The month of May has just been too busy for me but I'd like to get in one more group meeting if possible before everyone gets into summer schedules. I haven't checked with the boss here at home yet but I'm thinking Sunday June 1st down at Como again will work. If it warms up we can even meet outside if we'd like or under the pavillion roof. Heck, maybe the stage will be available and we can have some impromptu fun.
So, Sunday June 1st, 2-5pm, Como Pavillion (Black Bear Crossing Cafe) on Lexington Ave in St Paul
Anyone want to meet during the summer? At Como or some other park or cafe around town?
I'm going to start working on "summer" songs soon, maybe try Stars & Stripes or other patriotic stuff for the 4th of July. I worked on some of that stuff last year and it wasn't pretty, hopefully I've improved!
Hope to see some of you there on the 1st, if not I hope you all have a good summer of StrumMn.
Brian
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Jake followup
Sorry for not blogging sooner but life is busy as you all know.
Jake was a lot of fun but the concert was too short, just over an hour long.
He'll be in the Twin Cities again March 10-11, 2009 at the Ordway in St Paul.
We picked up a couple of his CD's and had them autographed. I also had him sign my Applause ukulele, I'll try to add a picture later.
Jake was a lot of fun but the concert was too short, just over an hour long.
He'll be in the Twin Cities again March 10-11, 2009 at the Ordway in St Paul.
We picked up a couple of his CD's and had them autographed. I also had him sign my Applause ukulele, I'll try to add a picture later.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Jake in MPLS on Apr 27th!
I just found out tonight (thanks, George!) that Jake Shimabukuro is playing at the Dakota Jazz Club at 1010 Nicollet Mall on Sunday night, 2 shows, 7pm and 9:30pm.
This is your chance to see him locally, he's never been here before as far as I know.
It's a small venue and almost sold out already. My wife and I'll be at the 7pm show.
Web site is: http://www.dakotacooks.com/
Maybe see some of you there! Bring a uke to get autographed!
Keep StrumMn,
Brian
This is your chance to see him locally, he's never been here before as far as I know.
It's a small venue and almost sold out already. My wife and I'll be at the 7pm show.
Web site is: http://www.dakotacooks.com/
Maybe see some of you there! Bring a uke to get autographed!
Keep StrumMn,
Brian
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Back to normal on the 13th
Hi all,
Thanks to those who made it to como this afternoon. Our guest from the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz didn't make but we had a good time doing our usual thing.
There were some fun new songs we went through and we'll probably run them again on the 13th. If you're coming please consider bringing a new song to share, it's always fun to see what others are working on.
See you on the 13th! (2-5pm, Como Pavillion)
Brian
Thanks to those who made it to como this afternoon. Our guest from the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz didn't make but we had a good time doing our usual thing.
There were some fun new songs we went through and we'll probably run them again on the 13th. If you're coming please consider bringing a new song to share, it's always fun to see what others are working on.
See you on the 13th! (2-5pm, Como Pavillion)
Brian
Saturday, March 15, 2008
April 6th *and* 13th !
Having only received a few replies I've made " an executive decision! "
DAMN THE TORPEDOES! FULL SPEED AHEAD!
I've told the folks from California that will be visiting Minnesota that we'll go ahead with both dates in April, 6th&13th, and hope to see them at Como.
2-5pm both dates.
I also hope to see ALL of you there; although I expect, and will have to be happy if, only a couple show up...
DAMN THE TORPEDOES! FULL SPEED AHEAD!
I've told the folks from California that will be visiting Minnesota that we'll go ahead with both dates in April, 6th&13th, and hope to see them at Como.
2-5pm both dates.
I also hope to see ALL of you there; although I expect, and will have to be happy if, only a couple show up...
Friday, March 07, 2008
Playing Old Music
Or maybe I could more accurately title this "Playing From Old Music".Last Sunday for those who showed up I passed out a copy of the song Dream A Little Dream Of Me. I think you've all heard this song done by the Mama's and the Papa's or other versions. The version I handed out was from a 1950 music book and included ukulele chords. I've got it saved as a pdf file if anyone wants to follow along for education purposes. Dream
To digress for a second, I like picking up old music books from used book stores or off ebay. I don't have a bunch or anything but I've bought a half dozen or so. These have many songs that I'd heard years ago and forgotten about and many that I've never heard of. I look for those with uke chords and arrangements mostly. Many of these old books list alternate tuning than the normal C tuning of GCEA, many are tuned in D (ADF#B) and some are in Bb (FBbDG) or others. The key is not to let that throw you too much and the copy of Dream that I handed out Sunday is an example of that.
