Book is great for beginners and natives who do not want to forget, but CD IS VERY DISAPPOINTING!
931567
I bought this so I can make sure NOT to forget how to read and write in Italian and have found it to be a great starting book for both beginners and natives. It starts you out with the alphabet and gives you the break down of each letter, how to pronounce it, and an example. The book is separated in sections, like family, religion, restaurant, etc. and starts out with a word, how to pronounce it and underneath that it gives you the meaning. It slowly gets you used to the words and then stops giving you the pronunciation and meaning, giving you a chance to utilize what you learned. A bonus, at the end of the sections there are games, stickers, etc. giving you a chance to practice more in a fun way. I am Sicilian and I have come to realize it is nearly impossible to find good Italian learning books. If found they usually cost twice as much and are not always extremely helpful. This book gets a BIG THUMBS UP from me!
1812976
The book is great! It helps you to understand how to do the exercises the correct way and they really do work. The CD is no good. She talks a lot about herself with little exercise.
958432
I love this book, but but the audio (quizes) in the CD/CD-ROM does not correspond to Intro Level, but to Level 1. That's why I'm rating it with 3 stars.
1311070
I just got this book with the included CD tonight. When I was looking at this item I told myself that the CD should be thought of as a 'bonus'. I'm glad I did. The book reads nicely and cuts right to the chase about how to begin meditation and build your own practice. The CD, however, is anything but soothing. This man's voice is loud and unsettling. He might as well be giving instructions on how to pull your own teeth. The silence is the best part. The book is worth it though. I looked at a lot of other texts, that basically took 200-300 plus pages to discuss meditation including history, different methods, and a little on how to begin a practice. I'm pleased overall. I just won't be using the CD that often, if ever.
2293188
A very good book for getting up to speed quickly - the examples are clearly laid out and meaningful
- just a shame that none of the examples and sample data that the book and CD says are on the CD are actually on the CD
1086679
Although I love Wayne Dyer's work immensely, I felt the CD version of this book did not have the depth and breadth of what might be found in the book version. . The CD states on the cover that the author was "reading" from the book but that was not what was given. It  pulled together bits and pieces of his lectures and it did not flow smoothly or have the level of information I was expecting. Very disappointed.
919802
I got the audio version of the book. Once I loaded the CD, my car's 6 CD player would not let me switch to another CD until I unloaded it. I also was disappointed in the reader. I was expecting Guy to read it himself but they got some generic reading person. He obviously had not even gone through and placed paused and emphasis points. He regularly paused in the middle of a two word phrase and the only way to get the meaning was to reassemble the sentence in your head.

So why 4 stars? The material. It is really valuable. After listening to it on CD, I will be getting the book as well. If they do another CD with Guy reading it, I would buy that and give it 5 stars.
538657
I LOVE this CD for the music used to teach adult ESL! There was a CD that provided worksheets that went along with each song in a 2006 or 2007 version I borrowed from a school's store room. ( We can't find it now)  I wish this purchase had included the extra CD with worksheets I know exists somewhere with the songs. That's what I had expected to get in one package.... The songs alone are great, but now I have to make up my own vocabulary/grammar practice sheets to go with each song. Also, this purchase does NOT include the lyrics to each song; ONLY the music to the songs is shipped on one CD. If anyone knows where I can find the second CD that goes with these songs and provides practice sheets and lyrics for each song, I would love to find that ISBN number!! I think for 25 dollars I should have received both CDs.
4559230
The score and two songs are wonderful.
But this is a CDR copy not worth for money to buy CDR.
Very disappointing. Please check before you buy.
3202434
Great book, however the cd's can stop working....I was unable to view a lesson on the cd and I'm still in chapter 7.
3482753
The books is excellent.
The CD has extensive unreadable (blacked-out). I have not been able to contact Coriolis through email, telephone, or their
web site.
I would have the given the book a 5, but, because of the CD,
I give it 2.
2587665
The book is an excellent resource for fiddle playing/bowing etc. My problem is with the CD. In my opinion, the author should supply the music 2 bars at a time at a slow to moderate pace, then stitch the parts together afterwards. For example, in "The Man of the House," the second last bar calls for a tricky 6-note slur. It would have been helping for a player at the Intermediate level, like me, to have this tune played more slowly and in isolation. Kevin Burke has adopted this teaching method; so has Stephen Jones in  Montreal. And it works. Also, I wish Mr. Cranitch had recoded all the tunes in his book; that would have been a bonus. Brendan Walsh, Montreal
3843842
This is a wonderful book, but buyer beware! The Kindle edition doesn't come with the CD that comes with the regular edition which in my opinion is essential to the readers experience. Amazon was good enough to give me my money back but I don't think the Kindle edition should be sold at all until this issue is resolved. Perhaps for the tracks one must listen to on the CD, the publishers can make a link to a website that plays the sounds and music that need to be heard in order to better understand what the author is trying to teach. I contacted the publishers and asked if they would send or even sale the CD to me, but they said the CD would only come with the book at 26.00 British Pounds which is equal to $42.00! What a joke! For $20.00 you can get the book and CD here on Amazon. Like the other 2 star reviewer I think the publishers aren't too bright and shoot themselves in the foot with their lack of foresight and professionalism. I can only hope the author of this book reads this review and is able to talk some sense into his publisher.
464848
I bought this a bit less than a half a year ago.  I bought it in conjuction with Raising Your Voice by Jaime Vendera second edition.

