JEWISH STAR MENTORING PROGRAM RESOURCES

Mentee Preparation for Stage 1 Cohorts

Mentee Preparation for Stage 1 - Meeting 1

Before your meeting, please prepare the following:

• About You:  Prepare to share a little about your music and leadership journey by answering any of the following questions:
  • In what parts of your life are you a leader? What inspires you to lead?
  • What do you feel is your purpose in being a leader of music in the Jewish world?
  • Where and when do you play Jewish music? How does it make you feel? How do you hope others will feel when you share/lead music?
• Your Topic Interests: Based on the topics assigned to your group, which topics are you most excited about and what aspect of those topics are you most interested in exploring? (refer to Meeting Topic Assignments section farther down the page)
• Your Questions: Review the Outline and Guiding Questions for your Meeting 2 topic to identify your 'burning question(s)' on that topic

Mentee Preparation for Stage 1 - Meetings 2-5

• Your Questions: Review the Outline and Guiding Questions for your NEXT meeting topic to identify your 'burning question(s)' on that topic
• Complete any exercises assigned to you by your mentor

Mentee Preparation for Stage 2 Cohorts

Mentee Preparation for Stage 2 - Meeting 1

Before your meeting, please prepare the following:

• About You: Prepare to share a little about your music and leadership journey by answering any of the following questions:
  • What are your goals for this year?
  • What do you most want to learn? How do you most want to grow?
• Your Topic Interests and Questions: Review the topics assigned to your group for Meetings 2-5, the Topic Outlines and Guiding Questions for those topics, and your most 'burning question(s) on those topics

Mentee Preparation for Stage 2 - Meetings 2-5

• Your Topic Interests and Questions: Review the topic assigned to this meeting, the Topic Outlines and Guiding Questions for those topics, and be ready to jump in and contribute to the discussion.
• Complete any exercises assigned to you by your mentor

Mentor Preparation for Stage 1 Cohorts

Mentor Preparation for Stage 1 - Meeting 1

Review information in the Mentee Info Spreadsheet

• Prepare to share a little about your music and leadership journey by answering any of the following questions:
  • In what parts of your life are you a leader? What inspires you to lead?
  • What do you feel is your purpose in being a leader of music in the Jewish world?
  • Where and when do you play Jewish music? How does it make you feel? How do you hope others will feel when you share/lead music?

Mentor Preparation for Stage 1 - Meetings 2-5 (Stage 1)

• • • Based on questions asked by mentees during the previous meeting:
      • Determine areas of focus for your meeting topic based on mentees’ questions about that topic
      • Determine perspectives you would like to share on the topic
      • Review “Meeting Topic Content” outline on this webpage as needed

Mentor Preparation for Stage 2 Cohorts

Mentor Preparation for Stage 2 - Meeting 1

Review information in the Mentee Info Spreadsheet

• Determine 1-2 icebreaker questions to use for your group to get to know each other
  • In your wildest dreams, what would you like to be doing to impact the Jewish world in the next 1-10 years?
  • What do you feel is your purpose in being a leader of music in the Jewish world?
  • What is/are your greatest gifts when it comes to Jewish leadership/music leadership/etc?
  • Share 3 goals you might want to achieve in your Jewish life over the next 6 months

• Review the 4 topics assigned to your group's remaining 4 meetings, be prepared to share guiding questions and gather as much about what your mentees want to learn about this topic as possible

Mentor Preparation for Stage 2 - Meetings 2-5

• Based on questions asked by mentees during Meeting 1:
  • After Meeting 1, determine the full trajectory for Meetings 2, 3, 4 & 5 based on mentees’ questions and share with them prior to Meeting 2
  • Determine perspectives you would like to share on the topics you've planned for Meetings 2, 3, 4 & 5
  • Considering what adjustments you might want to make to your original trajectory before each meeting based on the evolving needs of the group
  • Review “Meeting Topic Content” outline on this webpage as needed

*Mentor signs into their assigned Jewish Star Zoom account and launches the meeting (refer to Zoom Info section farther down the page as needed)

*When the Mentor is ready to start the meeting, mentor checks that meeting is recording to the cloud

