Meeting Topic Content
► JEWISH SONGWRITING
Jewish Songwriting considerations (The 4 W’s)
- What makes a hit Jewish song? Explore some examples of hit songs
- Where will your Jewish song be played and who will play your song(s)?
- When will your Jewish song be played (holidays, services, camp, etc.)?
- Why write a Jewish song? Let the Jewish world hear your perspective, your wisdom. The Jewish world NEEDS new, amazing music to inspire, educate, and entertain.
Jewish Songwriting Components (Keep it Simple!)
- Chords, melody, lyrics
- Song standard format (i.e. A, B, A, B, C, A)
- Building audience interactivity into your song
Songwriting Process
- Get inspired! Find or create your best environment for being creative
- Determining song topic
- Practice of songwriting: Write regularly, collaborate with peers, rewrite!
- Evaluation and calibration
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- Testing your new Jewish song(s) on friends, audiences
- Make video and audio recordings to review your song and performance of the song
- Tweak, rewrite, fine-tune your song. Great songs are rarely written… they are rewritten!
Additional resources for learning more about Jewish songwriting
Listen to hit songs on these URJ Ruach compilation albums:
URJ Ruach Album 5763
URJ Ruach Album 5765
URJ Ruach Album 5773
► SELF-PROMOTION, MARKETING, & BRANDING
Why is self-promotion important for a Jewish artist?
Self-promotion is essential to help people:
- Find and listen to your music
- Hire you for engagements
- Understand what you care about
What is self-promotion?
- Self-promotion is the combination of branding and marketing efforts
What is branding?
- A name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies your service as distinct from those of others (i.e. your name, your logo, the colors and fonts you use on your website, the kinds of clothing you wear in your ‘official’ pictures, etc.)
What is marketing?
- Marketing is the process of promoting, selling, and distributing your products and services.
- Marketing strategy is the plan of action you use to share your brand with the public.
What are some important marketing channels in Jewish music?
- Social media – Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter
- Your Website
- Live performances, workshops, etc.
Steps to develop your brand
- What makes you unique?
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- What do you do or want to do that is different from other Jewish artists?
- How do you look? (the way you dress, pictures, album covers, your facial expressions)
- How do you sound? (what style of music do you play? What topics do you share in your music? What instrumentation do you use? What kinds of lyrics do you write?)
- How do you want people to feel when they see or hear you?
- Ask fans, friends and family what makes you different from other Jewish artists? How do you sound? How do you make them feel?
- This is a great way to not only learn more about how others experience you, but how your perception of yourself might be different from what others see in you.
- Explore the brands and self-promotion efforts of other Jewish artists.
- How are these artists different from each other?
- What makes them unique in the field?
- What aspects of their self-promotion show you their uniqueness?
- What aspects of their self-promotion inspire you?
- What are you trying to communicate to your fans and potential employers?
- If someone asked a friend or employer how you are unique or special in the field of Jewish music, what would you want them to say?
- How would you briefly describe you and your music?
- Branding Elements
- Logo – A simple visual mark to identify you, your company, product or service. (i.e. a cool way of writing your name or initials, a symbol that represents you and your business like the Nike swish, or the McDonald yellow arches, or the VH of Van Halen)
- Your slogan – a short and striking or memorable phrase used in advertising you to communicate your mission or purpose. You want something that represents your brand and is easy to remember. (i.e. Just Do It, I’m Lovin’ It, Inspiring Generations, etc.)
Branding Package/Digital Assets – Components included in your marketing
- Live and studio pictures, logo, slogan, bio, and color palette are all part of a your ‘branding package.’ Branding assets should feel related to each other.
- Your music, videos, album covers, posters, and flyers are digital assets – all part of your branding package.
- Consistency: You will want to use the same digital assets in ALL of your marketing channels. This solidifies your brand for the public and makes it easier to maintain multiple marketing channels.
Branding and Marketing evolve over time
- Your brand and how you promote yourself is a living, breathing, ongoing effort. As you change over time, you will want to modify and update your brand to reflect the new aspects of your career as you evolve. Your media will change and your marketing efforts will change.
Prioritizing your self-promotion efforts
- Develop a Plan:
- Take time to write about your brand answering the questions above in ‘Steps to Develop Your Brand.’
