| To The Singer Studying at Rak Vocal |
| CHINESE PROVERB: |
| “Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.” |
| I will teach you how to use your body, mind, and voice together as your vocal instrument. To do this, I will teach you a basic technique which you can use to sing any style of music healthfully, with creativity and expression. |
| You will learn: |
| A body limbering and vocal warm-up routine |
| A cool-down routine for your voice and body |
| How to heal your voice |
| Healthy use of your voice when you are “under the weather” |
| We will begin by helping you discover your core voice. Then we will add color, texture, and music style. Our voice sessions will be recorded for you to work with on your own. We will record warm-up, cool-down, and vocal healing routines that you can use for the rest of your performing life. |
| Our first session will be several hours and based on the extensive Questionnaire I mail you. I will act like a detective, seeking to find out what is really going on with your voice. Finding the major issues/challenges with the way you use your voice will be a priority so we can resolve them as rapidly as possible. |
| You will receive a Purple Folder with handouts covering many aspects of vocal care and development Much of the information is detailed in such a way that you can dig in and begin doing work before we cover it in our teaching sessions. Hour-long sessions pass quickly and are generally once a week. |
| You then have 6 days to explore, practice, and develop your body, mind, and voice using your recordings and materials in the purple folder. The more eager, determined, and motivated you are, the quicker we can accomplish some deep work together. |
| You will endeavor to become five parts with yourself in this work together: |
| The Student |
| Explores, learns, and experiments with the material, fitting the new information into your model of yourself as a singer in the world. |
| The Practicer |
| Begins the work, practicing the elements of self-care and technique. Seeking to understand, explore, experiment, and journey through what this material means to your singing. |
| The Practicing Performer |
| As the technique becomes integrated, “second nature,” you can begin to apply this new knowledge to your performance both in private and band practice. |
| The Performer |
| Must do whatever possible for the performance or recording to go forth. |
| The Creator/Artist |
| Has developed and integrated the technique enough to fully support artistic expression. |
| ABOUT SHERYL RAK: |
| I have loved performing and I love sharing the performing bug with singers!! I have 35 years of vocal and voice teaching studies and performing experience. I have over 25 years of successful experience as a Voice Teacher, Performance Coach, and Vocal Therapist. |
| I studied voice and vocal pedagogy (the art and science of teaching voice) with Iride Pilla, the head of the Voice Department, and Vocal Therapy with David Blair McClosky, the first Vocal Therapy Department in the world, at the Boston Conservatory of Music. The discipline of Vocal Therapy is still new, and I have worked with each of the three pioneers of the field, including McClosky for several years, Morton Cooper by book (MODERN TECHNIQUES OF VOCAL REHABILITATION) and telephone, and Oren Brown by telephone and book (DISCOVER YOUR VOICE: How to Develop Healthy Voice Habits) and DVD: “Oren Brown Master Class, October 5, 2002, San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of NATS”. |
| I have been a participating member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) since 1980, and served on the Chicago NATS Board of Directors. I have been a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS: the Grammy's organization), the Voice Foundation, and the American Music Conference. I am the recipient of the 1993 CHICAGO ROCKER AWARD for Commitment and Service to the Chicago Music Community. I write articles on vocal issues, and am in the process of writing three books on Rak Vocal Care in the VOICING YOU! series. |
| ABOUT RAK VOCAL & HEALING CLINIC: |
| A “clinic” is a place or workshop for intense, concentrated study and exploration, as in basketball and baseball clinics, banking clinics, finance clinics, and medical clinics. The Rak Vocal & Healing Clinic is a studio for intense, concentrated study as we work together helping you get the most out of your voice and your talent and your life. You and I will be a team, working together to help you develop yourself, your voice, and your vocal performance. |
| The Studio is located in a well-marked storefront on Irving Park Road, on the northwest side of Chicago. There is street parking (some free) in the area, and the #80 Irving Park Bus stops right in front, at Meade Avenue. |
| IMPROVEMENT |
| begins to be noted in comfort and vocal ease within two to three weeks, |
| and more significantly in about two months, |
| with more vocal stability and strength being established within three to six months... |
| VOICE AFFIRMATION: |
| I love my voice, and my voice loves me |
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