My copy of Dream is written out in D tuning, ADF#B, and I got comments like " do I need to retune my uke" and "how do I play this?" When you hit these at home by yourself you've got a number of options, as you do when you play along with others.
My ukes are all tuned GCEA as are most of yours so these are the options as I see them.
1) You can retune your uke. I've never done this yet and don't see the need. In some ways it would just confuse me, in the long run maybe it would help me understand the fretboard better. I'd not be "locked in" to "5th Fret, 2nd string is A", it could open my mind to look at the tuning relationships rather than absolutes.
2) In this case I could snap a capo on the second fret and play it as written. I'd have effectively moved the nut up 2 half steps and my uke would now be tuned ADF#B. This way all the nice chord boxes are correct but the chord names don't match the shapes you're used to. I have a capo but never use it, maybe some day.
3) Forget the capo, forget retuning. If you're just by yourself you can use the D tuning chord boxes and just play the shapes as noted. The song will sound just fine but you'll be playing in a different key than the song is written. Nothing wrong with this but if you're playing with others then it might cause problems. Try this just so you know it works.
4) This is what I use and what I encouraged others to do on Sunday. Ignore the chord boxes, ignore the tuning. If it says to play a G chord, play the G chord that you know. A "G chord" is a "G chord" no matter what key the song is written in, it always has the same notes. If you play from guitar music or piano music, a G is a G is a G. Don't worry about it.If it says to play F, play F; just don't look at the chord boxes.
If you hit a strange chord in the song you'll need to look it up, right? Well, maybe. In Dream, written for D tuning, if you look at all the chord boxes and add 2 more frets to the top (where the imaginary nut was) and add dots for fretting what were any open strings, you've got the chord you need. For example, 2010 which we all know as an F chord. In Dream a 2010 is a G chord because of the tuning. Add 2 frets (add 2 to each string) to get 4232 which is a sort of second position G. You can see (or figure out) that this gives the notes B D G B and if you dropped the 4 giving 0232 you have the G chord you're used to playing with the notes G D G B. Same notes, doubled-G versus doubled-B, it doesn't make a difference. The point is that in this entire song if you move the chord box pictures up 2 frets you get the chord shapes you know and love, or you learn a second position version of those chords.
Note also that with options 1/2/4 above you're playing the exact same music, 3 people could play each using a different method and it would sound fine. With option 3 you'd be playing the song 2 half steps lower than written. You couldn't play along with others using the other methods but playing alone it will sound just fine.
Everyone thoroughly confused by now? Take a look at the song, play parts of it, ask questions. This stuff gets easier and opens up more options for playing good ol' tunes you might run across (or get tossed at you at a StrumMn meeting :-0 )
Speaking of which, see the post below for info on the next StrumMn meeting!
To digress for a second, I like picking up old music books from used book stores or off ebay. I don't have a bunch or anything but I've bought a half dozen or so. These have many songs that I'd heard years ago and forgotten about and many that I've never heard of. I look for those with uke chords and arrangements mostly. Many of these old books list alternate tuning than the normal C tuning of GCEA, many are tuned in D (ADF#B) and some are in Bb (FBbDG) or others. The key is not to let that throw you too much and the copy of Dream that I handed out Sunday is an example of that.
My copy of Dream is written out in D tuning, ADF#B, and I got comments like " do I need to retune my uke" and "how do I play this?" When you hit these at home by yourself you've got a number of options, as you do when you play along with others.
My ukes are all tuned GCEA as are most of yours so these are the options as I see them.
1) You can retune your uke. I've never done this yet and don't see the need. In some ways it would just confuse me, in the long run maybe it would help me understand the fretboard better. I'd not be "locked in" to "5th Fret, 2nd string is A", it could open my mind to look at the tuning relationships rather than absolutes.
2) In this case I could snap a capo on the second fret and play it as written. I'd have effectively moved the nut up 2 half steps and my uke would now be tuned ADF#B. This way all the nice chord boxes are correct but the chord names don't match the shapes you're used to. I have a capo but never use it, maybe some day.
3) Forget the capo, forget retuning. If you're just by yourself you can use the D tuning chord boxes and just play the shapes as noted. The song will sound just fine but you'll be playing in a different key than the song is written. Nothing wrong with this but if you're playing with others then it might cause problems. Try this just so you know it works.
