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VOCAL TRAINING PROGRAMS - LESS IS NOT MORE, IT IS JUST LESS!

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Robert Lunte

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Don't let any other video or coach try to tell you that less information, less explanation, less features and less value in a vocal training program is a benefit to you. "Less is More" doesn't get you more benefit, or more of what you need, or more understanding about singing. It just gets you... Less!

 

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Exactly... 

1. Most importantly, any argument that ultimately results in less opportunity to gain more knowledge and understanding about your craft or profession is utterly stupid at the highest degree. Essentially advocating ignorance instead of wisdom, Gmafb.

Especially when you are given the freedom of choice in how much you want to learn. If the opportunity is there, but you choose to not study, that's fine! 

But Eliminating that opportunity to choose by offering less content and value with the premise that less content and value is in some way... a benefit is asinine. The logic simply does not measure up.

When we see this happening, it can ONLY be for the following reason if we continue to follow the trail of logic...

2. "He" who advocates less content and value is doing so simply to try to "bamboozle" you, because they are offering g less value and can't compete in regards to value and content. The lunicy of the argument, makes the true hidden agenda totally transparent.

Don't allow others to convince you to sell yourself short and in the end, not have everything you need, want and desire in a vocal program. 

 

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I think, in this discussion, it's important to separate content from knowledge (information). Not that those can't be interchanged, but it's still important in my opinion. They don't necessarily go hand in hand. 

A whole bunch of scales or what have you (content) will do you very little if you don't have some (knowledge, info) to go a long with it. 

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Great point Martin, I totally agree. 

Attached is a screen shot from one of the lessons inside The Four Pillars of Singing. This is Integrated Training Routine #3. Notice how the lesson not only provides a video that shows people EXACTLY what to do and invites them to "hop on and train along" with the video until they get learn it, but... in the body of the lesson, I have also provided an x/y intercept graph that gives a visual representation of the exact routine I am demonstrating. Note the onsets that are being pointed out at each end of the arrows and notice how the colors are gradient and notating the singing vowels to be modified in and out of.

And more tables and information.

One of the cool things about the new TVS Integrated Training Routines is, they are essentially, the "end game" of what The Four Pillars of Singing teaches in terms of onsets, vowels and the TVS Methodology. They represent how we put all the techniques, methodology and "book work" into a practical workout that makes sense for people to train. 

There are 13 key Integrated Training Routines in the program. 5 for bridging and tuning that I call "Coordination and Tuning" routines and 5 for belting, or building musculature strength for strong TA dominant singing or "belting". I call them "Resistance" routines.

The 8 Specialized onsets are also divided into two groups; coordination & tuning onsets , and ... resistance training onsets.

Once someone reads the book and/or takes the online course, this all makes perfect sense and then they understand what is going on!  Not only with my training method, but with the singing voice in general. How it works, what is going on, an understanding of the vowels/formants, and understanding and appreciation of onsets and what they can do for you, and more... 

 

THE FOUR PILLARS OF SINGING

THE TVS INTEGRATED TRAINING ROUTINES

 

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OMG!  Martin actually gave me a LIKEY!  What is going on?  Is the universe actually going to begin the "big crunch" and reverse its gravitational pull? Is Elvis actually still alive? Was the moon walk really just a hoax? Will dogs and cats start sleeping together?  I can't believe it... ?  

 

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27 minutes ago, Martin H said:

That's what you get when there's nothing else to say my friend. Loved your video tutorial. Although I might disagree with some pointers, but that's nitpicking. :)

Cool... thanks for your support... would love to have you as a "client" inside the new system as well... let me know if your interested.

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To be completely honest, I had bought the KTVA package about 6-8 months or so before I ran across TVS/T4PS

Nothing personal against Ken or his methods etc, but I think I used the material like maybe ONE time. Why? It just wasn't organized very well and frankly wasn't that professionally done. Essentially I had like 4-6 folders on my hard drive, each with a bunch of separate audio/video files. Im already the lazy, indifferent, artistic type and the last thing I need when inspiration finally strikes, is to have to go wading through dozens of files trying to figure out what I should be doing etc. The TVS system is so much better because it's all right there in front of me.

Yes, some of the more esoteric physiological and acoustic info is a little over my head at this point, BUT, I will grow into a lot of it. The detailed knowledge DOES come in handy. That knowledge can help "pull you forward" a bit.

