This is me, and here we are.
Dennisalvey
Pro, 2.0 PRO Posts: 18
Hi. So, I don't know if anyone will actually read this.... But I'm new to the forum and the KTVA (bought the video and audio download). Hopefully, I won't have to post too often here cause that would mean I'm "getting it'.
I'm Dennis, I live in Irvine and I'm a guitarist/writer and have been trying to sing for years. I have taken lessons on and off over the last 8 years. Cost was usually the issue for not staying with them. I most recently took lessons from Molly's Music in Orange County and was purchasing lessons for half an hour every two weeks -Fortunately, my teacher was pretty good and most of what he talked about is all stuff that Ken discusses in the videos - but they raised their rates and I was done... Anyhow, I finally broke down and bought the download 3 days ago from this post. After watching the videos and listening to the exercises, I'm really happy I did it. Also, slightly humored at Ken's tone in the later videos cause clearly people aren't watching all the videos or paying attention.... It was funny. But I also understand the frustration of not "getting it" right away.
I'm 43 and a huge rock fan. I love Pink Floyd and Sabbath, The Posies, Credence Clearwater, Faith No More...
I'm a CA native and well..... Here we are. And here we go.....
Dennis
Comments
Hi, @Dennisalvey,
It's nice of you to introduce yourself and let us robots know a little bit about yourself and your singing journey so far.
If you practice regularly on Ken's exercises and pay attention as you say you are to his instructions, you will be moving from "try" to "do" with your singing.
You've been at it for a while with your other lessons, so you know already that most changes take time.
Stick with it, and you will see results.
Welcome. I hope you "get it" but decide to stay anyway.
Bob
@Dennisalvey,
One thing I would definitely recommend is that you request a forums upgrade, if you have purchased a KTVA product.
You should send an email to ktvaforums@gmail.com and paste into that email a copy of your KTVA purchase receipt. Request a forums upgrade and mention your username here on the forums. You will be granted the access according to what KTVA items you have purchased, Volume One or the entire Bundle.
There is a lot of students-only content on the forums that you should take advantage of.
Bob
@Dennisalvey
Hey, man - sorry I didn't get to this sooner, but i didn't have any e-mail notifications telling me you replied! Sorry, bud!
Those two albums are huge for me. F.N.M. are so massively underrated - I just wish Big Jim Martin would come back - though they are doing well despite that (Sol Invictus as proof). haha Actually, Mike Patton and Whit Crane (Ugly Kid Joe) are some of my big aspirations vocally, but I make a lot of industrial music and black/old school thrash/doom/drone metal, goth, and shoegaze among many others... so rough, distorted vox are pretty much key, too. Truth be told, I've always envied 80's (especially metal) singers because of their impressive range and they just seemed so much more talented/better trained than a lot of what followed in the next few decades, so I'd like to have vocals like that in my arsenal. I feel if I could sing like that, I could sing any way I want, right?!? haha
I've been doing the course for about 7 weeks now. My biggest struggle my entire singing life was my range... I was always classified as a "bass" and strain to sing anything higher than a D above middle C. Basically I couldn't sing ANYTHING I loved (except say Type O lol) because it was all above my register. I somehow can hit some fuller voice notes above that, but it was all in practice and I couldn't use it in application at all. And singing heavy music in falsetto I feel I should leave to King Diamond. lol Things are coming along well though!
P.s. During Volume 1 I was wondering whether or not I was doing vowel mods properly as well. I understood the concept, and felt I was doing things well enough, but just had a subconscious uncertainty of whether I fully got it or not. I watched all the videos probably 10+ times over the weeks, spent WAAAAYYY too much time scouring the forums and after a while felt ready, so I moved on to Volume 2 just this week. I'm not sure if you have it yet or not (and as this part of the forum ::I think:: is open, I'll try and not be revealing), but in vol. 2, Ken really reinforces them and gets deeper into them, especially during the exercises. There are quite a few moments where he pauses in the audio exercises and gives you deeper examples and explanations of them - even for the different vocal registers and where they typically would mod. It really helps!
Thanks, VT! Yes, actually they have been more than a little challenging. As you said, I get the concept and I think I'm making the subtle changes.... But when and if I'm even really doing it correctly.... I really don't know. I made a list with all the mods written down and am trying to implement them.
At the same time, I'm not sure if I'm ready for Vol 2 yet or not. I just discovered that a web lesson is 300 bucks.... I was really disappointed with that. There must be a more reasonable price to find out if I'm ready.
But anyway, thanks for the info!!
That's what the forum is for bro. Post some audio clips and the experienced members will navigate you through what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong... For free. The forum is imo the most important aspect of the course (outside the core content). It's just building up the courage to post an example to be critiqued. Then you get addicted to improving and fixing things. At least I did anyway. You get a clear, very detailed answer with the correct information. Not 10 different opinions that turn into a massive argument and a flame war. Get a lah example posted... Get it critiqued and nailed. It might take up to 10 re postings on the harder exercises but it's absolutely worth it. Then rinse and repeat with the rest of the vowels. The forum has saved me so much money it's ridiculous. ken's lessons are there if you need them and IMO worth the money. I had 1 lesson and it has set me up for 6 months.
