Song Writing and Team Building

The Song Team

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The Song Team - Team Building Blog

A CANVASREBEL FEATURE

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Meet Jeff Jacob

We recently connected with Jeff Jacob and have shared our conversation below.

Jeff, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

As a songwriter, by the time I reached my mid-thirties I had realized (at least sub-consciously) that more and more of my writing moving forward, needed to be purpose-driven. This wasn’t a decision, rather it was a pulling…a tugging of the spiritual and creative energies. Looking in the rearview now, I can see the shift and actually follow the path! From 2005 through 2008, having lived in Nashville for several years already trying to “make it” as a commercial songwriter I began working part-time as a “Staff Songwriter” for The Songs of Love Foundation based in NYC. Our task in this role was to write fully personalized, customized for seriously ill children and their families. TSOLF teamed up with healthcare providers around the country to provide song profile sheets to families in crisis. These sheets included space for favorite hobbies, pets, friends, dreams, etc of the children facing illness. As songwriters we’d turn these profiles into songs produced “radio ready” within 25 days of assignment. To this day, I still have a few of the letters parents wrote me in thanks for their personalized song. When a parent expresses that they play this song on the way to little _____’s chemo each time, to get ready….it does far more than choke one up as the writer. A few years later I was working as a songwriter and volunteer marketing director for a local non-profit when we produced and implemented a program called “Songwriters for Soldiers.” Collaborating with war vets (and their families) battling PTSD along with their families and therapists, each veteran was assigned a hit, Nashville Songwriter to work on telling their own stories through song. This was done over the course of a weekend in the woods west of Nashville. One of the most impactful weekends of my life, are words I’d use to describe that experience and the follow up benefit concert and album that resulted from this project. Down the line I’d lead “Face the Music Foundation” as we grew our therapeutic songwriting and music programs beyond Florida into Nashville and Austin, and I can trace the path back through earlier projects. Today, the songwriting and recording I still do when not leading a non-profit through transitional phases is nearly all intentional and tied to a cause. This includes 2 songs and music videos we are currently producing as advocacy and awareness tools for organizations that work in the fields of Mental Health, SUDS, and homelessness.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Somewhere along the way the phrase “connecting the dots” became a moniker of mine. I didn’t invent it for certain, but it truly resonated with how I’ve lived my life for the most part. Earlier on, I can’t pretend I was intentionally seeking the connective tissue that existed between different aspects of how I was occupying myself. But certainly by my mid-30’s, that habit of drawing the lines between the chapters became more purposeful. Almost strategic at times. (at least from the outside looking in.)

I first got into public/corporate speaking as a “hobby” or avocation back around 2011. I had been managing the offices of a successful Motivational Speaker as well as helping run and grow his notorious, beautiful recording studio in the hills just south of Nashville. Franklin, TN to be specific. Combining my passions of songwriting, collaboration and speaking or facilitating programs had been germinating for a bit, when I was preparing to book my boss as the primary Keynote Speaker for a conference at The University of Indiana. The meeting planner and I had become friendly during the months leading up to this point, and once we’d agreed on a deal she shared with me that she was now looking to book/fill her “under-sessions”, or “breakouts.” I told her that my program “Write-A-Song-Build-A-Team” was new and still evolving but that I’d love to offer it at the conference. With no website, and no promo video either, our relationship and the description of this newly formed program got the gig!

With her help we brought in a two-camera shoot from the University AV department and our first promo video was shot and then edited. That became the centerpiece to launching a website, and turning a hobby into something more substantial. The program has certainly evolved over the years (and continues to do so whenever a client asks us if we can tweak this, or add a wrinkle to that.)

It was also around 2012 or 13 when I started volunteering in the non-profit space, in particular animal rescue and faith-based sectors far more avidly. Those two pieces of my “life-pie” combined to move me out of Nashville around 2014 to take the reins as Director of Operations for “Big Dog Ranch Rescue” in Wellington, Florida. This is the largest, cage-free no kill dog rescue east of the Mississippi. They hired me due to the combination of my team-building experience and my animal rescue volunteer experience primarily. In other words, my ability to connect the dots really assisted in landing this first professional role in non-profit management. I suppose that’s one of the things of which I’m most proud.

