The Seasonistas Anthem, Ukulele Underground Forum - a Mega-Ukafrolic!

Adapted for the Seasons of the Ukulele
of the UkuleleUnderground.com Forum

It's so good to be part of a ukulele community, people who share your love of the instrument. I take part in no less than four uke communities; James Hill's The Ukulele Way, which I jumped aboard and told you about yesterday, being the fourth. If you are a regular reader, (and thank you, if you are!) you'll know that I'm a keen member of the George Formby Society here in England, where LSH (Long-Suffering-Husband)and I have made a lot of friends. I often post about their meetings and conventions, and feature Formby players here and in the States. A local ukulele group Go Ukulele Crazy is another uke community that I belong to. They meet weekly to play and sing songs, and do concerts around the area. And then there's the Ukulele Underground Forum.

The UU Forum was the first uke community that I joined. A great bunch of people, so friendly and willing to help others and offer good advice... a couple of years ago, one of the members encouraged me to start taking part in the Seasons of the Ukulele contests, where one member in turn suggests a theme for songs, and folk find a song and send in a video. All great fun. And someone wins. The whole thing is a great confidence builder, when it comes to performance, singing and playing, and getting used to being video'd. And seeing yourself on video is great self-feedback about what you're doing right, and what you need to work on!

And now, the video above - what a fantastic Ukafrolic is that! So many of the folk playing there are my internet friends and I have even skyped with one or two! The editing job is simply stupendous, don't you agree? I love the addition of drums, glockenspiel, kazoo, and the recorder was a nice surprise! Lovely sound from Geoff there!

As I'm trying to get ready for my next Ukafrolic, the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain in Cheltenham (from tomorrow) I'll publish this post with no further ado!

Thanks for dropping in.... keep on strumming!

Counting off the days, but winter hasn't finished with us yet....

Spring can't come quickly enough for me and I am literally counting the days off now until March 1st. I know it isn't officially Spring then, but as far as I'm concerned, it is... the last heavy snowfalls left us with ten inches of lying snow in the garden; pretty, yes, but we're not really geared up to snow here in England - the weather can change so quickly because of our position on the edge of the European continental shelf that winter tyres and such are never a serious consideration. So we slither and slide about and bump and grumble, and some of us more or less hibernate. Like me. Last month LSH (Long-Suffering-Husband) was laughing "Some women extol the virtues of a new dress - with my wife it's the virtues of a new snow shovel!" In the winter, it's true. Well the new snow shovel is getting its first outing this morning because the snow came again last night and we have two inches (that's 5cm) on the drive to clear.

The summerhouse and the flowering cherry tree look pretty with their covering of snow, don't you think? Pic taken this morning. When the weather gets warmer I can't wait to get out there with my ukulele. As I wrote the other day on the Summerhouse Practice List page: "The summerhouse has been a no-go zone since the last update, as it's still winter, and temperatures hover around freezing. But in the garden plants are coming up, buds are swelling and with the sun on it, the summerhouse is beginning to look inviting - as soon as warmer days arrive, I'll be out there.... can't wait....and then this list will need revising..."


And talking about practice, I'm emulating the butterflies again and flitting about between uke skills and genres of music...

With two trips booked to Blackpool to the George Formby Society convention, I'm trying to learn more Formby songs by heart - or the music, at least, so that I can join in the "thrash" without being visually glued to someone else's fingerboard to copy the chords.

Not to mention my Formby strums - split-stroke, shake and triples, and putting them all together....

I also keep returning to ukulelezaza's interpretation of Mr Sandman.... chord melody. Watch out for that coming up here...

And the jazz standards with those wonderful minor 7th and diminished chords - can't leave them alone....

Also I yearn to be able to play a more sophisticated fingerstyle as song accompaniments.

I can't ignore any of these things for long....but the snow shovel is beckoning and I must away. Tonight, my other passion - tap-dance. Oh, yes. Learning the dance to "42nd Street"... it's fast, it's fun and I love it.

Keep living til you die......thanks for dropping in, ukers....

Playing "Window Cleaner" - Did It!

Yes, I did it - I didn't sing it, mind - I would have felt particularly silly singing the greatest Peeping Tom song of all time, as a female of senior years - but it was great fun to contribute to the general entertainment, and I'd given myself a good talking-to before we went out - as well as re-reading Caroline Robson's advice on stage-fright. (September post) And do you know what - I got through that split-stroke solo... it was very basic, but it was there. A bit rough, but it was there. I let LSH make the introductory jokes, all at my expense of course - kept smiling! And I just kept on smiling, and did it!

I slid out of the room to get my uke ready during the stand-up bingo. (That's a great after dinner game - everyone buys a bingo ticket, everyone stands as the numbers are called out, but they sit down as soon as one of their numbers is called. Last person standing is the winner.) I checked the tuning and started to go through the solo for a warm-up - but the game was over so fast, even before I'd finished - no time to think and get nervous, we were on!

It is good to play for a friendly home crowd, but having someone alongside to share the load and the attention was a big help to me - (fortunately, Long-Suffering-Husband actually enjoys performing, but doesn't play,) and it does help to know that everyone wants to enjoy themselves and wants you to do well. I know those chords so well, it was only the solo that I was unsure of getting through - but yes, it was a good day after all, the atmosphere was great, and with a following wind behind me and a G&T inside me, I did it. It does feel like a bit of an achievement, though I know it's only a start, as Formby-type solos go. Something to build on. And LSH said it was the best I'd done it.... funny, that....

On 24th November, I told you how Jonathan Richards had helped me to get my head round Formby soloing, and promised to let you know how I got on with it - well, this is how I got on! So, thanks to Jonathan, (GFS Convention November) and to Caroline Robson for the support and general good advice! What lovely people.....

How's my split-stroke? Well, my finger's bleeding....

Thanks to one kind young man name of Johnathan Richards, I can now see how the Formby syncopated split-stroke fits into the structure of the chords for a solo... and on a good day with a following wind, I can just about get through a very basic solo passage for Cleaning Windows... but I can't believe I've really got the gall to be standing up doing it in front of an audience tomorrow night. Well. I won't be singing it, that's one thing - LSH (Long-Suffering-Husband) will be doing the honours there... and the 60-strong audience are not paying, so I've no shame - it's a DIY entertainment after a Christmas dinner - all friends and friends-of-friends, and fairly forgiving (thank goodness) after a good meal and a few glasses of wine - but these last few days, after returning from a holiday in the sun doing nothing but read books and lounge about, it's been a frenzy of Christmas preparations and banjo-uke practice. Hence no time for blogging... LSH is full of advice, which I endure with gritted teeth; (he doesn't play...) "Practice with a metronome..." "They only want to hear the solo..." "Can't you give it a bit more welly...!" Grrrrr... just get your words right, Darling....

With luck, by the time it's our turn, they'll all be past caring - which will be just as well, because there simply won't be a following wind...

Why aren't I doing something easier? Now that's a very good question. Perhaps because my Beloved thinks it's only worth playing a banjo-uke if you do the split-strokes and triples... it certainly would be much easier to give 'em Five Foot Two ....

So - I'll let you know how it goes... keep your fingers crossed for me!

Below, you'll find Johnathan's brother Matthew and his wonderful tuition video on the split-stroke. He recommends doing Madame Moscovitch for starters..... Shoulda. I really shoulda......

Basic clawhammer ukulele secrets - Tim Keough

After watching yesterday's video post of Tim playing "Ain't No Grave" clawhammer uke, if you're anything like me, you'll be wanting to know just how that playing style is achieved... well, it just so happens that Tim has made an excellent tuition video on beginning clawhammer, and here it is.



Tim (ukuleletim) has a great website, "ukulelesecrets"

He writes -

"The idea is to learn how to play well in a short period of time. Like a badass.

I share secrets that make you sound good.

You still have to practice… but it will take years off your learning curve."

That sounds good to me!

A Sunday in late summer, and the summerhouse beckons...

Late August equals late summer in the UK. Next month it will be early autumn in my book. My calendar book runs like this - September, October, November, that's autumn; December, January, February, winter; March, April, May, spring; June, July, August, summer. And summer will soon be no more.

It's Sunday morning and ten minutes ago at 11 a.m., our south-facing patio had a distinct feel of early autumn about it, the sky under thin cloud, the air just warm, the breeze carrying a hint of the cooler weather to come, the light definitely autumnal. Earlier this morning, LSH (Long-Suffering Husband) had declared on the phone to an aunt in another part of the country that autumn had arrived in the West Midlands. It's in the light, in the air...