- Read the Jewish Music Business topic outline as this will inspire additional strategies you will want to develop before getting to work on self-promotion.
- Return on Investment (ROI): Rank the ROI related to various self-promotion efforts. What has the 1) greatest impact, 2) lowest cost, and 3) takes the least amount of time to develop and maintain?
- Marketing Channels: You can create a Facebook page in a few minutes. It takes quite a while to develop and maintain a website. Typically, many more people visit Facebook pages than websites. It might make sense to start by launching your Facebook page!
- Audio & Video: You can make a homemade video of you playing a song. This can be pretty simple to make and can share a valuable story about you and your brand – how you sound, look, and feel. Making professional audio and video recordings can be important, but can take weeks or months.
- Bio, Logo, Slogan: It can be pretty easy to write a short bio about yourself (keep it short!). Developing a logo and slogan can take a while. You can always add your logo and slogan to your brand package at a later date.
Authenticity – one of the most important aspects of your self-promotion efforts
- Your brand and marketing need to feel authentic, honest, and real to YOU, to your fans, family and friends.
- When your brand is authentic, it will feel like an extension of who you really are in ‘real life.’
- When you look at your brand and marketing, if you feel like you are faking it, ‘dressing up,’ or an imposter, this is a red flag directing you to keep working on the authenticity of what you are sharing with the public.
Additional resources for self-promotion efforts
Joe Buchanan Website
Joe Buchanan Facebook Page
Naomi Less Facebook page
Eliana Light website
Eliana Light Facebook Page
Chava Mirel website
Chava Mirel Facebook Page
Rick Recht website
Rick Recht Facebook Page
Rabbi Josh Warshawsky website
Rabbi Josh Warshawsky Facebook page
► MAKING AUDIO & VIDEO RECORDINGS
What is the value of making video recordings?
- Why should you make a video?
- People want to see what you look like, your body language, your vocal, instrumental and leadership skills.
- Why should you record your music?
- People want to enjoy your music, hear the full breadth of your musical vision – i.e. the fully produced audio performance you envision.
What types of audio and video recordings should I make?
- Leading music in different settings
- Live concert video
- Community, teens, little kids concerts, etc.
- Music video
- Worship services
- Recordings of you leading a workshop live (i.e. in a classroom) or ‘in studio’
How should I record my audio and video?
- Audio
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- Professional studio
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- Take time to learn about the stages of the music recording process (refer to Josh Goldberg Jewish Star Academy webinar below)
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- Home recording
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- Garage Band, ProTools, Logic, etc.
- Video
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- Guerilla-style/homemade video (i.e. using your phone)
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- These can be very engaging and cost-efficient
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- Semi-professional shoot
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- Record a video on your mobile device or video camera(s), but make it semi-professional by focusing on quality of lighting, audio, background (i.e. have a backdrop), multiple angles
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- Professional multi-camera shoot
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- Hire a professional videographer to shoot your video often including multiple cameras/angles.
How do I determine the producer/engineer of my audio recording? Or videographer?
- Network
- Ask Jewish artists who have audio and video recordings who they made their recordings with
- References
- Some well-known Jewish music recording producers include: Josh Goldberg, Sam Glaser, Scott Leader, Glen Grossman
How many songs or videos should I record?
- Quality is more important than quantity. Consider making just a few videos and audio recordings that are high in quality. Most people decide after 1-3 songs or videos if they like you and your music.
- Your budget will dictate the quantity of audio or video recordings you make
Where will people hear my music and see my videos?
- Social media: e.g. Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
- Streaming audio sources: e.g. Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, Band Camp
Will I ever make back my money for recording audio or video?
- It is highly unlikely you will make significant revenue from audio or video recordings
- There IS important indirect value of your music and videos. Your recordings can lead to getting hired to play engagements for compensation!
How do I determine my budget for recording audio and video?
- List your primary goals for making audio or video recordings
- Assess ROI (return on investment)
- How much money do you think you can raise to support making your audio/video? (refer to “raising dollars” below)
- How much money will you make in the future through indirect sources because you made a video and/or audio recording?
- What quality of recording are you hoping to make?
- How many audio or video recordings do you need to make in order to achieve your goals?
