Wooten Woods Music/Nature Camp 2026

My experience at this summer’s Wooten Woods Music and Nature camp rearranged and changed the core of my character. The 40 of us shared a profound learning experience with heaps of love, compassion, acceptance, and creative openness. In this article, I discuss the highlights of the camp, the different characters and tendencies observed, and personal takeaways. Song suggestions will be peppered throughout, mostly Zappa tunes (I will indoctrinate you towards composer Frank Zappa; it’ll be good for you to hear the power of deliberate composition). To keep the camp fresh and novel for future attendees, I will largely avoid revealing the exact activities. The article is long, so you may be inclined to read it over a few days however I promise you will learn a lot, whether you attended the camp or not. Thanks to the attendees for some of the photos used in this article.

The Barn: Kitchen (left), Dining and Jam Stage (center)

A small note: the instructors almost never mentioned the art of composition, however several of the rotations were literal exercises in composition, or composition analysis. For example, in one rotation with Victor, each of us was made to play at most four notes in a bar. Being 14 in a group, the bar became a beautiful sonic composition on repeat. A singer was made to “scat” (or vocal improvisation), and a verse was created by simply having half of us stop playing! Each of us were given four bars to solo and subsequently returned into the chorus. It was a literal live composition conducted by Victor. He never even told us he’d do it, nor did we write anything down! That’s how easy it is to compose. You don’t need to be some Einstein-haired eccentric to write your own music. Here’s Zappa’s steps to becoming a composer, notice in particular how similar the five-steps are to Victor’s technique I just described.

A composer is a guy who goes around forcing his will on unsuspecting air molecules, often with the assistance of unsuspecting musicians. Want to be a composer? You don’t even have to be able to write it down. The stuff that gets written down is only a recipe, remember? … If you can think design, you can execute design — it’s only a bunch of air molecules, who’s gonna check up on you?

JUST FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS:
[1] Declare your intention to create a ‘composition.’
[2] Start a piece at some time.
[3] Cause something to happen over a period of time (it doesn’t matter what happens in your ‘time hole’-—we have critics to tell us whether it’s any good or not, so we won’t worry about that part).
[4] End the piece at some time (or keep it going, telling the audience it is a ‘work in progress’).
[5] Get a part-time job so you can continue to do stuff like this.

The Real Frank Zappa Book, Chapter 8

Lessons from Master Musicians

A set of master musicians were invited to appear on different days of the camp. In my view these folks are the most real people I’ve ever met. Most of my life is spreadsheets, slides, intellectual rigor, presentations by CEOs describing how their technology will dominate certain facets of our life, profit, starting companies, AI “innovation”, and the rest of it. It is exceedingly boring and uninspiring. These musicians, however, are at the edge of artistry, creativity, and life. They experience the aliveness of life. I’ll say it one more time; these are the most real people I’ve ever seen. They chose to make music and chase something different.

First mention is 30-year bassist Rob Byus for Blake Shelton. He explained that learning a song involves these steps: learn the arrangement (intro, verse, chorus, turnaround(s), bridge & solo, outro, etc.) then ascribe chords to each section by note name and quality, or via the Nashville Number System. Listening to a song with the goal of learning it is different from listening to a song for enjoyment. We should intentionally listen to the song until internalized.

Rob Byus

Next was 19-year bassist Amos Heller for Taylor Swift. An unexpected expert, Amos sat us down after dinner for an intimate lesson and demonstration of his enormous talent. Believe it or not, this man whipped out a flawless rendition of a Dream Theater track that left us gobsmacked. A very inspiring musician.

Amos Heller

Then came saxophonist Bob Franceschini. I first heard his playing on Trypnotyx alongside Victor Wooten and Dennis Chambers. If want to hear their unbelievable musicianship, check out the track Liz and Opie off that album. I spoke to Bob for a quick minute and he explained that a digital Vocal Formant effect was applied to produce his special sax tone on the album. He taught us to get ready (tune up) for any musical endeavor, to listen to music even if you write or compose, and to consider your tone when playing on a given track as it contributes to the emotional textures available to the listener. He advised that we could play within an emotional frame of mind – for example we can play a happy feel in a minor key or a sad feel in major.

