You may have heard of Roger Love.
He was the voice coach for the hit TV show Glee.
He has also taught countless celebrities like Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix for their movie Walk The Line, John Mayer, The Beach Boys, Maroon 5, Tool, Demi Lovato, The Jonas Brothers, Selena Gomez, Wilson Phillips, En Vogue and many more.
He is also a great singer himself. There is no doubt he is a great vocal coach.
But how does he do, when it’s not a one-on-one lesson?
Is his pre-recorded Singing Academy program just as effective?
Obviously not, but it does come surprisingly close, for a much lower price.
Overall this is the best online singing course you can buy, but it does have a few weaknesses as well.
Let’s take a closer look in our Roger Love Singing Academy review and find out if it is the best option for you.
Table of Contents
- 1 Roger Love Singing Academy Review
- 2 Singing Academy Vs. Competing Courses
- 3 Roger Love Review: Summary And Recommendation
Roger Love Singing Academy Review
- Roger Love is a great singer and teacher, trusted by hundreds of stars
- Unique and highly effective method focusing on "middle voice"
- Very personal teaching style, despite prerecorded videos
- Lessons for male and female singers
- Love Notes is a great tool for practicing singing
- All important aspects of singing are covered
- Daily 30 minute practice exercises that Roger sings with you on the video
- Great value for money considering everything included
- Price might be too high for some
- Videos are SD quality only and website is fairly basic
- Lecture and practice portions mixed together, making it difficult to just go in and do the practice part
- Complete self-study; no opportunity to get feedback from an instructor (apart from course 3)
- The free mini-course is not very useful, but does give you an idea of Roger's style
Singing Academy Course Description
This program is a comprehensive course that teaches a radical new method for learning to sing. It was created by celebrity vocal coach Roger Love.
We’ll get into Love’s impressive credentials and track record first, before diving into his course and seeing what it’s all about. But before any of that, here is a quick overview of the Singing Academy.
Price
- Course 1: $197
- Courses 1 & 2: $297
- Courses 1, 2 & 3: $497
Content
- Course 1 – 35 videos
- Course 2 – another 35 videos (70 total)
- Course 3 – another 35 videos (105 total)
- Love Notes – advanced software for training singers (included with course 1)
Duration
Course 1 takes five weeks, 1 and 2 together take ten weeks and all 3 take 14 weeks.
Who Is It For?
Perfect for beginners and low-intermediate singers, but could help advanced singers as well.
Who Is It Not For?
- Those with a limited budget
- Those who have a hard time motivating themselves
Who Is Roger Love?
Roger Love is one of the top authorities on voice worldwide. He not only teaches people how to sing, but also coaches people in improving their speaking voice.
In short: he teaches how to sound better overall.
And he does it well. No other vocal coach has been as successful commercially as Roger.
He began teaching when he was only 16. At that time, he coached a few groups and people you may have heard of, like The Jacksons, The Beach Boys, and Luther Vandross.
In the years since, he has spend his life teaching many more celebrities and has also been the voice coach for hit TV shows and movies.
For example, he was the voice teacher for the huge hit Glee, he coached Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix for their singing performances in the Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line, and Jeff Bridges and Colin Farrell for their hit film Crazy Heart, for which Jeff won the Best Actor Oscar and the song Weary Kind won the Oscar for Best Song from a Movie.
Here are some of the other singers and groups Roger has coached in his life:
- John Mayer
- The Beach Boys
- Maroon 5
- John Mayer
- Tool
- The Killers
- Krewella
- Nicole Scherzinger
- Group Love
- Taking Back Sunday
- Demi Lovato
- The Jonas Brothers
- Selena Gomez
- Daniel Powter
- Missy Higgins
- Rob Thomas
- Eminem
- Natasha Bedingfield
- Kix Brooks
- Def Leppard
- Poison
- Motley Crue
- Toto
- Chicago
- Iggy Pop
- Smashing Pumpkins
- Papa Roach
- Mandy Moore
- Wilson Phillips
- Hanson
- En Vogue
- Robbie Robertson
- Billy Idol
- Phish
And his success has not just come through his students. He has also produced more than 100 million CD sales worldwide vocally, he has written 3 top selling books, he has created a number of successful online and video programs like the one reviewed here, and he has been a regular in 4 TV series on major networks.
Why is any of this important?
It shows that Roger is highly respected and trusted in his field. When a musician or actor wants to improve their singing they turn to Robert and his unique methods.
And with the Singing Academy, you can take advantage of that same instruction, without having to travel to see Roger and without having to pay thousands of dollars.