These days, no matter which non-profit I’m assisting as Executive Director, I’m always still leading my programs with team-mates who are hit songwriters at The Song Team. Whether it’s leading these programs in a recording studio for a think tank of 20 cross-industry CEO’s, or facilitating a customized, Songwriting, Keynote Experience for 1000 people at a company or industry conference…these programs are always a blast for the attendees and for us as facilitators. The fact that I was asked to turn this program into a TEDX talk, also really tickled my funny bone. That was an exceptionally rewarding experience.

Still writing songs, still recording ocassionally when the fancy strikes and when there is an opportunity to use the music to advance a cause for which I’m passionate. That’s me…a dot-connecting, non-profit leading, songwriting, collaboration and community type guy. Plus, gotta have a dog nearby. Part of the deal 🙂

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

These days my creative efforts are nearly always driven by a mission or purpose. For example, with some musical friends I’m currently in the studio working on 2 songs and corresponding videos. Each song is aligned with a non-profit charged with tackling crucial social issues. The first one is a newly formed non-profit that primarily works to combat the epidemic of suicide. It’s such a needed service (s) they are providing, and the issue is still so misunderstood by many. The video we’re creating is half-music video, and half infomercial to be used to advocate for the non-profit, while spreading general awareness of the cause and resources available to help those in need. That song is called “Holdin’ Onto Hope”, and the non-profit is “Deerfield Beach Community Cares.” The 2nd song is called “The Love Wins Revival” and deals primarily with homelessness as a societal ill. We have not yet aligned with a non-profit for this part of the project, but it’s in the works, and we’ll have been in the studio already working on the song by the time this piece goes to press. 🙂 Very excited about this project. We received funding from a supporter for the first two numbers here, and we hope to turn it into a bigger, longer term intersection of music and non-profits that we’ll call “Songs on Purpose.”

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

“Begging for Change” by Robert Egger, the Steve Jobs Biography by Walter Isaacson, and “Do the Kind Thing” by Daniel Lubetzky have all been very informative books on my journey. Also, “Evolve or Die” by Robin Crow.

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This original article can be found here.

It’s National Help a Horse Day

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Jeff Jacob, Founder & Lead Facilitator at The Song Team as well as Executive Director of Alaqua Animal Refuge was featured yesterday, April 26th, 2021 on News Channel 7’s morning segment called: “It’s National Help a Horse Day.”

Jeff explains the bond between human and animal and how they can both benefit from one another. Specifically animals can help with treatment for those with underlying health issues such as PTSD, addiction, depression and so forth. Alqua is diversifying many ways to how rescue animals can help.

Help support the cause today by donating here.

The original news story can be found here.

When Building Your Team, Pay Attention to What’s Right in Front of Your Eyes

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So, this is important and I want you to pay attention. Pretty deep stuff here. The other day I was browsing the aisles of Home Depot with a short list of items needed to pick up for minor projects and just every day home maintenance type-activity.. when I had a bit of a “moment.” The last item on my list to explore was microwaves. Left for last because it’s kind of a “big” item compared to all the little stuff I was shopping for. You see, the turntable on our home microwave had stopped turning about a week earlier, and despite my efforts to explore DIY fixes, I remained unconvinced that I’d be able to fix this issue. So, I had measured the unit we have and wanted to begin researching replacement options. (don’t worry I intended to shop around…sheesh.)

