Today's Song-Share

 

Songwriting with Brian Eno

Saturday, 1/25

Please enter the song-share with this link: schoolofsong.org/go-to-class 

If prompted, the password is: eno

If you lose connection and need to return to a room you've already been in, use these direct links (please note, not every TA is running a room at every hour): 

Room 3 Sharell: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81247454170?pwd=kU50aY3wPWBnYupECSbqaKjWOrwRCj.1

Room 4 Dennis: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81809814438?pwd=sbh46aUCKXj8vzbwSysCVCstCR219w.1

Room 5 Laura Jean: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83232628887?pwd=bAFyccCQPNujOp5E1CnJHIgZeixdpk.1

Room 6 Jake: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89364412899?pwd=JIXzFbaJBnVLa0eIoQ1XcvjDS8qLa2.1

Breakout Room Discussion Questions:

Introduce yourself with: name, pronouns, location, and share: 

  • What’s one of your favorite analog pieces of media / tools? (e.g. alarm clock, cassette deck, newspaper subscription)

Start with whoever has the soonest birthday. When you share your song, feel free to answer: 

  • What about the song are you proud of?
  • What about your songwriting process for this song excited you?

While you are listening to the other songs, think about: 

  • Where did you notice momentum or movement in the song? 

  • What did you notice about the lyrics?

  • How would you describe the emotional quality?

General Guidelines:  

  • Be a good listener.
    • Be fully present on the call. Don’t be “multitasking”. Actively listen to what others are saying instead of just waiting to speak.
  • Make space for others.
    • Be mindful of the amount of space that you tend to take up during conversation. We specifically want to encourage those who might feel uncomfortable with speaking to speak up, and likewise, for those who naturally contribute a lot to the discussion, be aware of how much space you’re taking up and make sure to give everyone the chance to contribute. Even if you think this is something you’re aware of and practice well, there is endless depth to this skill, and we’d all benefit from trying to create even more space for others.
  • Give attentive, descriptive feedback.
    • The breakout rooms are not a space for critical feedback. Critical feedback can be extremely helpful, and we certainly encourage you all to seek critical feedback on your songs from people who you know and trust to be honest with you. But in this setting, when our songs are very fresh and we’re sharing with new people, we’ve found that giving descriptive feedback is more helpful.
      • evaluative (this is good, this is bad);
      • prescriptive (do this, don't do this);
      • descriptive (this was my experience as a listener, these are things I noticed about the song).
    • For example, instead of saying something prescriptive, (e.g. “I think you should add more vocals”, or “you should turn down your guitar”), describe the song & your experience of listening to the song: (“I noticed that the last lyric parallels the opening line and I feel like that reinforces the overall theme well”).
  • Come prepared
    • Submit your song before class! We’re all here to write songs, so making sure that you have something to present in the breakout room is crucial.
    • On the first day of class we all proved to ourselves that we can write, record, and upload a song in 20 minutes. No matter how busy and crazy our lives may be, each of us should do our best to dedicate at least 20 minutes to the writing process between classes.
    • To be clear, this is not meant to be a presentation of our finest work, but rather a welcoming environment for creative exploration and thoughtful conversation. So even if you think your song is rushed or ‘unfinished’ or whatever, it’s so much more valuable for you and everybody else to show up with something to talk about.

FAQ

How to join the community jukebox

Join our song submission page (the “jukebox”) by clicking this link (passcode: 'eno', all lower case, no quotes).

Please watch our tutorial on how to use the site. The tutorial goes over how to upload songs, listen to other students' songs, and make a 'favorites' playlist.

After you have joined via the above link, you can just access the site via the URL: songs.schoolofsong.org.