Mr. Sandman

In case you missed the link, here is the new video that Rex just made for us last week.  He is planning to give us some in-person, hands on specifics this coming Tuesday evening.  This is just one of the songs being planned for Tuesday, so hope to see everyone there.

Heads Up for June Ukulele Festival in Dallas

More details will be coming later, but Noel, the owner of the ukulele shop in Dallas is going to host a mini festival June 1 and 2.   Friday evening will be an Open Mic session and Saturday will have workshops by Deb Porter, Pop's Bayless and Jim D'Ville. There will be a concert on Saturday evening.  $99 for the workshops and $10 for the concert for those not going to the workshops, like your spouse and friends.

This is shorter and less expensive than the prior 3 day events and should be well received.  I can personally vouch for the workshops by Deb and Pop's and Jim has give his workshops around the world.  It should be a great festival.

More information to follow.

Hey Good Lookin', meet Mr. Sandman on the 13th!

There is plenty cookin' up for our next meeting on March 13th! Mary will lead us in a nice version of Hey Good Lookin' "...so if you wanna have fun come along with me..."

Rex is ready to teach us Mr. Sandman, complete with some light finger-picking. This will up the ante on everyone's skills, so I suggest any of you over-achievers check out his youtube lesson  here  to get a head start. Although it may seem challenging, Rex shows you some easier options if you're new to the uke.

St. Patrick's day is just around the corner and of course we have to play an Irish song! Ralph will bring Danny Boy, a nice slow lament familiar to all and perfect for newer players. I'm sure we won't be leaving until we've jammed on a couple of other great songs, too.

Last meeting Ralph showed us how to play closed chords 'up the neck' to add more variety. Rex also endorses this method to spice up a tune. I tried it on a new song I was learning and it really does work! If you'd like to review or practice it, just ask Ralph for a repeat.

As usual, we'll spend the first 20 minutes or so assisting new players with tuning and simple, common chords. We can also practice the triplet strum we learned last time, as it does take some time to get it down so you can toss in a different rhythm to your playing.

The great staff of the Western Country Diner allows us to use their restaurant at no cost, so we like to give them some business. If you're interested, come around 6:30 for dinner or dessert and conversation; strumming begins at 7.

A nice evening in OKC

Kay and I car pooled down to OKC on Saturday afternoon to play with the folks attending their monthly meeting.  They meet in a church, along with a group of autoharp, dulcimer, Celtic and guitar folks (in separate rooms, naturally).  We had a really good time with Jeff and about 9 other locals, plus Blayne from Stillwater.  One interesting thing, to me at least, was that most of the local folks were gals, something that is becoming far more common in the uke clubs.  Because everyone was beyond the beginner stage, we had a lot of time working on the songs Jeff selected for that evening and it was good to hear everyone doing well.  This was, in part, because Jeff selected a number of songs from the '60s and '70s, songs familiar to the group.

A really nice evening and if you are free the next Saturday evening, join them.

This could be a winner for a beginner

The Kani-Ka-Pila shop has a March special running that you should know about.  They have a line of soprano size ukes similar to the popular Dolphin ukes - painted in bright colors too -- that they believe is better sounding than the Dolphin.  And they change out the strings to use their brand of fluorcarbon strings and here is the real kicker, the March special includes a copy of the Ralph Shaw instructional DVD for kids, in itself, a $20 item.  All for $39.95 (Plus ship, I assume).  So if you want something around the house for the kids and grandkids, or for a gift, this looks like a good deal.

They indicate the the builder of the uke is Bugsgear and if so this is a very reliable Japanese firm. I don't find this uke in their web page but it is supposed to be a new item, competing with the Dolphin.

I know the firm has been around for a while but I do not vouch for the quality of the uke.  I personally don't need another low cost uke or I would get one, but buyer beware.  I do think they have a return policy to reduce any risk.

Starter uke, good strings, DVD.  Sounds very good.

Ralph

http://kani-ka-pila.com/wordpress/archives/1600

Want to write a verse?

My friend in Dallas has a song that some of us (particularly those in my age group) can relate too.

Feel like contributing a verse?  Send it along.

Ralph

Sweet Georgia Brown on the 28th!

At our next meeting I'll be leading Sweet Georgia Brown in the key of G, using the following chords: G E7 A7 D7 B7 Em. If you're not used to playing B7 and Em I'll show you a shortcut to get you started. We'll also work on a triple, or triplet, strum to use in the song.

Sweet Georgia Brown sounds especially good with a banjo uke (banjuke or banjolele?) so I hope somebody brings one to liven up the tune.

As usual, we'll spend the first 20-30 minutes assisting beginners with tuning and introductory chords, and I'm sure we'll continue working on one of our club standards, San Francisco Bay Blues, as well as other fun tunes. The meeting begins at 7pm at the Western Country Diner. Some of us will be there about 6:15 for dinner and conversation beforehand.

There's always an extra uke available, so if you're thinking about getting one, come try it out and see how much fun you can have!

Kay