I can not do the basic excersises

Hello,

   My name is Shawn. I am a 100% disabled US Veteran and I have some scars. I absolutely love music, playing the piano, guitar, listening, signing (ASL) to songs, and singing. I would really like to learn how to become a better singer. Some people have heard me and said I am pretty good (with no training) so I wanted to become better, just because I like it - not to become a pro or anything.

   Problem is that I have scars to my face, left side. I even have no upper lip on the left side. Embarrassing as it is to have such a disfigurement, I suffer from MDD (Major Depressive Disorder, aka Clinical Depression) and Anxiety from this.

   I have signed up for these lessons and depending on how far I can go and how well they work, I was hoping this would be some sort of therapy for me and I could move to more advanced lessons shortly.

   Now every single instructor has it that I need to do "Lip Trills" which is obviously impossible for me. Does this mean I can never be even a decent armature singer? Considering canceling before my Free Trial expires but hoping I will not need to. IS there something I can do to replace the Lip Trill and receive the same benefit?

I have "normal" lips, but I can't do a lip trill to save my life!

Hi, Shawn! You are not alone - many people struggle with the lip trill! Good news: there are plenty of alternatives. I apologize for not including them or making that more clear. 

Please see this article for an explainer with examples of SOVT's (including lip trills, NG, VV, ZZ, etc): https://www.voicescienceworks.org/sovt-exercises.html

Many singers also love straw singing, if that's an option for you. 

Any time an exercise uses the lip trill, please use another SOVT of your choosing!