The birds know it - three weeks ago in Brecon, South Wales, we had sat in a garden, the sun cracking the flags, watching the swifts zooming around above us in screaming parties - it was about 8th August, and it's a fact that by the 12th August, the last swifts have left our shores, headed south back to their winter quarters in Africa. In the next few weeks, the swallows will be following them. At least, we returned from Brecon with a prize - the old washboard. LSH will soon be playing it, when we have tracked down a supply of thimbles for his fingers.

Now, though, the sun has broken through, the patio is immediately too hot and I have retreated to my favourite place in the garden - my summerhouse. Airy, shady, sheltered, peaceful, private... where I can have fresh air and gaze upon the garden. Today it is gazing back at me reproachfully. This year I have neglected it, hardly done a thing. Four weeks of solid rain in April and a further six weeks of solid rain in June/July have much to do with it - the rest, I must admit, is down to my ukulele. The weeds and dead rose-heads stare at me sullenly - that is how I see them. It's guilt.

Last year, the roses and I fought a gallant battle together against the fungal disease "rust", but this year the roses have had to fend for themselves - I haven't even fed them.

It's no use, I'll have to get the old scourge and hair shirt out again...

On second thoughts, the garden fork, secateurs and fish, blood and bonemeal would be far more practical...

After I've run through my "Summerhouse Practice List" or new set of uke targets, that is...

Today's musical ventures....

Today's great musical acquisition - a kazoo. Or rather, his 'n hers kazoos - got LSH one as well. Now we can do kazoo duets. It'll go with the old washboard we came across in Brecon the other week.... I spotted it, he grabbed it and laid claim to it... handed over the £12 asking price and tucked it under his arm with smug self-satisfaction....."Keep your filthy hands off it - that's mine!" was the loving remark as we left the shop. We talk to each other like that - that's forty years of marriage for you.


Also today - I've restrung my Slingerland banjo-uke again. I'd got some fluorocarbon strings on it, and had tried to tune it up to D tuning, but I could tell the strings didn't like it - sure enough, the 1st string broke. So I've gone for nylon strings this time, after recommendations from Johnny Foodstamp and others in the George Formby Society. They arrived today, I've put them on and they have gone up to D tuning without a grumble - so I think I'll be happy with those. Full marks and many thanks to the obliging folk who run the GFS shop online.

Been playing the banjo-uke and kazoo together... now that's what I call fun!

New short-term targets for playing my uke...

Right - my progress on the uke seems to have stalled for lack of focus. These targets need firming up - but roughly, this is what I think I need to do over the next four weeks....



Learn the notes for the ukulele fingerboard thoroughly up to the first five frets. Further if possible. (C tuning)

Learn chords in the 2nd position for the most common chords.

Practice chord changes to/from Em

Finish learning "Cherry Blossoms" (Mike Lynch piece)

Start learning a new chord solo - "Going Home" (Mike Lynch arrangement)

Start learning a new fingerpicking piece - bluegrass

Practice playing by ear

Learn the chords to one of my favourite songs, so I don't always have to find the sheet - eg "Til There Was You"

(Banjo-uke - sort something specific out)


More than enough there..... that'll do!


Good intentions - I'm so good at those...

Grinding to a halt, ukulele-wise

Suddenly, ukulele-wise, I feel that I am wading thigh-deep in water with the current against me - and it's because I've suddenly lost direction and focus.

The reason is clear; I'm faffing about too much on the internet. I'm reading the Forum (Ukulele Underground Forum) and watching Youtube uke videos instead of playing and practising. Silly, silly...

So I know what I need to do....

Set limits on internet time; play more ukulele.

Set targets again - particular pieces to work on and learn - for me, that works.

.......

You've read it before and here it is again.... the only way to get better is.....

practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice
practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice
practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice
practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice
practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice


Meanwhile, someone has to wash up, do a bit of housework.


In the doldrums....


Better get on with it.

A GENTLE WAVE - Ukulele Improvisation by Ken Middleton

Just the thing for a peaceful Sunday - tranquility, a calm sea and beautiful sounds from a ukulele. I've already listened to this three times - the usual, when I have really enjoyed a piece of music.