Is it exactly the same a learning from him in person? Of course not.
But the level of personalization he manages to give you via a website and video course is pretty incredible.
Let’s take a brief look at the overall teaching philosophy that makes Roger’s vocal instruction so revolutionary.
The Roger Love Philosophy
As Roger says, his method is not a new way to sing, but a new method to learn to sing. What he teaches is based on the three parts of the human voice: the chest voice, the head voice and what her terms the “middle voice.”
Roger emphasizes the middle one above the other two. It is the voice that bridges the gap between chest and head voice and thus gives you a wider singing range.
It is not easy to first find your middle voice, and then command the power it provides, but Roger’s extremely personal style (even through prerecorded videos) makes sure you learn it.
And in order to sing like the superstars, like Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry or Beyonce, you need to find your voice in the middle and learn to use it correctly.
If you are like the average person, you currently only sing in your chest voice. When you try to sing higher notes, your voice sounds strained, flat or pitchy.
If you have had training, you might also use your head voice, which allows you to sing in the higher ranges. But in order to sing with real skill and passion, you also need to make use of your middle voice.
And that is what this program teaches. Let’s dive into our Roger Love Singing Academy review and take a closer look at the content of this program.
The Singing Academy: Course Content
The Roger Love Singing Academy is broken down into three separate courses. You can purchase only the first one, one and two together, or all three together. Each is filled with vital information and accessible from his member’s only website.
Course 1
The first course builds the proper foundation for singing. It covers breathing correctly, the chest, middle and head voices and how to find the middle voice, vibrato, overcoming stage fright and a proper diet for singers.
The first course is split up into weeks, with each week containing multiple lessons and training exercises. Here is what you will cover in each of the weeks.
First Week
Week one begins with vocal evaluations and then moves on to diaphragmatic breathing techniques. There are separate evaluations for male and female singers.
Second Week
Week two covers the singing mechanism and the importance of both the larynx and the vocal cords. Then it continues with an introduction to chest, middle, and head voice.
Third Week
Week three continues with the three voices and takes a deep dive into how to develop each one and how to transition between them. This is the key lesson that sets up Roger’s unique method of learning how to sing.
Fourth Week
During week four, you learn how to sing vibrato and then cover how to learn and interpret new songs.
Fifth Week
In week five, you learn how to deal with stage fright and how to eat properly to maximize your potential. The week finishes with more song training. This training uses a system called Love Notes than Roger invented himself to facilitate learning to sing.
Love Notes
This is a song training system that Roger invented himself and that he makes available exclusively to his students.
You could view it as an advanced karaoke program. Where normal karaoke has a music track and accompanying lyrics for you to sing, Love Notes also provides interpretation and technical notes and symbols, to help you make sense of the song and aid you in singing it correctly.
The notes will show on the screen as you are singing and you will see indications that tell you when to add vibrato, when to take a breath, when to increase your volume and even when to use head, middle, and chest voice.
The Love Note program is an excellent vocal training tool and it makes the whole Academy worth the cost all on its own.
Course 2
In the second course, you learn to apply Roger’s method that you learned in the first course. You learn to sing in the major styles of music: pop, country, gospel, R&B, and musical theater.
The second course takes an additional 5 weeks. Here is what each week covers.
Sixth Week
In week six, you learn more about the foundational vocal techniques: breathing, chest voice, middle voice, head voice, and how to transition seamlessly between the three voices.
Seventh Week
Week seven focuses on vibrato again. This is one of the more difficult topics for singers and one of the strengths of Roger’s techniques is that they are able to develop beautiful vibrato, even if this is something you have always struggled with.
Eighth Week
In week eight, you learn how to act out a song while singing it. Due to his extensive experience teaching Hollywood actors how to sing, Roger has become an expert at acting out a song to make it much more enjoyable for your audience. In addition to that, you learn how to sing the rock music style.
Ninth Week
Week nine covers the anatomy and science of singing. Learning this helps you avoid losing your singing voice in the future. This week also covers the country and pop styles of music.
Tenth Week
Week ten teaches you how to audition the right way and gets into singing the final three music styles: R&B, gospel and musical theater.
Course 3
The third level adds some more advanced techniques that focus on performance. You learn about stage presence, microphone techniques, connecting with your audience, and how to develop your own personal style.
Perhaps the most valuable part of level 3 is that you can send in a recording of yourself singing and Roger will give you a personal evaluation.
Bonus Lessons
You also receive additional bonus lessons that give you more instruction on interpretation, singing career development, vocal health and many more things.
You also get the exercise studio. This is where Roger guides you through a 30-minute vocal exercise. You get one of these singing skills exercises every single day.