4) This is what I use and what I encouraged others to do on Sunday. Ignore the chord boxes, ignore the tuning. If it says to play a G chord, play the G chord that you know. A "G chord" is a "G chord" no matter what key the song is written in, it always has the same notes. If you play from guitar music or piano music, a G is a G is a G. Don't worry about it.If it says to play F, play F; just don't look at the chord boxes.
If you hit a strange chord in the song you'll need to look it up, right? Well, maybe. In Dream, written for D tuning, if you look at all the chord boxes and add 2 more frets to the top (where the imaginary nut was) and add dots for fretting what were any open strings, you've got the chord you need. For example, 2010 which we all know as an F chord. In Dream a 2010 is a G chord because of the tuning. Add 2 frets (add 2 to each string) to get 4232 which is a sort of second position G. You can see (or figure out) that this gives the notes B D G B and if you dropped the 4 giving 0232 you have the G chord you're used to playing with the notes G D G B. Same notes, doubled-G versus doubled-B, it doesn't make a difference. The point is that in this entire song if you move the chord box pictures up 2 frets you get the chord shapes you know and love, or you learn a second position version of those chords.
Note also that with options 1/2/4 above you're playing the exact same music, 3 people could play each using a different method and it would sound fine. With option 3 you'd be playing the song 2 half steps lower than written. You couldn't play along with others using the other methods but playing alone it will sound just fine.
Everyone thoroughly confused by now? Take a look at the song, play parts of it, ask questions. This stuff gets easier and opens up more options for playing good ol' tunes you might run across (or get tossed at you at a StrumMn meeting :-0 )
Speaking of which, see the post below for info on the next StrumMn meeting!
Sunday, March 02, 2008
StrumMn together again
A half dozen of us had a great time playing again down at como and we continue to get positive comments from other patrons and employees at the cafe. If you haven't been down there with us yet you should consider coming next month, it's a lot of fun! No, we're not "performing" there, we just pull a few tables together and do our thing, so come join us! We had 2 first timers today, I hope they had fun and come back again.
Next month! Based on input from those attending we're going to meet on Sunday April 13th, Black Bear Crossing Cafe at the Como Pavillion again, 2-5pm.
We're always scrounging for new play-a-long songs so bring a favorite if you can, a few copies work fine, we're ok with sharing.
Put it on your calendar now and plan on attending, I'll see you next month!
Keep StrumMn!
Brian
Next month! Based on input from those attending we're going to meet on Sunday April 13th, Black Bear Crossing Cafe at the Como Pavillion again, 2-5pm.
We're always scrounging for new play-a-long songs so bring a favorite if you can, a few copies work fine, we're ok with sharing.
Put it on your calendar now and plan on attending, I'll see you next month!
Keep StrumMn!
Brian
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Next Meeting: Sunday March 2nd
Hi folks,
Let's plan on meeting Sunday the 2nd at Como again, 2-5pm.
Let me know if you need directions.
Keep StrumMn!
Brian
Let's plan on meeting Sunday the 2nd at Como again, 2-5pm.
Let me know if you need directions.
Keep StrumMn!
Brian
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Como on the 13th
Hi folks,
Let's plan to meet at Como again on Sunday January 13th, 2-5pm as before.
Anything special you'd like to play or cover? Just leave a comment or send an email.
I'm working on a couple webpage links that I hope will allow me to add mp3's of songs from the Jumpin' Jim books and others as I've mentioned previously. Hopefully some of you can record stuff you play and add to the list once I get it set up. Come and talk about it.
Hope to see you on the 13th!
Keep StrumMn!
Brian
Let's plan to meet at Como again on Sunday January 13th, 2-5pm as before.
Anything special you'd like to play or cover? Just leave a comment or send an email.
I'm working on a couple webpage links that I hope will allow me to add mp3's of songs from the Jumpin' Jim books and others as I've mentioned previously. Hopefully some of you can record stuff you play and add to the list once I get it set up. Come and talk about it.
Hope to see you on the 13th!
Keep StrumMn!
Brian
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Dec 16th meeting
Hi, I think a good time was had by all today. We went through a bunch of Christmas carols and fun seasonal tunes. I'll do some calendar checking and try to plan our next meeting for mid January. I hope you can be there with us!
Have a happy holiday season and a Merry Christmas!
Keep StrumMn!
Brian
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
That was Fun! How about 12/16?
Hi folks,
It was a lot of fun meeting down at como today! We ended up sitting downstairs and had people thanking us for playing, kinda cool! We had 2 first timers, George and John; I hope you guys had a good time and will come back again. New ideas help everyone.
