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SingingCoach

I bet you probably sing when you are in the shower. Most people do. Some of you may even dream about being the next American Idol. One thing that almost all singers struggle with is pitch. Can you carry a tune pretty well? Well if you are like the rest of us a little training and practice can help you sing a lot better...even if it is just singing better at the next birthday party, singing karaoke out on the town one night, or singing the national anthem at your favorite sporting event.

Company:

Carry-A-Tune Technologies, www.carryatune.com

Price:

$49.95 US for SingingCoach
$99.95 for SingingCoach Unlimited

Ratings

Price:
Install/Setup:
Usability:
Support:
Average Rating:

Getting Started

Besides spending a lot of my time with computers and electronics, music is one of my other passions. Whether I am just listing to some tunes or playing an instrument, I find myself singing quite often. Over the years I have performed in front of audiences of many sizes. By no means am I a true professional singer, so when I heard about the SingingCoach from Carry-A-Tune I had to give it a try. Even for a pro, singing on tune with the correct pitch can be difficult. But if you are just starting out or are a pro you can learn to sing better. With practice your pitch will improve and your confidence will build. As your confidence builds you will sing better and have more fun!

Getting started with the singing coach is simple. After installing the software and plugging in your headset with microphone, you are ready to get started. In 4 easy steps you will be ready to take lessons and practice singing. Carry-A-Tune has done a great job building a tool that not only teaches you how to use it in a very clear and easy to understand method, but will have you singing in not time. Right from the start you are greeted with animations that walk you through every step of the software and continue with you through your lessons. The animations might appear to be a little bit cheesy, but they are very clever and well done. Really they help put you at ease and help you to relax and feel comfortable singing to your computer. The animations are also great for any age singer who is using this tool. After doing a mic check, did the voice range finder, and went through some basic video demos on how to use the software, I was on my way to completing the 20 lessons.

Click on picture to enlarge image

Usability

As I mentioned, the interface for the SingingCoach is very well done. It doesn't matter if you have spent years using various software tools and packages or not, the SingingCoach is simple to use, change settings, and pick and choose where you want to go. This is something even companies like Microsoft struggle with. If you are looking to buy the SingingCoach to help your kids, this is a tool that as long as they can read, they can sit down and use it themselves.

A great feature of the SingingCoach is you don't have to know how to read music to use it. There is a graphic view and a sheet music view for every song. Within these views you see a representation of the notes you will be singing along with the words. There are even guides to help you with your breathing. These views show you your actual pitch and your target pitch. This helps you to both see and hear where your voice is at and makes it much simpler to correct your pitch in real time. If you adjust too high or too low you see that immediately. At the end it gives you a score. As you practice a song even just a few times, you will see your score improve.

In the lesson mode of the software there are 20 lessons. These lessons start basic and take you through several levels of pitch and tempo training. Although I thought the SingingCoach could have included more singing techniques, the primary focus of the tool is pitch and temp which are the two things the SingingCoach does perfectly. You start out as a beginner and over time and as you fine tune your voice, you can move up to more advanced levels. As you improve your skills, the software makes it more difficult to score high on your lessons or practice singing which helps you to focus on fine-tuning your pitch.

Features

System Requirements

The minimum system requirements for operating SingingCoach products are as follows:

• Windows Me, Windows 2000, or Windows XP.
• Internet Explorer 5 or greater, (DHTML component required).
• 400MHz Pentium II processor (700 MHz or faster Pentium III or AMD Athlon processor recommended).
• 128 MB RAM (256 MB RAM recommended).
• At least 200 MB free disk space.
• Monitor resolution of 800 by 600 pixels (1024 by 768 resolution recommended).
• Video Card that supports 16 bit color.
• Sound Card that supports DirectX version 9.0 or higher.
• CD ROM drive (4x CD ROM drive or faster recommended).

Pros:

• Excellent user interface
• Perfect for perfecting your pitch

Cons:

• Software is a little lacking on singing technique training

Adding It All Up

If you are embarrassed to sing in front of your friends or family, practicing at home with the SingingCoach from Carry-A-Tune will help you build your singing skills and your confidence. Professional singers are even using this tool, including some Star Search and American Idol finalists, for training and practice. That is because the SingingCoach is easy to use yet very good at helping you to carry a tune. Whether you buy it for yourself, your kids, or your grandma, the SingingCoach will improve you singing skills.

Because of the excellent quality we are awarding the Carry-A-Tune SingingCoach the UpgradAdvisor.com Recommended Upgrade Seal of Approval!!!

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