Songs In The City Workshop Descriptions
Many of the workshops will occur multiple times throughout the retreat. More workshops will be added soon. We will post an updated schedule soon (here and on the main page).
Workshops are organized in alphabetical order by teacher’s first name. To learn more about each teacher, check out our TEACHER BIOS.
You do not have to sign up for the workshops. You are free to go to whichever workshop calls to you that day.
Singing With Ease | Audrey Voon | All Levels | Time/ Location TBD
Oftentimes, many of our most frustrating singing challenges–vocal fatigue, limited range, and pitch inaccuracies, to name a few–are the result of one very simple and changeable habit: control. When we let go, soften, and trust the breath and the body to do what it knows how to do, we find freedom in our voice.
In this workshop with audrey voon, singer, songweaver, and community songleader, we will explore our voices from a place of compassion. Together, we will practice vocal attunement and breathing exercises and explore our own unique range of vocal resonance, finding more ease and stamina when we sing.
What to expect:
Grounding Practice & Opening Song
Voice as Instrument: An Overview of Vocal Anatomy
Breath Practices for Easeful Singing
Meeting the Moment: Vocal Attunement for Everyday
Vocal Edges: Resonance & Range
Takeaways & Closing Song
During our session, audrey may also offer hands-on support with posture and breath-body mapping to those who want this kind of support.
Our session will also include gentle movement and options to sit, lie down, stand, and move about the room based on your own body’s needs and abilities.
What to bring:
Journal/something to write with
Water
Audio recording device
Yoga mat, blanket, or cushion for floor work
Group Songwriting Session | Hannah Sophia | All Levels | Time/ Location TBD
Group Songwriting Session: This group session begins with each individual writing and anonymously sharing the joys and challenges they are facing. Hannah leads a group discussion as we read through responses and hone in on our vision. With Hannah’s help we bring our voices together to create a song that will be performed that night at the Soiree! Max of 20 participants, instrumentalists wanted!
Facilitated Co-Writing | Hannah Sophia | All Levels | Time/ Location TBD
Learn tools you can use to co-write and get practical experience doing it. First part of the class will be spent learning tools for effective co-writing, we will then break into groups and practice those skills
How To Get Out Of a Beautiful Rut | Ken Gaines | All Levels | Time/ Location TBD
After a while we all tend to write the same “type” of song over and over. And, even if we are successful with them it becomes our “beautiful rut.” This seminar takes the participants back to the basic music elements of songwriting and teaches a structured approach to bringing variety into newer songs, an approach that can be used for the rest of a writer’s life.
The Molecular Structure of Melody | Ken Gaines | All Levels | Time/ Location TBD
This seminar is designed to make the participants aware of the structure of melody beyond just a series of notes. It also shows how lyric choice becomes an integral part of that structure. If time allows the group may break up into smaller groups, write, and present their work to the entire group at the end.
Songwriters Circle | Lewis Childs | All Levels | Time/ Location TBD
Borrowing from the songwriter in the round format, this workshop offers participants a unique opportunity to share their songs and a bit about their creative process. It’s also an opportunity to get feedback from the group on songs that you are currently working on. We will talk about developing strategies for overcoming challenges that come up during the creative process.
Please be aware that we will only be able to focus on a handful of participant’s songs during each workshop. That said, we make the process valuable and applicable for everyone. If you come and your song is not selected, you will still gain valuable insight into the creative process for your own work. This workshop is also offered twice in the day.
Tension and Release: The Power of Space in Songs | Robin Jackson | All Levels | Time/ Location TBD
We all know the old saying “Less is more” and it’s never been more true when applied to songwriting. While the notes and words are important, often equally ( or more) important is the space between. Many songwriters suffer from verbosity-itus, and it can often leave songs with verse after verse or too many ideas in one space. In this workshop, we will explore the immense power of saying more, using less. We’ll play with the concepts of tension and release, rhythmic and lyrical pacing, instrumental pauses, emotional phrasing, and the power of dynamics. We’ll listen to some examples and then write and share some of our own on the spot. You will leave with a new understanding and approach of how to write emotionally compelling songs that leave your listeners captivated and brought alongside you as you share your story.
Guitar Hacks for Expressive Guitar Playing | Shanna in a Dress | All Levels | Time/ Location TBD
You don’t need blazing solos or a music degree to make people feel something when you play guitar. Some of the most emotionally powerful guitar parts are built from the same open-position chords you’ve been playing for years—they’re just played with a little more intention, texture, and creativity.
In this hands-on workshop, you’ll discover simple techniques that instantly make your guitar playing sound richer, more dynamic, and uniquely you. We’ll explore easy chord embellishments, rhythmic tricks, alternate voicings, suspended chords, bass movement, tasteful hammer-ons and pull-offs, strumming variations, and other expressive tools that require very little technical ability or music theory knowledge. Whether you’re accompanying your own songs or simply looking to fall in love with your guitar again, you’ll leave with practical ideas you can start using immediately.
Bring your guitar—we’ll experiment together, learn by ear, and have fun transforming ordinary chord progressions into performances that sound fresh, expressive, and emotionally alive.
The Science of a Great Hook | Shanna in a Dress | All Levels | Time/ Location TBD
Some songs are enjoyable. Others refuse to leave your head for days.
What makes a melody unforgettable? Why do certain lyric phrases become instant audience singalongs while others disappear the moment the song ends? Great hooks aren’t just happy accidents—they’re built from a combination of psychology, pattern, surprise, rhythm, repetition, and emotional payoff.
In this workshop, we’ll break down some of the catchiest songs across genres to uncover what makes them so irresistible. Then we’ll apply those same principles to your own writing through fun, interactive exercises designed to generate melodic, lyrical, and rhythmic hooks your audience won’t be able to shake. Whether you write folk, pop, Americana, country, or something entirely your own, you’ll leave with practical strategies for creating songs people keep humming all the way home.
Warning: you may accidentally write something that’s stuck in everyone’s head for the rest of the weekend.
How to Write a Song That ACTUALLY Changes Your Life | Shanna in a Dress | All Levels | Time/ Location TBD
Most songwriting looks backward. We write about what happened, what we lost, who broke our hearts, or the lessons we’ve already learned. But what if songwriting could become a tool for creating your future instead of simply documenting your past?
In this deeply inspiring and interactive workshop, we’ll explore how songs can help shape identity, reinforce empowering beliefs, and pull us toward the lives we want to live. Drawing from neuroscience, psychology, and the transformational power of storytelling, you’ll learn how to write from your future self instead of your current limitations.
Together we’ll craft songs that embody who we’re becoming—whether that’s a more courageous artist, a more joyful human, a more loving partner, or someone finally living the life they’ve imagined. Rather than writing about the person you used to be, you’ll leave with the beginnings of a song that serves as a declaration, a compass, and a daily reminder of who you’re choosing to become.
You may arrive with a blank page. You’ll leave with a song that just might change the course of your life.
