Music in Conversation
Project Overview
Thank you for your interest in participating in Music in Conversation, a new DocSong initiative that invites teaching artists to write songs based on a collective theme, providing our community opportunities to use music to explore a big idea from multiple perspectives.
Each month, DocSong will feature a documentary song written by a DocSong teaching artist in collaboration with a storyteller of their choice. The song will be featured on the DocSong website and social media, alongside poems, photography, and other art forms that add insight or spark questions in relation to the song and related theme.
The goal of the project is to use documentary songs as a tool to spark conversation about big ideas, and to provide our incredible community of teaching artists paid opportunities to use the Documentary Songwriting Method within the communities where they live and work.
The project requirements are listed below.
Teaching artists who choose to participate will be paid $500 upon completing all the project requirements.
Project Requirements
Step 1: Make a Plan
- Read through the Project Requirements
- Complete the Music in Conversation Interest Form
- Schedule a 30-minute introductory phone call with the Executive Director. Schedule meeting by emailing [email protected].
- Sign up for your selected cohort on the Music in Conversation 2026: Song Calendar Sign-Up.
- Attend a group orientation with your cohort to meet and connect with other participating teaching artists.
Step 2: Collaborate with storyteller to complete the song
DocSong has established a standard process for collaborating with storytellers. Please use our standard process as a guide for your collaboration. Your process may vary depending on the relationship and history you share with your storyteller.
- Schedule and complete 2-3 songwriting sessions.
- Ask storyteller to complete the following feedback for: 2026 Storyteller Feedback Form
- Attend one monthly open documentary songwriting session to polish your song OR collaborate with another DocSong teaching artist
Step 3: Record the song
- Consider inviting additional instrumentalists or vocalists to collaborate on your song. Adding harmonies or extra instrumentation can enrich the musical texture and depth of your piece.
- Record a polished audio recording of the final song. See audio recording guidelines here.
- Record a horizontal video of yourself playing the final song. See video guidelines here.
Step 4: Generate Social Media Content
In addition to completing and uploading your song, please submit at least 4 pieces of social media content for DocSong to use to promote your song.
- 2 vertical videos documenting process or talking about the song
- 2-4 photograph of the process, storyteller, or teaching artist (or related to the content of the song)
Step 5 Upload required materials to shared folder
- Upload all required files to the shared folder titled: Song Title | Your Name | Storyteller Name
- (Storyteller’s signed Participation Agreement Form) optional
- Shared collaborative Google Doc, including lyrics and chords
- Recorded audio clips documented during the songwriting process
- Audio recording of the final song
- Video recording of the final song
- Social media content
- Video #1
- Video #2
- Photograph #1
- Photograph #2