When I found a unit that was the right color and size dimensions, I started to explore the other specifics. Price and features. All of the sudden, one of the many buttons on the face of the oven jumped out at me like a special effect in a bad 3-d movie. (you know, the kind where you need to wear special glasses back when we went to movie theatres.) “Turntable On/Off” What????! “Turntable On/Off” You’ve got to be kidding me. Could OUR oven at home possibly have such a silly button? Why in the world would you ever turn off the turntable? Don’t we always want “even heating” of a hearty microwave meal…or reheated cup of coffee/tea? Could this be a sign that the fix was right in front of my eyes? No way. So….after paying at the self-checkout (with kind help from the orange-aproned HD employee) I drove home calmly and safely (Mom) but with anticipation. As I placed my bag of light bulbs, sand paper and bath caulk on the dining room table…I knew the answer before even walking into the kitchen. Shaking my head with a smile I looked up at the microwave….and THERE….just above eye level, a tiny bit to the right…a smidge above the “start” button.. was the “turntable on/off” button.  My nephew who had been in the house recently, must have hit it by accident when hitting the “pizza” button.  So I pressed the button, hit start and presto that sucker started turning again!  Who knew? Problem solved!

So what in the heck does this have to do with your team?  When building a team (bringing on new members) or developing your team (providing upward mobility/job enhancement opportunities for existing team-mates) it’s inherent for those of us who are leaders to find the hidden talents that never made it onto the resume, dig into those areas that your most important assets (people) have been longing to develop or learn.  Do you need someone to really juice up your social media engagement and effectiveness?  There is likely already someone on your team who has the chops to do this, who LOVES doing this task already!  Does your receptionist want to learn a new book-keeping platform, or social media app that can help your organization?  If the answer is yes, do it!  A modest investment of time and/or financial resources to train your existing team member will pay dividends many times over down the road because you already know this employee is a valuable, enthused and engaged team member.  No need to bring in outside talent…which can be a crap-shoot as you know.   Everybody wins in this scenario.  The organization, your employee…you. I know you already know this to be true…but sometimes we need a little reminder.

Assignment for you:  Find the “turntable on/off” button at your workplace.  What hidden gem is right in front of your face…?

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A Brief History of Music in Healthcare

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Starting this month I begin a new blog series to address the case for music therapy in healthcare. I want to put my profession to the test.  Does it hold the value I feel it does? Are there areas we need to improve? 

In this first post I start by re-visiting some of the happenings before music therapy became a formalized profession. Like all health professions the beginnings are unique. For example:

  • Chiropractic care originated in 1895 when Daniel Palmer of Iowa performed the first chiropractic adjustment on a partially deaf janitor. While the shirtless janitor bent over to empty a trash can Palmer noticed that he had a vertebra out of position. When asked what happened, he replied, “I moved the wrong way, and I heard a ‘pop’ in my back, and that’s when I lost my hearing.” Palmer had him lie face down on the floor and he proceeded to make an adjustment. The next day, the janitor told Palmer, “I can hear that rackets on the streets.” 
  • Psychology was a branch of philosophy until the 1870s, when it became an independent scientific discipline in Germany. 
  • Physiotherapy started with physicians like Hippocrates, and later Galenus, who advocated for massage, manual therapy techniques (joint manipulation) and hydrotherapy as a way to treat people in 460 B.C.  Now hundreds of years later these interventions have become their own disciplines.

The history of music in healthcare begins in ancient Greece alongside the theories of Plato that medical centres should embed art, music and many other forms of healing into its core. Early on Indigenous communities, also believed in integration between mind and body and that only when harmony was achieved could health be restored.

The earliest known reference to music therapy appeared in 1789 in an unsigned article in Columbian Magazine titled “Music Physically Considered.” In the early 1800s, writings on the therapeutic value of music appeared in two medical dissertations proposing music as an intervention to treat medical diseases.

Later a documented case of a physician in the 20th century using music in the context of surgery occurred in 1914, when Evan O’Neil Kane published his report in JAMA on the use of the phonograph within the operating room. Patients from this study identified that anesthetic induction was better coupled with music for reducing anxiety prior to surgery.

More documentation happened after The Second World War in America. Doctors found that music helped the soldiers physically and mentally. Training programs began to spread worldwide.  And well….the profession of Music Therapy was well on its way. 

Since then global Music Therapy Associations and regulatory bodies grew to oversee Music Therapist’s certification.  The evidence collectors, including many music therapist researchers, continue to add to the informed use of music therapy in healthcare. 