(5) Brief Introductions of Mentor & Mentees

• Mentor shares contact information with Mentees

(5) Meeting Overview & Community Guidelines Review

(40) Mentor and Mentee Share

• Mentor and mentees share answers to questions listed in Meeting Preparation for Meeting 1
  • (25) Mentee Share: Each mentee shares answers about their purpose and intention as Jewish leaders AND the mentoring topics they are most interested in exploring
  • (15) Mentor Share: Mentor shares Jewish music journey, answers same questions

(10) Mentor introduces topic of next meeting, screen shares provocateur questions about that topic, and asks Mentees to share:

• Which 2-3 of these questions associated with the upcoming topic most resonates with them, or any additional questions they have. Mentor takes notes.

(5) Cohort Highlights of Sharing in Community of Practice and Next Meeting Confirmation

• Mentor turns meeting over to Cohort Representative to gather highlights for the Community of Practice WhatsApp group, including:
  • A significant takeaway or resource worth posting in the CoP that all Jewish Stars can learn from
  • If someone shared a project (like a song or video) in your meeting, asking that person to share in the CoP group
  • If someone shared a mazel/exciting news in your meeting, asking that person to share their news in the CoP group

• Mentor announces the date and time of the next meeting and all mentees confirm they have the next meeting in their calendars

*Mentor fills out Post-Meeting Mentor Report

*Mentor signs into their assigned Jewish Star Zoom account and launches the meeting (refer to Zoom Info section farther down the page as needed)

*When the Mentor is ready to start the meeting, mentor checks that meeting is recording to the cloud

(5) Meeting Overview

(15) Check In, Review Topic from Previous Meeting (as needed)

• Mentees share progress on topic, which may include any ‘assignments’ given by the mentor. (If the topic is Jewish Songwriting, allot more time for this section)
• Mentees/Mentor share new questions or feedback on the previous topic

(30-45) Topic Discussion: Mentor frames discussion of this month’s topic based on mentee questions from the previous meeting

(10) Mentor introduces topic of next meeting, screen shares provocateur questions about that topic, and asks Mentees to share:

• Which 2-3 of these questions associated with the upcoming topic most resonates with them, or any additional questions they have. Mentor takes notes.

(5) Cohort Highlights of Sharing in Community of Practice and Next Meeting Confirmation

• Mentor turns meeting over to Cohort Representative to gather highlights for the Community of Practice WhatsApp group, including:
  • A significant takeaway or resource worth posting in the CoP that all Jewish Stars can learn from
  • If someone shared a project (like a song or video) in your meeting, asking that person to share in the CoP group
  • If someone shared a mazel/exciting news in your meeting, asking that person to share their news in the CoP group

• Mentor announces the date and time of the next meeting and all mentees confirm they have the next meeting in their calendars

*Mentor fills out Post-Meeting Mentor Report

*Mentor signs into their assigned Jewish Star Zoom account and launches the meeting (refer to Zoom Info section farther down the page as needed)

*When the Mentor is ready to start the meeting, mentor checks that meeting is recording to the cloud

(5) Brief Introductions of Mentor & Mentees

(5) Meeting Overview & Community Guidelines Review

• Mentor shares contact information with Mentees

(10) Icebreaker

• Sample icebreaker questions:
  • In your wildest dreams, what would you like to be doing to impact the Jewish world in the next 1-10 years?
  • What do you feel is your purpose in being a leader of music in the Jewish world?
  • What is/are your greatest gifts when it comes to Jewish leadership/music leadership/etc?
  • Share 3 goals you might want to achieve in your Jewish life over the next 6 months

(45) Questions Deep Dive

• Mentor reviews all four Meeting Topics assigned to the cohort, screen shares provocateur questions for each topic, one at a time, and asks Mentees to share
  • Which 2-3 of questions associated with each assigned topic most resonates with them, or any additional questions they have. Mentor takes notes.