Bob Franceschini (right)

Harmonica player Lee Oskar from War, best known for the famous “Low Rider” melody was on the phone with Victor, who put a mic to the phone so we could get some advice. He told all of us (paraphrased) “Reflexes are crucial. You don’t want to think when you’re playing.” He then proceeded to play the Low Rider melody on harmonica over the phone. Legendary experience. Later, Victor recorded our very own Lorraine during her harmonica solo and sent it to Lee!

Luke, a blind musician, sat in with us. He told us that although he now has trouble playing due to a problematic left-hand, he has decided to spend his life donating instruments – specifically orchestral ones like the bassoon – into the hands of impoverished children in struggling cities and towns around the world. A comical and inspiring human, no doubt.

lil’ John Roberts (left), with Stevie Wonder, Grand Opening Ceremony at the Obama Presidential Center (right)

We had special visit from drummer Lil’ John Roberts (who is a literal giant human), known for his work with Janet Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and George Duke, amongst many others. He visited us on his way to play a live show with Stevie Wonder for Barack Obama in just a few days. What the fuck is right. Some advice that struck me was: don’t slack, work hard and in advance. At rehearsal, you should arrive ready to play “the songs”. In one of his auditions for a famous musician, he had learnt their entire live set. When he arrived at the audition, he was asked “what do you want to play”, and he said “how about the whole show?” That’s how you get work.

Thanks to the great stage setup with a giant PA system and mic’d drums, we got to hear him jam out some nasty beats. In particular he played a track with what sounded like a reverse snare roll. I raised my hand to ask, “what is that reverse snare roll you played?” He responded “Ah!!!! You listened well!” and proceeded to play the reverse snare roll many times. He explained it starts at a lower volume that increases over the roll’s duration. This should give us some idea how to innovate on common musical patterns and instruments. Brilliant.

Kent Crawley is an extraordinary guitarist. He played blistering scales while singing them, and proceeded to harmonize his voice to it. In a more intimate session he revealed an amazing musical secret. If you wish to solo with ease, use the rhythm of a well-known melody like Happy Birthday, and play your own notes around it (it shouldn’t sound like Happy Birthday, but it should move like it). Simple and perfect.

Kent Crawley

Of course we got to experience the Wooten Brothers – Roy, Reggie, Victor, and Joseph. They performed a song about headbutting, which largely reminded me of the sort of comical lyrics employed by Zappa. You could tell by their musicianship they had been playing together for decades. They played a small set alongside Bob Franceschini and frankly the whole experience was inexpressibly profound.

Wooten Brothers (left to right): Roy, Reggie, Victor, Joseph

Reggie’s musical perspectives are out-of-the-box. In one particular quip, he explained that although most of us think of sweep picking as playing fast, it’s actually done by playing a chord slow. Although not a particularly emotional statement, I teared up at the profundity of his thought process. Remember that Reggie plays the dirtiest Squier Stratocaster. The frets have toejam on them, and his playing style is highly unconventional. I watched him accompany a slide guitar piece. Reggie played subtle chords underneath, using his volume knob to swell-in and contribute a sparkly, pad-like texture. Victor explained how most of his innovative techniques were seeded by Reggie’s perspective on bass playing. If you ever have the chance to see the Wooten Brothers live, go there fast. I will be seeing them in Montreal very soon.

Bob Hemenger

Bob Hemenger is the burly outdoorsman who taught the Nature rotations. He has a calming presence with a very deep and warm voice. In addition to his knowledge and experience with the outdoors, he is a tremendous saxophone player with great feel. On the last day of camp, when my eyes were already bleeding from lack of sleep, he asked us to close our eyes as he played a sax-only rendition of Over the Rainbow. He announced “we all have dreams”, and began the piece. His sax was mic’d and somehow a beautiful reverb tail followed every note. Tears began to stream, and I could hear many others around me sniffling. It was a poignant rendition, and having our eyes closed allowed the piece to pierce our souls. I couldn’t hold back my emotions. All the struggle, strife, and strain of my life, my mother’s suicide, the wasted youth, dragging myself through work, the longing for deeper musical involvement, the pressure… It all came to the surface. I left the barn and started to sob. Lorraine came out and hugged me; Jodi joined as well. I quickly walked over to the bathhouse to finish my bout of tears. On the way I met Isaac and he hugged me. I went into a toilet stall and sobbed for ten minutes. This camp hit me in all the places. I later went up to Bob and told him, in the most man-loving way, “You got me you bastard.” He said “You bastard, eh?” I laughed and he added (paraphrasing) “You see this is why it’s so important to just play the melody. It’s a very different impact from excessive soloing, speed and technique, like blooop bloop bloop (making a solo noise with his mouth)”

