Local player Therman Jones doing a great job on "You Go To My Head"

Check out his YouTube channel HERE

Two fine musicians having an impromptu magic moment ...

Free Ukulele Lessons Fourth Tuesday of Each Month

GoAnimate.com: Free Ukulele Lessons and that Tramp Sylvia by bkumpe

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

WCD OPEN MIC JAM

GoAnimate.com: WCD OPEN MIC JAM by bkumpe

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

email: tulsaukes@gmail.com for more information.

Our Next Meeting is Aug. 23

Our next meeting is August 23 and it will be at the Western Country Diner, the same location as on the 9th.

This location has some clear advantages over our previous site and Bill Kumpe has arranged for our having this venue available to us for the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month.  Because of other groups using this restaurant, we probably won't have any date flexibility for things like holidays, but on balance I think we all agree that this is a good spot for us.

Thanks to Bill for setting this up.

I went to Braum's and cancelled all our future dates with them (and they did have fixed the double booking problem by reserving the room through December) and I thanked them for their support over the past year or so that I have used that location.

So you can count on the WCD for our future events, starting at 6:30 for some snacks, socializing followed by some program - instruction, circle jam, open mike or whatever we want to do.

Four fingers, four strings, for fun.   Keep strumming.

Ralph

Tulsa Ukulele Club Meeting Tuesday, Aug. 9

Have you always wanted to play a musical instrument but somehow never "connected?" Are you already a musician but want to add something new to your repertoire? Are you an aging guitar player battling arthritis in your hands and shoulders? Are you a ukulele player who would like to visit with other players and take advantage of opportunities to play publicly and privately with other musicians?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions then the Tulsa Ukulele Club may be the place for you. The Tulsa Ukulele Club gives free ukulele instruction at nearly every meeting. We offer a mix of instruction, group play-alongs and individual/small group performance opportunities.

The next meeting is scheduled for 6:30 PM, Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at the Western Country Diner, 1905 South Sheridan, Tulsa, Oklahoma. From 6:30 until approximately 7:00 we will visit, compare notes, and hold a short business meeting. From approximately 7:00 until 7:30 we will conduct one on one individual instruction and offer group playing opportunities. Club President Ralph Kelly will oversee basic instruction and if there is any interest, Bill Kumpe will moderate a discussion covering how to play uke chord patterns on a guitar.

From 7:30 until whenever, we will hold an open mic jam. While the emphasis is always on uke, guitars, harmonicas, banjos, mandolins and just about anything else you can carry in is welcome so long as you it can be played along with a uke. If you don't own a uke yet, a limited number of loaners are usually available at meetings so long as you promise to treat them with respect.

So, come out and join us Tuesday evening. You'll have a good time and meet some nice folks.

Something different

Some of you know that the ukulele can have a different voice depending on wood, construction features, size, shape and strings.  Ukulele Bartt has a short video in which he plays the same short progression in a wide variety of instruments.

I know that my comparatively heavily built tenor Pono, with Worth brown low G strings* has a completely different voice than my other ukes , and has a very different voice than my very lightly built Howlett tenor with NyGut high G strings (and it itself has a brighter voice with Southcoast light gauge strings).

*  Worth brown strings are known to be a mellow string set and the low G adds to this voice.

This video highlights some of the differences that instruments have.  Maybe this will encourage you to consider evaluating alternate string choices for your particular instrument.

Now for a bit of Bartt promotion.   Here is his web page   http://www.bartt.net/   and here is his web page with videos of a number of performances.  http://bartt.net/MediaPage.htm   

As is obvious when you see or hear him play, he was trained as a classical guitarist and loves this genre of music, but his performances include more popular material.    He is a prolific song writer and some of these are highlighted in the media page .  He is courted to come to ukulele festivals around the world to give workshops and concerts.  (He has been to the Dallas festival and will likely be there in 2012.)  His web page contains a wealth of material for ukulele folks including song charts, advice on instruments and a section where you can get his CDs and a very good uke starter DVD  (which I have).  Check it out.

Ralph

Another good song site

I've added a link to Richard G's extensive song files - hundreds of them, with uke fingering diagrams.  Lots of songs you may like.

See the Handy Link section to the right.

www.scorpex.net/Uke

Great video on guitar players getting into ukes

Jim D'Ville is a uke player who travels around the world giving lessons on how to play the uke with emphasis on ear training.  He has an extensive blog and the latest one highlights a guitar shop owner and how he goes about introducing guitar players to the uke.  I hope you will find it interesting, and useful when you are chatting with your guitar buddies.

And be sure to check out his other blog features.  Good information.

Famous Uke Players - Zooey Deschanel

  Not all famous uke players are old people.  The uke is experiencing a remarkable resurgence among the young and hip as evidenced by the following video.  Zooey Deschanel, younger sister of Emily Deschanel of "Bones" fame, is a very hot property in Hollywood these days.  She is also a talented singer and as you can tell from the video, a home uke player.  Enjoy: