If you’re in Toronto, then most likely you’ve come across the WoodChopper’s Association. Lead by drummer Dave Clark, the WoodChoppers explore improvised music and encourage inclusiveness, experimentation and most of all a lot of FUN! Commonly found tearing up The Tranzac, a WoodChoppers show is more than likely to turn into ramshackle shenanigans of band members and audience members taking up instruments in a revelatory parade through the venue and even the streets.

Many people are content as spectators or brief participants, but some of you might just be itching for more; wondering how does such seeming chaos actually make beautiful musical sense? Well, Sir or Madam! There is a book for you!

You, too, can enter the Woodshed with Dave Clark’s handy book “How To Conduct…Yourself!”, a guide to conducting cues for instant musical composition. This is the perfect guide for anyone interested in playing or conducting improvised music, complete with written descriptions and helpful photographs of each physical cue.

Some simple cues include:

Singing

Crescendo

Notes on Time Signatures

You’ll learn various cues for starting, stopping, playing as a group, soloing, trading riffs, imitation, volume levels, crossfading, and rhythm cues for tempo shifts, shots, changing time signatures, playing short or long notes, changing keys, glissandos, split waves, phrase pile-ups, and also memory cues, card/hat cues, verbal cues, emotional cues, even taking cues from an unsuspecting audience.

And of course Dave understands that sometimes all you wanna do is:

“How To Conduct…Yourself!" is only $15.00. In no time at all you’ll be chopping your own wood on the stages and streets of the city. You can buy it directly from Dave and if you want more than check out a real live workshop from the master himself and go check out the WoodChoppers in the flesh (especially their shows this summer with Jah Youssouf)!

- posted by Kevin