The Singingbelt System Digital Edition

I am an indie recording artist that sang professionally for many years, singer-songwriter style, had more than a few voice lessons along the way and have a few different online vocal lesson series that I use nowadays. The Singing Belt and the instructions that come with it are my favorite, and I use them almost every morning to warm up and to remind my muscles how things should feel when singing. This system has helped me improve my voice like nothing else. It is very simple to use, the DVD is helpful, the MP3's are great to practice with. I learned a couple of things using this system that I had never known before, things no voice teacher ever taught me, things that improved my singing, my pitch and air flow immensely, no joke. I am a better, stronger singer just by using this belt and the exercises. I just turned 70, am recording a new CD and can sing better than ever, thanks to this program. Small quibble would be that there are just a few minor mis-cues in the MP3 instructions, a couple of little false starts that could have been edited out when this was first created, but one gets used to them quickly and knows when they are coming. Like I said, these are minor, minor quibbles, this product and this teacher are extraordinary. Wish I could study with her in person, but am thankful I found this product, can't say enough good things!

I like the design of the belt. It works well as intended. The YouTube video link works well and is informative. I am having a great deal of trouble getting the MP3 Dropbox zip file of singing exercises to open on my computer. I am disappointed that this is the format for those exercises!

Great belt. I have been putting the belt on my singing students in their lessons to test it. I've noticed a stronger bottom support in their voices as they sing and the students say that it helps them keep their ribs in a good expansion position. Good work Ruth. Thanks for putting out products that singers can really use and tools to help coaches keep their students engaged with new approaches to training.

Thanks Ruth for making this belt! It fits me well. I always been told to support my voice, but didn’t know how to or what to do. So this product was the best thing I have ever bought!

The belt is an excellent idea, and works very well. One immediately gets the feel of where the breath is going and how to control it. Constant practice with the belt soon gets one into the habits of inhaling correctly and controlling the breath release in order to provide the support necessary for good singing.As far as the singing course which accompanies the belt is concerned, I have the same criticism that I have of all singing courses which purport to teach without a live teacher, namely, it cannot be done.The reason why this cannot be done is very simple, namely, a singer cannot hear himself the way other people can. That is because the singer is hearing his voice from inside his own body, whereas other people hear his voice from outside the singer's body. This is why many people are so shocked when they hear a recording of their voice, whether spoken or sung - many people say, "I don't sound like that!" But others who hear those people regularly, say, "Of course you do - that is exactly the way you sound." Most non-singers and even many singers are completely unaware of this important fact, which is why so many people make such complete fools of themselves on programmes such as American Idol, etc. These singers are convinced that they have wonderful voices, and are shocked when the judges tell them that they cannot sing.But, not being able to hear ourselves the way others hear is, is only one component of the problem - it is rather more complex than just the physical limitation - there is also the mental component. Let's assume the singer is able, via a very good quality recording, to hear what he sounds like to other people - he will still not be able to learn without a live, expert tutor. Here's why: Due to human nature, our mental picture of ourselves, clouds our judgement to a very great extent, causing some people who sound really bad, to convince themselves that they sound wonderful, while causing others who sound really good, to convince themselves that they sound awful. So, even if a student does hear himself via a very good quality recording, because of his psychological make-up, the way he interprets what he hears is very likely to be highly inaccurate.But the situation is even more complex than that:Even if you could hear yourself the way other people hear you, you do not have the trained ear to hear what you are doing wrong, neither the expert knowledge to know how to correct what you are doing wrong in order to stop doing it wrongly and start doing it correctly - if you did, you would not need to be taking lessons.You could listen to the recorded instructions from an expert tutor, and then do as the expert instructs - the problem is, that because you cannot hear yourself, you have no idea whether or not the sounds you are projecting sound remotely like those on the recording. Furthermore, you also have no idea whether or not the technique which you are employing is like the technique demonstrated by the expert. You need a highly skilled expert to both listen to what you are doing, and observe what you are doing - you could be sounding right, but you might be developing a habit of tightening certain muscle groups, such as the jaw, tongue, neck face, shoulders, etc. which are not conducive to good singing, and which could develop into incorrect habits which are later very difficult to remove.Then too, whereas a set of recorded instructions is fixed and rigid, a tutor has to be flexible and his lessons have to be dynamic, because every person performs differently from day to day, and the lessons have to be adapted to what is happening in real time. A skilled tutor will notice something undesirable which has crept in to the student's technique since the previous lesson, and will immediately introduce a specific exercise to rectify this situation. And, as the student's technical abilities progress, so the expert tutor changes the lessons to keep pace with this growth. As the student's voice grows in strength and range, so the expert tutor changes the lessons and the material to keep pace with these changes. Without a real-time, live expert tutor, the student could spend years learning very destructive habits, all the while thinking that he is following the recorded instructions faithfully. Then, as time goes on, the student starts developing various vocal problems, which become ingrained habits and extremely difficult to remedy.The reality of the situation is that really good singing tutors are very scarce. This is because such a tutor requires talents to be able to hear the most subtle of differences in the vocal sound, then the talent to interpret what those difference mean technique wise - in other words, exactly what the singer is doing with the various parts of his physical body, the talent to recommend the correct vocal exercises to correct such flaws in technique, plus the talent to convey these instructions in a constructive manner - not all people can teach, no matter how qualified they may be - teaching requires a special talent. Then, even with the requisite talent, such a tutor requires many, many years of training.

I loved the theory behind this belt. I'm sure it's a great product. DVDs were very helpful and detailed, too! Unfortunately, the belt didn't fit me correctly. I really wanted it to work on me. Very bummed. Great Seller, Great communication!

This belt definitely helped me as a singer understand when I am or am not supporting my breath properly. I highly recommend it!

I've studied for years and never could consistently feel what singing support is. Now, I understand the colorful euphemisms my teachers were talking about when they referred to the diaphragm and supporting your voice. I only wish Ruth offered a tape for high voices.