Lets plan to meet down there next on Sunday 12/16 at 2pm again. Plan ahead everyone and lets play some uke. Xmas songs anyone?
Brian
It was a lot of fun meeting down at como today! We ended up sitting downstairs and had people thanking us for playing, kinda cool! We had 2 first timers, George and John; I hope you guys had a good time and will come back again. New ideas help everyone.
Lets plan to meet down there next on Sunday 12/16 at 2pm again. Plan ahead everyone and lets play some uke. Xmas songs anyone?
Brian
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Meeting Sunday 11/18?
Hi Folks,
It's been almost 2 months since our last StrumMn meeting and I think it's time to get together even if it's just something informal. That said, I don't have a room reserved at the library like in the past but was hoping we could just meet down at the Black Bear Crossing Cafe at the Como Park Pavillion next Sunday afternoon and do some playing.
If someone knows of an alternative location please speak up quick and we can switch locations.
Sunday afternoons still work best for me so how about 2pm Sunday 11/18. Can anyone else make it?
I'd like to meet again before Christmas too, any dates that work best for people?
Brian
It's been almost 2 months since our last StrumMn meeting and I think it's time to get together even if it's just something informal. That said, I don't have a room reserved at the library like in the past but was hoping we could just meet down at the Black Bear Crossing Cafe at the Como Park Pavillion next Sunday afternoon and do some playing.
If someone knows of an alternative location please speak up quick and we can switch locations.
Sunday afternoons still work best for me so how about 2pm Sunday 11/18. Can anyone else make it?
I'd like to meet again before Christmas too, any dates that work best for people?
Brian
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Hey folks, time for an update!
First off, sorry this hasn't been very active. My new job leaves me less free time and after the Sept turnout I wasn't comfortable trying to book the big room at the library. When I tried they were booked out several months, very discouraging as it's more centrally located.
I'd like to try meeting someplace new, like the Black Bear Crossing cafe at Como Park. Or some neighborhood cafe someplace, got one near you where we could meet?
Just because I've been busy doesn't mean I haven't been playing my ukes. I've found a couple of the John Pak song sheets to be very good and should offer some good opportunities to help everyone move out of first position chords. Check out his Edelweiss (chords) and Feed The Birds (from Mary Poppins). If you can make it to the next meeting we can have fun with figuring out some better (or just different) fingering to mix it up in second position.
http://web.mac.com/johnpak/iWeb/homepage/Uke%20Song%20Sheets%20A-K.html
I've also been mulling about a project of sorts that maybe a few of you can either help with or just benefit from. I've got a bunch (almost all) of the Jumpin' Jim uke books. One of the drawbacks is the lack of a CD with most of them. Even when you know the basic song you don't always know how it should sound "as written." I'd like to record as many of the songs from his books as possible and organize them online for others to reference. And "playing as written" can still be quite individual and leave room for multiple versions. Some people just strum the chords exactly as written, some may fingerpick the melody as written, others may combine to play a chord melody (the chords as written but in different positions and/or adjusted to pick up the melody line). This could give new players guidance to what the songs sound like and give others ideas for taking them to another level. Let me know what you think, I'm also interested in easy ways to record if you've got ideas. So far I've only recorded through the pinhole mic in my mp3 player, it sounds remarkably well but I know there must be room for improvement.
Does anyone want to meet this weekend? Short notice and all but I could make it Sunday 11/4 if anyone is interested. If not then I'm looking a couple weeks out before I can try again.
Do people want to start working on Xmas songs yet? It'll come up fast! We MIGHT be able to get in 2 meetings before Xmas but that's about it. Let me know what you think about any of this, leave comments, I love comments.
If you know of someplace we can meet and play then pick the date time and let everyone know, or just me and I'll let everyone know, but lets get together and play!
Keep StrumMn,
Brian
I'd like to try meeting someplace new, like the Black Bear Crossing cafe at Como Park. Or some neighborhood cafe someplace, got one near you where we could meet?