Thanks! Yeah... Definitely a little intimidating to post myself doing an exercise. But I'm sure it's beneficial. Should I do like the whole scale exercise or ..?
Thanks!!
Yeah man, I understand completely. Hopefully my last post wasn’t too misleading, but to clarify in case it was, I only moved on when I felt I was ready. Definitely don’t rush things - we have tons of time to progress! So far I feel I’m utilizing/grasping these concepts well, but I’m also the type where I have no problem going back to previous volumes and spending whatever necessary time on them if need be should I get hung up or discover I didn’t fully get it.
Streeter makes an excellent point about the forum too. It’s very detailed, welcoming, and full of precise info and experience. I really need to post more demos of myself as well... ::note to self:: haha! Correct me if I’m wrong though as I haven’t taken a webcam yet, but doesn’t Ken also offer 30 min. webcam lessons for around half that? I thought I saw that before on the price page... Might be a better option than a full hour for quicker questions/feedback to get help directly from the man himself! Even if it seems a bit high, here’s the way I see it - just like the course, we’re paying for decades of knowledge and experience from somebody that PROVES over and over he can do it (and listening to student demos and their recorded youtube webcams - that it can be taught and replicated). I don’t know about you, but before this, I spent so much time and money on courses and teachers that didn’t get me very far despite my best efforts (no disrespect to anyone, could have been my fault somehow as well). BUT, even though I still have a long way to go, I can *confidently* say I’ve improved more in the past two months than I have in all those years, so should the time come where I take one, I feel confident that I’ll absolutely get what I pay for (just like with the course so far - not at all disappointed!) But again, the forum is also here too where I’ve seen more detailed responses in one thread than chapters of some of the books/courses that I’ve read over the years! haha And from what I see in most every thread, the help doesn’t stop until the person asking definitely gets it. Proof to me the course really *is* trying to get everyone to succeed and not a letdown. That’s very comforting to me.
@streeter
Full disclosure - stumbling upon your Soundcloud link with your 80s demo and song demos actually *was* what finally convinced me to buy the program after a lot of debating. Nice to bump into you on here. Cheers for that - Awesome stuff!
@VirgoTrip, and @Dennisalvey
I could be wrong, but I do believe that you CAN write to ktvainfo@gmail.com and ask about the availability of 1/2 hour lessons and possibly even 15-minute consults. Those are still paid appointments. Sometimes that's enough to get you past your present questions, but even a one-hour lesson can go by fairly quickly. If you feel that your questions are not being satisfactorily answered here, or don't want anyone else to hear your voice, then you may need to go to The Man himself.
Ken has X-Ray ears and can immediately tell you any issues that you may have. It's then up to you to do what he tells you, in order to improve.
Ken is worth every penny you spend, either on his course, or on private lessons with him. If you want private lessons from the world's foremost vocal coach, you will have to schedule lessons. This forum is here to help you to succeed at your own pace, and to help you to understand the concepts and methods in the course (if it's all coming at you too fast in the course). We're focused on KTVA and not on any other methods. We go straight to the heart of the matter and do our best to get you there.
Many vocal coaches and courses "meter out" information, to keep milking you for lessons and upgrading courses.
Ken's philosophy is to not "give us fish, but to teach us to fish". In other words, for us to become self-sufficient, vocally. That said, if you check with some of the greatest classical singers in the world, it can take years to fully develop a world-class voice. Ken gives us tools in his course and in his lessons that we can continue to work on for years, and you will continue to improve and develop as long as you continue to do the workouts. It takes a good year or two to get through ALL of the content provided in the KTVA bundle... and that's if you RUSH it.
Many of the qualities in your voice that you will get from KTVA come only after working the exercises and following the instructions for a considerable time. You don't get fine wine overnight. You get it as the flavor develops over time. The vocal courses that are telling you that for "five minutes a day... and that's all you'll ever need..." are not providing you with a full-scale singing course, and you will be needing a lot more training if you want to seriously be more than a weekend singer... but I digress...
I've whined sometimes because I threw away thousands of dollars on singing courses that did little for me before I finally found KTVA. Ken spent over a million dollars learning from the best vocal coaches in the world for many years... His course contains the truth from those lessons and filters out the useless. The KTVA bundle contains no "metering out" of information, only putting the information in a proper, building order, and giving you time to establish each step along the way, so that you can progress to the next step.
At the KTVA forums we will help one another, and work as a group to get us all singing at our best. We will sometimes be a little embarrassed that we are not already Pavarotti's. Luciano himself talked about how it took him about ten years to get the G4 just right.
This is a learning curve, and we're all on it. Enjoy the journey. You have to take the journey to arrive at the destination.
All the Best!
Bob
Wow. Thanks dude. That means a lot. If you want I can send you a link with me starting at almost ground zero ... ranging from 2-7 months in. It's mainly exercises but there are a few song examples with me 'Lahing' through them.