Gentle Music Theory for 'Ukulele Players
May 21
May 28
June 5 (Friday)
June 24 (Wednesday)
July 9
July 23
August 13
August 27
We meet at the Franconia Community Church, 44 Church Street. Starting May 28, bring a chair because we'll be outside. If it is raining, we'll move indoors. Bring a music stand. I also suggest some kind of clips to hold your music on windy days.
Some upcoming events you might be interested in:
Ashokan Ukulele Weekend, May 22-25, Olivebridge, NY (I’ll be there)
Strumming Up to Boston, sponsored by the Strummerville Ukulele Club, June 20, Newton, MA
White Mountain Ukulele Retreat, June 25-28, Tamworth, NH (I’ll be there)
Littleton Bluegrass Jam at the Loading Dock, 2nd and 3rd Sunday of the month (ukes welcome, email me if you want a copy of the songbook)
The winter and mud season sessions are as follows (subject to change):
1/15
1/29
2/12
2/26
3/5
3/19
4/2 rescheduled to 4/9
4/16 - at Iron Furnace Brewing
4/23
4/30 rescheduled to 4/23
5/14 - at Iron Furnace Brewing
Learn-to-play (or brush up on your skills) starts at 5:30 then from 6:00-7:00 we will play songs together, both new and familiar ones.
Winter sessions are held at the Franconia Community Church, 44 Church Street, Franconia.
Week 1
Beginner/Refresh Session:
We reviewed the parts of the ukulele, string numbers and names, finger numbers and names, and the chords C, Am, F, and G7. We played and sang some one chord songs:
Row, Row, Row Your Boat (C, F)
Three Blind Mice (C, F)
Are You Sleeping (C, F)
Have You Seen the Ghost of John (Am)
If a Fish (Am)
Jam Session
We played and sang:
Eleanor Rigby
Jambalaya
Jamaica Farewell
Sweet Caroline
And began learning Log Driver's Waltz.
We started learning the basics of strumming by clapping and counting to recorded music then connecting the counting to the down and up movement of the arm as it strums. Refer to the slides I used to remind yourself of the grid and how to understand strum patterns (e.g., D DU D DU) you see on song sheets or videos. We practiced the strum motion using the X chord (left hand lightly placed on strings to mute the sound).
We tried three strum patterns:
folk rhythm D D DUDU
boom diddy – D DU D DU
island strum – D DU UDU
Here are some ways to practice strumming skills:
Find a metronome app or use the internet, start at quarter note=30, count out loud, down strums only, up strums only, down and up strums, increase metronome by 10 each time.
Using the metronome at 60 BPM, count the beats out loud (1-2-3-4) and strum the X chord only on beat 1 for at least 4 groups of 4 (the group of 4 is called a measure). Next strum only on the "and" of beat 1. Repeat for each beat and "and" of a beat.
Listen to a recording of a song. Clap. Count 1-2-3-4, count 1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and. Strum X chord D D D D then DUDUDUDU then try one of the patterns.
Click on Resources in the menu above for more ideas and tools to help your learning journey.
Week 2
Beginner/Refresh Session
Review C, F, Am. Learned G7.
Played Stand by Me.
Jam Session
Strumming: Practiced keeping the right arm moving up and down in a steady fashion. Practiced a few strumming patterns.
Worked on Log Driver's Waltz.
New songs
Put a Little Love in Your Heart
Don't Worry Be Happy
Week 1
The two chords we learned this week were Fadd9 (F-ish, as in almost an F chord) and C7. Both use only the index finger of the left hand in the first fret.
We played the following songs using these two chords:
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Three Blind Mice
Are You Sleeping
Sing Wheels on the bus
Lime in the Coconut
Jambalaya
Alouette
Dance the Night Away
The YouTube playlist below has the play along videos we used. I will update it as we learn additional tunes.
You can search for play along videos on YouTube by entering the name of the song and "ukulele play along." Any song with mostly F and C should work for you. For now ignore any extra numbers with the letters like C7 or F7. If a song has additional chords, then just smile when it's time to play those and wait for a chord you know to come along.
Click on Resources at the top to learn about tools, websites, books, and more to help you learn to play.
Weeks 2 and 3
We learned four chords: C, Am, F, and G. See the chord diagrams below.
After practicing changing from one chord to another, we played the following songs using our new chords:
Row, Row, Row Your Boat (C)
Hey Ho Nobody Home (Am)
Jambalaya (F and C)
Eleanor Rigby (Am and F) *
Stand by Me (C, Am, F, and G) *
The songs with asterisks can be found on our YouTube playlist. I handed out "Achy Breaky Heart" and put it on the playlist.
You can access all of the handouts below or by adding this Google folder to your Google drive.
Starting Thursday, 8/28, I will be holding jam sessions every other Thursday at 5:30 pm throughout the fall. Bring your friends! Beginners are always welcome--I'll help them learn the basic chords so they can play with us.
Week 4
We reviewed C, Am, F, and G and learned G7.
We played the following songs using G7:
Buffalo Gals
Clementine
Jamaica Farewell
59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)
I Walk the Line
Next jam session is Thursday, 9/11 at 5:30 p.m.
Week 5
We reviewed C, Am, F, G, and G7 and played:
Stand By Me (play along)
59th Street Bridge Song
Best Day of My Life (play along)
You Are My Sunshine
The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Cecilia
Take Me Home Country Roads
All song sheets are in the Google folder below.
Next jam session is Thursday, 9/25 at 5:30 p.m.
Week 6
We reviewed, C, Am, F, G, and G7 and played:
59th Street Bridge Song
You Are My Sunshine
The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Cecilia
We learned the Hawaiian D7 chord and played
You Are My Sunshine in G major
12-bar blues using Strum Machine
We added Sweet Caroline to our repertoire this week.
All song sheets are in the Google folder, along with a chord diagram sheet.
Next jam session is Thursday, 10/16 at 5:30 p.m.
Week 7
After reviewing a few of the songs we know, we played When the Saints Go Marching In printed in 4 of the common ways that you'll see chord sheets in books and the Internet.
We reviewd the D7 chord and played This Land Is Your Land and learned Ring of Fire.
We ended with Surfin' USA.
Some folks stayed and we rehearsed the hymns that we played on Sunday at the Fraconia Community Church.
We'll be providing some entertainment for the community supper at the Franconia Community Church on Wednesday, 10/22. Meet at 4:45 at the church so we can set up. We'll decide at that time which songs we want to sing.
Next jam session is Thursday, 10/23 at 5:30 p.m.
Week 8
Warmed up with a few selections from our repertoire.
Learn the D and A7 chords.
Played songs we already learned but using D, G, and A7
Jamaica Farewell
You Are My Sunshine
This Land Is Your Land
Learned
Angel from Montgomery
Wagon Wheel
Margaritaville
Next jam session is Thursday, 10/30 at 5:30 p.m.
Week 9
Plan
Review D chord.
Jamaica Farewell
You Are My Sunshine
This Land Is Your Land
Practice
Angel from Montgomery
Wagon Wheel
Magaritaville
Learn A chord
These Boots Were Made for Walking
I'm a Believer
Eight Days a Week
Next jam session is Thursday, 11/20 at 5:30 p.m. We'll learn some Christmas songs.
Week 10
Christmas Caroling on December 4 at 5:00 p.m. for the Old Thyme Christmas in Lancaster. More details to come.