Just because I've been busy doesn't mean I haven't been playing my ukes. I've found a couple of the John Pak song sheets to be very good and should offer some good opportunities to help everyone move out of first position chords. Check out his Edelweiss (chords) and Feed The Birds (from Mary Poppins). If you can make it to the next meeting we can have fun with figuring out some better (or just different) fingering to mix it up in second position.
http://web.mac.com/johnpak/iWeb/homepage/Uke%20Song%20Sheets%20A-K.html
I've also been mulling about a project of sorts that maybe a few of you can either help with or just benefit from. I've got a bunch (almost all) of the Jumpin' Jim uke books. One of the drawbacks is the lack of a CD with most of them. Even when you know the basic song you don't always know how it should sound "as written." I'd like to record as many of the songs from his books as possible and organize them online for others to reference. And "playing as written" can still be quite individual and leave room for multiple versions. Some people just strum the chords exactly as written, some may fingerpick the melody as written, others may combine to play a chord melody (the chords as written but in different positions and/or adjusted to pick up the melody line). This could give new players guidance to what the songs sound like and give others ideas for taking them to another level. Let me know what you think, I'm also interested in easy ways to record if you've got ideas. So far I've only recorded through the pinhole mic in my mp3 player, it sounds remarkably well but I know there must be room for improvement.
Does anyone want to meet this weekend? Short notice and all but I could make it Sunday 11/4 if anyone is interested. If not then I'm looking a couple weeks out before I can try again.
Do people want to start working on Xmas songs yet? It'll come up fast! We MIGHT be able to get in 2 meetings before Xmas but that's about it. Let me know what you think about any of this, leave comments, I love comments.
If you know of someplace we can meet and play then pick the date time and let everyone know, or just me and I'll let everyone know, but lets get together and play!
Keep StrumMn,
Brian
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Kick-off
Howdy folks,
Well maybe it was because of the Vikings opener but the StrumMn kick-off was lightly attended.
That's ok, we got to talk and try out a few "new" ukes. The SilverTone and Howlett (Island Ukulele) both sounded and played great! The Howlett was gorgeous as well. Seems that folks are moving towards sopranos!
No date yet for the next meeting, anyone have a location they can book? If not, then I'll get to it when I can and let you all know when/where we'll meet next.
Hope to see you soon,
Brian
Well maybe it was because of the Vikings opener but the StrumMn kick-off was lightly attended.
That's ok, we got to talk and try out a few "new" ukes. The SilverTone and Howlett (Island Ukulele) both sounded and played great! The Howlett was gorgeous as well. Seems that folks are moving towards sopranos!
No date yet for the next meeting, anyone have a location they can book? If not, then I'll get to it when I can and let you all know when/where we'll meet next.
Hope to see you soon,
Brian
Monday, August 20, 2007
StrumMn September kick-off
I've reserved the Roseville Public Library meeting room on Sunday September 9th from 2pm-5pm for our fall kick-off meeting. The library is at the corner of County Rd B and Hamline Avenue. Let me know if you need directions. It's a big room, come and help fill it!
There is a link on the right to a new flyer if you want to print and post one at a favorite music store or elsewhere.
Pick a song you'd like to try as a group and bring some copies along to share. Even better, get a copy to me that I can post or link to here so others can make their own copy and practice ahead of time.
Bring an extra uke or 2 along to share or to let others try out.
Bring a friend along to share the extra uke!
I'll bring my laptop so we can access songs on the internet or view DVD instructional material.
If you want to lead the group in something particular just let me know. (ie. TPA, Hawaiian, etc)
Let me know if I missed anything here and I'll update as necessary. Feel free to leave comments, I love getting feedback.
I hope to see you in September!
Keep StrumMn!
Brian
There is a link on the right to a new flyer if you want to print and post one at a favorite music store or elsewhere.
Pick a song you'd like to try as a group and bring some copies along to share. Even better, get a copy to me that I can post or link to here so others can make their own copy and practice ahead of time.
Bring an extra uke or 2 along to share or to let others try out.
Bring a friend along to share the extra uke!
I'll bring my laptop so we can access songs on the internet or view DVD instructional material.
If you want to lead the group in something particular just let me know. (ie. TPA, Hawaiian, etc)
Let me know if I missed anything here and I'll update as necessary. Feel free to leave comments, I love getting feedback.
I hope to see you in September!
Keep StrumMn!
Brian
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Just because I promised...
Here is a pic of the drum sander. I still need to build the dust hood and true up the drum itself but it's looking good and everything seems to be lining up nice.
I priced out crank handles and they cost $25! The black knobs are $4.75 each (I used 5) at any local hardware stores. I found the knobs for $0.75 each online and ordered them up. They came only as female knobs and I had to cut threaded rod to length and epoxy it to the knobs, a little extra work but saved a bunch of $. Then I bought a stop collar and got out the welder to build a crank handle, got it done for under $4 including a new locknut.
