“Rich Wallen (GC Boy)”

“Greetings. When I first met with Diana I was a bit skeptical.  I arrived on a Sunday for a group session and was a bit confused by the end of the day.

On Monday morning we started, and I was still a bit confused.  We did a lot of talking/visiting (very friendly and lots of life experience), and began the voice studies.  I discovered that she used this time to evaluate my voice, my personality, my psyche to use it in her application of the method she uses with her students. By the end of the two sessions on Monday, I was very tired…not vocally at all because my voice was beginning to get better, but mentally and physically from the application and the training.  Again, my voice was starting to improve with use.  It was the strangest thing.  By the end of Tuesday, I was understanding her concepts and on Wednesday I was speaking differently and understanding what she was working to accomplish in me.  I was not able to sign up for the complete training but Diana and Jamie were very generous in giving me all they could in the time that I had registered for.  I look forward to returning as soon as I can to complete my training with her.

When I came home, I noticed I was able to sing higher notes and sing stronger than I had been able to in a long, long time.  I was really in shock.  I went to Toronto with hopes of getting better, but all the while afraid because of what my doctor had said that I would not be able to.  But, in the 4 days that I was there, it started to click.  I’m using the techniques regularly but I had to back off the supplement program due to my blood pressure issues as there was a bit of conflict.

I assure you, I have NO benefit whatsoever in giving you this information.  The benefit to me is that someone else might be able to be helped by her abilities as much as I was helped.  And, I’m not finished.  I fully plan on going back to complete the training with her.  I’m so happy now for the improvements I am seeing that I want to do more.

I understand your concerns about understanding her and she does speak fast.  I have a bit of trouble on the phone but in person, I was able to communicate just fine after I got used to her.  I did have to ask her to repeat a few times and clarify but we were able to work through that with no issue.

I consider her a friend now.  After she saw that I was willing to work, to do everything that she told me to do, try and try and try some more, that I was trusting her and doing what she said to do even when it didn’t make sense, she warmed up to me more than any voice person I had ever studied with.  She won’t waste time if you are not willing to work and I assure you she has your best interests as a singer at the forefront of whatever she is doing.  She is not an easy taskmaster, but she is an EFFECTIVE taskmaster if you will just do what she says.  Trust me, it will not make sense at first and I don’t know you so I do not aim to predict how you will grasp her methods, but they do work.  I’m still doing the warmups on a regular basis, and hearing things she had said to me when I position myself to sing.

I encourage you to see her in person but if you don’t trust and follow her instructions you will be frustrated.  You have to relax, obey, repeat, repeat, repeat and repeat until you grasp what she is saying.  I did the famous us voice coach method with at least three people.  Nashville, LA and Chicago.  Minimal changes to my voice, as my singing just got worse and very expensive for what I walked away with.  I’m 57 years old and after getting to work with Diana I have been given hope again for the possibility of getting most of my voice back and being able to do what I love:  sing, record and perform.

If you want to call me, email me back and maybe sometime on Wednesday afternoon we can talk.  I know, I’m just a stranger across the country, but if you can see my videos from when I was there with her and know that I really was there, really went through the gruelling training, yet came home with the hope that things are going to get better for me.

Sincerely,

Richard Wallen

Gc Boy”