Roger actually sings them with you and shows you how to do the entire exercises, instead of just leaving you to sing along with piano scales which is the thing most competing programs do.
What Makes The Singing Academy The Best Online Singing Program
The Roger Love Academy is the best singing product available online. The primary reason for that is Roger Love himself.
Not only does he teach a radical new way of learning to sing that has worked for countless professional singers and actors, but he manages to do it in a very personal manner, even through video lessons.
While it obviously isn’t the same as being in the room with Roger, it comes surprisingly close. He somehow manages to make you feel like you’re in his studio with him and he’s sharing the secrets of his celebrity singing clients with you in person.
It’s almost like having a private lesson, without the multi-hundred-dollar price tag.
On top of that, Roger is also just an excellent instructor. He communicates very well and is able to take a complicated vocal concept and make it easy to learn and understand.
Another great touch is that he provides separate advice and instruction for male and female singers. Females get a female instructor, which is great, because male and female vocal ranges obviously differ.
What I Didn’t Like About The Singing Academy
To be honest, Roger Love’s program doesn’t have any major drawbacks. That is why it is our top recommended singing course, especially if you aspire to become a professional singer.
That said, there are still a few areas where it could be improved.
We’ll begin with the one issue that seems like the biggest disadvantage, but actually isn’t once you look more closely. And that is the price.
The Singing Academy is priced on the high end of the range for online singing courses, which definitely seems like a disadvantage at first glance.
But when you consider how much a single private lesson with any instructor, much less one of the world’s most famous and successful instructors, would cost, you realize that you are getting an entire program with 35 videos for less than the cost of a single lesson.
Suddenly, you realize the price is actually an incredible bargain. Even more so when you factor in all the bonuses and the Love Notes.
So price could be a problem if you’re on a strict budget, but in actuality, this product is priced fairly. Even better than fairly, to be honest.
So let’s move on to some actual disadvantages.
The first is the video quality. The videos are very well made, but they are shot in SD, mainly because they were created a few years ago. It would be nice if Roger could re-shoot them in HD, but obviously that would take a lot of work.
The site design is also nothing special. It is functional, but that is it. There are also no visual aids in the lessons. This is not something I miss, but some students learn better with visual aids.
In the lessons, the lecture portion and the training portion are mixed together, instead of being kept separate. This makes it difficult, or even impossible, to jump in and tackle only a specific training, if you do not feel the need to listen to the corresponding lecture, or if you have already done so and just want to repeat the training for more practice.
Finally, the mini-course with 4 free lessons that he offers is not very useful and is primarily a sales pitch. That’s not really a disadvantage, I suppose, but competing courses give you a free introduction that actually teaches you useful techniques, and doesn’t just push their full course.
The money-back guarantee is also not as good as competing courses. First, it is only good for 30 days and second, it is not “no questions asked.” You have to show your work and prove you watched, practiced and implemented every lesson, and still didn’t get the results.
Singing Academy Vs. Competing Courses
If you find the price of the Singing Academy too high, you might want to check out our review of Singorama. The Singorama program by Melanie Alexander is our favorite budget program.
It is extremely comprehensive, but sells for a very low price: as little as $67 if there is a special sale, and $97 otherwise.
The main drawback is that it is an audio course only. The quality is incredibly high, both in terms of the audio quality and the quality of instruction, but if you prefer videos, that doesn’t matter. Furthermore, all the lessons are taught by female instructors, so there is no male instruction for male students.
The Singing Academy is definitely the better product, but if the cost is a bit too high, then Singorama is an excellent alternative.
It has an excellent free mini-course, too. Unlike the one in Roger Love’s course, Singorama’s actually teaches you quite a bit.
Another great course is the one from The Vocalist Studio. We like it almost as much as this one, but slightly prefer Love’s, because we prefer his teaching style.
But some prefer Robert Lunte’s style, so we’d recommend taking a look at both before making a final decision. Read our Vocalist Studio review for more on that program.
Roger Love Review: Summary And Recommendation
The Roger Love singing Academy is the best online singing course available. For less than you’d pay for a single lesson with a live instructor, you get a complete singing program that is as close as you can get to live instruction, without actually having a coach in the room with you.
Roger manages to make you feel like he is there with you through his videos and he has a real talent for making even the toughest music concepts easy to learn.
His method of focusing on the middle singing voice is unique and highly effective. It has worked for countless professional singers and actors and it will work for you as well.
If you have the budget to afford this product, it is a no-brainer. That is why it gets the highest Musicaroo rating of 5 out of 5.
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