The purpose of TERRA Songwriting Groups is to create small pockets of individuals all working hard at their craft. We don’t make things easy, we don’t apologize, and we don’t shy away from a challenge. This isn’t a passing idea - it’s a commitment. We value the work over any subjective judgement. We value the person above all.

Each week of this three week group will encourage exploration in different ways and push you towards “finishing” the song. We’ll focus on story, arrangement, production style, and more. All while having the opportunity to share the song for feedback with others in the cohort each week.

We will also have a virtual Listening Circle / celebration at the end of the 3 weeks.

The entire program is held virtually (Email + Discord)

There aren’t any scheduled meetings during the 3 week program except for the culminating Listening Circle - which will be communicated during each session.

We all work differently, so we can’t estimate the time investment, but you should allocate at least an hour a week for listening and providing feedback - on top of working on your own song.

The intent of this program is to create a space for people to deepen and expand their songwriting and production practice. As such, it’s important to take seriously the commitment. It’s cliché to say “You get out what you put in” - and in this case, the amount you put in directly correlates to the value the entire group gets from the program. We all work, we all grow.

Generally speaking, the expectations are simple - but rigid.

• Work on your song every week - within the context of the prompts from the group.

  • Consider feedback from others and put action to what resonates.

• Listen to your cohorts songs and provide thoughtful and actionable feedback with positive intent.

  • See “Feedback Policy” section below

• Celebrate with and encourage each other during the process.

  • We all know songwriting and producing can be isolating and lonely. Perhaps that can be a good thing; perhaps there are times to welcome others into the process.

• Be open to the process.

• Download and register an account with Discord (it’s free).

  • We’ll be using this platform for all communication and submissions/feedback during the session.

• There’s not a tangible “prize” at the end of each session. The reward is the work - and you’ll not only have substantial work done on a song, but also a group of trusted peers. At TERRA, we’re most proud of the work created outside of our sessions (Groups + Retreats) as friendships and collaborations flourish.

First and foremost, only share feedback with a positive intention. This doesn’t mean sugar-coating or enabling a bad habit - but it does mean to provide actionable steps if there’s something that sticks out to you.

There are four basic types of feedback. I’ll briefly outline each below and share examples.

• General / Negative: “I don’t like this.”

• General / Positive: “Nice work!”

• Specific / Negative: “When you rhymed those words too perfectly, it made me feel like you took the easy way out. How could you adjust the phrasing to find a more interesting landing spot? Maybe try something like this…”

• Specific / Positive: “When the chorus hit and you brought the melody up a higher register, it really helped drive the point home with me. I could clearly feel the difference between the verse and the chorus because of your writing choices - trust yourself!”

Whereas this isn’t meant to be a class on giving feedback, it’s important to notice the difference between each type. We strive to offer specific feedback in our groups. It can be helpful to keep track of the 2 main components of this kind of feedback - the behavior (or in our case, a creative choice) and the impact. Specificity doesn’t necessarily mean exhaustive. It simply means you’ve identified a behavior/creative choice and the impact it had on you as a listener. It’s worth observing, too, that both forms of “general” feedback can seem insincere and hurtful - without a clear actionable path.