowledgeable of his craft and I have great respect for him as a singer (his voice was unbelievable), but as a student, I couldn't grasp his teachings. I have been singing since I was in high school, which is close to ten years ago. I picked up some bad habits along the way, so I was trying to mend them and learn to sing the right way. It just didn't help me at all. Finally, I gave up on the book. I searched for vocal lessons elsewhere. I found a teacher who helped my voice tremendously in just one lesson using a technique started by Seth Riggs, known as "Speech Level Singing". It's working for me so far and I suggest maybe trying a book using this technique. But honestly, I think it's best to get a person one on one -- cause books can be vague. Learning to sing really takes professional guidance. There is so much involved in doing it right (which roger DOES actually go into extensively in this book)-- breathing, posture, position of larynx, type of foods you eat, drink (best to drink just plain water -- no teas, caffeine -- a tip from Roger), I mean -- so many factors, it's best to have someone right there guide you. Well, I hope this helps. Good luck. It's a tough road.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent and Inspiring Guide...
Review: I'm one of those who honestly felt that I had got my $... worth and then some in the first five minutes of working with this book. I've sung in bands and theatre with moderate success but always been frustrated at the entirely hit-or-miss nature of my grasp on 'how to sing'. It's never been something I 'do', but rather something I can 'usually get away with'. Love's book helped guide me in short order to a part of my voice that I've found on occasion on my own (usually in the car, or occasionally an inspired moment on stage, but almost never simply 'on demand') which I now realize is the middle voice he refers to in his book. Are there other ways to get there? No doubt. Is he first and only instructor to speak of this sort of thing? Of course not, but he's the VERY FIRST who managed to reach ME despite myself. Does that mean he will reach you as well? Who knows, but I'd say it's a pretty safe gamble you will take away something from this book and cd in short order if you approach it openly and with a good sense of humor. His simple device of using the 'cry' and whatnot have proved invaluable to me in 'remembering' how to find that sweet spot instead of shouting myself hoarse with vocal groping and frustration. Think Robert Smith or Danny Elfman to get an idea of how the 'cry' can sound. It's kind of a vocal 'shoe-horn' to get you into middle voice. Once you start to get a feel for this, the goofy images like 'think of your voice as a purple mist flowing--blah de blah de blah' start to actually become useful as you start to feel and hear when you're going from chest voice to head voice and/or somewhere in between. Good luck and have fun with the book. Really accentuate the cry when you get to that part. Let yourself be a goofy cartoon character for a bit and laugh and have fun, and you may suddenly realize that your voice is ringing more clearly and purely than ever before. If you've never experienced it before, you'll probaly freak a bit and think "What the shrieking f* was that?!" It will feel very 'unusual' and perhaps even 'un-safe' as in "I don't sound like THAT! OTHER people who really know how to sing sound like that!" Surrender a bit and let yourself continue to explore, and get a pocket recorder so you can record yourself on the fly, even while driving. Experiment. Laugh. Have fun. Good Luck!
Rating:
Summary: Make yourself heard
Review: The book 'Set Your Voice Free', by Roger Love, one of most famous and most in-demand vocal coaches in America, is a real godsend to those who rely on their voice for professional purposes (hmmm, why would a preacher need that?). Co-authored by Donna Frasier, this book explores techniques for preserving, strengthening, and extending the vocal power and range of the reader/practitioner. There is a forward by Dr. Laura Schlessinger--whether or not you agree with her opinions, you must admit she has vocal presence on the radio. This book will not turn you into Dr. Laura (in any respect!) but it will help you achieve the voice that you are capable of having, but simply did not gain the instruction to unleash. Why is speaking important? While this many seem a question with an obvious answer, it is usually an unexamined one. The right voice can make a business presentation or sales pitch more dynamic, and make the difference between closing the deal and walking away empty-handed. The right voice can win the man or woman of your dreams over to a first date. Even if you just want to sound better on your answering machine, this is book that will help. Think you can't carry a tune in a bucket, and that this is because you don't have musical training? Guess again. With simple exercises in this book, you will be singing along in no time with much less self-consciousness and more self-confidence, which in-and-of itself can make a difference in how you sound. It comes with an instructional CD with vocal exercises to follow. From simple breathing exercises (yes, there is a right way to breathe) to more specific practice routine, you will have material to follow to help you unlock the hidden potential of your voice. The sound you make will be richer, more fully rounded and developed. Roger Love includes extra helps for those who are primarily interested in singing (such a vibrato, riffs, and even stage presence), and those who are more interested in speaking (such as pacing, varying the tone, volume, even what to do with your hands). The final chapter takes on aspects of the healing power of the voice. Remember how wonderful you felt when, as a child, your mother would read softly or sing to you, how the sound of her voice alone was a great healing comfort? There is a reason for this, not simply due to the emotional bond with mother. The voice can reach parts of the brain that the language itself cannot reach. Learn to tap into that. Make a joyous sound! Read this book, and set your voice free!
Rating:
Summary: Have access to a top-notch vocal trainer 24x7
Review: When I purchased this book, I had not heard of Roger Love or Donna Frazier. Not even one week into using the book, however, I feel like I am cheating them by paying so little for the critical knowledge contained in this book.
This book will give you tools and confidence you need to develop your own ability. Even if you have had extensive vocal training and think you know it all, I believe you're certain to learn something worth at least the cover price of the book.
The bottom line is: This book provides an excellent road map to becoming a better singer. The work is still yours to do, however, and I'd say that anyone who doesn't see positive gains from his/her investment in this book either already sings like Ella Fitzgerald or simply doesn't practice enough.
Oh yeah - and don't be lazy about using the CD...it is an integral part of the book.
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