Into the Woods
Into the Woods is a playful, participatory exploration of songwriting that is part gig, part workshop, part walk in the musical wild. We learn how some great songs work by singing, listening, and carefully following some remarkable nerdy graphs. We gather tools, tips and tricks for the craft of songwriting that can then be practised in the creation of original material.
It scales easily from pop to metaphysics, pub crowd or festival tent to a lecture theatre for first-year or advanced students — the theory dial turning up or down to meet the room.
Book the workshop Book a call — 30 minWhat is it?
Imagine every time you stepped out into the adventure of a song, you did so from the cosy cabin of a chord called ‘E Major’. The well-worn paths through the woods are the seven chords in the key of E. Stay on them and you can never go wrong - you’ll always find your way home. Learn them and you can get started with writing songs because you have a map.
But what happens when you go wild and wander off the path into the bramble and bracken? It’s dark out there, but it’s also full of sparkles and shivers…
What Happens?
We tune up the ears together
Hearing is a miracle that happens all by itself. A grounding meditation, then everyone finds their own note and lets it wander towards the collective chord.
We meet the seven paths
We get to know the landscape, walking out on each of the seven paths, learning their distinctive shapes and asking how they feel, and where they are taking us?
We walk the classics with graphs
Dancing in the Dark. Call Me Al. Don’t Stop Believing. Karma Chameleon. Dirty Old Town. We sing some well-behaved classic tracks, follow the journeys on the graphs and learn as we go, getting used to the territory.
We step off the path
Starman. Take on Me. Night Fever. Your Song. What are the secret paths that make them sparkle so? Now we’re getting ‘under the hood’ of songwriting, gathering a toolbox of tricks and tips along the way.
We write one together
Using the song-building graph-app, we choose the paths and build the structure, then play it - if we can - if our boots are sturdy enough for the wander. How wild will we go?
You go wandering
The map is marked with well-worn paths, bracken, bramble, secret star-sparkled wyrding ways, gloaming tunnels, wormholes and deep woods. Go write a song!
A Glimpse of the Graph App
This isn't a slideshow about an idea — the whole toolkit comes alive with the show and can be wrapped up and taken home. Everyone leaves with the maps in their pocket as well as every graph, game, theory-tool and chord.
Shapes it can take
The Festival Gig
- The cabin explained
- the paths explored
- the feelings identified
- the classic tracks, graphed and sung
- just enough time to create something new together and see how it sounds.
The Songwriting Workshop
Everything from the Festival Gig, with:
- a slightly deeper dive into theory (where do those 7 chords come from and why are they ‘in key’? What makes a minor minor? Why do some chords keep popping up in different keys?)
- more time for collective and individual song-crafting after gathering tips, tools, tricks and surprising paths to try out.
- Ideal for schools, universities and songwriting groups.
The Deep Dive
Tailored deeper dives on request, which can include:
- a meander through the metaphysics of music from multi-cultural perspectives.
- the physics of a singing string
- the neuroscience of listening in more detail.
- even more time for practice and play with the tips and tricks gathered along the way
Some Questions Explored in the Deeper Dive?
Why does music move us so? Where do the 12 chromatic notes come from? Why do we whittle them to 7? Why do we say ‘do, re, mi..’? What’s the difference between natural and tempered intervals, and why did we temper? Why is the circle of fifths actually an infinite spiral? What is ‘the Pythagorean comma’ and why is it a problem? How does harmony impose form on matter and what patterns in nature are musical?
The practical bits
- I bring: guitar, feeling maps, the graphs, and the website.
- You provide: a room, a screen or projector, and a PA with a mic for larger spaces.
- Group size: from one to fifty — the singing only gets better.
Fancy Hosting a Crafty Wander?
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.
Three ways, whichever suits you:
Book a call — 30 min Send an emailOr fill this in and I’ll come back to you. The more I know, the better I can shape the day.