Category: Artist Spotlight

I am a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Shropshire. Born in Shrewsbury, I grew up just outside the market town of Bridgnorth in Shropshire. I play Violin, Flute, Viola and Mandolin but am also in the process of making a dulcimer and am looking forward to the time when I’ve finally finished and can start to play it!

Our household was full of music growing up and my parents instilled in me both a love of music and an eclectic taste – from The Beatles to Steeleye Span and from Joan Armatrading to Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

I love experimenting with different genres and styles and relish the freedom music gives you to create something unique to you. Although I love listening to and playing almost any type of music, it is folk and bluegrass which are the genres most close to my heart.

I started to learn the recorder and violin at school but it was the combined teaching and inspiration of the Violinist Brian Careless and Flautist Ceris Williams that really ignited my passion for playing music.

Ceris Williams taught me how to play the flute from the age of 14 and gave me a good grounding in music theory as well as teaching me how to play swing classics and classical pieces.

Brian Careless had already been in the very successful Midland folk band Fiddler’s Green and taught me from the age of 16 and my brother Matthew from the age of 12, starting with the violin, then the mandolin and then the viola.

We didn’t want to follow the usual route of doing grades so instead of using these as a measuring stick for progress, Brian used performances. He suggested that the family form a band. Mum had played guitar and sung previously at folk clubs and Dad learned to play the Cajon drum; Matthew, Brian and I would play violins.

Our very first performance was at a local petting farm where Matthew and I were so nervous about performing we played behind a curtain. However by scheduling performances at regular interludes and making each one different – a challenge of a duet, a barn dance or a solo piece, our confidence grew quickly. We decided to call the band “String Workshop” and the formation of this band really accelerated everything musically for me.

Being able to play with my brother on the same instrument had a huge impact on my learning, as well as meaning that experimenting with harmonies and styles was easy and made a big impression on my development. At 18 I gained my Silver Art Award using performance and music.

As well as teaching me to play, Brian Careless also showed me how to start writing music, this knowledge was something that completely revolutionised my musical journey and opened a door to one of the most rewarding pastimes. Being able to write the music you want to play was hugely rewarding and freeing and had a huge impact on me. I now try to write as much music as I can, mostly using a mandolin.

Inspirations for song-writing come mostly from growing up surrounded by fields, hedgerows and hills and the beautiful landscapes in Shropshire. However they can also come from more unusual sources with homemade food, travelling and working late also featuring as inspirations.

String Workshop celebrated their 10^th Birthday in 2016 with the band playing at National Trust properties, for country fayres and barn dances as well as for pubs and private functions over the years. Each year we are also lucky enough to have a recital of our home-written music at a venue in Bridgnorth.

Future wise I am in the process of writing my first book of music, recording an album with String Workshop and learning how to play the guitar (as well as trying to finish that dulcimer!)

(Becky Woolley is a musician from Shropshire and happens to be my sister! You can read her blog Cre8ty here: https://cre8ty.wordpress.com/ )