In my short time of being a music therapist (maybe not so short now) the most exciting changes have been not what we have been doing but where we now provide music therapy because of the outcomes achieved:

  • Mental Health Facilities, Addictions Programs and Forensic Units
  • Hospitals and Neuro Units/Programs
  • Dementia Care and Long Term Care 
  • Schools and Children’s Development Programs
  • Palliative Care and Grief and Loss Programs
  • Corporate Wellness Programs

I feel the area that can and should develop next is in area of preventative medicine – we will address this later.

As I review this brief history, I am left with this thought – that all professions worked very hard and had many struggles during their time of formalization – and many continue to face old and new challenges – from being misunderstood (do needles hurt during acupuncture?), to the public not knowing when to access what treatment (when do I go to chiro vs. physio vs massage), to feeling that other disciplines are taking up some of their rightful professional space (is harp therapy different enough from music therapy that they needed their own certification?).

What I believe is important at this stage of investigation is to recognize that no ONE treatment will solve all our complex human needs. But what is important, particularly to the consumer, the general public who are paying for these services either out of pocket or through taxes, is the knowledge that what they are getting has evidence behind it (including the potential risks), and the assurance that the person treating them has the training, experience, and intention to help and not harm.  

GET IN TUNE – Knoxville Launch Trip Log

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Last week, our Senior Therapist and Program Advisor Klifton Fehr, LHMC and myself traveled to Nashville, in route to Knoxville on a quest to pilot our GET IN TUNE program for underserved youth at a Boys & Girls Club there.  We were excited about the prospects of reaching more kids, and partnering with additional great community organizations in different markets. As the trip began, the COVID-19 crisis was heating up, but had not yet attained anywhere near the level of National Emergency it was about to become.  Still, flying to TN. Our plane was 85% empty. 

Tuesday, March 10th  Travel from Ft. Lauderdale to Nashville.

We arrived Nashville about a week after devastating tornadoes had hit my adopted home town and the surrounding areas.    We were coming into town to meet up with Scott, run some errands to gear him up (literally) for both Grace Notes and GET IN TUNE programs coming around the bend to launch stage in Nashville.  We had launched GRACE NOTES 2 months prior in music city in partnership with YMCA’s of Middle TN. And 50Forward.  While there was growing concern surrounding Corona Virus, by Tuesday things hadn’t yet reached fever pitch, and our upcoming two days in Knoxville to launch GET IN TUNE is where our focus is currently.

Scott took us to Enterprise to get our car, we picked up Amplifiers and some ancillary gear at Guitar Center for “Grace Notes Project”, headed to Five Below to pick up blank journals (which we give to attendees upon completion of GET IN TUNE session 4) to give to Karen Reynolds in Knoxville and to leave with Scott Barrier for our projected April launch of the same program at a Nashville location of Boys & Girls Clubs and Notes for Notes studios.

By dinner time, we wanted to find someplace cool and local to eat and show Klif some of the local flavor. We were staying at the house of Scott and Erin Barrier to save the organization on travel dollars (not the first time!)  Erin, Scott’s amazing wife wanted to stay home, so it was just the 3 guys for dinner. Opryland Hotel is where we landed.  Many restaurants there were already closing and hotel bookings down.  Little did we know. 

Wednesday, March 11th – Nashville to Knoxville – Mountains, Apple Blossoms, GET IN TUNE

At 5:30am the next morning, (630 our time) Klifton needed Starbucks. Our body clocks were off, and we were anxious to hit the road. Though I knew Scott and Erin would put coffee on in about an hour, Klifton was eager to go to a local coffee shop he’d found online. It was closed however, so we ended up at Starbucks.  His kindness naturally displayed itself in insisting we bring our hosts coffee.

By 9am we were leaving the Barriers cozy hospitality and little pups behind for a 3 road-trip east on Route 40. I planned on using this time as a mobile meeting/brainstorming session and was excited by the prospect of uninterrupted time together with brothers-in-arms.   Whatever our differences as humans, all of us in this car believe in the healing and communication powers of music.  Off we went, headed up into the hills, and through much of the damage-zone from the twisters that recently decimated the area.

