Page last updated on 02/16/2006

Link to Jeff's 10 Commandments for Songleaders

TEN COMMANDMENTS
FOR SONGWRITERS

BY CANTOR JEFF KLEPPER
HAVA NASHIRA-MAY 2004

Preparation

• Know the Hebrew meaning and pronunciation of the words you are setting. Use linear translations of the Siddur and Tanakh. Use accepted styles of transliteration. Study Hebrew to the point where you can work with the text and research the translations and commentaries. Find teachers who will help you.

• If you are writing music for a prayer, know the source of the text and learn as much as you can about the structure of the liturgy and the minhagim of the service and the community you are composing for. See advice from rabbis, cantors and teachers. There might be a special nusach or halacha of which you should be aware. Perhaps there is a midrash or a mystical interpretation that will inspire you.

• Think about how your song will be used: Children? Synagogue? Adults? Camp? Synagogue? Is it music that teaches, or music that expresses something? Will it be meditative or ecstatic? Solo? Choral piece? Sung by all? Let these factors guide your music toward the appropriate style.

Creation

• Use a tape recorder to record ideas. Use music paper to jot down melodies and harmonies. If you cant write music, learn how. It will make a difference.

• Start with the rhythm of the Hebrew words. Say them over and over using correct pronunciation until a pattern emerges, then the melody will come more easily.

• The composing process: Write from where you are--what you see, hear and feel. Let the meaning of the words sink in and guide you. Start with a melodic hook and expand the song from there. When you get stuck, switch keys, instruments, change the tempo, anything to shift gears and make your music fresh. If something just isn't working, put it away for a while and work on something else.

• Style and attitude are important. A song is more than the words and the music. It's OK to be influenced by other artists (or to pay homage) but try not to consciously imitate--if your song soounds a lot like "x" think about changing it--put your own stamp on it, make it an honest expression of who you are.

Evaluation

• Always be editing and improving your work. Simplify that which is complicated, and embellish that which is prosaic. Take great care with English lyrics: tweak them until every word is perfect. Avoid lyrics that are sappy, that talk down, that are too obvious or predictable.

• Critique your own work honestly but also get feedback from others. After a while, trust your gut to know what works and what doesn't. Be able to justify your choices of words, notes, chords, and rhythm. Know and respect that, ultimately, the public will vote on your song with their faces, voices, mouse-clicks or dollars.

• Put Gd into your music; make your songwriting a spiritual practice; let everything you create be an offering. Open yourself up to receive the music and words; be thankful for every idea that pops into your head, but realize that not every idea will be of use to you.

Sam Glaser’s Addendum to Klepper’s Big 10

Brother Jeff has hit on all the main points…after 30 years of leading song and watching others do so, I humbly offer a corollary for each one:

1. Understand not only the meaning of the words but the context in which they appear in sources…can you give a d’var about any song?
2. Branch out!  Know what songs will work in all settings: NFTY, USY, NCSY, Families, Elder Hostel…a great songleader can perform for any age audience of any denomination.
3. Give the mood of the session an ARC…the energy should be like an sine wave…starting one place, peaking at another, coming back down, then peaking at a higher place, etc.  By the end of a serious song session (more than 15 minutes) the group should be totally transported.
4. Plan your setlist but remain flexible…know what keys will flow well into others and modulate frequently.  Consider modulating even within a song. Guitarist should invest in a rolling capo (place “Glider Professional Rolling Capo” in your favorite search engine.) Pianists must be fluent in all keys.  Segue from song to song without a break as much as possible.
5. Part of the physical space involves sound reinforcement.  Your voice is your livelihood!  If possible, invest in wireless headset mics, take voice lessons to strengthen and protect voice, avoid conversation in noisy rooms, etc.
6. Memorize the words and chord changes…make yourself a list with a few key chords next to the title and tape it to guitar or keyboard. Encourage participants to get “out” of the songbooks as soon as it is feasible.
7. Work the room!  Move around, get in people’s faces, cajole them into participation.  If some of them aren’t getting into it, it’s your problem.
8. Not being the star doesn’t mean becoming like wallpaper.  Give out 1000% more energy than you might think is necessary, be aware how profoundly you are influencing the next generation of young musicians, know your instrument like your own smell.
9. Scatter the staff around the room…all must be participating with intense fervor if they expect their flocks to do the same.  Let the CIT’s all the way up to the director know that  schmoozing in the back of the room is unacceptable.
10.  Believe in the power of G-d!  G-d chose you to share His/Her gift of music.  Take that sacred gift seriously.  Use your power wisely and with discretion.  Pray with all your might that you have inspiration and ability to take your audience to new heights in their Jewish connection.  When you pray, you speak to G-d; when you learn Torah, you hear G-d’s voice. Keep the conversation alive and you become a channel for G-d’s music.