- How much money will you need to effectively market and distribute your audio/video recordings so people hear/see them?
Raising dollars to record audio and video
- Crowdfunding campaigns (e.g. Kickstarter, Jewcer, etc.)
- Investing your own money
- Securing sponsors – i.e. ask a synagogue(s) to ‘sponsor’ a song or video. Consider including the synagogue choir, cantor, and other participants in your song or video.
Additional Resources
- View examples of Jewish artist videos:
- Eliana Light FB page
- Joe Buchanan FB page
- Naomi Less FB page
- Rick Recht FB page
- Chava Mirel FB page
- Josh Warshawsky FB page
- Josh Goldberg – Jewish Star Academy webinar on the recording process
- Josh Goldberg – Jewish Star Academy handout
► JEWISH MUSIC BUSINESS
Strategic Roadmap – What’s your big picture? What are you trying to accomplish on a business level in the Jewish world? Write it down!
- Develop a simple strategy. Write a 1-3 page document using the following outline for your strategic brainstorm:
- Your mission/purpose, goals, milestones on the way to major goals, ways you will evaluate and calibrate along the way/ ways you will measure success, anticipated challenges
- List potential mentors, collaborators, and observation experiences
- Create a calendar including a general timeline for achieving specific goals and milestone
Alignment of the following 3 criteria is essential for making your work successful and sustainable.
- Passion – Are you passionate about what you are doing?
- Best in Class – Are you outstanding at what you are doing?
- Economic Engine – Can you recognize revenue for what you are doing?
What Services and Products will you offer? What is your ‘package?’
- Your Services and Products
- Song sessions
- Concerts for teens, kids, and communities
- Events: Chanukah parties, preschool parties, holiday parties, B’nai Mitzvah/life cycle events – private.
- Religious service leadership
- Workshops (songleading, instrument skills, songwriting, etc.)
- High Holiday worship leadership
- Merchandise – will you sell music recordings, clothing, etc.?
- Other
- Quality
- How prepared are you to offer the services and products in your package? What is your level of expertise relative to other artists who are booking similar engagements?
Consumers – Who are the consumers of your product? Jewish people at:
- Religious schools
- Camps
- Day Schools
- JCCs
- Federations
- Youth Groups
- Hillels
- Synagogues
- Private events – ie. B’nai Mitzvah, etc.
- Other
Identify: Who are some of the people who hire Jewish artists?
- Rabbis and cantors
- Synagogue staff (e.g. Education and program directors)
- Informal educators (e.g. Youth advisors, Hillel and camp directors)
- Other Jewish organization staff – (e.g. JCC and Federation staff)
Outreach: How do these people find YOU?
- Direct outreach – emails, text and phone calls from you
- Social media – seeing you on the Internet and social media
- Networking – hearing about you from other colleagues
- Professional Conferences – (e.g. SLBC, Hava Nashira, NewCAJE, etc.)
- Jewish Rock Radio and PJ Library Radio
Digital/Marketing Assets for you to share with the public and prospective clients. Clients will also use these assets to market YOUR engagement with them.
- Pictures
- Logo
- Bio – short and long
- Audio music samples
- Sheet music
- Posters
- Recordings of your music
- Your social media accounts – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
- Website
- Videos of you playing your music – amateur is totally fine!
- Other
Compensation – How much do you charge for your services?
- What is it worth to YOU to do the engagement? To prepare for the engagement? To travel to the engagement?
- What is the opportunity cost? (dollars you forfeit from other work to share your services at the engagement)
- What is the future value or indirect value of the engagement you are offering? (i.e. you play 5 gigs for $100 to get the experience and reputation to charge $500 per engagement)
- Is there a precedent set by your present pricing? (Will the pricing of the present engagement affect your value in future gigs? Unlikely!)
- What add-on products can you include in your ‘package’ for added booking potential and monetary value? (i.e. workshops, free music, etc.)
Contracting your engagement
- Do you have a contract?
- How do you make a contract?
- Developing your contract
- Consult with Jewish artists who have a contract they might share with you
- Consult a lawyer
- Search the web for music artist engagement contracts
Booking engagements
- What kind of engagements do you want to play? How often and how many per year?