The Dome

Danny Gottlieb – original drummer for the Pat Metheny Group – and his wife Beth gave us a super fun drum-circle experience in the Dome. They first played a handful of interesting percussion compositions, then turned to us for the entertainment. Here you’ll note we performed another real-time composition. The percussion instruments (congas, bongos, etc.) were subdivided into four registers from baritone to soprano (low to high), each of which was assigned a specific pattern to play. Together we played as a sort of percussive orchestra.

Beth would walk around and point to one of us with drumsticks in the middle of a bar, which meant everyone was to stop playing at the next bar and let this person solo for a bar or two. She eventually came over and pointed to me. Everyone stopped and I used a bass playing slap technique to play a drum beat involving my thumb on the right bongo, and first three fingers on the left. In the middle of it Beth said “Woooo!” It was exhilarating. I recall playing 16th note triplets and ended with a hit on beat 4. We all came back in together on 1. It was an incredibly empowering moment for me. At some point we were all instructed to get up and play our percussive instrument while walking around. It was a true sight to behold. Over 40 musicians playing an infectious syncopated drum pattern while marching around the dome. This was my favorite camp experience.

It goes without saying that Victor is the real deal. If you ever questioned his character or playing ability, I can guarantee you he is the shit. The real deal. He demonstrated a timing exercise with his InnerTime app that allows progressive halving of metronome speed to help improve timing. He would play a particular bassline, then half the rate all the way down to 2 BPM, and would be able to play right on time while throwing in a flurry of random embellishments in between clicks. We collectively jaw-dropped during this session. He also taught us to stop noodling on our instrument when waiting for a session or rehearsal to start. Tune up and stay quiet while the others prepare themselves. Zappa had a similar observation in his autobiography.

I find it especially disturbing if, when the band is walking onto the stage to get the equipment ready, a musician cranks off a tiny, unaccompanied ‘solo-ette’ in order to draw attention to himself while piddling with his amplifier.

The Real Frank Zappa Book, Chapter 8

Victor loves people as much as he loves music. He doesn’t do this for money, and in fact the camp barely breaks even financially. During one jam session, an acquaintance of Victor who had undergone some serious life trials played his own composition. I watched Victor run around to us attendees, telling us to turn on our phone flashlights. At his signal, we’d put our phones up in the air in support. He waved us all on stage to surround this man in a loving musical embrace. (Photo above)

In another rotation, Victor explained the bassline in (Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay was simpler in the chorus than in the verse; a somewhat unconventional form. This is largely due to the lyrical scene in the chorus that conveys a slow passage of time. Lesson here: the bassist should know the lyrical context.

So, I’m just gon’ sit on the dock of the bay
Watchin’ the tide roll away, ooh
I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time

(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay
Otis Redding

On several occasions, Victor put me (and us) on the spot to play a bassline over something he was playing. And each time, he’d stop me and say it wasn’t a bassline. He made it abundantly clear that a bassline is not played that high-up the neck (in general), even if it was at the second octave of E (A string 7th fret). He truly wants us bass players to get in the habit of playing low. I didn’t feel hurt, rather I felt he was nudging me in the right direction. He has a way of teaching without unnecessarily hurting us, which is unlike many of the “smart” folks I know who’d more likely shove a banana down someone’s throat than teach them how to peel and eat it. As Victor would often say, every mistake is getting you better. I got to share a hug with him towards the end, telling him it was the best experience of my life. He signed the back of my bass. I am eternally grateful to this incredible man.

Two legends; Victor’s pointer and middle finger.

