Belting - A Guide to Healthy, Powerful Singing (Book/Online Media)

I am a vocal instructor that specializes in vocal techniques. I have been teaching for over 25 years now and have read AND practiced with all of the books I have ever read over time to see what worked and what didn't. I felt compelled to write a review of this book. This book is probably THE BEST book I've ever read on this subject. Additionally, the videos are spot on. Ms. Gagne is an EXCELLENT instructor. It is amazing to me how good she is at conveying the message through book and video alone. It's like taking an in person lesson with her. I strongly recommend this book to anyone that is trying to learn how to belt correctly. I can't tell you how many books I have read on this subject and the subject of mixed voice. This book is a keeper and a book you should keep handy for reminders of what is correct and incorrect should you begin to run into trouble somewhere down the line with this style of singing. Thank You, Ms. Gagne for such an easy read, easy to understand, easy to work with, and most effective book.

I'm going to say 4 stars though I was really disappointed with this book when i got it and read it. I think my disappointment may have been incorrect so after having watched the videos, which did reassure me, I will push on and hope that I can really resolve my belting with these videos. The text taught me nothing I didn't know already. It seemed like a lot of filler unless you are brand new to voice lessons. The exercises at face value don't look like much. It's only when you watch the videos that you realise really whats going on. And to capitalise on the exercises, you will need a keyboard.After watching the videos, I have finally realised how mixed voice is belting - which escaped me before. I have never understood the concept of mixed voice properly even though i bought an audio course and did all the exercises which helped me a lot with my singing - and i thought it was an excellent course. And its also a little bothersome that in this book she teaches Mixed Voice which is not mentioned on the cover. Nevermind, its probably a good thing as i might not have bought the book.You see a lot of teachers online and in books and articles, fail to say the critical things, and even in this book, she neglects to say some of these key things bvut i finally picked up the missing cluse in her videos. For instance, in this book and videos she talks about jaw tension. I'm sure that's important but she never mentions tongue tension which i believe is even more important. Certainly i don't think i ever experienced jaw tension but i certainly had tongue tension when i started singing in my choir a few years back. I learned how to resolve tongue tension from google searching and lots of reading and videos.A second point that no one makes clear anywhere, and why i didn't understand how you could get the belt sound using mixed voice. First of all let me say when i did my audio course teaching mixed voice, i thought it felt exactly like bel canto singing. I was doing classical singing in a choir and having voice lessons in classical at the same time and nothing that was said in that course indicated I would get a belt sound and not a classical sound. She never mentioned thinning the vocal folds before changing into head voice. My classical teacher taught me that by telling me to sing "lighter" to help me smooth over my break. Jeannie Gagne talks about ithinning the folds in the videos and its only then that i realised that the difference between mixed voice and classical is that you transition higher in your range in mixed voice than classical. A lot of teachers ensure all us students are going to have a hard time picking up some things but refusing to talk about head voice and chest voice. This pedantic refusal to talk in a language that we understand and which refers to clear parts of our experience ensures it will take us longer to learn what we need to do.To continue clarifying my point about transitioning and thinning the folds, In classical, I would transition about F4(i'm female) but for belting its going to around B or just anywhere between A4 and C5. I would say this point is the single most decisive point that everyone neglects to say and maybe one of the most important points if you want to be able to extend your belting into head voice range. If you don't lighten off / thin the folds before reaching the top note of your chest voice belt, you wont be able to transition without losing all your power. Its like changing up gears in car before you've got the revolutions. It just won't work. When you transition around F4, you don't feel much obvious need to thin the folds unless you are really bellowing. But the higher you go in your chest voice range, the more critical thinning the folds or lightening becomes. If you don't do it in time, your belt will fail.With that out of the way, the next thing i want to discuss is the high belt. In the book very little is said about how to go about this once you have nicely transitioned. I have tried this much yet so its hard for me to be clear about it. But it is a failing that no words are used to discuss how to get that strong sound in your head voice. In my audio course the teacher talked a lot about resonance. She taught me how to get a resonant sound in my chest and head voice and its more noticeable in head. But although i can shift the resonance around by changing the direction of my airflow, I have no clear idea of what i'm doing really. I mean i can't articulate it yet and i think teachers should be able to articulate it in a concrete way.There is a definite different feeling going on when you can get a high belt going in head voice. I think it is Jeannie Gagne that mentions and shows in a diagram that epiglottis needs to block off the air into the sinus so that all the air is concentrated out through the mouth. If its not blocked, air passes through the nasal passage as well as out the mouth and the sound is diluted or something like this. It feels different and you can't belt as high as you can singing in bel canto head voice. This is all about lifting the soft palate.In the videos she has students demonstrating clearly and correctly the high belt and it will be in copying those students doing the exercise that i will learn how to do this properly.I'm sure this comment needs a decent edit but i hope it is useful for someone.

I'm a voice student at Berklee and had the privilege of working with Jeannie a year ago. I've studied classical voice for well over 12 years now, and as much as I enjoy the Bel Canto style, I've felt frustrated that belting is a bit of a taboo between classically trained vocalists. This limitation led me to be more picky about my repertoire and style which... sucked. I think what's great about this book is not just that it addresses the technical aspect of the human voice, but establishes a real healthy attitude for a vocalist to see themselves. The exercises are simple but engaging, and the short tunes included are easy to sing and it actually bridges the gap to exploring actual music out there that includes a lot of belting. Worth EVERY penny you should get it.

The must - have, very useful and helpful book for any modern singer, voice coach and voice teacher.

Great Guide -- very impressive - learned a few things --

Solid, practical advice for singers and teachers of singing. Exercises included.

I'm a beginning voice student, and I've got to say that the "how" of belting is confusing! There are so many conflicting statements from singing teachers as to how to access this sound in a healthy way. This book explains in detail how a student should safely approach belting, but even more helpful are the video demonstrations and audio exercises provided online as an accompaniment to the book. I really need something to SHOW me the "how" in action, and these videos fit the bill. What a great book!

Exelent

This books is a fantastic resource for lots of reasons: first of all, it's so great to see a book like this grounded in contemporary vocal pedagogy, it enables us to understand exactly what Jeannie is getting at. Her thoughtful and very specific explanations of techniques and Indeed the rationale for this book are really encouraging! The online videos and examples are well put together and easy to follow. In terms of 'belting' this is obviously centred around the more American way of thinking that's Belting is a vocal style, rather than one voice quality. Once you start to explore that idea, you instantly tap into Jeannie's wavelength and start to approach CCM singing In a completely new way. This is the only book like it that pieces together obvious influences from lots of practitioners and is most definitely NOT a singing 'method' but a workbook of techniques to access this style of singing. I think it's up there with 'Ultimate Vocal Voyage'. Really good for singing teachers and students alike, if you're struggling to put into context what belting is or how to use a 'mixed' voice, this will clear up any doubts you may have. Nice one!

Very good simple to understand on a complex subject

This book is great for learning valuable tips in belting. Would recommend.

I found this book so helpful, very useful vocal exercises and she outlines the technique with clarity. A must buy!

Vrey good book and videos and tracks