Songwriting Salon is my offering for songwriters who love to work in a group setting.

For 5 weeks, 2 times a week, roughly 10-14 thoughtful, inspired, and motivated songwriters meet to stretch themselves, support each other, and make fantastic strides in their songwriting.

Now held entirely online, Songwriting Salon welcomes songwriters from all over the country and occasionally the world. Songwriting Salon also welcomes songwriters of all levels, from never-having-written-a-song to touring professional. Part of the magic is that no matter your experience level, we support you to work at your exact growing edge.

Songwriting Salon involves both teaching and workshopping.

On Sundays I give a talk and facilitate discussion of a particular songwriting theme. Past themes have included: song form, song premise, genre, melody workshop, hook writing, 5 influential artists, specific vs. universal, the sound of words, and chord progressions. You’ll walk away with new information and approaches, as well exercises for your own explorations during the week.

On Wednesdays we break into small groups to workshop your songs and songs-in-progress. We practice utilizing feedback from others as well as deep listening and attunement to the work of others. Everyone gains SO MUCH witnessing each other progress.

• Each session runs 5 weeks (plus a final party to celebrate your work!)

• We meet 2 times / week, on Sundays as a whole group for a talk / discussion, and on Wednesdays in small groups for song workshopping

• Past themes include: song form, song premise, genre, melody workshop, hook writing, 5 influential artists, specific vs. universal, the sound of words, and chord progressions

• Attention given to lyrics, melody, chord progressions, song form, and more

• Practice deep listening

• Get support in understanding and utilizing feedback from others

• Learn HOW to learn from your favorite songwriters

• All levels, genres, and time zones welcome!

Contact me to learn about upcoming sessions!

Frequently asked questions

How is Songwriting Salon structured?

Each week features 1) a new live lecture on a critical aspect of songwriting and 2) an opportunity to workshop your songs and songs-in-progress. You’ll receive valuable feedback as well as exercises, worksheets, and prompts to get you writing.

What sorts of topics are covered in Songwriting Salon?

Every session has a particular theme, for example: song form, song premise, genre, melody workshop, hook writing, 5 influential artists, specific vs. universal, the sound of words, and chord progressions. But I also address topics on an as-needed basis. Much of the learning takes place in the workshop sessions, where we discuss absolutely anything that helps you improve your song, be it lyrical, melodic, harmonic, structural, or something else.

Will Songwriting Salon work with my busy schedule?

Sunday talks take place 2-3pm PT. Wednesday workshops are scheduled based on YOUR scheduling needs, to ensure that everyone is able to attend. ALL meetings are recorded and distributed so that if you have to miss a session, you have the opportunity to know exactly what happened. There is no expectation that you make every meeting, and it’s common for salonees to miss a couple. Likewise, there is no expectation of how much time you will spend on your songwriting during the week. This experience is YOURS. And the tools you gain will be yours for a lifetime.

Will I get enough individual attention?

On Sundays we meet as a whole group so that we benefit from an array of perspectives in our discussions. On Wednesdays we break into small groups for workshopping to ensure that you get careful attention for your songs and songs-in-progress, and an opportunity to ask any lingering questions. Additionally, I offer private counsel during the week if you find yourself hitting roadblocks or simply desiring a bit more celebration!

Do I Know Enough To Be In Songwriting Salon?

MANY songwriters have written their FIRST SONG in songwriting salon. You will absolutely receive all of the support you need to take your very first songwriting steps.

Do I Know Too Much For Songwriting Salon?

Likewise Songwriting Salon is a happy home for advanced songwriters. Some salonees have written songs for forty years. Some salonees are touring artists. Some salonees are professional musicians. Songwriting Salon can reinvigorate a music career, focus long-term goals, and hone a songwriting voice. And there is something brilliantly inspiring about witnessing the beginners. You may very well gain the most from them!

How Do I Join Songwriting Salon?

Drop me a line so we can chat about whether songwriting salon is right for you!

Artist/Producer/Songwriter/Songwriting Coach Rachel Efron

Rachel Efron discovered her passion for songwriting in her late teens. Committed to locating her particular voice, she wrote song after song, read poetry and studied songwriters, and transcribed every song that moved her. She also sought ample support, studying music theory and poetry at Harvard University and piano with faculty at Berklee College Of Music.

