A monthly gathering of songwriters, offering encouragement, criticism, and a sophisticated "first audience" for songs in progress. Next: Tuesday, December 2 , 2008 Meeting the first Tuesday of every month thereafter / Sign-Ups: 6:30 p.m. / First song: 7:00 p.m. Location: Sparky Town (324 Burnet Ave., Syracuse / website) Read a blog entry by someone who recently attended

The Words and Music Songwriter Woodshed is a place for local songwriters of all levels to test brand-new and not-quite-completed songs on an audience made up of their peers -- that is, other songwriters. This is not a performance, but a workshop. The goal is to use the reactions of others to help you judge and improve your own songwriting efforts.

The Words and Music Songwriter Woodshed is presented in conjunction with Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers' Words and Music Songwriter Showcase -- a monthly concert series held at Jazz Central in Syracuse (and occasionally elsewhere). If you aren't attending these shows, you should be. For more info, go to www.myspace.com/wordsandmusicshowcase.

How the Woodshed works. At each meeting, in slots of 15 or 20 minutes' length (depending how many people are waiting their turn), each songwriter will be given a chance to play and sing an in-progress song. The rest of the group will be given a few moments to review the song's lyrics. And for the remainder of the time slot, discussion will take place, as appropriate. There is no set format for discussion, although the session has a moderator to help keep conversation on track and to keep everything on time.

What you need to bring. Bring your instrument, or take your chances on borrowing one from another participant. (There is an upright piano on the premises.) You are strongly encouraged to bring at least 10 copies of your lyrics; fold lyric sheets in half, as they will be distributed before your song but opened and read only after your song is played.

And bring your song. It is crucial that you bring a song you consider still a work in progress. Do not present a song that you are not willing to further revise; to do so is a waste of everyone's time. You should arrive eager to change your song -- perhaps radically! Incomplete songs are permissible, but songs should be fleshed out well enough that everyone can sense and judge their overall effect.

How to comment. There are no rules for the conversation, except that candor should always be tempered by empathy. Songwriting is a personal and sometimes mysterious process. While commenting on another person's song, remember that they (like you) often struggle to get the words right, and often aren't sure themselves of the song's effect until the first time it reaches an audience. Be honest, but constructive. Beyond that, everything is fair game -- individual word choices, chord choices, melodies, tempos, the sense of entire verses or plot-lines or even the entire song! If something didn't work for you, let the song-writer know. Or if something worked especially well, that's nice to mention, too.

Where's it happening? Sparky Town is a new, funky little bistro located at 324 Burnet Avenue, at the corner of Catherine Street (which is Almond Street on the other side of 690). Sparky's owner is a former Happy Endings' devotee and a long-time lover and supporter of local music who has agreed to re-open her restaurant during the evening to accommodate the Woodshed. For more info about Sparky Town, refer to their website. There's lots of parking nearby -- especially on Catherine, just north of Burnet.

Who gets to do a song? Song-slots will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis; numbers will be handed out, like at the deli. When you arrive at Sparky Town, go the counter, kindly order a beverage and/or dessert, and request your number. If you'd like to request a lower or higher number, so as to take your turn earlier or later in the evening, ask Sparky what's left and make your pick. Doors open at 6:30 and numbers will be assigned until all 12 are gone. Songwriters who don't get a number . . . well, sorry, you won't get a chance this month. But, please, feel free to stay for a while and listen to a few new songs. (Are you required to make a purchase at Sparky Town in order to secure a number? Of course not. But, hey, Sparky is staying open just for us! Admit it, aren't you just a little hungry? Couldn't you use a soft drink?)

Who's the moderator? Dana "Short Order" Cooke, long-time local singer-songwriter and veteran moderator of songwriter circles, will help prompt and guide the conversation. He will watch the clock and the night's roster of songwriters, as well, to make sure it all gets done on time. If you have questions about the proceedings, contact him at 559-7014 or at danacooke@windstream.net.

Some miscellaneous guidelines . . .

• When presenting your song, it's best not to make introductions. It eats into your time and alters the way your listeners hear the song. On rare occasions (in the Woodshed, as in performance) a song benefits from a little set-up; that's okay. But all the typical advance hedging and apologizing for the flaws in the upcoming song only slow down the Woodshed and corrupt everyone's untainted, virgin experience with the song. We know this one sucks and you needed more time to work on it and it probably needs a bridge. No kidding. Just play it!
• Please bring songs you intend to revise. And, if you bring a song back for a second go-round, do so only after making some or all of the revisions from the earlier sessions; and yet, be ready to make even more revisions is they prove necessary.
• When commenting on others' songs, be efficient. Think out your comments and keep them brisk. Remember, each songwriter gets only 15-20 minutes; don't squander another's time.
• Recording devices are advisable. It's an easy way to remember all the comments offered by your peers.
• No noodling. Please do not play or sing along on other people's songs unless you are very very specifically requested to.

As many a songwriter -- amateur and professional alike -- will tell you, a woodshed is one of the most valuable ways you have to help move your new song from a good first draft to a piece of art that audience members are likely to appreciate as much as you did when writing it. Plus, this is a great chance to meet and connect with other songwriters in the area. Please come to the Words and Music Songwriting Woodshed and let's have a great time sharing and discussing the magical craft of songwriting.

Questions and comments about this website:
e-mail Dana Cooke at danacooke@windstream.net