- Create a booking letter that includes information about you that will be important for a prospective client to consider your services. (Customize individual letters for each type of engagement)
- Booking Process
- Determine engagement types you want to play and how many
- Create custom booking letters – include links to your digital assets/marketing materials (more info above)
- Identify prospective clients (more info above)
- Outreach (more info above)
- Contract engagement (more info above)
Additional Resources
- Joe Buchanan webinar – Self-promotion and branding
- Saul Kaye – Jewish Star Academy webinar on Jewish music business (March ’20)
- Book: How to make it in the new music business (Ari Herstand)
- Book: Steal Like an Artist
► PUBLIC PRESENTATION AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS
Psychological Preparation
Before you enter the room where you will be teaching/leading/performing, take time to focus on your intention. Ask yourself the following questions before entering:
- As a Jewish leader, what is your purpose in leading this engagement?
- Why is this experience important for you and for the community you are leading?
- What are you expecting of yourself?
- What kind of emotions or changes do you want the members of the community to experience from the beginning to the end of the engagement?
Physical Preparation
- Brief physical exertion can profoundly impact your ability to perform at peak levels. Before you enter the room, jump up and down for 30-90 seconds to oxygenate your blood, increase your alertness, posture, vision, and more.
Strategic Preparation
- Create an outline (general or detailed) for the engagement you are about to lead including being prepared to observe, learn, and flex throughout the experience. The magic moments often occur when you have the courage to let go of your outline.
Venue Considerations
- Amplification
- Temperature
- Walls, windows, ceiling and doors
- Visual distractions – e.g. people walking by the window or door of the venue during your engagement
- Audio distractions – e.g. loud noises outside of the room during your engagement
- Lighting – e.g. can the lights be dimmed or turned off?
- Chairs and tables – can the chairs and tables be moved or are they fixed/ immobile?
- Synagogues
- Electricity – are there outlets and ample electricity in order to have amplification and other helpful devices such as a projector, instrument amplifiers, etc.
Maximize Engaging Body Dynamics
- Eyes: Eye contact, eyebrow movement, winking, smiling with the eyes 🙂
- Mouth: Smile!
- Shoulders and Torso: Loosen and move your shoulders and torso
- Chest: Move your chest to vary your posture while supporting your ability to sing or speak
- Legs: Stomping, twisting, marching, walking
- Tippy-toes
Utilize Praise Phrases and Gestures
- Share verbal direction and immediately follow with positive, emphatic verbal feedback to let people know they’re doing a great job! (e.g. Awesome! Yes! Great job! Even more! Raise it up! Don’t stop! Just like that! Your voices! Your turn!
- Share non-verbal feedback to let people know they’re doing a great job. Examples include: Thumbs up, high fives, head nodding, big smiling, big eyebrows.
Participant Orientation
Ways to position yourself and participants to increase connection. Examples include:
- Orienting yourself near/far, in front, in the middle, above (i.e. standing on a stage, bima, steps, chair, table, etc.), or at ground level in relation the community.
- The community sitting or standing in a semi-circle, clump (like a huddle), circle, concentric circles, triangle, theater-style rectangle deep or wide.
Evaluation and Calibration
How will you evaluate, gather feedback, calibrate, and improve your skills?
- Feedback: Ask family, friends, and fans for feedback
- Game Tapes: Video record your engagements so you can see your delivery and potentially share with a mentor for feedback.
- Collaboration: Connect with colleagues who are leading similar engagements
- Skills Training: Take classes, attend immersive programs (e.g. SLBC, Hava Nashira, etc.), watch instructional videos, listen to audio books, etc.
- Observation opportunities: Take time to observe others who are leading similar engagements (e.g. Shabbat services, concerts, workshops lead by colleagues).
Additional Resources for learning more about Public Presentation and Leadership Skills
► WORSHIP LEADING
What are the roles and responsibilities of a worship leader? What are people expecting or looking to experience when they are worshiping?
As a worship leader, you can create a sacred space for:
- Spiritually transcendent experiences
- Connection with the Divine
- A joyous celebration of life, a sense of gratitude, and recognition of blessings
- Learning and growth
- Vulnerability, healing, mourning, and introspection
- Community interaction and connection
- People to escape the outside and look inside
- A variety of leaders to guide the worship experience
What types of worship leaders can guide the worship experience?