Ken Middleton is a dab-hand at improvisation. I wish I could do it - I know that I could, if I knew my way round the uke fret-board - and there's only one answer to that - work at it.

You have to know your way round the ukulele the way that you know your way round your own house - blindfold. To know where everything is. On the ukulele, that means every note, every chord, every progression, every movement by step up and down an scale, every leap to the note you want... and it means work, concentration and application, and exercising your memory. If you rely completely on chord charts and tabs, you never learn to master the instrument, because you don't know it intimately enough - it's like knowing something only second-hand, somehow.

You also need to know something about structure - structure of a musical piece. If you play, you know that most pieces are played in one key - and the most common key for the uke is the key of C - because that's the easiest key to play in for the ukulele. But a piece of music also has a musical form or shape - and a very common and basic one is AABA.

"Whaaat?" Don't panic. Think of a song - better still, look here, at how music works. I don't believe in reinventing the wheel - this chap explains it very well..... AABA song structure is actually very, very familiar to all of us!

For more detail look at 32 bar form.

AABA is just for starters, but it's a very good start, and enough to keep you going and thinking for a while.

So, knowing a bit about structure in music helps when you want to improvise. Is it essential? Well, it certainly gives you a framework, which you can build on.

Trying to remember how to play pieces without the papers in front of you is a great starter - keep the music nearby to go to when you're stuck, but remember, memorising the musical pathways is a great learning pathway to knowing your instrument. And anyway, it's so much nicer to be able to pick up your uke and just play it, instead of always having to have the music up in front of you.

So - if you want to be able to improvise, know your instrument. I resolve to get to know mine. And start looking at how pieces of music are structured. It's really interesting!

World's Smallest Playable Ukulele? Will Grove-White demonstrates....

The soprano ukulele is a small instrument, it goes without saying. New players often buy a soprano and find it tricky to get their fingers round the chord shapes on the fingerboard. They think that it's going to be a permanent problem to them, and swiftly move on to one of the larger sizes, a concert or a tenor. But in truth, these fingering problems are pretty soon overcome with practice, and people who have thought the soprano to be a no-go area for them do find that when they return to that size, they can play it much more easily, after lots of practice with a larger fingerboard.

The soprano is the traditional size for the uke, and the late great Roy Smeck, "Wizard of the Strings" and arguably the best player ever, never played any other size, even though he did not possess slim fingers. Experienced players agree, it just takes time to get your fingers accustomed to the small fretboard.

Following a discussion on this very subject on the Ukulele Underground Forum, I saw this video, by Will Grove-White, one of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain.



Will writes:

"I have recently acquired this wonderful microscopic ukulele. I think it's meant to be a desk ornament or perhaps a fridge magnet. It is only just possible to play it. It is a miniature Tangi Ukulele. Thanks very much to Mike and pfrogner. If this tickles your fancy, you may like to hear more of my music at http://www.willgrovewhite.com/"

Well, it did tickle my fancy, and I followed the link, to read more. It just so happens that Will has a new CD out, called "Small Fry". Just click for the page.... you can listen to the new album there, and buy it if you like it! I liked it, and will be buying.

He writes: "It's a collection of my own tunes, played by a pocket orchestra. I used a menagerie of small-scale instruments for the recording of this album, from the Piccolo Trombone to the Sopranino Ukulele, so the listener is able to delight in both musical and dimensional scales. So why not put the album on your compact hi-fi, sit back in a tiny armchair, eat a mini-roll, and forget that you might want a bigger house."

I'm lucky enough to have seen the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain live, at the Albert Hall in London. It was the proms concert in 2009 where the audience were invited to bring their ukes along and join in - and I did. What a fabulous Ukafrolic that was!

And another story.

Tip of the Day for Beginners - Play a 3 Chord Song by Ear

And another ukulele hero - Jim D'Ville

The best way to develop your musical skills is to test them, challenge them - and develop your musical "ear".

Check over the list of 3 chord songs on the 3 chord song page here... choose a song that you're familiar with, and have a go at strumming it without a song sheet.

Chances are, the first chord will be C, because when you play a 3 chord song with C, F and G7, you're "in the key of C" and C is the chord you'll start with and end with - it's the "home chord".