If there are rules, we must follow them, but where there are no rules, we should exploit that fact. We subtly learnt this lesson. Many of us create false narratives and invent rules that don’t exist within a given context or game we’re playing. Those rules come from internal fears and uncertainty. They hinder our progress. Beware of imaginary self-suppressing rules!

The common takeaway from all these master musicians was not skill and technique (though it should not be ignored either). Rather, it was to be prepared. Know your songs inside-out. Be a supportive musician and person while avoiding egotistical tendencies. They told many stories of nameless musicians who had been passed over solely due to their terrible attitude or unbearable character traits. In particular I recall a story where Billy Sheehan was auditioning musicians for a particular project and said if the musician says anything negative, boot them out right away. Next, don’t forget that you are an entertainer. Look at and engage the audience in meaningful ways. Highlight each musician when their special part comes up. Don’t place them in your shadow (unless you’re Taylor Swift). Don’t ask how you can be benefitted, but rather how you can benefit others. Stage presence is important. This musical endeavor of ours is largely about entertainment. Frank Zappa saw music in a similar vein. His primary concern was entertainment in general (like television), and how it can be used to influence – positively or otherwise – a given listener.

Lessons from Fellow Musicians

I’ve got to meet some of the sweetest musicians who joined the camp alongside myself for this six-day experience. On the first day, 7 of us were shuttled from our hotel to Wooten Woods. Once we arrived, we met the sweet Holly Wooten (Victor’s wife) for camp orientation. There, another sweet woman (there are many sweethearts at this camp) called Lorraine sat in front of me. She quietly exclaimed how thirsty she was, but nobody heard her. I reached into my bag and gave her a full bottle of water. She was so grateful! Later, Lorraine would look at my compositions. She tried learning Cosmic Luna but due to lack of time we couldn’t pull it off. It was always a warm experience to see Lorraine and share a moment with her.

The Wonderful Lorraine

Jodi and her talented son Matthew (a Rush fan!) were a great addition to the group. Jodi brought her recorder and had an interesting relationship with the instrument. Sometimes reluctant to play it, when she eventually did it was great. Jodi, keep playing and don’t be concerned with being heard.

Calder was my go-to musician, bassist and horn player with serious talent and a great ear. At 17 years old, he taught me more than I could teach him. I asked him to sit with me and show me how he solo’d over a blues-progression. In minutes I was able to do (roughly) the same. I learnt much from him and am so grateful for his presence.

Calder and Melissa

Then there is Melissa of Estonia. This treasure of a human is working with great efforts to be the star she should be. Tremendous vocals, a beautiful presence, and heaps of playfulness that naturally invites attention and adoration. I have met a few folks like Melissa in my life and they naturally rise to the top of every situation. People bend over backwards for them and don’t even know why they’re doing it. Calder and I had the opportunity to play her track Out of Darkness. The bassline, however trivial, was interesting as it put a short rest at every snare. After a 2-bar trumpet solo, we entered a quiet chorus where Calder and I hid behind Melissa to put emphasis on her vocals. At the next chorus repetition, we both emerged from behind her to the audience’s applause. Entertainment! It was a pleasure to support her vocals on jam night with this tune, and being around her was always a pleasant experience.

Then there’s Charles. I loved Charles for his sense of humor, his willingness to explore, and his aerodynamic goggles. He started playing sax only months ago. We shared so many laugh-out-loud moments. One morning I was blow-drying my hair and Charles was brushing his teeth. I motioned my blow-dryer to Charles, asking him “Do you need this?” Charles is bald. He proceeded to laugh so hard we both were giggling like children.

Charles

There’s the band Detective Blind composed of three young sisters who play the US with the help of their highly dedicated father (who was also present). I spoke to this man and was so impressed by the undying support he gives his daughters. It parallels the Wooten Brothers and how they played together from a young age, likely fueled by loving parents. These three talented young ladies should be stars. Keep writing original music, cherish your experiences, keep touring, and keep being you. I was supposed to have the bassist autograph my bass but I ran out of time. Sorry about that one.

Detective Blind

Holly Wooten was such a comforting presence. She was always ready to help with any concerns we had. Although I didn’t speak with her much, we shared a few words and hugs which I will always cherish. It’s clear the camp logistics couldn’t run without her. Some of the most successful musicians have powerhouse supportive wives like Holly. Think Ozzy, think Zappa, think Wooten.