(5) Cohort Highlights of Sharing in Community of Practice and Next Meeting Confirmation

• Mentor turns meeting over to Cohort Representative to gather highlights for the Community of Practice WhatsApp group, including:
  • A significant takeaway or resource worth posting in the CoP that all Jewish Stars can learn from
  • If someone shared a project (like a song or video) in your meeting, asking that person to share in the CoP group
  • If someone shared a mazel/exciting news in your meeting, asking that person to share their news in the CoP group

• Mentor announces the date and time of the next meeting and all mentees confirm they have the next meeting in their calendars

*Mentor fills out Post-Meeting Mentor Report

*Mentor signs into their assigned Jewish Star Zoom account and launches the meeting (refer to Zoom Info section farther down the page as needed)

*When the Mentor is ready to start the meeting, mentor checks that meeting is recording to the cloud

(5) Meeting Overview

(15) Check In, Review Topic from Previous Meeting (as needed)

• Mentees share progress on topic, which may include any ‘assignments’ given by the mentor. (If the topic is Jewish Songwriting, allot more time for this section)
• Mentees/Mentor share new questions or feedback on the previous topic

(30-45) Topic Discussion: Mentor frames discussion of this month’s topic based on mentee questions

(5) Mentor announces date and time of next meeting. Mentor reviews the topic of next meeting, proposes any changes (e.g. switching topics, extending a topic), explains pros/cons of any changes, then group decides on any changes

(5) Cohort Highlights of Sharing in Community of Practice

• Mentor turns meeting over to Cohort Representative to gather highlights for the Community of Practice WhatsApp group, including:
  • A significant takeaway or resource worth posting in the CoP that all Jewish Stars can learn from
  • If someone shared a project (like a song or video) in your meeting, asking that person to share in the CoP group
  • If someone shared a mazel/exciting news in your meeting, asking that person to share their news in the CoP group

