Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Questions about PitchPerfector

What's the Latest Version?

v3.8 was released on Jan 4, 2015

How Much does it Cost to Upgrade?

If you purchased v3.0 or later, the upgrade is Free.

If you purchase an earlier version, you can upgrade to v3.8 for $27, or purchase an annual maintenance plan for $37 for the first year, with a renewal option at $27 at the end of the first year. This would enable you to get the current v3.8 and v4.0 when it is released.

Other Options

PitchPerfector customers at a current release level may purchase an annual upgrade that includes all enhancements and new versions released during the year for $27 per year.  FYI – V4.0 is planned for release in Spring 2015 and will require an upgrade fee for all users not on an annual maintenance plan.

I have v3.x. How do I get my free upgrade to v3.8?

The short answer is that you already have v3.8 waiting for you on your download page.

If you purchased prior to November 2014 you should have a download link that looks similar to this:

http://www.singingresults.com/product/downloads.php?r=123456789874321&pc=xz121

If you purchases since November 2014 then you should have a username and password to login to this site here:

https://singingresults.com/members/member-login/

Once you log in, click the “Member Area” to access your programs and reach the PitchPerfector Download page.

If you have a download link instead of a username/password, no worries!  You have access to the same program. There was a 2 month overlap period where the original and new system were in use at the same time.

I’m not very serious about singing – will it still work?

Causal singers will gain the biggest benefit of all.  Here’s why – you see, casual singers usually sit in the background, sing softly and try to avoid being noticed.  It probably started when you were young and someone told them they could not sing and it “stuck.”  Later in life you may have tried to sing, but hit a bad note and all eyes turned on you – again reinforcing the myth that you could not sing.  Using PitchPerfector™, in a short time, you may gain confidence to sing in casual settings, and gain that level of joy without caring about singing on a bigger scale.

I’m concerned I don’t have a good enough ear – will this work?

If you are completely tone-deaf and can not hear any difference at all between a high note and a low note, then this program is probably not of value for you.
If most of the time you can tell the basic difference between a high note and a low note, then, this program is right for you.

Am, I too young, or too old for this to work?

If you have the skills to click, double click a mouse on your computer, this program will work for you, regardless of age.

I know I have great vocal pitch, have recorded in studios and never need voice pitch correction. Do I need this?

You are rare indeed.  Yet, you are also a serious performer, so can you take the RISK to not try PitchPerfector™?  You might not need this, but I would ask whether you might have good vocal pitch days and less than good vocal pitch days.  And, for the trivial cost of this voice software, if I were in the same position, I would want a way to tell.  Therefore, I recommend you give it a try.  If after a few weeks of testing yourself, you find it to be of no value, simply send me a note, delete it from your computer and I’ll give you full refund and ‘thank you’ for giving it a try.

Will it really fix my singing pitch problems in 10 minutes?

Our experience shows that you will likely get positive results of improved singing pitch within the first few minutes of using the program.  This may happen within 30 seconds, but likely within the first 10 minutes, you will notice improvement.  However, you should not expect to resolve or fix all of your vocal pitch problems within 10 minutes. Everyone is different and there are many root causes of voice pitch problems.  This program is critical in understanding where you are and helping you to see your progress.  With the specific training sessions, the tool is further critical in improving a variety of voice pitch issues. Remember you have a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Why not take private singing lessons? Can’t my voice teacher help me?

The answer is that if you can afford a private teacher, that’s great.  And most teachers can give tips to improve voice pitch.  However, there’s a big difference in seeing your voice pitch with your own eyes and most voice teachers would love to have a vocal pitch software tool like PitchPerfector™ (actually, singing teachers are snatching up this online sing software to use in their private voice lessons).

Questions about Foundations of Singing

How can I download the Video Lessons?

Currently the videos may not be downloaded.  But, this will change in the next few weeks.  Expect access to download the videos in the next few weeks.

FYI – Amazon S3 has been better and faster than the previous system, but some users report problems. So we’re going to try a dedicated video streaming company (probably Vimeo).

Will videos play on my iPad or iPhone or Android Smartphone?

YES.  The new Amazon S3 and another other video platform we might move to will support iPad, iPhone, Android, in addition to Mac OS, and Windows OS.  Virtually any device that can run HTML5 will be able to view the training videos.

What's Part 1, Part 2, Part 3?

The original format and structure of lessons for Part 1 worked great for years and continues to be an excellent way to begin with lessons. The structure is as close to an in person professional private lesson as possible.

However, now that you know that structure, it may not be necessary to force all users to do the relaxation segment.  You know you should do it, but it will be optional.  Similarly, if you don’t need the basic theory training, you can skip that.

