Here’s a quick reminder that November’s circle is next week:

Tuesday, November 4
7 PM
Sawchyn Guitars, 2132 Dewdney Avenue

I’ve uploaded some Christmas tunes to the Music page on the website: Jingle Bells, Silver Bells, Mele Kalikimaka, Auld Lang Syne, Joy to the World and Feliz Navidad.

That should take care of the first half of the evening. For the second half we’ll go over some of our older music so don’t be afraid to shout out your favourites.

We’ve got at least one baritone ukulele player in the group so I’ve started adding DGBE versions of all our music. Be sure to download the version that matches your uke. For most of you, that will be GCEA tuning for soprano, concert or tenor ukuleles.

The ukulele workshops are only a few weeks away on November 16. Tickets must be purchased in advance so we know how many people to expect. The response has been good so far and seats are limited so don’t delay. Contact Sawchyn Guitars at 306-522-6348 today!

As always, happy strumming!

Queen City Ukes and Sawchyn Guitars is pleased to present two workshops to be held on Sunday, November 16. Both workshops will be led by Joel Jacques, a Regina native who teaches ukulele in Ottawa.

To sign up, contact Sawchyn Guitars at 306-522-6348 or stop in at 2132 Dewdney Avenue. Tickets will be available soon.

Ukulele for the Absolute Beginner
(1.5 hours)

• $25
• 11AM to 12:30PM

Come find your musical voice through learning to sing and play the ukulele. This introduction course is for those picking up the instrument for the first time.

Participants will learn to play and sing popular songs together in a group setting. We’ll answer all those questions that come up when you first play the uke: How do I hold this thing? Tuning? How do I strum? What is a chord anyway? And many more.

The basics of ukulele history, its relationship to other instruments and playing techniques will be discussed. More importantly, by the end of this session you will be singing and playing at least two songs and you’ll know enough to begin your music making journey on this wonderful little instrument.

All are welcome. Must have a ukulele to play during the workshop. (Sawchyn Guitars can help you out with this, but be sure to let them know when you register.)

The Ukulele Right Hand: How to make each new song unique
(3 hours with a break)

• $40
• 1 to 4PM

For those with some experience either on the ukulele or its related cousins the guitar or banjo.

So you’re playing the ukulele now and love it. You’ve strummed and sung and even managed to impress your partner/friend/neighbour/uke group/cat. Now, you’ve started wondering how you’re going to make this tune sound different than that other one. Here’s the not-so-well-kept-secret: It’s going to happen in your right hand.

This intensive afternoon workshop will introduce you to a variety of options that are available to you for making each song you play a gem in its own right. You will introduced to the basics of many right-hand techniques and place them in musical context.

Resource materials will be provided. Bring your instrument, you will definitely be playing.

Part 1: Strumming Strategies—How to pick a strum for a song (1.25 hours)

• Accents and Dynamics
• Straight Strum / Swing Strum
• Chunks and Mutes
• Styles like: folk, country, rock, reggae, bosa nova, swing
• Triplet Stroke and how to use it

(break)

Part 2: Fingerpicking Styles—Learning from the banjo players (1.25 hours)

• 3-finger and 4-finger strategies and patterns
• Banjo Rolls
• Clawhammer… on uke, really?

Want to take both workshops?

• $55
• 11AM to 4PM

Sign up for both and save $10!

About Joel

Joel Jacques is a native of Regina currently residing in Ottawa. He is excited at the opportunity to come home to Saskatchewan to share his passion for all things ukulele. Joel studied music at the College Mathieu in Gravelbourg and at the University of Ottawa. He has played the guitar, ukulele and keyboards in French trad bands, flamenco dance troupes and indie rock bands. He studied luthery with David Freeman in Tugaske, Sask and continues to build ukuleles in Ottawa (www.bytownukuleles.com).

He is an active ukulele teacher at the Ottawa Folklore Centre and also helps to lead the very popular and ever growing Bytown Ukulele Group (BUG).

This month’s circle is going to be a bit different. Almost everyone who completed the survey said they’d be interested in a more structured one-time ukulele lesson. Kendra has arranged for Gary Robertson to lead us in a class during the next circle!

Because this is a special night, we’re asking people to bring $5 in order to give Gary an honorarium for his time.

The second part of the evening will be our regular jam. I’m looking at including a Halloween song or two, so let me know your favourite spooky tune. We’ll include some holiday music in November’s and December’s circles, too.

Diane, owner of Cobb Swanson Music, will be back with some more ukulele books. If you have a favourite band or style of music, Diane’s probably got the music you’ve been looking for. If you’re ever looking for music for other instruments, be sure to visit her shop on 13th Avenue.

And finally, I’m setting up a new website! Check it out at QCUkes.com. (Psst … you’re here now)

This will eventually make it easier to share music with all those members who aren’t on Facebook. I’ll still post music on Facebook, too, but the plan is to integrate everything together: articles on the website will automatically show up on Facebook, the monthly previews will go to the mailing list, comments on Facebook and Twitter will appear on the site … at least, that’s the goal. There’s a fair bit of voodoo, magic and late nights needed to bring everything together.

My other wish is to allow people to customize our songbook. This will allow anyone to easily transpose it to another key or tuning or even make the text larger or smaller.

The site will eventually allow anyone to upload their own music and share it with the rest of the group. Until that is ready, keep emailing additions to the song book directly to me.

I hope to have everything ready to go in time for the next circle. Until then, here’s a link to all our current music:

• QC Ukes song book
• chord sheet (gCEA tuning)

All of these are also available on our Facebook group. If you’d like to join, the address is:

• facebook.com/groups/qcukes

You can also follow us on Twitter:

• @QCUkes

Keep strumming!