February 1 Ukulele Jam

Greetings, Kingston ukulele fans!

It's time again to let the music ring out! Bring your ukes along to our regular ukulele jam. Next jam is this Wednesday, February 1, 7pm at the Kingston Community House.

We'll start with a workshop, continuing to practice the song we started last time. This time, we'll look at the strumming pattern and speed up the pace.

The workshop follows with our usual song circle. Bring along your favorite songs to share with the group. Please do that. If you don't, others will choose what we play. You can find my choice of songs here. It's a selection of largely three-chord songs, mostly songs we've done before, but with one new song.

Remember, we jam at the Kingston Community House, 99 York Street in downtown Kingston, on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month (excluding holidays). 7pm. The cost is $2 per jam to cover the cost of room rental. If you haven't yet printed off your own copy of our favorites document, you can download it here.

Cheers! Hans

January 18 Ukulele Jam

Greetings!

For the second jam of the new year, I propose a 3 or 4 chord jam. That is, let's do songs with no more than 3 or 4 chords. You can find my choice of songs here. Feel free to bring along your 3 or 4 chord favorites too. Or if you just want to sit back and strum along, that's okay too.

But first, let's begin the jam with a workshop. I've found one particular song that should be good for a workshop. Beginners can learn from this song, but it also should be interesting for more intermediate players. This week, we can practice the chords and chord changes. In future weeks, we can work on other aspects of the song, such as tempo and strum patterns. 

If you haven't already done so, please respond to the survey I put out a few days ago. There has already been a good response, but I'd like more before I report on the results. The survey can be found by clicking here.

But based on discussions so far, I am making changes to the jam, starting with this week's jam. For example, every now and then, we should have a jam where we limit ourselves to 3 or 4 chord songs. Also, people have made it clear that we should have a workshop. This may be problematical since we don't have any music teachers in our group. But I welcome any suggestions for future workshop topics.

Also based on discussions on our mailing list, I welcome any suggestions for a new venue. Remember, we should have a venue available on Wednesday evenings, roomy, with good lighting, and with convenient parking. I'll be checking out some possibilities when I have a chance later this week.

Remember, we jam at the Kingston Community House, 99 York Street in downtown Kingston, on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month (excluding holidays). 7pm. The cost is $2 per jam to cover the cost of room rental. If you haven't yet printed off your own copy of our favorites document, you can download it here.

Cheers! Hans

January 4 Ukulele Jam

Greetings, Kingston ukulele fans!

Let's welcome in the New Year with our regular ukulele jam, this Wednesday, January 4, 7pm at the Kingston Community House. Bring along your favorite songs to share. Or just sit back and strum along. As Manitoba Hal said, music demands participation, not perfection.

Remember, we jam at the Kingston Community House, 99 York Street in downtown Kingston, on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month (excluding holidays). 7pm. The cost is $1 per jam to cover the cost of room rental. If you haven't yet printed off your own copy of our favorites document, you can download it here.

Cheers! Hans

December 21 Ukulele Jam

Happy Holidays, everyone!

I know everyone's busy getting ready for the holidays. But it's ukulele time again! You need to take a break and join your fellow ukulele fans in our regular jam, this Wednesday, December 21. This time, of course, we'll do our seasonal favorites. You can find a copy of our favorite Christmas songs here. But if you have other favorites, bring them along!

Remember, we jam at the Kingston Community House, 99 York Street in downtown Kingston, on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month (excluding holidays). 7pm. The cost is $1 per jam. If you haven't yet printed off your own copy of our favorites document, you can download it here.

Cheers! Hans

December 7 Ukulele Jam

Greetings!

If you looked outside this morning, you probably saw some white substance covering the ground. Yes, winter is coming. And with it comes the holiday season. At our next ukulele jam this Wednesday, December 7, you can share your favorite seasonal songs with the group. Or not. I'll bring a selection of my own favorites which may, or may not, include songs with a winter theme. I'll leave the choice of songs up to you.

Remember, we jam at the Kingston Community House, 99 York Street in downtown Kingston, on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month (excluding holidays). 7pm. The cost is $1 per jam. If you haven't yet printed off your own copy of our favorites document, you can download it here.

Cheers! Hans

November 16 Ukulele Jam

Greetings!

If you're feeling bummed out after recent events, I don't blame you. You now need to unwind with your friends and play ukulele. It's time again for our regular ukulele jam, this Wednesday, November 16, 7pm. Bring copies of your favorite songs if you wish. But feel free to sit back and strum along if that's what you want to do.

As I mentioned before, if you're interested in doing a Christmas show at a local nursing home, please let me know. We had a lot of fun the past two years, and I'm sure many of you would like to do that again.

Remember, we jam at the Kingston Community House, 99 York Street in downtown Kingston, on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month (excluding holidays). 7pm. The cost is $1 per jam. If you haven't yet printed off your own copy of our favorites document, you can download it here.

Cheers! Hans

November 2 Ukulele Jam

Greetings!

It's time again for our regular ukulele jam, this Wednesday, November 2, 7pm. If you like, bring copies of your favorite songs to share with the rest of the group.

Considering the time of year, there's something we should start to think about. For the past two years, we've done a Christmas concert at a local nursing home. Last year, we had a dozen ukulele players entertaining the residents of the Fairmount Home. Would you be interested in doing that again this year? The success of such events depends on participation, so if you enjoyed doing this last time, please consider joining in again this year.

Remember, we jam at the Kingston Community House, 99 York Street in downtown Kingston, on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month (excluding holidays). 7pm. The cost is $1 per jam. If you haven't yet printed off your own copy of our favorites document, you can download it here.

Cheers! Hans