- Rabbis, cantors, songleaders, readers, musicians, choirs, lay leaders
Collaborate with leaders who have experience leading worship with this community or in this space:
- Before worship, make sure to learn about the community (e.g. their worship history, expectations, strengths, challenges, favorite melodies, length of services, etc.)
Create a service outline considering:
- The emotional arc of the service (i.e. upbeat and contemplative moments, prayers vs. melodies, old vs. new, individual vs. communal sections, etc.
- The mood, intention, atmosphere you want to set for your worship
- The balance between familiar and new melodies
- Moments for community interaction
- Transitions between prayers, melodies, kavanot, etc.
- The creation of moments for silence and personal prayer
- Involvement of shared leaders: clergy, songleaders, choirs, musicians, lay leaders, etc.
- Support materials (e.g. lyric sheets, projection of lyrics or images, page numbers in prayer book, etc.)
- The length of the service
How can you modify or change the worship space to make it most conducive to a meaningful worship experience?
- Amplification
- Temperature
- Orientation in relation to walls, windows, ceiling and doors
- Visual distractions – e.g. people walking by the window or door of the venue during your engagement
- Audio distractions – e.g. loud noises outside of the room during your engagement
- Lighting – e.g. can the lights be dimmed or turned off?
- Chairs and tables – can the chairs and tables be moved or are they fixed/ immobile?
Determine Orientation and Choreography
How can you and other leaders position yourselves to maximize connection? Examples include:
- Orienting yourself near/far, in front, in the middle, above (i.e. standing on a stage, bima, steps, chair, etc.), or at ground level in relation the community.
- The community sitting or standing in a semi-circle, clump (like a huddle), circle, concentric circles, triangle, theater-style rectangle deep or wide.
- When will you (or the community) stand, sit, clap, sway, etc.
What materials will support your worship experience?
- Prayer books/siddurim
- Service handouts
- Lyric sheets
- Projection screens with lyrics and images
What are some considerations for choosing melodies/songs for worship?
- Familiar favorites or new melodies
- Songs intended for interaction vs. performance
- Songs that connect to what’s going in the world, to the weekly Torah portion, upcoming holidays, etc. /li>
- Melodies that breathe meaning into traditional liturgy and challenge people to think more deeply about prayers they’ve heard throughout their lives.
- Simple vs. complex songs (i.e. how easy will it be for people to participate or catch on? Will the song require a lot of effort to teach?)
How can you teach new music in a worship service?
- Create moments in the service for sharing kavanot, teaching, and learning. These sections can include not only teaching a song, but teaching the meaning within a song.
How do you create a space for YOU to pray and worship while you are leading a worship experience?
*refer to JSA Topic: Public Presentation and Leadership Skills
- Thoroughly prepare in advance the service list, worship space, orientation, etc. so you can be present, relaxed, and connected during the service.
- Engage in pre-service rituals to set your intention (e.g. exercise, visualization, personal prayers, adornment of traditional garb, etc.) /li>
- Take time to engage with individuals in the community before the service
- Take time to learn about the meaning of the prayers you are saying and singing throughout the service.
Maximize Engaging Body Dynamics and Utilizing Praise Phrases and Gestures
*refer to JSA Topic: Public Presentation and Leadership Skills
Evaluation and Calibration
How will you evaluate, gather feedback, calibrate, and improve your skills?
- Feedback: Ask family, friends, and fans for feedback
- Game Tapes: Video record your engagements so you can see your delivery and potentially share with a mentor for feedback.
- Collaboration: Connect with colleagues who are leading similar engagements
- Skills Training: Take classes, attend immersive programs (e.g. SLBC, Hava Nashira, etc.), watch instructional videos, listen to audio books, etc.
- Observation opportunities: Take time to observe others who are leading similar engagements (e.g. Shabbat services, concerts, workshops lead by colleagues).
Additional Resources for learning more about Worship Leading
► VOCAL PERFORMANCE & PRESERVATION
Evaluate and modify the environment where you will be singing
Make sure to preview the environments where you will be singing to maximize vocally supportive conditions. Considerations include:
- Amplification: is there a sound system you can utilize to minimize vocal strain?
