bethanie's Journal: [YIDPU*] How do you solve a problem like...

...Bethanie?

Indeed, the hills of NE Georgia are alive with the sound of "music."

I attended my first ukulele band practice session today -- and BOY was it FUN!!

I had bought a baritone uke a week ago Friday, but hadn't gotten around to practicing with it at all, so I went into this gathering COMPLETELY clueless as to what I was doing.

OK, maybe not *completely*, because back when I was 18 I tried to teach myself guitar so I actually understood the concept of fingers on strings and frets and reading fingering charts and such. But back when I was doing that, I was teaching myself picking and not chords ('cause I believed my mother when she told me I couldn't -- and shouldn't -- sing. That may still be very true, but at this point I have lost all sense of shame and shed all my inhibitions).

In any case, there were four of us there today, in about a 6'x10' space -- the clear floor space in the front of the proprietor's music store (she's also the leader of the band) -- with chairs and music stands, and, of course, our ukuleles.

Two of the ladies were really good -- they did some lead solo bits on some of the songs and it was a *real* treat to hear them play. And the other lady and I just kinda hung back and strummed in the background.

This is fine with me, as I think I'm going to just subscribe to the "The world needs ditchdiggers, too" philosophy of ukulele playing -- if I can just manage to learn the chords and how to switch between them relatively smoothly AND keep up with the rest of the group singing, then I'll be quite satisfied with my performance.

In any case, today I actually PLAYED the following songs:

• Buffalo Gals
• La Cucaracha (which was my suggestion -- they knew how to play the tune, but not the words; I got to sing sola on that one, and it may end up being our grand finale song, complete with maracas and sombreros *grin*)
• Camptown Races (dooh-dar! dooh-dar!)
• You are my Sunshine
• Clementine
• Hush, Little Baby
• Michael, Row the Boat Ashore
• Polly Wolly Doodle
• She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain

And I learned (kinda -- gotta practice a LOT more before I have the fingering memorized & have it come automatically) the chords A, A7, C, D, D7, something called a D natural 7, G, G7, E minor, and E7.

I couldn't believe how easy it was to simply play along and how good we sounded without ANY practice whatsoever! The songs we did are also pretty darn fun. Glad there aren't too many religious ones -- I don't think I could hang with playing a bunch of Kumbaya and Jesus Loves Me shit. Too tempting to twist the lyrics around to make them filthy dirty and/or very very blasphemous.

So, anyway -- I'm pretty jazzed about having done something today very much outside my realm of previous experience. My fingertips are numb, and I think I'm definitely gonna have to clip my nails, but I'm just really jazzed that I don't suck REALLY bad at it.

Gonna be a while before you get any kind of recordings, though, both because I don't have my own place to post them on the web and because I got LOTS of practicing to do before I'll share with an audience that I can't reach out and bop on the head with my uke if they're too critical (which at this point would be the *least* little bit -- AHEM).

:-D



* Yes, I *do* play Ukulele!

memories

[sparky4]

of my childhood, not the song. I was in Summer Fun, and having a blast, until I broke my collar bone and had to drop all of the fun tomboyish classes. I found myself out of archery and into ukele class so at that time is seemed a punishment adn no fun at all. My attitude did not allow for more than learning the basics and passing the time.

I love listeing ukele music almost as much as I loved living in Hawaii, actually Hawaiian music altogether.

Looking forward to hearing you play.

Sounds of home

[Daengbo]

Hmmm. I grew up in Hawaii. I like "slack key" guitar more than ukes, though. How did you end up in a uke band

1. where you live and
2. at your age?

;) Love you

Re:

[bethanie]

Apparently ukulele bands are getting to be kinda trendy. One of the chicks in the band mentioned that she had seen an article about it somewhere, that they're popping up all over the country. And so far, we haven't even touched on any Hawaiian music.

In any case, I got involved because of my friend (who is also my kids' music teacher [they take these fun kid-oriented music/movment classes]) who is friends with the owner of the local music store (who is also the leader of the uke band). My friend didn't sho

Crazy.

[Some Woman]

I actually have a ukelele, but it's in PA, as I didn't have a place to store my musical instruments at the time that my parents moved out there. It's a cheap little ukelele, but fun nonetheless. My parents used to buy me instruments whenever they went on trips to cool places without me. Hence my maracas, ukelele, and ocarina.

Obligatory Blazing Saddles quote

[ncc74656]

In any case, today I actually PLAYED the following songs:

• [...]
• Camptown Races (dooh-dar! dooh-dar!)

"I hired you people to try to get a little track laid, not to jump around like a bunch of Kansas City faggots!"