About an hour in, all the early morning coffee and other hydration mandated we take a pit stop.  Plus we were hungry.  On the Cumberland Plateau, around Cookeville we stopped at the “Golden Arches.”  Ugh. I know.

15 minutes later, back on the road we were listening to a variety of music, mesmerized by the beautiful rolling hills, and saddened by the vast swaths of Tornado damage unfolding before us.  The Apple Blossoms are out…I take it as a sign of hope and faith.  We discuss our programs, strategy, tactics, media opportunities and get more into the aspects of lyric analysis with Scott Barrier. Scott is one of our new, key team members on the ground in Tennessee.  Helping us launch our programs, AND our first Nashville installment of THE LOVE WINS REVIVAL.  An event which combines songwriting, storytelling, and sing along songs with social action, benefitting Face the Music Foundation while opening the floor..through music of course to discuss addiction and broader mental health issues.  (More than likely you’ve heard Scott’s songs on commercials or national TV shows, as he’s begun to make inroads in that world of commercial songwriting/sync.!)

Around 1pm we check into the hotel, and work on clearing up some problems with the reservation before heading to lunch.  By 4pm we want to be at the Boys & Girls Club to set up.  An hour or so before that, the NBA cancelled it’s season, and MLB postponed theirs.  We could actually feel it in the air…the “shift” in conversation surrounding Covid-19, and what may be coming.

When we arrive at the club, we talk a bit outside waiting for Karen Reynolds and Mickey Chapmen.   Karen sits in the East TN. Writer’s Hall of Fame with other notables such as Dolly Parton, and Mickey is a licensed-therapist and specialist in working with the teen population.  Karen also directs the execution of Educational Music Programs for the prestigious FRANK BROWN Songwriters Festival!  We’re going to mentor them with 2 sessions of GET IN TUNE today and tomorrow, so as to be able to hand off execution of sessions 3 and 4, along with future modules (when funding can be found here) of GET IN TUNE to them!   While waiting we ran into Girl Scouts selling cookies!  How exciting. Tagalongs. Thin Mints.  A good sign.

We facilitate a highly interactive lyric analysis session with 18 wonderful teens, and while I watched Klifton lead them through dissecting and discussing the lyrics of 2 different songs pertaining to the topic of the day, (self-esteem) I jump in from time to time. We’ve learned how to work well together these past months, and are hoping that interplay comes naturally for Karen and Mickey as well.

After a successful first session, we all head to Outback to discuss observations and suggestions.  Of course, by that time the National Emergency had changed the urgency…of the day.  Of the moment.  Of the now, and immediate future.

Thursday, March 12th Knoxville GET IN TUNE, Day Two, then back to Nashville

One of the great things about Hampton Inn’s are the breakfast and the newspaper.  When I’m not traveling it’s rare I eat more than a “Perfect Bar”, Banana and coffee for breakfast.  Rarer still that I get to review the morning paper.  

We all spent the morning in our respective corners on laptops working, and making calls.  By now, many of us were commencing with some sort of social distancing.  That trend of course would continue to grow in the coming days.  Now the NHL, NCAA, MLS and PGA have followed the NBA and shuttered the windows on all professional sports leagues of note.  Broadway is dark, concerts being cancelled left and right, which really pains us as musicians and fans.

I had a great talk with Nikki at Music Health Alliance in Nashville, and was reminded the scope and variety of good work they do to help musicians and their families in times of need.

After lunch, we returned to the Hampton Inn’s comfortable lobby to resume our work day.  We had time before GET IN TUNE Session #2, and appreciated the hotels’ hospitality, though we had already checked out.  Catching up on thank you notes and data entry, and staying in touch with program partners, while keeping an eye on the news.