You may well hear when the chord should change - and you've only a choice of 2! As you go through it, and it will likely be by trial and error for a while, try to remember the right chords as you find them. Practice changing chords in the right place - it will get easier. It's rather like doing a puzzle, but the right chord will sound right, that's the thing.

Gradually you will learn the song. A boost for your skills, and a big boost for your confidence!

I love this approach and I've always played by ear from childhood, being desperate to play (piano, recorder) and unable to lay my hands on sheet music, I used to work it out. It was and is fun....I still do it - it's only practice, and perseverance. I'm not brilliant at it; (Jools Holland learned to play piano by ear and IS brilliant...)

Of course, 2 and 3 chord songs are only the beginning - as new chords are added to those three in more complex arrangements, the interplay of major and minor chords is an entrancing revelation.

A big ukulele exponent of playing by ear is Jim D'Ville. Check out his website, there's great stuff on there - and a link to his "3 Chord Club" - worth more than a few minutes!

So you're starting to play a ukulele? Three sets of chords to really get you going quickly!

I've seen some pretty good websites with great tips on how to start to learn to play a ukulele. Okay, an ukulele if you like. But having just given one as a gift to a complete beginner, I thought I'd share my views on learning to play with you.

You want to play because you want to play song accompaniments, for starters, yes? Ok.

Set of Chords 1 - C, G7, F

Learn just 2 chords and you'll be started. There are quite a few songs that you can play using just two chords!

I don't have the means to show you how to finger chords on this blog - there are plenty of websites where you can learn that, and one of my favourites is (ukulelemike) Mike Lynch's website, allthingsukulele.com. His first beginners' page with chord shapes is right here.

Another very good one is ukeschool.com. Here's the page for C, G7 and F

The key of C is the easiest key to play in to start off with, because the home chord C needs only one finger on one string on the fingerboard.

So learn the C chord, using your ring finger (3rd finger) in the space just before the third fret, bottom string (A string).

Then learn the chord G7.

Slide that ring finger down to just behind the second fret and put your first finger at the first fret, next string (E string); middle finger to the third fret, the next string (C string).

Practise playing those two chords and changing smoothly between them.
It all feels awkward and tricky at first but that soon goes with a bit of practice and you'll be away!

Now you can play "Dance the Night Away" and "Cockles and Mussels"!

Start with C, and your ear should tell you when C no longer sounds right, and you need to change to G7. And so on.

If you are of a certain age, you'll remember "The Banana Boat Song"; popular on the radio.
"Day-oh, day-oh! Daylight come and I wanna go home!"
Another 2 chord song, easy to sing and play using C and G7.

The next chord to learn is F.

From G7, leave your first finger in place and move your second finger over to the 2nd fret, top string. (G string).

Practise changing between these three chords; they belong together.

There are loads of songs you can do with just three chords! I'll make a list on another page.

So - the key of C, three chords - C (home chord) G7, F

C, G7, F

Set of Chords 2 - Am, Dm, C7

The 2nd set of chords to learn to enrich your playing and greatly increase your repertoire is

Am, Dm, C7

Adding these chords gives you some common chord progressions, which sound just great and are used in many songs.

One such chord progression is C, Am, F, G7 - repeat.

Also C, Am, Dm, G7

Practise changing through these progressions.

Set of Chords 3 - D7, E7, A7

Your 3rd set of chords to learn is D7 (both fingerings), E7, A7.

With these nine chords under your belt, you'll be well on your way.

In my next few posts, I'll list some songs, using 1st set, incorporating 2nd set, then incorporating 3rd sets of chords.

The Summerhouse Practice List

Days like this you want to bottle and keep. The best early summer weather; cloudless blue skies, a suspicion of a breeze, the air soft and warm...

LSH (Long-Suffering-Husband) decided to do just that this morning - bottle it - and went off in search on elderflowers to make elderflower cordial. But he returned disappointed; it's just a bit early. In the hedgerows the elder blossoms are only just starting to come out, but the May blossom with its heavy, heady, intoxicating scent is flaunting itself everywhere. In the garden, the cherry blossom has gone but the azaleas, rhododendrons and the few alliums are at their best, and the grass is the greenest and lushest that it will be all year.

We've waited for two miserable months for this - but it's here. It's nearly June, and like in Carousel, it'll be bustin' out all over.

And at last I've opened the doors to my summerhouse.