- What type of microphone will you be using (e.g. headset, lavalier, handheld mic)
- If unamplified, try standing closer to the audience
- The number of people singing with you onstage and in the audience will impact the amplification necessary for your voice to be heard
- The number and location of walls will create sound reflection and help amplify sound
- Surrounding noise (e.g. nearby traffic, etc.) will impact how well your voice is heard – avoid yelling over a loud audience and any surrounding noise
- Orientation of the audience:
- Ideally, the audience is positioned right in front of you to maximize the impact of your voice, your facial expressions, and any speakers that are projecting your voice.
- People sitting or standing, and the way they are positioned (e.g. Circle, theater-style, wide, or deep) will impact your ability to be heard and seen.
Vocal Strategies
Additional strategies to maximize vocal conditions include:
- Invite others to sing with you to minimize the amount of projection necessary and/or the overall length of time you are singing
- Choose keys for songs that are comfortable for your voice
- If conditions are detrimental for your voice, know when and how to stop before injuring yourself
- Occasionally, there are conditions that are beyond your control (e.g. detrimental environmental conditions, an unhealthy voice). It’s important to know when and how to stop in order to prevent vocal strain and damage.
- In advance, determine the threshold for when you will no longer sing. It is also important to have strategies for removing yourself from detrimental conditions (i.e. how and when will you tell a client you can no longer sing).
Body Positioning
- Posture – Be conscious of how your body is positioned when you are vocalizing. Microphone placement will impact your posture
- Vocal awareness – Notice how it feels when your throat is relaxed or strained
Healthy Vocal Habits
Healthy vocal habits are critical for maintaining a consistently strong voice
- Hydrate. Drink LOTS of water
- Avoid diuretics (e.g. caffeine, alcohol)
- Give your voice a break! Sleep and vocal rest are essential (e.g. don’t speak or sing too much)
- Eat foods that contain high moisture and low acidity
- Avoid foods that cause phlegm or congestion – e.g. dairy products
- The creation of moments for silence and personal prayer
- Don’t smoke
- Actively consider the environments where you will sing to maximize supportive conditions (more below)
Minimize Acid Reflux
Acid reflux often occurs at night when you are laying on your back. Reduce acid reflux by:
- Minimizing eating at night before going to bed
- Minimize drinking alcohol particularly near bedtime
- Maximize hydration
- Sleep with your head/torso slightly elevated on pillows
- If medically necessary, take pharmaceuticals (e.g. Prevacid or Prilosec)
Vocal Warm-Ups and Exercises
The voice is a muscle. It’s is important to warm up and cool down your voice before and after every event. It is also important to practice singing. (See handout below)
- Practice songs that you regularly sing in performances
- Exercises
- Silence
- Lip trills
- Resonance
- Warm-Ups
- Massaging your face – cultivate awareness of vocal muscles and around your vocal muscles
Vocal Recovery and Healing
- Warm water – throat coat tea
- Vocal rest
- Sleep
- Light warm-up exercises
- Steam the voice
- If medically necessary, vocal steroids prescribed by doctor
Evaluation and Calibration
How will you evaluate, gather feedback, calibrate, and improve your vocal skills?
- Feedback: Ask family, friends, and fans for feedback
- Game Tapes: If possible, record your leadership experiences so you can see and hear your vocal delivery and potentially share with a mentor for feedback.
- Collaboration: Connect with colleagues who are leading similar engagements
- Skills Training: Take voice lessons, listen to audio warm up and cool down exercises.
- Observation opportunities: Take time to observe others who are leading similar engagements (e.g. Shabbat services, concerts, workshops lead by colleagues) to see what strategies they are employing to maximize vocal impact.
Equipment
Consider purchasing equipment to support your vocal performance including:
- A microphone – handheld or headset (Countryman E6 recommended)
- Wireless transmitter/receiver
- A small amplifier or portable sound system
- A small powered floor monitor (eg. JBL 510, QSC K10, hotspot)
- In-ear monitor unit
Emotional State
Your emotional state always impacts your vocal performance and your ability to employ strategies to maximize vocal health, preservation, and overall impact. Make sure to prepare yourself emotionally before vocal performance.
Additional Resources for learning more about Worship Leading
All JSA Mentoring Program Content – Jewish Star Academy. Use by Written Permission Only.
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