Who Hosts the Song Salon?
The Song Salon in Kingston is co-facilitated by Brad Cole and Jesse Correll.
Brad Cole
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Jesse Correll
Jesse is a singer-songwriter currently living in Kingston. He writes on guitar and piano, and pulls from the genres of folk, jazz, and neo-soul. He has released four albums thus far, the latest “Inner Shibori” from 2022. He is a Berklee College of Music graduate, and was a finalist for Kerrville’s New Folk songwriting competition in 2022. He was a host of East Nashville’s Song Salon from 2017 to 2021.
What is a Song Salon?
A Song Salon is a bi-weekly community gathering for songwriters. It is free for all participants. You bring a song-in-process to share with the group. Everyone in attendance takes turns sharing their song. When it’s your turn, you pass around lyric sheets to help others follow along. The group offers constructive feedback. Then the next person shares their song. This is repeated until we run out of time, or until everyone gets a chance to share.
This is not a public performance. Everyone who attends will share a song in that session.
A piano and a guitar will be provided. You don’t need to bring your instrument unless you play something else, or need a separate tuning, a lefty guitar, etc. Song Salons were originated by the late Jack Hardy. To read more about his thinking and inspiration, read his Songwriting Manifesto. We are tweaking his model a bit by doing ours bi-weekly, though he clearly advocates for weekly meetups.
When Does the Song Salon Meet?
Song Salon will meet every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Song shares will start promptly at 6PM and end when everyone has shared (no later than 9PM). If you cannot stay for the whole session, please skip it and join us when you can. This is meant to show respect for all songwriters who will play their song—whether it’s the first song, or the last.
Where Does the Song Salon Meet?
Song Salon will meet in the green room of a renowned venue in Woodstock. A guitar and piano will be available. To get more information, please sign up for our mailing list. Your info will NEVER be shared for any purpose. We share details via our mailing list to protect the venue and participants. Our venue may change over time. The mailing list will always have the most up-to-date information.
Why Should You Participate in a Song Salon?
One sure way to become a better songwriter is to write more consistently (in other words, write more songs). The Song Salon provides those bi-weekly deadlines to complete your next song. While no one in Song Salon is the “teacher”—you will automatically learn more about your songwriting process by routinely receiving constructive feedback of your songs. You will naturally get clearer on what songwriting habits of yours are working and others that may not be working the way you’d like.
Another key component of Song Salon is, simply, community. The more you participate, the more your new community will get to know how one song fits within your catalog (or oeuvre). And seeing the same in others ends up being truly inspiring. Over time, you’ll see how others approach songwriting; how they experiment with genre and technique. This will gently influence how you grow as a songwriter and as an artist.
How Does “Safe Space” Fit Here?
There are several ways that we, collectively, work to make sure that the environment of the Song Salon is a “safe space”.
Everyone who gives feedback is expected the share a new song within that session. This ensures that no one slips into the role of critic without making themselves vulnerable first.
We want honest feedback. And sometimes honesty is challenging or uncomfortable. But we all know the difference between feedback coming from kindness, versus criticism coming from ego or condescension. If feedback ever dips into questionable terrain, your hosts will maintain the safe space by giving gentle reminders of our guidelines in the session. Your hosts will privately speak to the feedback giver if we notice patterns over time.
We respect freedom of speech and beliefs. If someone’s song conveys a belief that you don’t agree with—you don’t need to debate your viewpoint during the Salon. Come back to: does the song work?
We have a zero tolerance policy for any hate speech. If your lyrics or feedback contain any discriminatory, bigoted or intolerant language, you will not be invited to future Song Salon sessions.
Pro Tips for Getting the Most out of Song Salon:
Bring a Song-In-Process
Be open to bringing in an unfinished and vulnerable song. Don’t bring in your best song or a finished song you have no interest in hearing feedback on.
Don’t Introduce Your Song
No introducing/explaining/aplogizing-for/justifying/qualifying your song before you play it. Just play it and let it land in the room. You can say all of that stuff after you play the song — if you must.
When Receiving Feedback - Be Open
Try stuff on. If it fits, keep it. If not, don’t. Things flow best with minimal rebuttal or defense. Unless a question is posed that bears answering, a simple “thank you” may suffice.
When Offering Feedback - Be Gentle, Kind, and Honest (and Concise)
Did you connect with the song? Let them know. Is there a place in the song where you got lost? This is also valuable feedback. Did you find yourself wanting more/less repetition? These are things to focus on.
Keep the Song Front-and-Center
Don’t talk about: who to pitch the song to; what kind of production it needs; what other writer it sounds like; etc. Also, try to refrain from complimenting voices or playing skills.
Keep Your Comments Brief
Try to keep your feedback brief to allow others to chime in. You don’t need to “fix” the whole song with your feedback.
Don’t Dissect Every Line
If someone offers a comment you were about to make, feel free to second it. No need to take a turn to expound the same thought in your own words. Not everyone has to comment on every line in the song.
Join the Conversation
Please use kindergarten rules here: be nice, don’t bully or dominate. Nobody here is any more of an authority than anyone else on what makes a good song good—no matter your experience. This, of course, includes the co-facilitators. For more about this, read Jack Hardy’s Songwriting Manifesto.
Be an Attentive Listener
Please do not text or talk to others while someone is sharing their song. We all give our full attention to the song.
Be On-Time and Stay for the Duration
Please do not show up late for the song shares. Also, please do not leave before the salon is complete.