The new structure we are developing for Part 2 allows you to skip directly to the core of the lessons and practices for the lesson.  People are more commonly consuming training in smaller soundbites.

While we recommend that you follow the longer 45 minute to 1 hour lesson structure, you will have flexibility to pick and choose which parts of each lesson you want to work with.  This will also serve well when you want to skip back to a particular exercise.

More details will be come apparent as the lessons in Part 2 are released.

When will more lessons be available?

What is currently named “Lesson 5” will move into a new auxiliary section.  It’s a great lesson and will be released as time permits – probably after a maintenance release of PitchPerfector – v3.81. It’s excited to see how this lesson on Transition will be a foundation for a new branch of exploration in the lesson series.

We hope to complete the core lessons for Part 2 by the end of 2015.

Core lessons for Part 3 are planned for release shortly after the release of PitchPerfector v4.0 (ETA?)

How much time should I practice each lesson?

The best answer varies between individuals based on your background.  For newer students and those wanting a thorough refresher to singing we recommend:

  • 1 week of daily practice with each lesson
  • 1 hour the first day (to watch the entire lesson)
  • 5 days of practicing exercises
  • 1 hour at the end of the week to repeat the entire lesson

After completing all four core lessons in Part 1, and the Bonus lessons, repeat the entire series again!  This is something we hear over and over – everyone who does this thanks us for the recommendation.  The fact is that you will learn at a much deeper level the 2nd time through.

Of course – if you are an accomplished vocalist who perhaps has a degree in vocal studies, once through may be plenty as this is just a refresher for what you learned years before.

Do I really need to do the Bonus lessons? Sometimes it's boring?

Most of the bonus lessons are interviews with excellent singers who are at an early Graduate level of performance. Moments of the interviews might not be as exciting as other things, but there are nuggets of gold in here.

It’s obviously your choice, but I highly recommend listening to these interviews at least once. And it’s easy to download them, burn to a disk or put on your iPod or other portable music device.

Late – the Bonus lesson on Breath Support.  This was pretty funny to do, but if you can look past the laughter, there’s real gold here and worth a reminder from time to time.

We’ll do a lot more with Breath control going forward. There are so many different ways to approach this important topic.

The core training in the two is the same.  So if you’re on a budget or no budget as a lot of students are, then the free program is perfect.

If you have some budget, then it helps to keep the bills paid when folks buy the other programs.

What's Better about the Paid Foundations of Singing compared to the Old Free Singing Lessons?

Great question!

As many are aware, I gave away the Free Singing Lessons for many years.  Students kept telling me I should charge for it, and students kept asking for more features, faster, more platforms, etc.

The core training in the two is nearly the same.  So if you’re on a budget or no budget as a lot of students are, then the free program is perfect.

If you have a budget, or you must use the lessons on iPad for example, then the paid version is the way to go.

What you get with Singing Foundations in addition to the free area:

1 – Faster video servers that run on virtually any device.  The free program was release 6 years ago, so the video won’t play on iPad for example, and if a lot of people are watching at once, sometimes the video snags…  So – faster streaming and more devices!

2 – More direct attention and response on comments.  We always hope that fellow students will interact and support each other and that happens at times, but also the free program has so many students that it’s hard to keep up with all the comments (over 20,000).  So, the paid area starts fresh and being a clean slate, when questions are asked, often I can personally help (whereas there’s just not enough time in the day for me to respond to all of the questions in the free program).

3 – We’re developing more of a singing community, with a few trials and errors in finding the right technology and privacy.  This requires participation which some folks are up for, and some not.  We tried a private forum but it was too confusing for too many.  Now we’re back to comments under each lesson.  We’ll be trying a new modified type of forum soon (software purchased, just needs to be configured and setup).

4 – Soon we’ll have an automated video upload system. I bought the software and will be getting it running over the next couple of weeks.  The benefit here is to be able to quickly record yourself singing and have it post to the site for others (and me) to respond with feedback.

5 – Downloadable video lessons.  We’re close on this – just working out the API issues for privacy.  Probably have this out within the next 2-3 weeks as well.

6 – New material – as new materials become available they may or may not be added to the free track, but will certainly be available to the paid subscribers first.

 

More questions and answers will be filling in as we complete migration from our old FAQ system.  In the meantime, if you have questions – Leave a note below and I’ll answer them!

For now, signing off and wishing you a beautiful day filled with Singing!

Stephen

updated: 1-24-15

Comments

  1. Judy Rafat

    Just did Lesson 1- l spoken and listened to the mp3 – only played with a piano! When do you use your voice to show one should sing?

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