Singing Coach Unlimited Description:

Singing Coach Unlimited review:
2 stars (Not what I had hoped) - I found this product to be difficult to use, and not very helpful as a practicing tool. The flash animation was too elaborate, and slowed my computer up to the point where the sceen was not keeping up with my perfomance. But that could just be my computer's fault. What annoyed me most of all was how I was being graded on my ability to hold a note exactly, instead of using inflections and vibrato, etc. So, although a good idea in theory, it was not worth the price I paid.
3 stars (Good for beginning voice training) - Singing Coach Unlimited is helpful software for someone first beginning voice training or for "retuning" your voice after a long idle time. However, the lessons appear to be geared toward kids. I found the pitch tracking to be a nice feature.

The compose feature is limited and will only allow composing the melody (no accompaniment).

The ability to change keys for any song is great.

The song download selection from Carry-A-Tune is limited, although you can import songs form other sources.

I have had some software glitches (recording failures and recording delays) on my Windows XP PC which meets the recommended system requirements. (Carry-A-Tune has not yet responded with a fix.)
3 stars (Good Technology, But the Presentation is Really for Kids) - The software appears to work quite well, and I believe that using this product will improve my singing. The real-time pitch tracking is a tremendous aid for anyone who (like me) has trouble finding notes with their singing voice. On this basis, I would have given the product 4 1/2 or 5 stars. However, the bad news is that the presentation of this product is really designed for kids. There are characters who guide you through the process, and unfortunately there does not seem to be a way to turn them off. It is a bit like watching an episode of Barney in terms of the level of hokiness (e.g., an opera singing octupus who talks like Chef Boyardee. Yuck!) Ideally, Carry-A-Tune should design a professional version designed for the over 13 crowd. The new version would just contain the core technology and do away with the annoying characters and story line. But as I said, the technology seems to work so I guess that I will suffer through the cartoonish qualities.