Appell Voice Studio

FAQs

• How did you get started doing this type of work?

  My training works. It’s important for you to know why. Here’s my story. I’ve always been fascinated by singing and music. My mom told me that when I was a very young child, if we walked past a music store I would freeze - staring at the guitars. At age 11 I auditioned for a professional children’s group called the Choralaires and sang soprano. In 1967 I recorded a record album with the Choralaires released on Cornerstone Records and started playing guitar. As a teen I continued singing and playing guitar in local bands. When I was 22 I formed a band called US101 named after the highway going up the California Coast. I also began taking voice lessons with Martin Greene, a choral instructor at Citrus College in Glendora, CA. so I could eventually front the band as a singer. The drummer for US101 was Tommy Lee who later went on to form the group Motley Crue. Tommy and I played about a hundred gigs together and I still credit the time I spent playing with him as an important step in my ability to produce great-sounding drums. I had always wanted a career in music but my parents wanted me to get a college education and a real job so I went that route and graduated from California State Polytechnic University Pomona with Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. In 1978 I got my first job as an engineer working for a firm in Rosemead, California. In 1981 while working at the Rosemead engineering firm I was about to experience the defining moment of my life. I was at my desk when the phone wrang. The secretary was out to lunch and all of the other engineers were out of the office so I answered the call. It was a former employee that wanted to speak to Henry Groff, the president of the company. Mr. Groff was in the general manager’s office having a meeting. I walked to the office door, knocked three times and stuck my head in to say, “Adrianna’s on the phone and she would like to speak with you.” Mr. Groff whipped back, “Just tell her I’m not here.” I replied back, “I can’t really tell her you’re not here, because you’re here. But I can see you’re having a meeting so I’ll be happy to tell her you’re unavailable.” As the words were coming out of my mouth he got up from behind his big oak desk and stormed around the corner. His face was purple he was so mad. He stopped about an inch from my nose while pointing his long boney finger at me and screamed at the top of his lungs, “I COMMAND YOU TO TELL HER THAT I AM NOT HERE! I looked him right in the eye and said, “I can’t do that. I can’t lie” I walked back to my desk and told Adrianna, “Mr Groff is in a meeting right now. You’ll have to call back later.” As soon as I hung up the phone he stuck his head out of the office doorway and screamed again, “I’m not going to forget this.” And you know what? He didn’t. A few weeks later I was fired. I knew when I refused to tell that lie I was kissing my job goodbye and putting a serious blemish on my career as an engineer. But I wasn’t worried. I knew that lying was wrong and when you do what’s right God always blesses you. I was thinking about applying for another engineering job and although I was skilled as an engineer, it wasn’t my passion. The thought popped in my head, “What if you could do anything you wanted to?” I said to myself, “Well, it wouldn’t be engineering. If I could really pick my life’s course I would choose to be a vocal coach. By that time I had trained with some of the best vocal coaches in the world and I knew that lifestyle would be a good fit for me. I picked up my bible and it kind of just fell open to the 28th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy. I started reading, Here’s what it said.... “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto.” All the light bulbs went off in my head as I read this. Especially the last sentence. So I said this simple prayer to God, “Lord, you know I just got fired for following one of your commandments. It says here that you’ll bless all that I set my hand to do. I want to be a vocal coach. But not just an ordinary vocal coach. I want to be the best in the world at training singers and nothing less will do. Either take me to that level or not at all.” 50 days later I gave my first voice lesson. During those 50 days God dropped helped me understand the secret of how to sing high notes without straining. God used my engineering knowledge plus what I’d learned through research to help me deduce why anyone with a healthy voice can learn to sing high notes. That was my ticket. I needed an edge - something that would set me apart from all other vocal coached and that was it. So why does my training work so well? Because it’s not coming from me. When I give a voice lesson it’s like playing chess with a grandmaster whispering in my ear what move to make next. If I pay attention and listen I’m always going to win the game. When I train a singer, with God’s help, I’m going to have the ability to size up what’s wrong, make the right diagnoses, and prescribe the right exercises to fix the problem. God has given me understanding in how to train singers and produce music and my students reap the benefits. The reason it works so well (and if you have any doubt go to my website www.appell.co and watch the video testimonials) is because the real instructor in my studio is the One who created your voice. This all started back in 1982. For more than 30 years I’ve been teaching singers how to hit high notes and applying the same pioneering zeal that I had for discovering how to sing high notes to many other facets of vocalizing. I’ve personally developed my full voice range to way beyond tenor high C. The average range increase for singers who train with me is seven notes. The potential you can unlock in your voice by training with me is only limited by your desire to achieve. Think big! Dream big! My training holds the key. All you have to do is open the door.

• What types of customers have you worked with?

  Vocal technique lessons. Your will be approximately 45 minutes long. For the first 15 minutes I'll be sharing with you some great information about how your voice works from the first few chapters of my best-selling book, Can You Sing a HIGH C Without Straining? I’ll explain how high notes are produced and why anyone with a healthy voice can extend their rage. This is a very important part of the training. If you understand clearly what’s happening on the inside then all of the exercises make sense. After going over how your voice works you’ll do approximately one half hour of vocal exercises – the beginning of your new journey to the voice you’ve always dreamed of. In the first lesson you’ll learn how to extend the range of your voice, how to breathe correctly for singing, and how to control your tone. After the first introductory lesson, lessons are typically one hour long, but can go longer if the need arises. Not a requirement, but it’s highly recommended that you complete the 12 Hour Fundamental Series Lessons before starting work on songs. These Fundamental Series Lessons are designed to give you solid core training in the vocal technique you’ll need to be able to follow the direction you’ll be getting in a song lesson. The best way to do this is two hours per day in six consecutive days. Singers that get 100% supervised training two hours per day for six days straight advance much faster than those who take one lesson per week and practice on their own at home in between lessons. It’s okay to take one or two lessons per week and do more practicing on your own – it’s just not as effective as developing your core technique with 100% supervision.

• What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?

  The most important part of choosing a voice studio/vocal coach is to listen to what students are saying about the training. At APPELL VOICE STUDIO the first thing to do is watch the video testimonials. Then watch the videos of the students I've trained. The proof of my skill as a vocal coach is in the results. I offer a 100% money-back guarantee if you're not completely satisfied with the quality of any paid lesson, so there's no reason why you can't come in and see for yourself how well the training works. On the first lesson I'll explain how your voice works, how high and low notes are produced, why you can extend your range and go over the first few chapters of my best-selling book, Can You Sing a HIGH C Without Straining? It's a fabulous first lesson, guaranteed to exceed your highest expectations. APPELL VOICE STUDIO is more than just voice training. It's about making your dreams come true with great teaching, stellar music and video production, songwriting and recording.