Where? Cricketers Arms Hotel, cnr Bruce and Bull Sts, Cooks Hill (in the beer garden).
When? 5:45pm-7:30pm (with a 10 minute drink break – get to know your uke buddies!)
Dates: Tuesdays – 23 & 30 January, 6, 13, 20 February 2024
Teachers: Mark (and maybe John or Jane)
Cost: Five weeks for $125. If you wish to pay for only a few, each session costs $30.
If you decide to attend other ukestras during the week, (which we encourage you to do), then you only pay $10 for these additional sessions.
This page contains links to the music. If you can please print or download this music. And this web page might make for a handy after or before resource anyhow. Otherwise, we’ll have paper music for you.
These songs are selected to help you learn chord shapes, and how to change chords in a methodical manner. They are not selected for being the latest pop song (although we do those too). They are carefully selected to help you best learn.
Ukulele Entree Week 1
This class focuses more on the left hand (or fretting hand) and the transitions between chords. Some of the songs have been covered in the beginners’ class so it is a revision to get you up to speed.
Review the following;
- How to hold the ukulele
- Notes/names of the strings
- Definition of frets, nut and bridge
- Importance of fingers in home position (first finger first fret etc)
- How to strum using first finger
- Thumb strum and zed strum
- Strumming is produced by wrist rotation, no forearm movement
- How to read chord charts
- Difference between a chord and a note
Songs for Class (download onto tablet or print)
Sloop John B NEW
Boots are made for Walking NEW
Burn Your Name NEW
Blue Bayou NEW and melody
Ukulele Entrée 1 Course Week 2
This class focuses more on the right hand (or strumming hand); on strumming technique and rhythm. Remember to ensure that the strumming is produced by wrist rotation and not up and down movement of the forearm.
New songs are introduced as well as the strumming guide but the songs covered in last week’s class are also revised. We introduce the C scale here briefly to get them used to the idea of chords versus notes.
Review the following;
-
- Notes/names of the strings
- Importance of fingers in home position (first finger first fret etc)
- Strumming action is wrist rotation not forearm movement
- Thumb strum, zed strum and other strum patterns
- How to read chord charts
- How to read tab (or notation)
Purcell’s Canon(part One only) NEW
Ukulele Strum Patterns NEW and work through pattern 1,2,3,4 and 5. Then go to 11 and explain the off beat strum.
- Folsom Prison Blues NEW or Moonlight NEW (offbeat strumming)
Ukulele Strum Patterns and work through the Latin strum pattern 7.
- Start with only half of the strum pattern (DDU), then go to DDUU and finally the full pattern
- Blue Bayou and melody
- I’m Yours NEW
Ukulele Entrée – Week 3
This class draws attention to tab and riffs, the blues, more practice on the C scale, and consolidates what you’ve learnt in the first two weeks.
Review the following;
- Notes/names of the strings
- Importance of fingers in home position (first finger first fret etc)
- How to read tab and perhaps notation
- How to play melody
Start with Rhiannon, and Boots are made for Walking
Purcell’s Canon parts 1 & 2
Play Sloop John B for the fun of it.
Go to Ukulele Strum Patterns and work through the Latin strum pattern 7.
- Start with only half of the strum pattern (DDU), then go to DDUU and finally the full pattern
Blue Bayou with Latin strum and melody
NEW – Sway chords Latin strum SWAY (melody In Em)
Folsom Prison Blues or Moonlight
Ukulele Entrée – Week 4
This class focuses on reading notation (or tab) and plucking notes. This class also introduces the idea of musical keys. We go to the key of F (and learn the Bb chord) so it expands your repertoire of chords and understanding of keys.
Select three groups in class to do this as a round (singing the notes too)
Purcell’s Canon just parts 1 and 2
Rhiannon or I’m Yours with Latin strum (note: mostly key of C)
Introduce the key of F
Back to key of C
Sway (minor key) and SWAY (melody In Em)
Blue Bayou and melody
Ukulele Entrée 1 Course Week 5
This class focuses on playing riffs and reinforces the 12 bar blues pattern. We also expand your melody playing with part 3 of Purcel’s Canon and the riffs in Burn Your Name and introduce Catch My Disease.
I’m Yours, Rhiannon, Take It to the Limit
Purcell’s Canon parts 1, 2 and 3
Pokarekare Ana or Royals (key of F)
NEW Catch My Disease and Catch My Disease Riffs
NEW Blue Yodel No 6 – Jimmie Rodgers
End class on an easy songs
Boots are made for Walking and Sloop John B
Extra Stuff you’ll might want
A chord chart of everything – we won’t go over this very much in this workshop, but it is a very handy resource for you.
Strumming Patterns – strumming is something that is more felt than learned. But this chart is an exercise that we do in the workshop and which you should do to help your strumming hand develop discipline and to remember patterns.
All the notes up the neck – really. Don’t fuss on this one too much. We won’t be talking about it in the workshop.