Over the years Rachel became fascinated by the relevance of both classical and jazz approaches to songwriting. She also reveled in the relationship between poetry, prose, and song lyrics. She discovered that her inquiries served not only her but other songwriters as well and promptly began songwriting coaching, helping songwriters of all levels and genres with both the nuts and bolts of the songwriting process and the ongoing search for authenticity.

Rachel has taught countless songwriting classes and workshops, worked privately with hundreds of songwriters of varying genres, given talks for West Coast Songwriters and Institute for Vocal Development, developed and directed a Young Songwriters Program for West Coast Songwriters, and for ten years taught the California Jazz Conservatory class, “Songwriting.” She’s released four albums and an EP of original songs and toured extensively on the East and West Coasts. Even her production style is a direct extension of her songwriting: she produces with the firmest of commitments to serving the song. Rachel also frequently writes for other artists, for example Journey’s “Together We Run” and Narada Michael Walden's “Night’s Not Over” and “So Beautiful.”

Rachel brings out the best in other songwriters. She provides a supportive and collaborative environment, and encourages her students to reach beyond their habitual approaches to writing music and lyrics. She provides a master’s view of the songwriting craft – the history, the theory, the aesthetic sensibilities. She has a unique talent for coaching songwriters of all genres and levels of experience and her workshop critiques are non-judgmental, and always provide a path to truer expression and creative alternatives. —Jay Clemens, Hillsborough, CA

Rachel's insights have helped to take my songwriting to the next level. She is a fantastic songwriting coach and an inspiration. —Brian Lawley, Los Gatos, CA

I came to Rachel purely as a tunesmith who thought he had no gift for writing lyrics. Within months she had me writing not only better music but lyrics I’m proud of, and I’ve seen similar improvement in other Efron disciples. Well-versed in styles ranging from cabaret to rock, Rachel, never attempting to force a songwriter into a mold, begins her coaching by asking what a song’s message is and what, if anything, should be changed to strengthen it. She might suggest surgery (say, the deletion or addition of a bridge or a shift to from major to minor to improve the compatibility of sprightly melody and somber words) or merely a small reduction in number of syllables or a change of one or two chords. (Rachel has cured my habit of piling on show-off chromatic harmony at the expense of emotional honesty and gotten three-chord folk-rockers to add harmonic excitement by venturing into secondary dominants and augmented chords.) A superb song doctor, Rachel is also a guide to freeing the imagination. I’ve gotten past creative blocks via such Efron recommendations as scribbling free-associatively in a notebook or leaving the piano bench I’ve been squirming on for a mind-clearing jog in the streets.—Joe Kornfeld, Berkeley, CA

In her songwriting classes, Rachel fosters an encouraging space, free of judgment, in which her students are comfortable sharing often vulnerable work. She ensures that each and every one of her students can grow by listening to their questions and needs, adapting lectures, and providing song feedback accordingly. Personally, I started my songwriting journey with Rachel and have been able to write songs I am incredibly proud of. —Juliette Hainline, New York City, NY

I never imagined such an immensely helpful, supportive songwriting experience for a beginner like me could ever exist…. until I found Rachel Efron’s Songwriting Salon. It is the sole reason why I was able to start writing songs coherently and why I am planning on participating in what will be my 3rd Salon experience again soon. It really helps me get better! —Andrew Wokebeast, Redwood City, CA

I began working with Rachel in 2017 at the California Jazz Conservatory as a complete beginner to songwriting. This year (2020) I released my first album of original songs, produced by Rachel. All of the songs were workshopped and revised under her caring and thoughtful mentoring. Rachel has never run out of new and interesting topics to explore to deepen and broaden the songwriter’s palette, and I believe it’s because she never stops questioning, exploring, and developing her own skills. She believes in each person she works with and listens deeply to find the gem hiding in the rough draft of each song, to help shape and polish it until it gleams. I have grown so much as a songwriter in these three years working with Rachel and I feel lucky to have found her. —Alison Gant, Cambridge, MA

Rachel created a safe and accountable space for creativity and growth. Not only did the salon help me start to break down my self-built barriers to creativity, but also it shifted the way I think about storytelling in song. Plus, Rachel's expertise and feedback was incredibly insightful.  —Shannon Boerner, New York City, NY