*Mentor fills out Post-Meeting Mentor Report

Cohort 1 (Bella, Ayla, Marlee, Shayna, Susannah) - Stage 1
Cohort Rep: Ayla

JANUARY
• Intro Meeting & Purpose of Jewish Leadership

FEBRUARY
• Public Presentation & Leadership Skills

MARCH
• Service & Prayer Leadership

APRIL
• Jewish Songwriting

MAY
• Finding Work and Getting Hired to Lead Jewish Music

Cohort 2 (Kayla, Micah, Noah, Samuel) - Stage 2
Cohort Rep: Kayla

JANUARY
• Intro Meeting & Purpose of Jewish Leadership

FEBRUARY
• Service & Prayer Leadership

MARCH
• Jewish Songwriting

APRIL
• Finding Work and Getting Hired to Lead Jewish Music

MAY
• Creating Audio & Video Recordings

Cohort 1 (Brandi, Mya, Mads, Michelle, Callie) - Stage 1
Cohort Rep: Mads

JANUARY
• Intro Meeting & Purpose of Jewish Leadership

FEBRUARY
• Public Presentation & Leadership Skills

MARCH
• Service & Prayer Leadership

APRIL
• Creating Audio & Video Recordings

MAY
• Self Promotion & Building Your Brand

Cohort 2 (Nava, Teddie, Mia, Anna, Lisa) - Stage 2
Cohort Rep: Mia

JANUARY
• Intro Meeting & Purpose of Jewish Leadership

FEBRUARY
• Public Presentation & Leadership Skills

MARCH
• Service & Prayer Leadership

APRIL
• Jewish Songwriting

MAY
• Finding Work and Getting Hired to Lead Jewish Music

Cohort 1 (Hannah, Sia, Eve, Liza) - Stage 2
Cohort Rep: Liza

JANUARY
• Intro Meeting & Purpose of Jewish Leadership

FEBRUARY
• Public Presentation & Leadership Skills

MARCH
• Service & Prayer Leadership

APRIL
• Finding Work and Getting Hired to Lead Jewish Music

MAY
• Self Promotion & Building Your Brand

Cohort 2 (Jordan, Sofia, Skylar, Elisheva, Keira) - Stage 1
Cohort Rep: Jordan

JANUARY
• Intro Meeting & Purpose of Jewish Leadership

FEBRUARY
• Service & Prayer Leadership

MARCH
• Jewish Songwriting

APRIL
• Finding Work and Getting Hired to Lead Jewish Music

MAY
• Self Promotion & Building Your Brand

Cohort 1 (Maddie, Ben, Frogby, Mira, Libi) - Stage 1
Cohort Rep: Frogby

JANUARY
• Intro Meeting & Purpose of Jewish Leadership

FEBRUARY
• Public Presentation & Leadership Skills

MARCH
• Service & Prayer Leadership

APRIL
• Jewish Songwriting

MAY
• Finding Work and Getting Hired to Lead Jewish Music

Cohort 2 (Miriam, Hana, Marc, Kevin) - Stage 2
Cohort Rep: Hana

JANUARY
• Intro Meeting & Purpose of Jewish Leadership

FEBRUARY
• Public Presentation & Leadership Skills

MARCH
• Jewish Songwriting

APRIL
• Finding Work and Getting Hired to Lead Jewish Music

MAY
• Self Promotion & Building Your Brand

Cohort 1 (Jacob, Jamie, Willa, Rena, Elysha) - Stage 1
Cohort Rep: Willa

JANUARY
• Intro Meeting & Purpose of Jewish Leadership

FEBRUARY
• Service & Prayer Leadership

MARCH
• Jewish Songwriting

APRIL
• Finding Work and Getting Hired  to Lead Jewish Music

MAY
• Self Promotion & Building Your Brand

Cohort 2 (Lev, David, Abby, Rock, Aydin) - Stage 2
Cohort Rep: Rock

JANUARY
• Intro Meeting & Purpose of Jewish Leadership

FEBRUARY
• Public Presentation & Leadership Skills

MARCH
• Jewish Songwriting

APRIL
• Creative Audio & Video Recordings

MAY
• Self Promotion & Building Your Brand

Cohort (Rebecca, Jordan, Elyse, Leah, Shira) - Stage 2
Cohort Rep: Rebecca

JANUARY
• Intro Meeting & Purpose of Jewish Leadership

FEBRUARY
• Public Presentation & Leadership Skills

MARCH
• Service & Prayer Leadership

APRIL
• Jewish Songwriting

MAY
• Self Promotion & Building Your Brand

Cohort (Asher, Allison, Jacob, Rivi) - Stage 2
Cohort Rep: Allison

JANUARY
• Intro Meeting & Purpose of Jewish Leadership

FEBRUARY
• Public Presentation & Leadership Skills

MARCH
• Service & Prayer Leadership

APRIL
• Jewish Songwriting

MAY
• Self Promotion & Building Your Brand

Cohort (Sander, Asher, Noah, Sam, Levi) - Stage 2
Cohort Rep: Levi

JANUARY
• Intro Meeting & Purpose of Jewish Leadership

FEBRUARY
• Public Presentation & Leadership Skills

MARCH
• Jewish Songwriting

APRIL
• Finding Work and Getting Hired to Lead Jewish Music

MAY
• Self-Promotion and Building Your Brand

Cohort (Baylee, Mischa, Erin, Lily, Sami) - Stage 1
Cohort Rep:

JANUARY
• Intro Meeting & Purpose of Jewish Leadership

FEBRUARY
• Public Presentation & Leadership Skills

MARCH
• Service & Prayer Leadership

APRIL
• Jewish Songwriting

MAY
• Finding Work and Getting Hired to Lead Jewish Music

Cohort (Frankie, Alex, Maggie, Jenna) - Stage 2
Cohort Rep: Jenna

JANUARY
• Intro Meeting & Purpose of Jewish Leadership

FEBRUARY
• Public Presentation & Leadership Skills

MARCH
• Service & Prayer Leadership

APRIL
• Jewish Songwriting

MAY
• Finding Work and Getting Hired to Lead Jewish Music

Cohort (Max, Ben, Ethan, Zoe) - Stage 2
Cohort Rep: Max

JANUARY
• Intro Meeting & Purpose of Jewish Leadership

FEBRUARY
• Public Presentation & Leadership Skills

MARCH
• Service & Prayer Leadership

APRIL
• Jewish Songwriting

MAY
• Self Promotion & Building Your Brand

Cohort (Ben, Elie, David, Aaron, Michael) - Stage 1
Cohort Rep: Ben

JANUARY
• Intro Meeting & Purpose of Jewish Leadership

FEBRUARY
• Public Presentation & Leadership Skills

MARCH
• Jewish Songwriting

APRIL
• Creating Audio & Video Recordings

MAY
• Self Promotion & Building Your Brand

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)

