Spook offers a variety of hands-on workshops for festivals, conferences and stand-alone events. They bridge 4 major areas – Guitar, Performance, Audience Involvement and Songwriting. Any one or any combination of the following are offered:
Simple Measures for Drastic Guitar Playing Improvement
You don’t have to be a great player to make great music on your guitar. You don’t need partial capos or years of experience. You only need a willingness to learn a few simple techniques. more…
Techniques for Effective Stage Presence
Learn techniques to get out of your own way and let the song do the work. As you get better at that, you then learn to put your full passion into the song. more…
Secrets of Songwriting
Songwriting tips are like spices in the kitchen cupboard. Some work great in some recipes and some are better avoided in some recipes. Spook will show you a bunch that are rarely taught by other songwriting coaches. more…
How to Elicit Audience Participation
It’s been said that it’s not about YOU; it’s about the song. But then again, it’s not about the song; it’s about delivering the song to the audience. And it’s not about delivering the song; it’s about sharing a common experience. How can we create an environment that disarms people’s fears and invites them to open their hearts and participate? Bring your instrument(s) and be prepared to share a song you would like an audience to participate on or just come to listen, learn and share your story.
How to Be a Better Overall Musician
Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a comprehensive workshop that addressed the wide range of the qualities that add up to great musicianship? Well, this is it. A few simple techniques to improve a song a little, a new technique or two to learn on your instrument or learning a way to present your song a little more effectively can drastically improve your overall musicianship.
more…
Workshop or Panel: A Time to Build Up: The 3rd Part of “Resist, Protect, Rebuild.”
Pete Seeger said, “You don’t have to tear down a house in order to rebuild its foundation.” How often do we hear someone say they would like to make the world a better place? Would you believe that each one of us has a profound impact every day on the world we live in – starting with ourselves and extending out to our communities and the world as a whole? In the music world,our impact is even more profound. Whether we like it or not, music reflects and promotes our values. So, the question becomes: What values are we reflecting and promoting through our work as presenters, DJs, volunteers, songwriters and performers? Are we promoting cynicism, division and individualism or are we promoting empowerment, integrity and solidarity? Are we helping to rebuild the foundation or are we only helping to tear down the house? Join us for songs, stories, reflection and discussion.
Songs of Social Conscience that Bridge the Political Divide
More often than not, when performing songs of “social conscience,” it’s better to play songs that reflect values shared both all sides. These types of songs BRIDGE the political divide and BUILD common ground. This non-partisan workshop encourages attendees to learn and lead songs that fit this description.
Songwriting from Dreams
Where do songs come from anyway? Some songwriters find the dream state to be closer to the source. This workshop shares techniques and ideas on how we can harvest the gems that come to us while we sleep. more…
Other Workshops
More info coming soon.
Choice One or Combine Two or Three
Disciplines can be combined in any combination to fit your needs. For example, a 3 hour workshop can include one hour each of Songwriting, Performance and Guitar or can be two hours of Songwriting and one hour of guitar (or can be all of any discipline). Another option that has always worked very well in groups of ten or fewer is to allow each participant to choice which disciplines they want to cover when they get individual attention.
Who Benefits and How?
Each workshop addresses any level of experience and expertise participants may have. Whether the aspiring artist is novice or seasoned, Spook strongly feels that it is important to make artistic instruction available to all regardless of level of accomplishment. It is the exploration of the artistic process in which the real value of art is discovered by the artist.
How Long is a Workshop?
Workshops can run anywhere from 90 minutes to 6 hours or longer, depending on your needs.