So why am I now having ukulele lessons, after all this time?

So why, after owning a uke for nine years and starting to try to seriously get to grips with it for three and a half, have I decided to start taking lessons just now? After all, I’ve been getting on OK on my own, following videos and so on; I can play quite a few chords, do an instrumental or two, play a couple of tricky strums, have fun on my own or with other folks… well. It’s because it was gradually dawning on me that I need guidance… and taking in hand. Some discipline. A route through the maze. I’ve been having lots of fun for more than three years, dipping into this, having a go at that, but I came to think that learning in my own way was rather like herding cats. Because there’s Chord Melody cat, Jazz Standards cat, Blues cat, the George Formby-style cat… and chief cat Myself was actually not doing the most productive and efficient job iof turning me into a half-decent player - which is what I want to be. To make faster progress I needed a proper shepherd. What’s more, I hate Skype, and I realised ages ago that if I were to have uke lessons, they would have to be face-to-face ones...

So the bottom line is, I’m having lessons with the wonderful Phil Doleman, (more about Phil later…. ) Lucky me…. He lives not TOO far away for me to travel. Right now I’ve had three lessons, and already I know it’s paying off…. Phil’s a great teacher, and his love of the music of the 20’s and 30’s and blues suits me down to a T.

This is a piece he gave me a couple of weeks ago. Shine on Harvest Moon. Still a little ragged, but definitely getting there!



This is unlisted... but I'll do another video when I can play it better!

If you watched - thank you! And if you are learning to play the uke, don't stop!

A little practice on a beautiful island - that's the way to do it! Lucky me....

The last day of the year, and how hectic it's been, 2014. A good year, I can't complain. Two big ukulele festivals here in England, and all four George Formby Society convention weekends in Blackpool. Long Suffering Husband only declined to accompany me to one - Cheltenham. Add to that lots of good company with lovely people - simply fantastic! So now I'm trying to play catch up.

October saw us having a wonderfully relaxing two weeks on the Greek island of Zakynthos.

The uke came too, of course.... Little Blue Uke... and our lovely verandah was the perfect place to sit for a gentle strum now and then.

What am I playing here? Practising chord melody, "Autumn Leaves" from Sarah Maisel's excellent workshop in Cheltenham, where she shared her strategy for working out chord melody. Seriously good stuff. Challenging on the day - but we all came away having truly learned something worthwhile, a tool to use to work out instrumentals. And a peaceful, relaxed environment with no chores to call you away is the perfect place to concentrate... and enjoy!

Beautiful island, blissful couple of weeks.

Nailed a few targets ... feels rather nice.....

Been practising... using my practice file... and I have managed to learn some of the things I listed a couple of months ago, so I can play them without a sheet in front of me. It feels good to have nailed a few targets - for example:-

Ukulelezaza's tab for the chord melody version of Mr Sandman,
Twilight Time,
Til There Was You,
Dream a Little Dream of Me,
Whispering

and - C6 C#dim Dm7 G7 up the neck. (see post 21st January, 2013 for the tuition video by Marcy)

Time to look at a few new targets!

I haven't posted here for a week or two - life has been pretty hectic and I wanted to work hard on learning some pieces. I must say, though, I do appreciate you looking in, and I look forward to comments, though I can't promise to publish every single one, especially if there are links to stuff that doesn't really fit in my blog. And I've been feeling a bit subdued - you know how life is just like that sometimes? Sure you do... and LSH (Long-Suffering-Husband) and I have been out and about quite a bit lately; short breaks, taking advantage of the nice weather to see a bit more of the country... but I have had a strum almost every day, a little one or a long one, it's fine as long as long as I can play a uke for a while.

I mean to do another post on the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain, held in Cheltenham last month. It's just a while coming, sorry! As I say, a I'm bit subdued and lacking in the necessary oooomph. Life can't be rosy all the time. And sometimes it's distinctly a darker colour altogether. Time for a cup of tea and a strum - in the summerhouse..... yes...... see you again soon, I promise!