For example: I never really had developed a head voice. When I sang I used chest or a strong falsetto. So needless to say, there was NO bridging going on. I had heard some of the cliches such as "release weight on the way up" etc etc but still it was a no go. Finally I intuitively realized that if the throat was choking, that I obviously had to feel the resonance somewhere else lol. So I started trying to feel the vibration in the hard palate and BOOM, nice head voice and automatically I was bridging all over the place.

Well, without the detailed explanations in T4PS I wouldn't have even been aware of a hard or soft palate lol.

At this point, though I can already sing decently to a degree, I am totally unaware of vowel mods, acoustic modes, tongue positioning etc etc. So obviously I have plenty of room to grow into the 4PS info.

 

Cheers, JJ

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Jon, you stated:

"At this point, though I can already sing decently to a degree, I am totally unaware of vowel mods, acoustic modes, tongue positioning etc etc."

If you're moving the resonance from chest to head you may think you're unaware of these things (above) but your inner voice isn't..:blush:

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18 minutes ago, VideoHere said:

Jon, you stated:

"At this point, though I can already sing decently to a degree, I am totally unaware of vowel mods, acoustic modes, tongue positioning etc etc."

If you're moving the resonance from chest to head you may think you're unaware of these things (above) but your inner voice isn't..:blush:

Well its kind of like when I went for a golf lesson a long time ago. I was already hitting my driver like 270-290 consistently. So the instructor says "Well obviously you are already doing a lot of things right"

So yeah, I probably am using a lot of the singing techniques somewhat instinctively but they haven't yet come to the conscious level of awareness.

Some of the stuff I will probably "backdoor" my way into. For instance I was singing yesterday and I always look at the waveforms. So on the word "call" I was getting a big volume output so I figured out I was just opening everything up to the max on that vowel so I began to keep it closed (covered?) a bit more and the volume of that word fell back into line. But what I can do now is go back to the 4PS reference material and be able to put a name to what I was doing lol.

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1 hour ago, JonJon said:

Nothing personal against Ken or his methods etc, but I think I used the material like maybe ONE time. Why? It just wasn't organized very well and frankly wasn't that professionally done. Essentially I had like 4-6 folders on my hard drive, each with a bunch of separate audio/video files. Im already the lazy, indifferent, artistic type and the last thing I need when inspiration finally strikes, is to have to go wading through dozens of files trying to figure out what I should be doing etc. The TVS system is so much better because it's all right there in front of me.

Thanks for sharing this Jon, we all appreciate your honesty. What you described, I am mostly already aware of. But in my position, I don't have the liberty to say it. It jus wouldn't be good business ethics to do so. But if a real customer says it, it is fair and square. For sure, Ken is a good coach. But being a great singer and a good coach is not enough. Which AGAIN, is kind of part of my point in this new video... It takes, good singer, good coach and good, high value has all you need product... to really carry the ball over the goal line for customers in this business and the "good, high value, has all you need product" is honestly the hardest part to achieve because it takes the most work. There is no way to just "get by" or "that is good enough" when it comes to these products. At least not these days. You can do that as a coach for sure, but not as a singer and not for the products either. That being said, this is why I have killed myself to create this thing... for reasons I don't fully understand myself, I made a commitment to TRULY producing, without argument, the best home study training program in the world. At least that was and still remains my objective. I think it is just pride in doing a great job. Maybe a little bit of ego as well, I want to be the guy that makes the best product in this business as far as the students are concerned. That makes my chest puff out a bit. Anyways, I truly am very pleased about where it is as of today... nothing has been overlooked; techniques, methodology, content, technology/system, mobility, customer service, big fat pretty book, etc... lol, I think I did it ?! ... Now I have to just keep it that way... and try to get my life back.

Anyways, happy to hear that your happy with it Jon, feedback like that is part of the reward that I need to hear, to feel like it was all worth while. I hope you will find a way to get in front of me for skype lessons one day. I would like to meet you personally and help you even more. Thanks brother.

Cool Motivation Page from The Program:

https://www.thefourpillarsofsinging.com/lesson/inspirational-quotes/

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People don't realize you gain your best experience with vowel modifications with your mind first.

Those subtle adjustments have to be thought in, and the body will make the adjustment you need.

It's tough to "allow" that to happen..again, it's couterintuitive....The vowel mods are also responsible for the thinning process.

I remember the hell i went through trying to analize and nail down the "I want to know what love is" part when you have to begin on that B flat (if you want to do it like the recording/the hard way..lol) then leap off the F4 sharp to the B4 for the "I want you so show me."

