Class Forming Now for Fall 2016

Start Date: Wed., Sept. 7, 2016, 8:30–9:30 PM

(You may register throughout the month of September, after which point the class will be closed.)

For several years, I (Natalie Eastman) have looked for ways to provide service to the Body of Christ and specifically to worship leaders and worship teams. It’s expensive to get voice lessons of good calibre— even in a group setting — and even more expensive to have private lessons. So, I’m thrilled to announce that I’m organizing a small group vocal performance class tailored specifically for worship leaders. This course addresses the desire of many worship leaders I know for an affordable way to improve, protect, and strengthen their voices.

Click here to register!
(Simply register now. You’ll make payment later.)

Is This Class For You?

This group class is for you if you are…

• a worship leader singing in your church or ministry
• a church choir member
• a soloist in your church – denomination does not matter
• a soloist for Christian weddings and other Christian events
• a gigging Christian artist who leads worship at special events, retreats, etc.

This group class is for you if you are ready to…

• Receive personalized attention and instruction for your voice and vocal performance
• Sing more vocally demanding worship pieces, whether they are contemporary or classical
• Learn to care for your voice
• Gain vocal agility
• Sing higher or lower than you can currently sing, easily
• Improve your vocal technique
• Sing more powerfully with less effort
• Add to your toolkit of singing skills (riffs, improvisation, etc.)
• Develop the flexibility of your voice
• Improve your pitch accuracy
• Develop either a classical sound if you’ve been singing contemporary – or a contemporary sound if you’ve been singing classically
• Sing healthfully
• Sing longer phrases without gasping or panting
• Extend your range
• Increase your vocal power
• Develop vocal stamina
• Create an ongoing plan for vocal development

If any or all of the goals listed above reflect your own desires, then it’s time for you to get voice lessons. And this small-group class can be your ticket for getting lessons affordably, enjoyably, and locally, and with others who share your love for singing, worshiping the Lord, and serving the Body of Christ.

Learn and participate in a cohort-style, small-group class with other worship-leading believers who want to  serve God’s people more effectively, get themselves and their technique (or lack thereof) out of the way of the worshipers, and sing healthfully for a lifetime.

What Are the Details of the Class Meetings?

• The Worship-Leading Singer’s Vocal Class is currently forming for a start date of September 7, 2016. You may register at any point throughout September; but don’t hesitate, because after September, the class will be closed to preserve the cohort style of learning.
• This class will meet on Wednesday evenings, 8:30-9:30 PM. (I am open to adding classes on other  nights, as long as we have at least two committed class participants.)
• The class will run, in total, for the duration of the “school-calendar” year (Sept through May) and be comprised of Part 1 (Fall) and Part 2 (Spring), with breaks for Thanksgiving week, three weeks at Christmastime, and Delaware City Schools spring break.
• Each class will progress through the year cohort-style: start together in September, learn together all school-calendar year, and end together at the end of May.

Requirements for Participants

This special, small-group class is not for the general public. The point is to serve those who are serving the Body of Christ through vocal music, to help them develop their skills and gift, and provide a way to do so affordably and enjoyably, yet with serious focus. Therefore, the following are requirements:

1. All participants must register for the full class (fall and spring).
   NOTE: You do not need to pay for the entire year when you register. You will pay month-by-month; but you commit to the class from September to May.
2. Must be currently involved in leading worship, whether in a worship band, a choir, individual leading (with a guitar or piano). Can be leading within an adult, youth, children’s, or small group ministry context.

Click to
(Payment happens later.)

Description: Vocal Class Part 1 (September – January)

5 In-depth Modules

1. Your vocal apparatus:
   Know the mechanics of how your body works to breathe, produce sound, and support voice – all the things you should absolutely know. There’s so, so much well-intentioned misinformation about our bodies and voices out there. Get the physiological facts and never be ignorant about vocal physical effectiveness and health again.
2. Warming up and cooling down: why, what, and how
3. Essential exercises for vocal development and ear training
   • Expand your range
   • Improve your pitch accuracy
   • Increase the facility and agility of your voice
4. Breath: learn how it works and how best to support it to free your voice, expand your range, control nerves, sing healthfully, and avoid vocal blowout
5. Create a plan for developing your voice

We’ll go very nitty-gritty into all of these areas and give you a complete road map to the best-practices fundamentals you need to develop your voice.

Description: Vocal Class Part 2 (February – May)

4 In-depth Modules

1. Singing better:
   1. Mastering breath control for the ultimate support and freedom
   2. Lips: setting them free
   3. Improving your vocal agility
   4. Connecting your range
   5. Improving pitch
2. Building your voice: power and volume without force and blowout
3. Working with singing style (approaching different genres)
4. Song interpretation
   1. Development and delivery
   2. Performance + technique (without stress)
   3. Leading worship as a singer

Details – Summary:

• Start Date: Wed., Sept. 7, 2016 (Rolling enrollment throughout September. After Sept. 30, the class will be closed to preserve the cohort style of learning.)
• Time of Class: 8:30–9:30 PM
• Course Duration: Course, including parts 1 and 2, runs September through the end of May, with the exception of no-class dates (see list below in FAQ). There are 37 scheduled classes, Sept 28 through May 31. (This is a perfect duration for forming an excellent foundation for your vocal health and growth!!!)
• Small groups: maximum of 4 people per class formed
• All classes video-recorded.
• Access to all class videos for life.
• Membership in private Facebook group, exclusively for Worship-Leading Singer’s Vocal Course members. Discuss lessons and exercises, share ideas and growth, learn from and help each other.