Ukulele quote of the day, #4

Hi! And thanks for dropping in! Sorry I've not been around; I've been away on holiday to tropical parts, and I can't wait to tell you all about it - and I could not resist taking a uke with me, I must add - but more of that later. It's a beautiful day here in England, somewhat rare over the last twelve months or more, and I don't want to miss it sitting here inside hammering away on my PC.... so for now, here's a quote worth sharing. It's not exclusively "ukulele" - but the cap fits, so to speak. I just read it on a great website I recently discovered. Mote of that later, too....

Here it is... when it comes to being a better player, to achieving mastery over your instrument...

“There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going.” ~Beverly Sills

Yes... sorry about that, but we are all in the same boat, plugging away at the practice!

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....

Split-stroke with a metronome? You've got to be kidding!

Yes, I followed my Beloved's advice; I set a speed for the metronome and began to play along..... fine until - the banjo-uke solo. Play syncopation with a tick-tock on the beat? No way, absolutely no way. I was all over the place. May the Lord help me if helpful, encouraging folk start to clap along with us tonight... I will be finished, without a doubt. Please don't let them clap along...

And another thing - can't play with a bandaged finger - if the blood flows, then the blood flows, so be it. It's sharp fret-ends - catch them at the side of your nail and you draw blood...

At least the carols should go well - we're doing a couple of carols in four part harmony with two friends. The Boar's Head Carol and the Sans Day Carol - just the choruses in harmony... not too difficult, you can hide your voice among the others, and it goes down well.

As for the split-stroke solo - LSH came in this morning while I was practising - a little bit faster - "That sounds better," he said - praise indeed. But will the stage-fright and lack of opportunity for a quick warm-up just wreck the brain-hand coordination... probably, yes. But I'll be in good company, won't I - if Frank Skinner can come unstuck with it...

And I've tightened the vellum again - just a little turn on each nut, missing two out all the way round until I'd done them all. It does sound better -

Oh well, nearly there...

Success with Cherry Blossoms instrumental in the Season of Mists...

These autumn mornings, I can't look out of bedroom window without recalling the first few lines of Keats' Ode to Autumn, so painstakingly learned at school all those years ago...

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;"

They are surely fitting lines for this day, this Sunday... we live at the top of a hill - not a big hill, but a hill nonetheless, and on these autumn days the cloud can be so low as to hang just above the ground and obscure the usual view across the roofs and trees. Quite a pleasant view normally, although there are no thatch-eaves to be seen! AT 11.20 this morning the sun was trying hard to burn that mist off - and now, half an hour later it has partially succeeded, revealing the tall trees behind the houses that back onto ours - but beyond that all remains obscured by the mist. And I notice that overnight, the leaves on our flowering cherry tree have finally begun to turn gold.

They are actually very late this year, some trees in neighbouring gardens are glowing red already, but I put the steadfast October greenness of ours down to the heavy rain we have had all summer - the wettest summer in the UK since records began in the 1700s.

The descent into autumn and winter always has the effect of making me feel quite melancholy - a bright, sunny day can be depended upon to lift my mood dramatically, but I adore the spring and look forward to seeing the cherry blossom tree swathed in white once more.

And talking of Cherry Blossom, I spent an evening last week working hard to finish learning Mike Lynch's Cherry Blossoms fingerstyle instrumental solo - and I finally nailed it. One of my short-term targets that I set a while back. Late, but I nailed it. My other targets, sadly, are not going so well, as I remain a butterfly, flitting about from piece to piece, skill to skill, making slow progress across too-wide a path. Ah me. BUT - You know what? I'm still having so much FUN!

(Psst - I'll let you see how I got on with it - on the "Summerhouse Practice List" page there's a link - don't tell anyone I told you though......!)

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...

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.

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

What Happened when I put Uke Practice on my "To do" List

A few years back I'd been enthusiastically playing my ukulele for some weeks. I decided that it would be an awfully good idea and highly organized of me to schedule at least fifteen minutes daily ukulele practice, in order to make good progress.

Dear reader, I did a very foolish thing.

I wrote "fifteen minutes ukulele practice" at the top of my daily "to do" list.

Result? The uke sat on a shelf, unplayed, for two whole years.

You see, there is something of a rebel in me - and I'm daft enough even to rebel against myself. Things that have to be done will be put off until the last possible moment or, if possible, avoided altogether.

So now, I have learnt my lesson. My uke and banjolele are never scheduled - and you can guess the rest! ;)