Seth Riggs Singing For The Stars.pdf

Foreword

The wide diversity of singing styles that exists in the world today demands a singing

technique—a way of using your voice—that can be applied in the performance of all

those styles. If a singing technique can't be applied to every style of singing, something

is wrong with that technique.

That's the premise we began with when Alfred Publishing Company's editors

and I discussed the development of a totally new kind of book about singing. We

wanted to do something that had never been done before—publish a book that

actually taught people how to sing.

But where would we find the author? There was only one person I knew of who

could fill such a tall order—Seth Riggs, considered by many to be the best and most

successful voice teacher in the United States. He is certainly the busiest. No other

teacher, past or present, has ever matched his phenomenal track record. His students

are a veritable "Who's Who" of singers, actors, dancers, and entertainers throughout

the world.

When you first meet Seth Riggs, you are overwhelmed by his dynamic

personality, his flair for the outspoken, but most of all, his sense of purpose—his

"mission" to clean up the mess being made of singers' voices by voice teachers in

schools, colleges, and private studios everywhere.

The day I met with Seth about the possibility of putting his method in writing so

more people could benefit from his work, his initial reaction was, "Impossible,— you

can't learn to sing from a book!" Well, I could understand his point of view. When

Seth Riggs teaches, it's strictly on a one-to-one basis. He quickly diagnoses a singers's

vocal problems and then prescribes specific exercises to correct those problems. It's a

very individual process, one not easily adapted to the printed page. But we decided to

give it a try. It had to be done.

I proceeded to do my research and to observe him closely over a period of

several months, trying to find a general or systematic approach to something that,

there was no question about it, was working miracles!

The first time I sat in on a lesson, I thought I had gone to singers' heaven! Seth

had his students doing incredible things with their voices—things you would have

thought only those with a great natural gift could do. In the weeks that followed, most

of the students I observed weren't even part of the "star" clientele he has become so

famous for. But they sounded like stars.

Like so many others, these singers—young and old—had struggled un-

successfully for years with other "voice teachers" to increase their range and

* See Appendix for a listing of his clientele on pg. 138.

vii

improve their tone quality. With Seth Riggs, however, the results were very different,

and achieved in a very short time. You see, the Riggs method is application. Although

he likes his students to understand the basic principles underlying his method, he

feels that just telling you how your voice works does nothing to help you sing. You

have to know how to get it to work!

Well, finally the "impossible" had been accomplished. The manuscript was

complete, as well as an audio tape that actually demonstrates how to do the exercises

used in the training program. Yet, something wasn't right. Oh, it was all there—the

theory, the exercises, all the facts. But that special quality of the man you experience

between the actual moments of instruction—his charisma, if you like—was missing.

To remedy this, we included a section entitled "The Author Speaks Out," in

which Seth talks more informally about his method and responds very frankly (that is

his way) to the controversial issues surrounding the teaching of singing in this country

and abroad.

I am confident that readers of this book will appreciate and utilize its direct,

no-nonsense approach to developing a workable vocal technique—to begin Singing

For The Stars.

The Editor

viii

Preface

Sing from your diaphragm!" "Place the tone forward!" "Open your throat!" "Keep

your tongue down!" "Give it more support!" Sound familiar?

The language of voice teachers and choir directors abounds in such confusing

and dangerous cliches. Every day, singers who never question the "wisdom" of their

teachers manipulate and strain their voices until one day they discover their voices are

"burned out."

What most teachers never seem to understand is that you don't need to think about

twenty different things every time you open your mouth. And you don't need to study

singing for more than a few weeks before you begin to experience positive results.

It doesn't matter whether you sing pop, rock, opera, or musical theatre. You

should sing with a technique that allows you to just relax and concentrate on

performing—which is what it's really all about, anyway— right?

This author has worked successfully with hundreds of singers, actors, and

dancers—top professionals—in all areas of musical performance and entertainment.

And although some may not sing as well as others, all have achieved the ability to

always sound confident and natural when they sing.

Their secret is a technique called speech-level singing, which allows you to sing

with the same comfortable, easily produced voice you use, or should use, when you

speak. No matter if you sing high or low, loud or soft, nothing feels different in your

throat or mouth. Your tone and the words you sing always feel natural to you, and

sound natural to your audience.

With this book and the accompanying cassette tapes, you can now learn the

same singing technique the pros use—one that will let you sing with a strong, clear,

and flexible voice over a range that you never dreamed possible. But it does take

patience and the ability to follow instructions carefully.

Good luck! I wish you all the success in the world.

Contents

Foreword vii

Preface ix

About the Author 1

Introduction 4

How To Use This Book 11

Basic Principles 13

How Your Voice Works: The Creation of Vocal Tone 13 Vocal

Cord Vibration — Where Your Voice Begins 14 Breath

Support 16 Vocal Cord Adjustment 23

Resonance — Why Your Voice Is Unique 25

Physical Sensations 26

What To Remember 27

How Your Voice Works Best: The Natural Technique of

Speech-level Singing 28

Your Speech-level — A Foundation For Vocal Freedom 29

Speech-level Singing — Feeling and Sounding Natural 32

Singing Low Notes 32

Singing High Notes 32

The Passage Areas of Your Range 33

Singing Through the Passage Areas 33

Vocal Cord Thinning 35

Vocal Cord Shortening 35

What to Remember 35

How To Get Your Voice To Work For You: The Training Process 36

Developing Coordination—The First Step 36

Building Strength—All in Good Time 37 What To

Remember 37

Part 1 Building Confidence 39

Exercise 1 40

Exercise 2 44

Exercise 3 46

Exercise 4 48

Exercise 5 52

Exercise 6 54

Exercise 7 58

Exercise 8 60

Exercise 9 62

Exercise 10 64

Exercise 11 66

Exercise 12 70

Exercise 13 72

Part 2 Toward Speech-Level Singing 75

Exercise 14

Exercise 15

Exercise 16

Exercise 17

Exercise 18

Exercise 19

Exercise 20

Exercise 21

Exercise 22

Exercise 23

Exercise 24

Exercise 25

Exercise 26

100

xii

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