The platten was too wide and I needed to trim it up some which I did with a belt sander. I chucked the drum in a wood lathe to do some real rough work, getting some glue off, etc. But it needs to be finished by putting sand paper on a board and running that through to sand the drum itself. Then a couple coats of finish to seal the drum at which point I can wind the drum itself with sandpaper. Almost there! Like the yellow? Maybe I'll write DeWalt on the side in Magic Marker for fun.
I'll probably finish just in time to head back to work and won't get much time to play with it. :-(
Brian
Friday, August 17, 2007
8/22 Last Wed @ Como for the summer?
8/15 was another nice night at Como. The Mn State Concert Band played again, they're really good! I just did my thing up on the hill as usual.
I plan to be down there again on the 22nd but it may be my last Wednesday for the summer. On Wednesday 8/29 I'm starting a new job out near 62&494 and I have no idea if I'll be able to make it that day. I don't want to leave a uke in the car all day either. If you've been planning to drop on by then next Wednesday is the day to make it! The concert that night will be "First Light Trio" if anyone cares.
I hope to post more pictures of my drum sander this weekend too, it's getting close to being functional! Once I've got it up and running if any of you are interested in building a uke and want to run a couple plates through we can have a StrumMn meeting at my place and do a little woodworking while we're at it.
Hope you're all StrumMn the summer away, enjoy!
Brian
I plan to be down there again on the 22nd but it may be my last Wednesday for the summer. On Wednesday 8/29 I'm starting a new job out near 62&494 and I have no idea if I'll be able to make it that day. I don't want to leave a uke in the car all day either. If you've been planning to drop on by then next Wednesday is the day to make it! The concert that night will be "First Light Trio" if anyone cares.
I hope to post more pictures of my drum sander this weekend too, it's getting close to being functional! Once I've got it up and running if any of you are interested in building a uke and want to run a couple plates through we can have a StrumMn meeting at my place and do a little woodworking while we're at it.
Hope you're all StrumMn the summer away, enjoy!
Brian
Thursday, August 09, 2007
8/8 and 8/15 at Como
Another nice night out playing the uke on 8/8. I drove down there in the miserable humidity thinking "what am I doing?" Got down there and the temp was 5 or 10 degree's cooler by the waterfall, it became overcast and the temp and humidity both dropped even more. It became the perfect evening to play outdoors! The Minnesota Concert Band did a concert on the promenade and sounded great too, but I stayed put and played uke.
Paging through my books I tried a couple songs that I'd bypassed previously as "too hard", now Moonlight Becomes You sounds like it may be do-able after all. I'd also played Build Me Up Buttercup a number of times. It always sounded great strummed but I couldn't get it to work as a chord melody arrangement. Last night I tried it for the first time in over a month and it seemed to work fine so I guess general chord melody practice is paying off. I also tried switching fingerings (again) for the alternating 2033 2433 chords in Sentimental Journey and what didn't work at all in the past seemed natural last night. The finger twisting I've been doing now makes it work for me a couple different ways depending on what chords I'm coming from or going to. Anyone interested in learning these just show up and I can at least show you what is working for me.
I don't think I've got anything going next Wednesday so I'll plan to be down there again on the 15th. I welcome any company if you care to come play some uke.
Keep StrumMn!
Brian
Paging through my books I tried a couple songs that I'd bypassed previously as "too hard", now Moonlight Becomes You sounds like it may be do-able after all. I'd also played Build Me Up Buttercup a number of times. It always sounded great strummed but I couldn't get it to work as a chord melody arrangement. Last night I tried it for the first time in over a month and it seemed to work fine so I guess general chord melody practice is paying off. I also tried switching fingerings (again) for the alternating 2033 2433 chords in Sentimental Journey and what didn't work at all in the past seemed natural last night. The finger twisting I've been doing now makes it work for me a couple different ways depending on what chords I'm coming from or going to. Anyone interested in learning these just show up and I can at least show you what is working for me.
I don't think I've got anything going next Wednesday so I'll plan to be down there again on the 15th. I welcome any company if you care to come play some uke.
Keep StrumMn!
Brian
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
uke building - drum sander
Well, it's taking shape! The main body is together and in primer. I won't paint it until the humidity drops a bit. The platten is just fit together, not fastened... good thing too as it's about 1/8" too wide! I'll have to narrow it slightly to fit, easy at this point thank goodness. The sandpaper for the platten belt and for the drum is on order so it won't be long now until I can do final setup and a test run. You can see another view of my sidebending form in the background of one of the shots.
Brian
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