It's a mind game, I'm thinking in vowel shades I can't even write...lol!!!   And even till this day, that song remains a challenge.

Then you have other songs, you just seem to slot into...even songs that might be considered more difficult, they just slot or carve in for you...fun, fun, fun....

 

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As I stated I want the whole steak not a small portion. If you have a small portion you're not full but if you have the whole steak you're full. Same thing with singing courses. If you have only a small portion you're still going to be hungry and not getting the true benefit of proper singing techniques but if you have a full blown course like Robert has which has so much meat on the bone you're going to be full not hungry which is why when I was shopping around for potential coaches/courses I found Rob and his course has want I want and need to make me a complete singer and that is why in the future(hopefully soon as soon as fiances are in order)I'm going through Rob.

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Cool "Future", I am sincerely, very excited to meet you and help you out. Feel free to reach out personally if you have any questions on email or the real-time customer service chat system at the site... You sound like a smart guy,... seems you will do well.

It is refreshing to meet people that appreciate the merits and value of hard work and building something great... and how that can immediately benefit them. 

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1 hour ago, Robert Lunte said:

Thanks for sharing this Jon, we all appreciate your honesty. What you described, I am mostly already aware of. But in my position, I don't have the liberty to say it. It jus wouldn't be good business ethics to do so. But if a real customer says it, it is fair and square. For sure, Ken is a good coach. But being a great singer and a good coach is not enough. Which AGAIN, is kind of part of my point in this new video... It takes, good singer, good coach and good, high value has all you need product... to really carry the ball over the goal line for customers in this business and the "good, high value, has all you need product" is honestly the hardest part to achieve because it takes the most work. There is no way to just "get by" or "that is good enough" when it comes to these products. At least not these days. You can do that as a coach for sure, but not as a singer and not for the products either. That being said, this is why I have killed myself to create this thing... for reasons I don't fully understand myself, I made a commitment to TRULY producing, without argument, the best home study training program in the world. At least that was and still remains my objective. I think it is just pride in doing a great job. Maybe a little bit of ego as well, I want to be the guy that makes the best product in this business as far as the students are concerned. That makes my chest puff out a bit. Anyways, I truly am very pleased about where it is as of today... nothing has been overlooked; techniques, methodology, content, technology/system, mobility, customer service, big fat pretty book, etc... lol, I think I did it ?! ... Now I have to just keep it that way... and try to get my life back.

Anyways, happy to hear that your happy with it Jon, feedback like that is part of the reward that I need to hear, to feel like it was all worth while. I hope you will find a way to get in front of me for skype lessons one day. I would like to meet you personally and help you even more. Thanks brother.

Cool Motivation Page from The Program:

https://www.thefourpillarsofsinging.com/lesson/inspirational-quotes/

 

No doubt brother, the pride and hard work shows in the end product

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Here is what is nice about 4P. All the complaints and confusion one hears that some encounter in other systems are eradicated here. Because the system works in whatever way that you need it to work. Some days, you need a rigid structure or you have a specific question. Other times, you just need a different vocalise to get inspired.

But more often than not, especially for young and/or beginner singers "what do I do first?" And here, 4P is stellar. The whole notion of workflow. How one basic thing rolls into another. A person can throw a bunch of facts and even random exercises out there, all evident and in some practice regimes, somewhere. But to provide a structure, a path, a destination. Just like in formal martial arts education. Of the several styles that I know, I have taken class instruction in Kenpo Karate, Tae Kwon Do, and Aiki-jujutsu. And you just didn't start out with the high-flying chop-suey and throwing people around the room. You start with a stance and basic moves to change stance. Everything else is built on the basics. That was also the main point Bruce Lee's "The Dao of Jeet Kune Do."

Same with singing. Learn some basic things first and in a good order. Then later, when you get the gumption to try "Queen of the Ryche," it is more within reach than it ever was before.

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Thanks for sharing Ron, I and others appreciate your sincere thoughts on your experience in the training system... I am thrilled that you finally have the new 4Pillars 4.0 now... this will be fun watching you train with it and enjoy it. Thanks again for all your support there and here at this forum.

Well, I guess I'll drop this video in. Seems to be a good moment for it. Hope those of you that are interested won't be shy and will reach out and contact me if you have any questions.

 

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oh yeah, side note.

I basically found my head voice by doing a type of light glottal attack where I was essentially trying to bypass the throat and throw the sound right onto the hard palate. After I "found" that resonance I was able to bridge up or down without a lot of fuss.