These CDs are only helpful if you are doing the exercises correctly.  Like it is important to know when you are supposed to be in falsetto, your full voice, proper support (it does help a LOT!), etc.  Such as warm-ups are allowed to wobble off pitch, go into falsetto, whatever...  since you are warming up the voice.  That is not made clear immediately.  I think Brett should have explained the proper positioning and breathing before you sing!  It only encourages bad habits and makes the initial exercises EXTREMELY frustrating!  I think he should have begun the series with a Coup de Glotte study.  I began the series with closing my throat using my throat musculature rather than the gentle closure of the vocal folds as mentioned on [...].  I reinforced many bad habits.

I found that BEFORE you do the exercises, watch Jaime Vendera's videos on his "members" section on his website and read his book.  They will help you A LOT!  Before I read the book, I couldn't get past the first exercise!  I just kept trying to "reach" for the high notes and squeak them out.  My throat was not open and my tongue kept getting in the way. I would use too much power on the high notes... you get the point.  I also LOVE [...].  I suggest you get familiar with the website!

I only suggest these CDs if you want exercises.. in addition to a vocal teacher,and other instruction.

This is NOT a standalone product.  And it is a pity that it is so expensive!  The instruction is VERY POOR.  It is helpful only for someone who is not a beginner and just needs exercise CDs.  As far as I can tell, the exercises if done properly agree with the Bel Canto technique.. which Luciano Pavarotti used :)

The exercises can be a bit embarrassing if you live with other tenants (ugh :P) or have siblings!

If you are deciding between Raise Your Voice or Singing Success and you have not had instruction with a vocal coach, please choose Raise Your Voice.  The videos on his website will help you more with the concepts than just trying to sing it and have it just "click".  You get to see other students try the exercises out and the corrections Jaime gives them.  It is important to know how to do it and not torture yourself and strain your throat into singing improperly through exercises.
158975
The product review is misleading to the point of being false advertising because the review states that the product consist of a book and a CD but two vendors told me that there is no CD available with the book. This fact is not consistent with the product description and what is print on front and back cover pages of the book and the numerous CD references made within the book.

On page 2 of the book, there is either a dated contact information for the author or the author is reneging on his request to contact him for additional info because I sent him an email on Sunday, October 2, 2011 3:07 PM and have not yet gotten a response as of this writing.

I also contacted the publisher whose name has changed to CreateSpace and the guy I spoke with said that there is no accompanying CD for this book.

I wonder where the lone reviewer got a copy of the CD so that I can get one. Any vendor with the accompanying CD please let me know so that I can buy another copy of the book with the accompanying CD. If any reader knows where I can buy a copy of the book with the CD please let me know.

Selling the book at the current price without the CD is exorbitant. The material covered is available in other books at a much cheaper price. Without "the CD" there is nothing modern about the materials presented here. If there is no CD to accompany the book then prudence would dictate to update the book and the product description and reduce the price. So, prospective buyers needs to be aware that the product description is false because there is no CD and they will NOT get one if they buy the book.

I will update this review if I have a copy of the CD
487873
The book is just fabulous. It made me see things so easily in such a well written, down to earth english, that I couldn't put it down. However, the cd that was supposed to be with the book was not there. This is an intricate part of the books method. This makes it half a package. If you are going to advertise a book, be sure it is complete before you sell it and ship it. Very dissappointed, left me hanging as to what the cd was like. Be sure to call first and ask if the disc is in the book if you plan on ordering it, otherwise it's like getting a birthday cake with no iceing.
1661430
Received it without CD. Look at the top left corner of the photo/image. It says CD included. Talked to Amazon support and they said I bought the wrong version. Would not send me even exchange. But another email asked if I would like to buy the CD locally from a store and then Amazon can reimburse me. Why would they want to do that when I supposedly ordered the wrong non CD version. They then sent me a link to the "correct" book. You guessed it, it was a link to the same book. So I will go and order it at my local GC.

The reason I gave it 5 stars is because there is nothing wrong with the book. I already own the non CD version. It is a bit advanced and not really for beginners. The exercises/lessons and the insight are great. At some point I will definitely need the CD version. I can't take away a star from Joe Satriani, but here is my experience above.

Thank you