Resources

• Star State Slideshow
• Rick Recht – Head to Toes Body Dynamic handout
• Billy Jonas – Location, Location, Location
• Jacob Spike Kraus – Basics of Teaching a Song
• Jacob Spike Kraus – Preparation and Relationships

1. How can I increase my confidence in my presentation and leadership abilities?
2. What are the best strategies for preparing for a presentation? What do you need to prepare for and how much time should you spend?
3. What should I do when I have limited time or control over the environment/setup of an event I’m presenting at?
4. How might I communicate with stakeholders before the presentation to increase the likelihood of my success?
5. What should I do when the group I’m working with is behaving in some way that’s making it hard to accomplish what I set out to achieve (e.g. not listening, being non-responsive, etc.)?
6. How can I encourage participation, questions, etc. from those who feel intimidated or hesitant to participate?
7. When do you know it’s time to let go of your plan and improvise? How do you make adjustments on the fly?
8. How can I be a compelling music leader without an instrument?

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

• Rick Recht - Economics of Jewish Music
• Saul Kaye webinar recording - Jewish music business
• Book: How to make it in the new music business (Ari Herstand)
• Book: Steal Like an Artist

Exercises

• Strategic Roadmapping
  • 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
• Visioning and Determining Your Offerings
  • Draft out what a weekend with you would look like. What would it feel like? How will you feel?
  • Make a list of what you can offer communities

Resources

• Rick Recht - Economics of Jewish Music
• Saul Kaye webinar recording - Jewish music business
• Book: How to make it in the new music business (Ari Herstand)
• Book: Steal Like an Artist

1. How do I identify the ‘products and services’ that I want to offer? How do I know what I’m ‘best’ at?
2. What are the best strategies for reaching out to people and organizations who might want to hire me? Who is my best first contact?
3. What should an initial outreach to someone I want to hire me look like? What information should be included? How should it be presented?
4. How do I figure out what I should charge for a gig? What’s a fair price? Should I ever ‘volunteer’ my services?
5. What are some strategies for preparing for an interview, call, or meeting, either for a job or my services? What are some strategies for within the interview itself?
6. How do I determine whether a gig is right for me?
7. If I’m not interested in making money from my Jewish leadership or doing Jewish music work professionally, why are gigs still valuable? What kind of gigs should I look for?
8. When should I have a contract in place for a gig? What needs to be part of a contract? How do I make a contract?
9. How do I advocate for myself if an agreement with an employer/the person who hires me is not honored or different than what I expected?

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
• • 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!

Exercises

• Prayer Songwriting Exercises
  • Look through a siddur and find a piece of liturgy that speaks to you. Write part or all of a song to or inspired by those words.
  • Pick a prayer at random from the siddur. Read the translation and interpret what it means to you. Write all or part of a new melody for that prayer.

• Lyric Writing: Free Writing and Dream Journaling
  • Set a timer for five minutes and write about anything that comes to mind. Don't put any boundaries on what you write.
  • Keep a journal by your bed and write down your dreams as soon as you wake up. Describe what you saw, experienced, and felt.

• Ghost Songwriting
  • Identify a Jewish or secular artist whose music you admire/whose songs you kinda wish you'd written
  • Imagine this artist commissioned you to write a Jewish song for them to record and perform
  • Jot down 3-5 common themes or ideas present in this artist's music and 2-3 prayers/Jewish texts that speak to those themes. Select a theme and text that speak to you most
  • Write a new Jewish song in the style of this artist

Resources

• Jacob Spike Kraus - Songwriting worksheet
• Rabbi Josh Warshawsky - Prayerwriting, finding your voice
• Rick Recht - Jewish Songwriting

