Chris Woods
Background information
Born	Sussex
Genres	Jazz, world
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer
Instrument(s)	Guitar
Years active	2011–present
Website	chriswoodsgroove.co.uk

Chris Woods, born in Sussex, is a British fingerstyle guitarist whose playing features extended techniques. ^[1] Woods is also a composer, educator and author of Percussive Acoustic Guitar. ^[2] Recording as ‘The Chris Woods Groove Orchestra’ and ‘Chris Woods Groove’. ^[3]

Woods’ playing is characterised by the use of contemporary and extended guitar techniques, including; alternative tunings, tapping and guitar percussion. ^[4] His technique was developed whilst experimenting at university with solo Jazz guitar playing ^[5] as well as taking influence from artists such as John Martyn. ^[6] Releasing music at the time of the ‘youtube percussive acoustic guitar boom’ ^[7] he featured in the documentary ‘Acoustic Uprising’ which explored the percussive guitar boom phenomenon. ^[8]

Woods uses a stomp box, ^[9] to create an accompanying beat to his music. ^[10] In 2012 the company Logarhtyhm created a signature stomp box for Woods, keeping his playing style in mind throughout the design process. ^[11] His main guitar is a Martin 000x1. ^[12]

He performs as a soloist as well as with various different instrumental ensemble line ups, past venues and events have included Glastonbury Festival, ^[13] London Olympia, ^[14] Real World Studios, ^[15] the NAMM Show, ^[16] Mikulassky Jazz Festival, ^[17] Sage Gateshead ^[18] and more. ^[19]

Woods released two solo guitar collections; Woodcraft (2011), ^[20] and Stories For Solo Guitar (2013) ^[21] as well as a duo album with Will McNicol in 2015 48 hour Atlas, which was recorded and written in 48 hours. ^[22]

Between 2015 and 2018, he released several singles and an EP as The Chris Woods Groove Orchestra, also containing and launching a project called Guitar Revolution. ^[23]

Guitar Revolution is a composition made up of four parts, from beginner to advanced. ^[24] Inviting members of the public to join at The London Acoustic Guitar Show in September 2016 to perform the piece. ^[25] The music was published in Acoustic Magazine issue 120 and online for free. ^[26]

After an oversubscribed pop-up performance at the London Acoustic Show. ^[27] The Chris Woods Groove Orchestra toured the project with the support of Martin Guitars in early 2017, inviting the public to join at various different towns. ^{[28] [29] [30]}

In late 2017, ^[31] Chris Woods was commissioned to create a new score 'Orchestral Evolution' by Soundstorm Music Education Hub funded through support from Arts Council England. ^[32]

Woods is the author of Percussive Acoustic Guitar, which was first published by Hal Leonard in March 2013. ^[33] He was approached by Leonard at the NAMM Show in California to write the 'how to play' percussive guide. ^[34] The guide is used within educational establishments ^[35] and as an academic reference for the style. ^{[36] [37]} The publication contains instruction on percussive guitar techniques. Categorising these percussive techniques as ‘ String Slapping’, ‘ Body Percussion’, ‘ Tapping’, ‘ Harmonics’ and ‘ Alternate Tunings’. The categories are divided into chapters, with each chapter containing different examples. The examples all begin with their own ‘warm-up’. The book concludes with several full pieces and is accompanied by a DVD. ^[38]

He also wrote a regular column for Acoustic Magazine, ^[39] and contributed to Guitar Techniques magazine with the 'Creative Acoustic' Series including; Issue 253- Guitar Percussion Issue 254 – DADGAD, Issue 255 – Harmonics, Issue 256 – Partial Capo and Issue 289 - Percussive Acoustic. ^{[40] [41] [42]} Both magazines are published by Future Publishing.