COST

$20 per student, per one-hour class, paid in advance by the month. (Regular fee is $50/hour, so this is $30 (=60%) – off the normal per-hour fee for a private lesson.)

BONUS FOR WORSHIP-LEADERS’ CLASS MEMBERS ONLY:

All class members participating Sept–May can continue to take lessons through the summer months (June 1 – August 31) at the a still-deeply-discounted fee of $30/hour for private lessons through the summer following the close of your cohort’s class year. This is $20 (=40%) off of my usual hourly fee for a private lesson. I’m sure I don’t need to say that that’s an amazing discount for private lessons. All for you, my brothers and sisters who minister vocally to the Body of Christ.

REGISTER HERE

FAQ

1. Can I register individually, as in, without the other singers on my team?
   Yes. Any worship-leading singer can register.
2. Are there any benefits to referring others, either on or off of my worship team, to this course?
   Yes! If you register for the entire course and subsequently actively recruit 1 additional student who registers for the entire course (both parts, 1 and 2) and if they name you as the one who referred them, you will receive 5% off your course payment for the entire year.
   Note: this does not mean you must pay for the entire year in full up front! It means you will receive 5% off your course fee every month for the duration of the course.
   PLUS: Earn another, additional 5% for each and every student you recruit who enrolls for the entire course. So, this is great for worship team coordinators or choir directors, if they want others on their team to join the course.  And this would be in addition to any other discount you might receive, such as the up-front payment option (see #3, below). I’ll be happy to help y’all calculate and distribute the savings, once you know how many from your team or choir are joining.
   How do I take advantage of this referral offer?
   Simply contact A Higher Note LLC (email Natalie Eastman directly at natalie@ahighernote.com or use the “Contact” form here) to request the discount, determine the discounted amount, and arrange your payment.
3. Are there any discounts for paying for an entire semester or even the entire year up front?
   Yes! There are two ways to save using up-front payments:
   a.) If you register and pay for the entire semester before the start date, you will receive 5% off of that semester’s fee.
   b.) If you pay for the entire year up front, you will receive a discount of 10% off of that year’s fee.
   How do I take advantage of this up-front payment offer?
   Simply contact A Higher Note LLC (email Natalie Eastman directly at natalie@ahighernote.com or use the “Contact” form here) to request the discount, determine the discounted amount, and arrange your payment.
4. I’m in a contemporary worship band. Will this help me?
   Yes! Absolutely! Stabilize your voice, free your range, improve your pitch accuracy, control and support your breath – all these things are going to help you lead worship better! Most worship singers get no vocal instruction at all, yet often sing complex melodies or harmonies or sing songs not written at all for their voice part. This often results in vocal strain and a lot of vocal abuse. You’ll learn about how to get and keep your voice healthy, sing challenging songs, expand your range (so you can sing those too-low songs), and basically do a more effective job.
5. I’m in a church choir and we sing mostly classical or spiritual songs. Will this help me?
   Yes! It will! Even though many choirs are led by knowledgable conductors, not all were vocally trained and very few have time to give individual or even small group/part attention to singers for vocal development See #4, above, for a list of benefits, because they apply to you, too!
6. How many people will be in each class?
   A maximum of 4 people will be in each class, for space purposes and so that I can give good attention to each.
7. How long is each class and how often does it meet?
   One hour each week. I have private-lesson students arriving both before and after this class, so promptness both arriving and leaving is necessary and appreciated.
8. Can I register for the class at any time?
   No, sorry! Because this class meets cohort-style (starts together, learns together, and ends the class’ year together), you must register for it prior to the class starting. Rolling enrollment will be accepted throughout September, but after Sept. 30, enrollment will be closed. You’ll have to wait until next year or take private lessons at the normal rate of $50/hour if you want/need lessons this year.
9. Where do the classes meet?
   Classes meet in my home in Delaware, OH, very (very, very) near the county fairgrounds. Address will be provided upon completion of registration.
10. Are there any other bonuses of which I should be aware?
    Yes! All singing worship-leaders class members participating Sept–May can continue to take lessons through the summer months (June 1 – August 31) at the still-deeply-discounted fee of $30/hour. This is $20 (40%) off of my usual hourly fee for a private lesson. It’s a very good deal.
11. Are there any dates on which we will not have class?
    Yes, here is the list of dates on which we will not have class:
    Nov. 23, Dec. 21 & 28, and April 12. On all other Wednesdays between Sept. and May, students are expected to attend class.
12. How do I pay for the classes?
    You can pay monthly, by semester, or pay for the entire class-year at once. No matter how many classes occur within a month, you still only pay for the scheduled classes. For example, in November there are 5 Wednesdays, but we are only meeting for 4 of them, because of the listed no-class day on 11/22. So, the fee for November would be $80 (which would be due before Nov. 1).
    If you’re paying for an entire semester or for the whole year, the fee

Register now. Don’t put it off.

When the class fills, it is closed unless someone requests that a new class form and there are at least two participants.