A gift from LSH, my summerhouse has been my joy for the last two summers. I treated the outside, stained the inside, laid flooring, made curtains and drapes, bought souvenirs from trips to hang on the walls, and bought little tables and easy chairs. It's a haven at the bottom of the garden. I sit out of the heat when it's hot, and out of the wind when it's breezy.

And now - yes, I've been playing my ukulele in there.

Yesterday I promised myself half an hour - but it stretched to over an hour. I went straight through my practice file - then back again in reverse. Today; half an hour's playing... a glass of wine... and a snooze. Oh bliss!

So here's my practice file; the ukulele music I love, that challenges me just enough.

My Practice List

Wildwood Flower - practising to perfect; bluegrass, Ken Middleton's tab.
Finlandia - ukulelemike Mike Lynch's arrangement
Cherry Blossoms - Mike Lynch
Here Comes The Sun - Richard G's Ukulele Songbook
Mister Sandman
Til There Was You - Meredith Wilson
Just the Way You Look - Jerome Kern
Sunny Afternoon - The Kinks
My Canary Has Circles Under His Eyes - Richard G's Ukulele Songbook
I Can't Give You Anything but Love - Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields
Where or When - Rodgers & Hart
I'll See You in my Dreams

Two conversations and a big surprise - and a new uke-mate!

Last night was rehearsal night at our amateur operatic society. We've recently finished a show - my last on stage, as I've said on here before. But we have begun rehearsing for a concert in September - a first for us, and the singing is fun, different songs and arrangements from what we usually do. Afterwards it was down to the pub as usual for a bit of social. I was chatting to one of our main principals, a lady of huge vocal and acting versatility... and a rather direct way with talk. Somehow the subject got on to my uke and banjolele - not things that usually come into the conversation with this circle of mates, but at the party on Saturday I'd led a sing-along with my ukes and LSH (Long-Suffering-Husband) must have mentioned it. It's funny how a question can take you totally by surprise and unnerve you somewhat - like "How good ARE you?"

Straight away I came back with "Not very..." which is interesting because a thought that came straight into my mind at that point was that how "good" you are is completely relative - relative to how well others play. Compared to any of my ukulele heroes featured in this blog, I am total crap, of course. Never will be half as good as any of them. But compared to a real beginner who's just learning the first few chords, I know I've come a long way over the last six months. Still don't know what I should have said... think I'll ask the good folks on Ukulele Underground Forum...... they'll have some smart answers for sure!

I think the word "ukulele" must have filtered through to one of the groups of men from the society who were standing nearer the door as we were leaving. Another of our principals - a very nice young feller with a lovely tenor voice - told me that he has a pet uke and banjolele! I thought he was joshing with me, but no - it's true, he has indeed... so at last I find there is another uke freak in my social circle! It makes me feel quite excited, I don't know why....

Perhaps I could persuade him to do a video......? :D

Happy Birthday Huw - A Party with DIY Music - Simply Wonderful!

Have just returned with LSH (Long-Suffering Husband)from a great holiday in the Italian Lakes. Without my ukulele. Definitely suffered from finger-itch. But only a day left to prepare for ... playing for a sing-along at a party!

A close friend was celebrating a "landmark birthday". 70 years young. Now then, you have to understand - he and his family are - Welsh. Music and singing is in the blood. Every November the four of us, two couples, work on a bit of singing in four part harmony, ready to sing for a gathering at the regular Christmas party. We sing in English, for an English gathering. But as I said, these friends are Welsh, Welsh is their first language and any family gathering is seized upon as an opportunity for the family to sing, in harmony, in Welsh - and it always sounds wonderful.

So at lunchtime today there was the birthday celebration. Unknown to the "birthday boy" his wife had roped in family and friends to provide entertainment, largely musical, after the meal. Would I please play my ukulele and banjolele for a sing-song? Of course I would! Gnashing of finger-nails..... I LOVE to play - but the fingers do try to turn to thumbs under pressure. Yesterday - decide on the songs and prepare song sheets for the gathering.

Friends and family had gathered from far and near. North Wales, Bristol, London, Northumberland... and the first party piece was one of the grandsons, a ten year old, on his violin. And it was great! The William Tell theme... the room thundered with cheers and applause as he finished, and his little face shone.