Listen to hit songs on these URJ Ruach compilation albums:
URJ Ruach Album 5763
URJ Ruach Album 5765
URJ Ruach Album 5773

1. How do I go about starting to write music for the first time? Is there a different ‘process’ for writing Jewish music vs. secular?
2. How do I figure out what makes me unique as a Jewish songwriter? How do I set myself apart?
3. What are good strategies and techniques for improving and honing my songwriting?
4. How do you get out of creative ruts/writer’s block?
5. What are the practical considerations of writing Jewish music? How much should I let practical considerations influence my songwriting?
6. How do you start to share music you’ve written? When should you start sharing and with what kinds of audiences (e.g publicly vs privately)?
7. When should I ask for feedback on my music? When should I adapt someone’s feedback versus trust my gut?
8. What do I do if I’m unhappy with the music I’m writing?

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 who you are and what you care about

What is self-promotion?

• Self-promotion is the combination of branding and marketing efforts, how you let people know about who you are and your purpose

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, TikTok
• Your Website
• Live performances, workshops, etc.

Steps to develop your brand

• Finding your purpose: What makes you, YOU?
  • 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.

Resources

• Joe Buchanan webinar – Self-promotion and branding
• Jacob Spike Kraus - Branding/Marketing

1. When is the right time to start marketing myself and my work?
2. How do I determine my 'brand’ and what makes me unique? How can I stand out?
3. What is my 'purpose,' ‘mission,’ and ‘vision’ and how can I communicate that to others? How can I communicate that through my work?
4. How do I market and self-promote if I'm still figuring out what my 'purpose' is?
5. How do I determine what kind of content I should create?
6. What platforms should I use? How do I determine where to focus my efforts?
7. What branding/marketing assets do I need (website, logo, recordings, etc.)?
8. What are some strategies for making a marketing/self-promotion plan and sticking to it?
9. When I share out content, how do I determine if it is successful or not? When should I continue with or abandon a strategy?
10. How can I be proud of what I share out and not tie its value/my worth to how many people hear it, see it, or engage with it?

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
      • Studio-produced video
    • Worship services
      • Workshops
    • Recordings of you leading a workshop live (i.e. in a classroom) or ‘in studio’

How should I record my audio and video?

• • • Audio
      • Professional studio
        • Take time to learn about the stages of the music recording process (refer to Josh Goldberg Jewish Star Academy webinar below)
      • Home recording
        • Garage Band, ProTools, Logic, etc.
    • Video
      • Guerilla-style/homemade video (i.e. using your phone)
        • These can be very engaging and cost-efficient
      • Semi-professional shoot
        • 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
      • Professional multi-camera shoot
        • 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.

Resources

• • Rick Recht - Video and Audio recording workshop handout
  • Josh Goldberg – Audio recording webinar and handout

1. How will audio or video recordings of my talent and/or my original music help me grow as a Jewish music leader and/or music artist?
2. When is the right time to make an album/quality audio recordings and how do I get started?
3. What level of quality is necessary for it to be worth making an audio or video recording?
4. What are some resources I should consider in assisting me with creating audio and video recordings? What FREE resources are available?
5. How and when should I collaborate with other artists for a performance or recording? What are the considerations for collaboration?
6. What types of videos should I make?
7. What are the best platforms/utilities for my videos and audio recordings?
8. How do you launch and run a successful crowdfunding campaign?
9. How do I determine when to share out audio or video recordings? What are the considerations for “releasing” content?
10. How do I make a practice out of content creation? How do I know if it’s serving or no longer serving me/my vision?

What are the roles and responsibilities of a prayer leader? What are people expecting or looking to experience when they are praying?

As a prayer 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 prayer leaders can guide the service/prayer experience?

• Rabbis, cantors, songleaders, readers, musicians, choirs, lay leaders

Collaborate with leaders who have experience leading services with this community or in this space:

• Before services, 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 prayer space to make it most conducive to a meaningful prayer 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 prayer experience?

• • • Prayer books/siddurim
    • Service handouts
    • Lyric sheets
    • Projection screens with lyrics and images

What are some considerations for choosing melodies/songs for prayer?