The chefs, kitchen staff, and volunteers were all fantastic humans. The food was incredible. They always had fruit and spice-infused water for us with concoctions including peaches, mint, cinnamon, hibiscus, and basil. At one point the kitchen played Zappa’s Watermelon in Easter Hay. It brought me profound joy to know these folks were Zappa fans. Check that track out if you want to hear a masterful composition, a beautiful repeating guitar melody, and a pristine tearjerker mix.

I will also comment on some other character traits I observed – of course these will remain anonymous. No judgement here, we are all flawed beings trying to make ourselves right, but we cannot simply point out the positives if we wish to improve. Although we all have natural degrees of self-importance, it manifests more explicitly in some. For such folks, conversations would immediately circle back to them. Common phrases include “I did X”, “I have a Y”, “My P does Q”, “I can do V”, “I can’t do Z”. I, I, I, I. It is too much I! I tended to avoid these conversations because they were one-sided and included a lot of unnecessary information about past experiences. These are nice people as much as the next attendee, but it was difficult to have a back-and-forth. I generally tire from such interactions. Some unsolicited advice to all of us; try to speak less. An exercise in silence; try speaking about something that didn’t happen to us – almost impossible. Not every single detail and event need to be vocalized simply because it’s freely running around our mind. Ask more questions. A primary lesson at the camp is listening and silence. I was also told by someone about an original piece of music which was clearly taken from a well-known song. Perhaps a coincidence, perhaps not. I also noticed a few folks tended to enforce their idea of how-things-should-be-done onto others, which actually caused more anxiety, confusion, and tension in moments of pressure. Let us learn from these.

I could go on with more, but I will close with a final set of lessons learnt:

• Victor’s words (paraphrasing) “A lot of people we deal with are terrible. We must still learn from them.” Zappa is a well known failure as a father (see his daughter Moon’s book Earth to Moon). Given this, there is still much to learn from Zappa and the other tyrants that run our lives
• You must learn to be natural
• The sound emitted from the instrument is you
• Play to the crowd, not to your hands
• Playing with others fast-tracks certain musical abilities
• There are always others who will guide and center us as we walk through life. Be around good people and don’t try life alone.
• The good parts of your song need to go away so they can come back and be good again
• Melodies should be sing-able and repetitive – that makes them memorable
• Play what you sing and it will automatically create phrases. You can hear a very explicit example of this on Zappa’s The Jazz Discharge Party Hats (for minors: very explicit lyrics). In this song, Zappa had his vocals transcribed to guitar parts by a young Steve Vai and played alongside his vocals. Another hilarious implementation of this technique is his song Dangerous Kitchen. Both of these songs take this phrasing concept to the comical extreme
• Train your ear with every sound you hear. Learn pitches of all sounds you experience in life
• Life is already offering what you want for free
• Silence speaks loudly
• When we don’t have the “musical ball” (we’re not soloing), we can scan the field
• Become aware of your musical tendencies (negative ones especially)
• Own up to the fact that you’re good. Too much humility is not truth. If someone says you’re good, thank them instead of rejecting it.
• Live billion dollar days; you wouldn’t trade your life for a billion dollars, would you? In that case, live like each day is worth a billion dollars
• You need to know where every note is on your instrument, and be able to reach it (fast)
• Music is designed to have no end
• Keep records of your progress to witness your advancement
• Learn all styles of music
• A song or musical endeavor is like an arrow that flies higher with time instead of running out of energy and hitting the ground. A great piece of music gains momentum and appreciation with time
• Start playing live music, and at the very least go and watch some to get the performance “bug”.

The camp experience is the most profound, eye-opening and loving experience I’ve had. I recommend it to any musician. Some of the most dangerous people are the ones who thwart our creativity and ignore our natural inclinations. We need to find a likeminded community to feel at home.

The camp revealed my fears, how to overcome them, and guided my craft. We rid ourselves of our imaginary shackles. Intellectual knowledge of these lessons is not enough. They have to be felt… and Wooten Woods is the place to go to internalize them.