Why does music move us so much? Where do songs come from? Why do some melodies sparkle our minds while others miss the mark? Into the Woods is a live adventure through those questions — part gig, part workshop, part walk in the woods — in which a whole room learns to feel how songs work by singing, listening, laughing, and drawing some nerdy and beautiful graphs.
Book the workshop Book a call — 30 min Wander the site firstWe begin in a cosy cabin in the woods that we'll call E major. The seven chords of the key are the well-worn paths out from its door, and every song you've ever loved is a walk along them — out into the dark and light of the woods, and home again. Stepping off into the bramble and bracken? That's where the shivers come from.
Nobody needs to read music, play an instrument, or think of themselves as a singer. If you can hum, wonder, and occasionally shout out a chord name, you're qualified. I bring the guitar and a pocketful of classic songs from the 80s; the room brings its ears.
A grounding listen, then everyone finds their own note and lets it wander towards the collective — a whole room arriving at one chord together. It never fails to raise the hairs.
Volunteers armed with pitch pipes become the chords themselves. We walk each path out from home and ask the only question that matters: how does it feel?
Take On Me. Don't Stop Believing. Karma Chameleon. We sing them, then draw their journeys — and suddenly everyone can see why they work.
The golden rule of songwriting is that there are no golden rules — so we break some, deliberately, and listen to what the bramble does to us.
Chords chosen by the room, a feeling to carry, a melody caught on the wing. Not a whole song — just a section, born in the room, belonging to everyone in it.
Everyone leaves with the map in their pocket: this website, where every graph, game and chord lives on for the walk home and long after.
This isn't a slideshow about an idea — the whole toolkit is alive, and it comes with the show. Here are a few of its pages and graphs:
There's plenty more where that came from: feeling wheels, ear games, a graph editor, and a writing room where anyone can tap out a song and hear it played back on plucked strings. Step inside and wander.
The heart of the adventure: the cabin, the paths, the feelings, and two or three classics graphed and sung. Perfect for festivals and gatherings.
Everything above, plus stepping off the paths and collective songwriting. Ideal for schools, universities and songwriting groups.
Tailored deeper dives on request — where the notes come from, the physics of the singing string, the neuroscience of listening, and how other musical worlds walk their own woods.
It scales from first-years to advanced students, from a village hall to a lecture theatre — the theory dial turns up or down to meet the room.
If you'd like Into the Woods at your festival, school, university, conference or gathering — or you're curious whether it would fit — get in touch and tell me about your room and your people. Every booking is shaped to its woods.
Get in touch Book a call — 30 min