Need a hand with Woodshed? Here’s how to reach me and answers to the questions I hear most.
Email is the best way to reach me. I’ll get back to you within a couple of business days.
woodshedios@gmail.comWoodshed is an app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac for traditional and folk musicians — old time, bluegrass, and beyond. It lets you record anyone playing at festivals, workshops, or jams, tag the recording with all the details, and build a searchable personal library. In the player you can slow the video down without changing pitch, loop specific sections, and drop chapter marks to jump back to the moments that matter.
Anyone who learns tunes by ear at jams, workshops, and festivals. If you’ve ever gotten home from a festival and wished you could remember who played that tune in the parking lot on Saturday night, Woodshed is for you.
No account, no login, no subscription. Woodshed is a one-time download. Your recordings live on your phone and optionally in your own iCloud storage — there’s no Woodshed account or server involved.
Woodshed is available for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Your library syncs automatically across all your devices through iCloud.
Open Woodshed on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, tap the Record tab, and hit the record button when you’re ready. After recording you can add a title, player name, instrument, and notes before saving it to your library.
Yes. Open the Record tab, grant camera and microphone access when prompted, and record the same way you would on iPhone or iPad. (Note: the camera flip button is only available on iPhone and iPad since Macs don’t have a front/back camera switch.)
Right after recording (or by tapping a clip in your library and choosing Edit), you can fill in the tune name, the player’s name, who they learned it from, the instrument, and any free-form notes. None of these fields are required — add what you know and skip what you don’t.
Use the search bar at the top of the library. You can search by tune name, player name, or instrument. Results update as you type.
In the player, use the speed control to set the playback rate — try 0.75× or 0.5× to catch a tricky lick. The pitch stays the same regardless of speed, so the instrument still sounds like itself.
Open any recording and use the sections bar below the playback controls.
Setting up sections: Scrub to where you want a section to begin or end, then tap Add Section at [time]. The first tap creates section A covering the full recording. Each tap after that splits the recording at the current playhead position, adding a new labeled section (A, B, C…).
Looping a section: Tap any section pill (A, B, C…) to highlight it and start looping that range. Tap it again to stop. You can also use the Loop button to toggle looping on and off.
Adjusting sections: Tap the pencil icon to enter edit mode. From there you can:
You can also long-press any section pill for quick access to move or delete it.
Skipping an intro: To start section A a few seconds in — for example, to skip a player introduction — move the playhead to where the music starts, long-press the A pill, and choose Move boundary to here.
Clearing everything: Tap the × next to the pencil icon to remove all sections at once.
Your sections and loop settings are saved automatically and restored the next time you open the recording.
Chapter marks are named points you drop anywhere in a recording — “hard measure,” “full speed,” “turnaround” — whatever is useful to you. Tap a mark to jump straight to that moment in the video without scrubbing.
Recordings are saved to your device and, if iCloud Drive is enabled, automatically backed up and synced across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. You’ll see the same library on every device signed into your Apple ID. If a recording hasn’t downloaded to a device yet, Woodshed will fetch it from iCloud when you open it. iCloud sync requires iCloud Drive to be enabled in your device settings. See the Privacy Policy for details.
Your recordings live in iCloud, not just on your phone, so reinstalling Woodshed simply restores them from iCloud automatically. To fully remove everything, use Delete All Recordings inside the app before uninstalling.
Swipe left on a clip in the library and tap Delete, or open the clip and use the Delete option in the menu. Deleting from Woodshed removes it from the app’s library; if it has synced to iCloud, it will be removed from iCloud as well.
Tap the gear icon in the top corner of your library to open Settings, then tap Delete All Recordings. You’ll be asked to confirm before anything is removed.
Every video recording and its metadata — tune name, player, instrument, notes, and chapter marks — is permanently removed. The app itself and your settings are not affected.
No. Once you confirm, the deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. If you think you might want certain recordings later, save them to your camera roll before deleting.
Yes. Woodshed syncs with your personal iCloud, so deleting recordings in the app removes them from iCloud too. They will no longer appear on any of your devices.
It’s always worth asking first. Most musicians in the old time and bluegrass world are generous about being recorded for personal learning — a quick “mind if I grab that on video?” goes a long way and is the norm in most jam and festival spaces. Some players prefer not to be recorded, and that’s entirely their right. At formal workshops, follow the instructor’s lead; some teachers ask that recordings stay private or not be shared publicly.
As a rule of thumb: record for learning, ask before sharing widely, and respect anyone who says no.
Yes. To share from your library, long-press a clip in grid view or swipe right in list view and choose Share. You can also open a recording, tap the ••• button at the top of the page, and select Share. The recipient gets a file that opens directly in their Woodshed app, complete with all the tune metadata you added.
Yes. Open any recording, tap the ••• menu in the top right, and choose Share Recording to send the video file via AirDrop, Messages, Mail, or any other app. On iPhone and iPad you can also save directly to your Camera Roll.
Email woodshedios@gmail.com with a short description of what happened, what device you’re on, and what iOS version you’re running. Screenshots help. I read every message.