School of Song
Workshop with Blake Mills (January 2026)
Workshop with Blake Mills (January 2026)
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Blake Mills will be leading a workshop starting on January 4th, 2026. He is a rare artist who can fully inhabit three nestled roles — songwriter, producer, and guitarist — and bring an equal, remarkable depth to each. Across his own albums he appears as a songwriter of unusual grace; as a record producer, he’s in high demand, with credits including Feist, Japanese Breakfast, Perfume Genius, Alabama Shakes, and many others; and as a guitarist, he’s known for an inventive, shape-shifting approach that redefines whatever song he touches. His workshop will illuminate the songwriting process through each of those perspectives.
Here are some of the topics that will be explored:
Keeping wind in our wings. Making work that matters means staying with it through stretches of doubt, overthinking, false starts, and figuring out how to keep just enough wind in your wings to continue. We’ll look at those “edge of the cliff” moments — spinning out about whether the work is too abstract, too familiar, or a betrayal of your intentions — and how to keep searching without leaving those moments of inspiration behind. We’ll explore how producers, collaborators, and self-produced artists can protect a fragile sense of confidence and modulate between honesty and encouragement so the record can keep moving.
Production in service of song. In a sonic world of abundant creative possibilities, how do we determine the approach best aligned with both the artist and the work? Blake will share some deep perspectives on the nuances of honoring ourselves, our collaborators, and our work.
The art of rewriting. Turning a small spark into a finished song involves navigating the long middle: the rewriting, the shaping, the iterations, the carving out. We’ll sit inside that phase and look at ideas into real structure without over-editing ourselves, and how to balance being the clear-eyed adjudicator of your work with suspending that role long enough for fragile ideas to grow. We’ll also talk about not really knowing what’s “good” or “bad” in your own songs, how collaboration (or an internalized collaborator) can still help you move forward, and how time has a way of humbling perfectionism when you listen back years later.
Reimagining the guitar. Transformative guitar playing is perhaps Blake’s calling card: novel chord shapes, detuned baritone textures, and human-voice-adjacent fretless glissandi take something familiar and twist it into something new and alive. We’ll use his relationship with the guitar as a case study in bending any familiar interface — instrument, DAW, or otherwise — beyond how it’s “supposed” to be played, turning limitations into exhilarating possibilities as you shape-shift your sound source of choice, rethink tuning and timbre, and share whatever strange discoveries you make along the way, whether or not guitar is your main instrument.
Course Logistics
Workshop is taught over Zoom on the following dates:
Lectures: Sundays January 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th, 2026
Two options for lecture times: 11 AM – 12 PM PT and 6 PM – 7 PM PT.
Q&As: Wednesdays January 7th, 14th, and 21st, 2026
at 6 PM PT.
Song-Shares: Saturdays January 10th, 17th, and 24th, 2026
Song-share times: 11 AM – 12 PM PT, 3 PM – 4 PM PT, 6 PM – 7 PM PT, and 11 PM – 12 AM PT.
Office Hours with Teaching Assistants: Weekly, Time TBD
If you can't make the live class, you can still participate by watching the recordings of the lectures and Q&A sessions (sent out after class).
Signing up with a friend + Gifting
Sign up with a friend to receive a 20% discount by clicking here.
If you'd like to buy the workshop for yourself and gift it to a friend, just add 1 to your cart with "This is a gift" checked and their info, and 1 to your cart normally -- the discount will be applied automatically. Note: no refunds on discounted orders.
FAQ:
- Q: Is this a songwriting workshop?
- A: This workshop will have a slightly wider scope than our typical songwriting workshops, but will touch on many topics related to songwriting, production, and guitar. The weekly assignments will still take the form of songs and/or musical exercises.
- Q: Do I need to understand production and/or play guitar to take this workshop?
- A: Absolutely not. We have taken great care to formulate the curriculum to be interesting and relevant to anyone who identifies as primarily a songwriter, primarily a producer, primarily an instrumentalist, or any cross-section of the three. There will be times when we nerd out and lean into aspects of production, and similarly with the guitar to ensure that the producers and guitarists in the workshop get their fill, but there will be worthwhile takeaways for people across the spectrum. Additionally, depending on class interest, we will offer ample supplemental materials and opportunities to engage with teaching assistants to bring people up to speed on various technical topics, including guitar and production.
- Q: What musical experience should I have?
- A: People across all musical levels will be able to gain something from the course.
- Q: What if I've never written a song before? Can I still participate in this workshop?
- A: Yes! As with any new skill, just starting is usually the hardest part. The songs are optional and this workshop will provide the structure and accountability we all need to get started and follow through, for beginners and old guard writers alike.
- Q: Is there an enrollment cap?
- A: Nope! This is a lecture-style class with open enrollment. The song shares will be optional with breakout rooms of 3-4 people.
- Q: Will Blake give me feedback on my songs?
- A: Due to the class size, we cannot guarantee that you'll get Blake's feedback on your songs. However, our teachers are active on our song sharing platform and may leave comments on students' submissions.
- Q: I can't make the lecture times for some (or all) of the classes. Can I still participate?
- A: Yes! We send out the recordings of lectures at the end of each class day, so you can watch the lectures on your own time.
- Q: I would like to take this workshop, but cannot afford it. What can I do?
- A: A huge part of our mission since day one has been two-fold. On one hand, we want to support our teaching artists as much as we can in an economy where it's increasingly difficult to make money as a songwriter or working musician. On the other hand, we want to make our workshops accessible to as wide a community as possible. Our pricing is designed to strike a balance between those two aims. That said, we never want cost to be the only reason someone can't participate. If the price is out of reach for you, please send us an email explaining your situation, and we will do our best to assist on a case-by-case basis.
Questions? Email us at hi@schoolofsong.org.
If after the first class you feel the course is not a good fit for any reason, you are welcome to a refund on the rest of the course classes. We are unable to process refunds after the second class.
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