I always look for the latest and greatest vocal lessons online that I can review and recommend to my readers. A few months ago, I found The Vocalist Studio. Since I look at several of these online platforms, it wasn’t a pleasant experience in comparison to other places.

The site loaded too slow for my liking, and it took a minute before everything laid out in front of me. I got frustrated and decided to leave. The frustration negatively influenced my take on the services it offers.

Fast forward to this day, I decided to do a recheck, and voila! a bit surprised that it’s now running smoothly, and I finally got to watch the landing page video. Could the problem be on their side or my computer?  I guess it’s time to do some work and have a look at it now.

Robert Lunte: The Unique Man in The Box

The reason this company captured my interest is its claim that it’s the world’s highest vocal training program. I’d be honest I’ve never heard of it before, like any other places before the fact, haha! When I was watching the landing page video, the presenter claimed that he wrote the book The Four Pillars of Singing.

Ah. I remember someone recommending it somewhere. According to the book description, most of the things written in it are new to me. It had good reviews. Unfortunately, the price tag of $199 put me off.

Anyway, the first impression I had is that this guy, Robert Lunte, is offering something new in singing education. I proceeded to explore his site and his classes.

First of all, he founded the Vocalist Studio, and if you join, he’ll personally instruct and coach you. Hmm, he’s got all the time in the world to do that, but I’m assuming he’s got a team of staff trained by him.  He’s been doing this for 20 years and consequently penned his voice training program, the Four Pillars of Singing.

The book is comprehensive, and it’s tied directly to his music instructional materials, which requires licensing if you want to use it to train people. So far, many singing coaches from more than 90 countries have been authorized to use it as a guide.

He focuses on voice strength and coordination. He utilizes all the techniques, concepts, and best practices he developed and acquired over the years.

He claims that you’ll notice improvements in your skills after two to six weeks. And he guarantees that within 60 days, you’ll know your potential and start on taking advantage of it.

The Vocalist Studio

The Vocalist Studio offers four training program packages.

• Course: $199
• Course + Book: $299
• Course + Book + 1 Lesson: $349
• Course + Book + 3 Lesson: $499

The course contains syllabus, training materials, and quizzes. There are 13 modules and 180 lessons in the course. It includes more than 60 workout videos, workflow guides, and various file downloads. Note that you’ll be getting more than 500 audio and video training materials. Finally, there are bonus training materials dedicated for each gender.

This includes the Four Pillars of Singing on a hardcopy, with Robert’s signature and eBook. It’s a thick paperback with 616 pages.

The lesson, on the other hand, can be a live one on one with Robert or a Skype call. By the way, whatever package you choose, you’ll be free to chat with Robert whenever he’s available.

If I were to do some basic Math, here are the actual prices of his service:

• Course/Site Access: $199
• Book (Hardcopy and eBook): $100
• Lesson Session: $50

What Impressed me the Most?

First and foremost, I really love his vocal effects class. For instance, most teachers and coaches would touch on singing cleanly or how to maintain the health of your voice box.

Robert goes way beyond by teaching sobbing and yarling techniques. Okay, what? Yes, you heard me right, yarling. My Grammarly doesn’t even recognize it. You can check out what yarling means here.

Anyway, it’s styling, man. This can be a con or pro for you, but if you’re into rock and heavy metal, Robert is the best for it.  I’m not saying he’s just into that genre but also into other types as well.

Second, he understands that muscle and muscle memory are core in singing. Many voice teachers fail to impart this, and without this perception, many students get impatient and frustrated because of the inconsistency of vocal production.

You’ve heard the saying “practice makes perfect”. There’s always an ongoing search for improvement, you’ll never attain perfection.  So, I’d say “practice makes permanence”. This is why you need to practice a lot, but take breaks when needed.

You’ll never want to force or strain when you think you’re not doing it right. Learning and mastering the quality of tone you’re happy with takes a while. I have yet to touch on many things but expect that it’ll be coming soon.  There’s a lot to discuss on this topic. Agree?

Third, he trains systematically. You’re not going to just hear ordinary random instructions. His lessons go along with the when, how, and why of doing things with a purpose.

In his training videos, you’re not just going to mindlessly practice. You’re going to be taught with constant guidance and easy to digest instructions. There is no guess-work, but you’ll be directed exactly what you need to do and accomplish towards a well-informed practice routine.

Lastly, the man simply has a personality. He will be the one on the video, gritty, rough, witty, and oozes with machismo. He’s not going to treat or train you as a regular student. He will teach you like an athlete, true to his words.

What Doesn’t Impress Me Most?

Most of the positive things I said in the previous sections can quickly become negative for certain people.

First, if you want to be a Mariah Carey or into opera, his class is not for you. He will still show you how to improve your vocal range and hit high notes, but his method might result in a gritty and raspy manner.  You can apply the method into other genres, of course, but just like in any other style, crossing over is normal. Would you rather want to check out Christina Aguilera’s MasterClass?

Second, his ‘athletes’ way of training, again, is not for everyone. He’s a taskmaster when it comes to education, especially when he starts showing his workflow. However, since you’ll be learning online, you can always stop his videos and take breaks.

Third, he’s quite detailed, surprisingly and he developed his own school of thought in this industry. Even if you’ve had prior singing experience and lessons before, you’re still going to be taken aback by the terms he uses.

He made some of them himself, and those can confuse you if you don’t pay full attention. This is why even if you’re already a veteran, you’ll still definitely learn new things and concepts if you take his lessons.

Lastly, his character and attitude may put you off. This is an informed guess, but I think he’s been in the underground rock and metal scene earlier in his career. I even checked the cover songs he uploaded to his YouTube account. And if that’s the case, it’s no wonder why his mannerism and style can be viewed as crude by some people.

In Closing

The Vocalists Studio is a ‘take it or leave it’ case, like in anything else. However, if you want a rough and edgy style, this class is for you. It’s kinda unique, I tell you, but that’s also what separates the “haves and the have-nots”. I’m talking about having the opportunity to stand out, not wealth.

It’s also for you if you’re going to develop your vocal muscles in no time. His workflow and training regimen focuses on those areas.

Robert Lunte strives to pioneer how singing is done and taught. He continually experiments and develops techniques. I’ll daringly describe it as the new age of teaching. It must be fun to be one of his live students.

Anyway, if you want to take a better look at TVS, you can click the banner below.