 

Where did I hear about glottal attacks?  hehe....guess. (TVS/T4PS vids)

 

I bought the course on Dec 24, 2015. I checked it out and messed around for about 3 weeks. I couldnt bridge at all. If you look up "disorganized" in the dictionary there will be a picture of me.

Then I got involved with a nice girl and got totally sidetracked from life for a solid 2 months or so. I doubt I even looked at TVS or sang or anything.

I started getting back into it and within about a week I had a head voice and was able to bridge quite nicely.

 

If TVS can work for me...it can work for ANYBODY.

 

Plus im 48 and officially "too old to learn anything" (or so they say)

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Cool story Jon. Thanks for sharing with us a little bit about your life and voice training experience. You said you were able to start bridging nicely... as your coach... can you tell us what the top 3 things were that improved, or were understood that contributed to your bridging success?

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2 hours ago, Robert Lunte said:

Cool story Jon. Thanks for sharing with us a little bit about your life and voice training experience. You said you were able to start bridging nicely... as your coach... can you tell us what the top 3 things were that improved, or were understood that contributed to your bridging success?

1) There is such thing as a head voice. Previously when I sang it was essentially either a chest voice OR a falsetto. I wasnt aware of the feeling of resonating notes on the hard palate etc. So if a note was higher in the chest voice I just pushed harder and eventually choked...OR I just flipped it up to falsetto.

Now I have another option of bridging up and resonating off the palate etc. Its sort of like finding a new restaurant in the neighborhood that I was unaware of. Even stuff like lift up and pull back didnt do too much for me because there simply was no destination. I had to get the feeling of resonating somewhere ELSE besides the low throat area. Once I actually felt the feeling of resonating on the palate, the actual bridging wasnt too hard. (naturally it still has to be perfected thru hundreds of reps and on different vowels etc)

2) probably just consistent fold closure etc due to proper air pressure from support. I am much more aware of the connection from the diaphragm all the way up to wherever the note is resonating. When I actually started feeling the notes on the hard palate, I was essentially doing a glottal attack type deal where I was feeling (and picturing) a connection all the way from diaphragm to the palate and picturing the sound wave shooting up from the diaphragm, bouncing off the palate and shooting out of the mouth

3) the "size" of the note. I think before I was just splatting everything and it would just be totally unmanageable. This is one place I need a lot of work. I find issues mainly when singing originals. I notice the wave form on the DAW and on words like "call" the wave gets huge lol. I have to learn to cover it slightly or at least maintain the size of the note and not just let it blow up huge. I also tend to really glottally attack my "I"s. Like if I sing "I love you" I have to watch the "I" which really wants to explode out. I have to try to get some breath in with it like a wind and release to tame it some

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4 hours ago, JonJon said:

1) There is such thing as a head voice. Previously when I sang it was essentially either a chest voice OR a falsetto. I wasnt aware of the feeling of resonating notes on the hard palate etc. So if a note was higher in the chest voice I just pushed harder and eventually choked...OR I just flipped it up to falsetto.

Now I have another option of bridging up and resonating off the palate etc. Its sort of like finding a new restaurant in the neighborhood that I was unaware of. Even stuff like lift up and pull back didnt do too much for me because there simply was no destination. I had to get the feeling of resonating somewhere ELSE besides the low throat area. Once I actually felt the feeling of resonating on the palate, the actual bridging wasnt too hard. (naturally it still has to be perfected thru hundreds of reps and on different vowels etc)

2) probably just consistent fold closure etc due to proper air pressure from support. I am much more aware of the connection from the diaphragm all the way up to wherever the note is resonating. When I actually started feeling the notes on the hard palate, I was essentially doing a glottal attack type deal where I was feeling (and picturing) a connection all the way from diaphragm to the palate and picturing the sound wave shooting up from the diaphragm, bouncing off the palate and shooting out of the mouth

3) the "size" of the note. I think before I was just splatting everything and it would just be totally unmanageable. This is one place I need a lot of work. I find issues mainly when singing originals. I notice the wave form on the DAW and on words like "call" the wave gets huge lol. I have to learn to cover it slightly or at least maintain the size of the note and not just let it blow up huge. I also tend to really glottally attack my "I"s. Like if I sing "I love you" I have to watch the "I" which really wants to explode out. I have to try to get some breath in with it like a wind and release to tame it some

Great, there you go. Looking back you realize how much you didn't know, right? Now you realize how much there is to it, but have a clear facility and path to get there. 

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