There followed Welsh songs by the family - tunes familiar to many of us - Men of Harlech, All Through the Night - but the words not, of course. It was moving.

Then it was our turn, LSH and myself. Leaning on a Lamppost, a George Formby number, with my little Slingerland Maybelle making her first solo appearance in decades. (She's a well-preserved 20's banjolele). She seems so loud at home - but in a room full of people joining in the singing and a few murmuring children, I was struggling to hear her myself....but it went down well.

Then the English Sing-along, led my myself with banjolele and uke - Give Me Sunshine; great first song, lovely mood... Putting on the Style, successful. Then I took a risk. I knew it was a risk. Ghost Riders in the Sky. A cracking song, but the trouble is that no-one knows how long to hold on the long notes - and everyone does their own thing! A bit disastrous and not really to be recommended. I aborted it half-way through, but not before we'd enjoyed a Yippee-i-ay chorus! I thought it was time to quit but I'd given out song sheets and the cry went up for The Banana Boat Song.... Day-oh! That went down a storm. Well it was all great fun and everyone seemed to enjoy it - even my son, who had declared that no way would he sing, was caught joining in.

Another offering in Welsh - the Thomas family all singing something from "Under Milkwood" by Dylan Thomas - no relation. And Huw at the end, contributing a solo in his own lovely voice. Another close friend, by request, contributed a humorous monologue - in costume. Has to be seen to be believed. What a lovely party.

I can't help thinking that parties like this are a rarity in the modern age. It was a gem.

As the party began to wind up, one of the family, a young man of great musicality, admitted to me to being very curious about the ukulele - one minute to teach him the first three chords and he was playing. I just know he'll be the owner of a uke before next week is out!

Just a day in the life of a lady with a ukulele or two.

Didn't we Have a Luverly Time, the Day we Went to Desford!

In the heart of rural England, not far from Market Bosworth and the site of the Battle of Bosworth Field, preparing to play in the Go Ukulele Crazy spot at "Desford Together". Everybody sing along, now! And at last the sun came out. Well, with all those cheerful little ukuleles, it would, wouldn't it!

In the final two numbers, the banjo-ukes are allowed to join in - (they're so loud, you know!) And my little 1920's Slingerland Maybelle comes out of retirement after.... decades! "Leaning on a Lamppost"

Well wasn't that fun! Take a bow, ladies and gents!

My Uke-Leash has Arrived!

I found and joined a local uke group last week, and quickly decided that I really did need a ukulele strap.

I'd seen the Uke Leash talked about on the Ukulele Undergound Forum, and checked out the website where Lori sells them. It looked a great piece of kit for someone still struggling with holding a ukulele easily while changing chords - and the sight of my group leader sporting a home-made strap convinced me that yes - a strap is nothing to be ashamed of!

I ordered one the very next day, posted to the blog about it, and it has now arrived here in the UK from California. It came just in time for me to attach the detachable headstock end to my ukulele before heading off to my second ukulele group meeting!

As soon as I put it on I knew that I'd made the right decision! It really does help, and it's very comfortable! The Uke Leash is a quality strap, the main strap being easily unclipped from the part attached to the headstock. You wear the strap around the right shoulder if you are right-handed, and the length of the strap is easily adjusted. I love it! The polypropylene strap is available in a wide variety of colours, with or without a Uke Leash logo - your choice.

If you have more than one ukulele, you can buy additional headstock ends, so you only use one main strap between instruments! Brilliant. What a great product!

Congratulations Lori!

On Order - a Uke Leash!

It's reassuring to know that I'm not the only ukulele player to have a problem holding the thing well. With a guitar, you sit and support it on your knee, or use a strap when standing - but a ukulele is so small that it's not so straightforward. The neck can slip alarmingly when changing certain chords. But I am not alone with this problem, and I've seen the Uke Leash recommended on the Ukulele Underground Forum. At the Uke group yesterday, most people were using a strap of a similar design - a strap from the neck of the uke to a loop that goes over the opposite arm and sits round the shoulder. It simply stops the uke from slipping down. You can easily make a strap like this, but I want one that will unclip from the peghead - so I've ordered one. They have to come from America, but that's okay - I've had no problems with deliveries from the States.

So - I expect it may take a couple of weeks - we'll see! And then I'll review it. Watch this space!