By 3:45pm, we’re back at the Boys & Girls Club for GIT Session #2 (Bullying) – It’s SO exciting to see several of these kids who were not so open yesterday, ENGAGE and activate their creativity and desire to learn today!  Klifton suggests we turn over the 2nd half of the program to Karen and Micki, and I agree it’s a good idea. This is a little uncomfortable, because it’s the first time we’ve handed this off to others for execution, since I’ve been part of this team. But of course, my fears are unfounded…they are pros.  We had originally been staying in Knoxville that night to attempt to meet with other potential community partners and local media possibly, however with the lightning fast changes occurring due to Covid-19, we decided to cancel hotel rooms, save the organization on those costs (hotel was understanding) and head back to the warm embrace of Scott and Erin’s house in Nashville.

As we leave the club that day, we are pleased with how it went, but grounded by the knowledge that sessions 3 and 4 may be on hold…along with so much else. Storms are predicted back in Nashville, so we hit the road on 40 West back to Nashville.

With the darkness growing around us, fog too, we crank some tunes to unwind…NeedtoBreathe, The Beatles and Marc Broussard serenade us as we search for a good stopping point.  

Cracker Barrell, in Crossville fit the bill.  The rocking chairs on the front porch were inviting and yet as we entered… the company’s somewhat controversial past was briefly discussed.  Though unintended, this past helped to shape a shift in cultural norms long-held in the south.  Loved by many for it’s comfort and consistency…and yet as an organization, far from perfect.   Just like all of us humans…we are flawed, and imperfect….but we have to keep trying…reaching….striving to improve and shed more light in the dark.  So did this organization.   At FTMF, we share that spirit of continual daily improvement.

While eating dinner, and discussing our mission people at 3 different tables reached out to us, having “overheard” bits of our talk about mission and helping others.  For an extra hour that night, strangers became friends and I handed out a few cards…asked these folks to look further into what we do…maybe spread the word. 

By the time we got back to Scott’s place with the mini-dogs, and caught up with Erin a a bit, it was time to watch the news….. of a world gone crazy. In my head I’m thinking, look how the world is starting to pull together to “fight this foe?” What could be accomplished with the addiction and mental illness epidemic, with climate change, with gun violence, with income inequality….if we all pulled together in that same fashion? Why….not?

Friday, March 13  – East Nashville – Brentwood – Airport-Florida

Morning Coffee in Scott’s Kitchen at around 7am, and we catch up on the latest news.  A National Emergency. Pandemic.  Scott’s on his way to a co-writing session, and we’re headed to East Nashville to meet with a new community connector who has already done a good deal of sweat equity for us here at FTMF.  We met at amazing local coffee shop Kettners’ Coffee. Julianne Lee works for amazing organizations, Give a Note, and GENEROUS.  The latter is a new fundraising plat-form online which was created to better align recording artists, their fans, non-profits, and corporate sponsors as a way to maximize charitable giving.  We had a wonderful meeting, and we’re going to connect soon to discuss how this platform may work with our growing mission and operational scope at FTMF! Storm Damage in this community from the Tornados is everywhere.  And it made me think…we’re headed into a storm with no clouds a we enter back into the realm of the unknown…life in the midst of a growing society shut-down.

With some time yet before we needed to be at the airport, lunch and a visit with our partners at Recovery Unplugged out in Brentwood, TN was in order.   We brought in food from Local Taco, a GREAT local Mexi-style place.    Here not only did we meet with some folks from the clinical and outreach teams, but I also got to meet in person, 2 folks who have recently benefit from Face the Music Foundation Treatment Scholarships.  This was a powerful and emotional experience.  I don’t often get to meet the folks we help, so I was really impacted by this opportunity.   I won’t mention their names, but one of them gave me her latest milestone coin, and I got teary.  And the other, who carried her fiddle with her everywhere, played some beautiful music for us. Grateful…we all felt at that moment.

3 days after arriving at Nashville International Airport on the cusp of a global crisis, we returned through these doors to a entirely new reality.  You could see it on the faces of everyone at the airport.  What do we do now?

We move forward…and we help someone.   And it’s going to take all of us. A Team…together.