About Understanding the Basics of Singing Seminar™

Why do the Understanding the Basics of Singing Seminar™?

   This seminar is the long-awaited full release of my researches on singing and 40 years experience working as a professional musician, recording artist, composer,  producer, director and teacher of improvisation to drama students. As a music educator I have taught thousands of musicians to understand music theory, to play and read music and to compose music in my Understanding of Music Seminars™ and Understanding of Songwriting Seminars™ as well as in private tuition.
    This seminar on the basics of singing is not a substitute for traditional coaching of singing but it cuts through all the confusion on the subject by explaining what works and what does not work when it comes to learning how to sing well enough to enjoy performing for an audience.

 What is learned in Understanding the Basics of Singing Seminar™?

• Finding out what "to sing" originally meant; almost no-one teaches this information today and it immediately changes even the way a professional sings!

•How to train being relaxed in front of any audience.

•What is the meaning of the phrase "to sing in pitch" and how can it be trained?

•Learn to improve your breath control with simple drills.

•Discover the way the voice box really works.

•How to visualize a sound before you sing it.

•Adding interesting effects to your vocal repetoire.

•Training your voice to sing any syllable while maintaining the pitch of the sound.

•Mastering intervals by using special references to well-known pieces of music.

•Handling what are called vocal breaks or transitions in the singing voice.

•Increasing the range of your singing voice.

•Projecting your singing voice and improving the tonal quality.

•Learn to sight-sing so you can look at music and know how to sing it.

•Specially designed vocal warm-up and cool-down exercises for the voice.

•How to do a simple daily practice schedule that really works.

•Each attendee is given a manual containing all the information and drills.

•Each attendee is given a DVD containing demonstrations of all the drills.

•No claim is made that graduates are singing like Celine Dion or Pavrotti in only a few hours but beginners understand how to sing and improve their singing on a daily basis by the end of the seminar and professional singers are totally amazed by the simplicity and effectiveness of this new approach to singing.


How can all this happen in just a few hours?

      By using an advanced system of easy steps developed by Duncan Lorien that ensures everyone in the Seminar fully understands and is able to apply each step before the next step is started. All the Seminar information is included in an easy to read manual with simple diagrams. The attendee interacts with the manual throughout the Seminar and continues at home with the daily practice schedule and DVD demonstrating the drills. The Seminar manual and DVD is included in the cost of the Seminar.


What is the graduation rate?

      100 %. No student has ever failed to notice a large improvement during the seminar and dramatic improvement over the months spent following the drills presented in the seminar.


What instruments are required?

      None. Simply bring your body with you as it helps when doing the drills!


Who should come to this Seminar?

      Absolute beginners in singing, professional singers in all styles of music, college graduates with music degrees, music teachers and even music college instructors have all testified to incredible success with the materials contained in Understanding the Basics of Singing Seminar™. As with The Understanding of Music Seminars™ you are never too old and never too young to learn to sing. The youngest recommended age is 13 years old (depending on study ability). Younger children will be considered on written application.

What is the Seminar schedule?

    The seminar is about 10 - 11 hours long and the schedule varies according to different countries. The seminar is sometimes held on one evening plus one full day during the week and sometimes is held for 5 - 5.5 hours on two consecutive weekdays. For details on the exact schedule of Understanding the Basics of Singing Seminar™ in your area please contact the Organizer of the seminar using the direct link on the Seminar Schedule page on this website.

What is the Seminar attendance fee?

      $295 (U.S. dollars) or 300 Euros plus tax in Europe. There are no discounted rates. The full deposit of
$150 (U.S. dollars) or 150 Euros secures the place of a student on  the Seminar and due to the demand for strictly limited places the earlier this deposit is made the greater the chance someone has of being awarded a place at a Seminar.
     The fee includes the Seminar manual and DVD and the opportunity to do the same Seminar again for only 50% of the full cost. Repeating the seminar is strongly encouraged as it ensures that the concepts and actions are totally mastered to the satisfaction of each individual. It also includes an option to consult by letter, e-mail, fax or phone with the Understanding of Music Company™ on any aspect of the information contained in the Seminars at no extra charge.  

Is the Seminar expensive?

      Lots of expensive singing lessons and many years of study are normally spent trying to understand the basics of learning how to sing. So taking an intensive seminar with a realistic practice schedule containing simple drills that deliver most
of the same information actually can save you both money and time! Graduates have said they would have paid ten times the fee for the information contained in the Understanding of Music Seminars™ and that the information contained in Understanding the Basics of Singing™ is just as valuable.
      There is a 100% money back guarantee for anyone who feels that a Seminar does not deliver exactly what it promises to deliver!

Are there any rules at a Seminar?

• No drugs or alcohol may be consumed during the days on which the Seminar is being held (attendees receiving prescription drugs under medical supervision are requested to advise the Seminar Organizer what drugs are being prescribed).

•Any attendee with a reading or hearing problem or who is physically challenged is requested to advise the Seminar Organizer so the best efforts can be made to accomodate that attendee.

•No smoking will be allowed during the Seminar but sufficient meal and rest breaks should ensure this is not a problem.

•Any attendee who is unable to adhere to the full schedule and maintain punctuality creates a disruption to the rest of the attendees and will be refunded and asked to leave the Seminar.

•Tape recording is not permitted as it creates a distraction. Taking notes are welcomed but not essential as all information is in the Seminar manual and DVD.

•Each attendee undertakes to make the Seminar Presenter immediately aware of any confusion or difficulty so that it can be fully handled at that time.