• • • 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 prayer 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 prayer experience?

*refer to Mentoring Topic: Public Presentation & Leadership Skills

• • • Thoroughly prepare in advance the service list, prayer 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 Mentoring 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 Prayer Leading

• • Eliana Light - Sample service, creating and holding space check list, and more
  • Eliana Light - Resources for leading prayer for kids of all ages
  • Eliana Light - Positive, Powerful, Prayer

Exercises

• Service of Your Dreams
  • Create an outline for a service that speaks to you and your intention as a prayer leader

• Prayer Meaning Exercise: Reorder the Service
  • Take a service outline and a siddur and write each prayer onto a post-it or strip of paper.
  • In no order, look at the translation or other interpretations of each prayer.
  • Put the prayers in a new order that speaks to you and your understanding of the prayer's meaning.

Resources

• Eliana Light - Sample service, creating and holding space check list, and more
• Eliana Light - Resources for leading prayer for kids of all ages
• Eliana Light - Positive, Powerful, Prayer

1. How do I craft the right intention and ‘flow’ of a prayer service? What are the considerations?
2. What is the right balance between familiar/traditional melodies and new ones? How do I figure out that balance for a community?
3. How do you thoughtfully introduce new ideas and melodies to a community?
4. What can I do to make my services spiritually and physically accessible?
5. How do I convince my employer/clergy to be more open to my creative ideas for a service list? What are some practical tips for communicating with clergy?
6. How do I make space for my own prayer within the context of leading a community in prayer?
7. How do I balance my own needs and interests in the prayer experience with the needs and best interests of the community?
8. When is it appropriate for me to share thoughts/reflections/kavanot during a prayer service? How do I begin to build that skill into my leadership?
9. If I’ve spent my entire life/career leading prayer in one area or movement of Judaism, what do I need to learn in order to feel confident leading in other areas/movements?

1. Identify the correct Zoom account for your meeting

JOE BUCHANAN – jewishstar@jewishrockradio.com

ERIC HUNKER – jsa@jewishrockradio.com

BILLY JONAS – jsa@jewishrockradio.com

CHARLIE KRAMER – mentoring@jewishrockradio.com

JACOB SPIKE KRAUS – mentoring@jewishrockradio.com

NAOMI LESS – jsa@jewishrockradio.com

ELIANA LIGHT – jewishstar@jewishrockradio.com

CHAVA MIREL – jewishstar@jewishrockradio.com

CRAIG PARKS – jsa@jewishrockradio.com

BETH SCHAFER – mentoring@jewishrockradio.com

SHIMON SMITH – mentoring@jewishrockradio.com

ABBIE STRAUSS – jewishstar@jewishrockradio.com

2. Use the correct credentials to log in to Zoom

• Prior to the first mentoring meeting, search for the secure email you received from Steven with the subject line: “Jewish Star Mentoring Program Zoom Login Information.”
• This secure email message includes the login information that you need to sign in to the correct Zoom account. Refer to Step #1 above to be sure you are using the correct login credentials for your meeting

3. Start your Zoom meeting

• Log in at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting during business hours to make sure you can access your assigned Zoom account. Automatic forwarding has been temporarily set up from our Zoom account to your email address should you require a one-time passcode. Contact Steven at steven@jewishrockradio.com or 847.370.4221 with any issues.
• Go to zoom.us or launch the Zoom application
• Be sure to log out of your personal Zoom account if you are already logged in.
• Log in to Zoom using the account login and password sent to you in the secure email by Steven (Step #2 above).
• Once logged in to the correct Zoom account, go to the “Meetings” tab of the Zoom website or application.
• Click “Start” or “Join” on your specific meeting.
• The waiting room feature is not turned on, so participants will be able to join at any time
• • Check to make sure your meeting is recording to the cloud before you formally start your meeting.

Joining your Zoom meeting

• You received both an email and a Google Calendar invite with all the details of each of your mentoring meetings, including the link to join the Zoom call.
• Make sure you accepted each Google Calendar invite, so that the meeting appears in your calendar and you receive alerts and reminders.
• Go to that calendar item or the email invite and click the link to join your meeting.