Documentary songwriting brought me back to a dark time and helped me to reflect. The most meaningful moment was being honest with myself and allowing myself to share my experience through song.

The world is getting better, even if in small ways.

Through this experience, it has become abundantly clear to me how art can indeed make pain more bearable.

It was only after going through the process that I fully realized the benefit to my emotional well-being. After being able to share the experience and make music while expressing my core emotions, I feel emotionally stronger and true to myself.

This process was one of healing—healing through the telling of a story, through bearing witness to that story and giving it shape in the form of song. If every person could be so deeply honored in this way, dreams would start taking shape everywhere.

I found myself in the weeks after allowing music to permeate my life in a more natural way—when alone and connecting with others—rather than something I keep relegated to practice, performance, and teaching.

While music has always moved me deeply as a listener, this process helped me see myself as a creator in a way I never had before.

Writing this song was a profoundly enriching journey. It deepened my connection with my brother’s story and inspired a newfound appreciation for life.

My teaching artist gave me a chance not just to share this moment that has shaped my life, but to examine the visceral specificity of my feelings. As soon as I finished telling the story, I could immediately hear the music in it. Documentary songwriting creates a version of the story that is able to contain all of the beauty it deserves.

Thank you for your mission of connecting people through music. What a beautiful thing that this world needs more of!

We need 10 or 100 teaching artists traveling around inviting others to tell their stories. This would not only have a profound effect on the population in individual terms but also offer the community ways to connect to the commonalities among their stories.

The DocSong process is such a wonderful way to learn and strengthen songwriting. Anyone can benefit from the training because everyone has a unique story to tell, and you are supported entirely along the way. I felt so empowered to dive into my own musical aspirations after the training. Truly a life-changing experience.

Working with this group of talented, sensitive, and insightful people was a privilege. Each member of the team was inspiring and gentle while helping release the words that needed to get out of me.

Personalized, hands-on, collaborative learning methods taught by skilled and experienced faculty.

This workshop is very practical. Relationships between people today tend to be more distant. This training teaches how to build trust with others, and using singing as a way to do that is incredibly meaningful.

Eye opening, exciting, powerful. The training helped me gain more confidence in myself and what I’m capable of.

The training reminded me of the power of listening and storytelling in building genuine connections. Taking on the roles of both storyteller and teaching artist fostered empathy and shared vulnerability.

It was so compelling to see how a story without any musical structure was carved and cut into a poem and then shaped into a song. It gave my story a different life.

This course is for musicians who want to connect music to people.

I really enjoyed the revision process and finding the lyrical nuggets. It reminded me to get back to playing music and how happy it makes me.

Everyone was so interested and interesting. The teaching artists took my rough idea and launched it to the moon. The song is spectacular—my friends are humming the refrain, just as I had hoped!

Their sincerity and compassion allowed me to share without fear or shame. The song brought another layer of hope and survival to the melody of my life.

I have a song! Something valuable and important came out of all that despair, and it is strong and positive. I love it! I hope other people with trauma can have the privilege of spinning it into strength and melody with your gifted writers.

My story became more tangible and also more complete. I could move on without forgetting.

From the moment I began telling my story, their sincerity and compassion allowed me to share without fear or shame. It was so nice to be able to tell an awful story and come out on the other side living a full and beautiful life.

My teaching artists were wonderful witnesses, listeners, collaborators and musical guides.

Witnessing the transformation of a personal narrative into a song was deeply moving and inspiring.

Seeing my teaching artists working together on this vulnerable tale made me feel connected and valuable.

The training helped me remember the power of simply giving space to listen to people.

Incredibly inspiring and unexpectedly healing.

Good stories and songs can be powerful medicine for personal and civic health.

I found two humans who didn’t judge and helped me make a beautiful song out of my brain’s jargon. I feel more at peace.

I love an organization that lives what they preach. The Documentary Songwriting team doesn’t just talk the talk, they walk the walk.

I was amazed at the depth of connection and camaraderie we experienced every day.

The training filled my heart. I had been wanting to write songs but struggled with lyrics. The training provided me a clear process to create a song from start to finish.

Fascinating, groundbreaking, intense. The facilitators provided such a loving balance of help, support, and encouragement. Their passion for this process and musical talents enriched each day in very meaningful ways.

Eye-opening, reflective, exciting. The training allowed me to reflect on my own musical journey and how I want to support others in theirs. The sharing of songs really helps drive home the message and meaning of documentary songwriting.

With my teaching artists’ wonderful listening and feedback, I revisited forgotten beliefs and rekindled my creativity.

An intense but rewarding week of thoughtfully designed, responsive instruction led by supportive master teaching artists. Truly an unforgettable week of growth!

I was treated with respect and given all their attention. It was beautiful and healing. I learned I’m braver than I think.

Humbling, challenging, invigorating. It was brilliant to learn such an intimate and impactful way to connect to people through music.

I left each session feeling so happy and joyful—lighter than when I started. I think it’s so important for folks to have the space to share their stories, to grapple with their own emotions, and to move forward as better human beings.

This process gave me the confidence and encouragement I needed to share my story in a beautiful and entirely new way.

DocSong’s Teaching Artist Training thoroughly prepares you to take flight on your own as a Teaching Artist.

Stretching, inspiring, unique.

My students liked it very much. It was calming and informative. The emotions were really expressed in the song, which told the story in a more connecting way. My students now have a lot more respect for songwriters.

Writing a song is therapy—a process to connect with the community. It’s a door, it’s a bridge that we are building between people.

It reactivated my love for music, frequency, storytelling, and lyrics.

The process was so informative. I’m a professional writer but had never written a song before. Deconstructing an experience and then hearing how others saw it at the end was truly eye-opening.

The most valuable part of this experience was reminding myself that life is beautiful. And it comes out in the music.

Your sense of self blooms and the traumatic event has less power over you because now you own it. The song feels unique to you because you discover your own voice in the process of creating it.

It was cathartic—empowering, joyful, and filled with quiet gratitude.

It was freeing to tell a sliver of my story. It was empowering to hear that story develop into a song. It has been transformative to walk around with my own words bolstering my resolve as I move forward.

I love doing this. It’s an amazing way to be with other people. I learn so much by being in the room with anyone who knows more than I do—and everyone knows more about something. There’s always something to learn.

DocSong offers an incredibly beautiful and carefully conceived methodology.

I feel like I finally have a voice.