What should Lil' Rev teach?

I am happy to let you know that Lil' Rev will be returning to Durham for ukulele workshops on Halloween weekend. He will participate in the annual Bookulele show (which, rumor has it, will be at Pinhook this year) on Saturday, October 30th. (Stay tuned for more Bookulele details.) And he will present a workshop at High Strung on Sunday, October 31st. Those of you who came to his workshops last Spring will remember how fun he is as a teacher and performer, so put this on your calendars!

And.... I want to know what you want Lil' Rev to teach. Check out his current workshop topics here. My current preference is for the Blues Styles for Ukulele topic. And we've had another uke jam member vote for blues as well:

I woke up this morning with them and did not know what to play. I need this workshop.

I think learning to play blues would be really fun, and would add a lot of possibilities to uke jam. But I'm interested in hearing what you guys would like to learn . As it stands now, I think we'll just get one workshop, but there's a chance he'll agree to teach two if there's strong demand.

The workshop will be geared towards advanced beginner and beyond players, meaning there will be no absolute beginner workshop. So you have a couple of months to get comfortable with basic chords and basic strumming, which you can do by coming to uke jam (hint, hint!).

Beginner Uke workshops at High Strung

I am teaching a two-part beginner ukulele workshop at High Strung that starts tomorrow, Sunday, July 25th, and continues on Sunday, August 15th. Both parts are two hours each, from 2-4 p.m.

Part I will cover the very basics - names of strings, how to tune, beginner chords, like C, F, and G (and a few others), playing simple melodies and rhythms, and how to read chord charts and melody tabs. This workshop is geared towards people who've never played before, have just started playing and need some basic information, or people who've been playing a little while and want to make sure their basics are intact before they move on.

Part II will continue on the above topics, with some new rhythms, chords, and melodies introduced. Part I is a great preparation for part II, but anyone who knows 3 chords and has played the uke for at least a few weeks can join in too.

So, if you've been wanting some beginning instruction, come join us. Or send your friends who've been pining over your ukulele!

Loaner ukes will be available for the part I class.

Check High Strung's web site for more info, but feel free to come on by if you haven't registered in advance (but please come a little early).

Uke Jam tonight!

Come one and all and play with us tonight. New players and new songs are always welcome.

Durham Uke Orchestra at Bull Moon Ride tonight!

The Durham Ukulele Orchestra will be playing at the Farmers' Market tonight (Saturday, July 10th) starting around 8:30 p.m. for the Bull Moon Ride. Bull Moon Ride is a fun ride through downtown Durham in a music-filled, festive atmosphere, and it benefits Habitat For Humanity. Check out their website for info on the ride, or just come stop by and sing along with us!

Uke jam tonight

We are having uke jam tonight at the usual time (7-9) and place (High Strung), so come by and play with us! First timers, including people who've never played before, are welcome, as always.

DUO performs at Harry's on Saturday

We had such a great time playing at Harry's Market a little while ago, that we're doing it again this Saturday:

The Durham Ukulele Orchestra will perform classic songs from multiple genres bathed in glorious vocal harmony and played on a variety of instruments both large and small at Harry's Market at White Cross, on Saturday, May 22 from 7-9 p.m. With this band, you can expect the unexpected!

The Durham Ukulele Orchestra is:

Marilee Annereau - vocals, ukulele, celestette, melodica, bass, percussion
Scot Billman - vocals, ukulele, percussion
Jay Cunningham - vocals, ukulele, bass
Brian Lewis - vocals, ukulele, accordion, mandolin, bass
Paul Overton - vocals, ukulele, bass, percussion

If the weather's nice, the music will be outside under the stars.

Harry's Market features free live music every Friday & Saturday night in a smoke-free, family-friendly environment. They serve coffee, tea, beer, wine and other drinks, Loco Pops, and an assortment of baked goods. They're located at 3300 Highway 54 West, exactly 5 miles west of Carborro Plaza. As you go west from Carrboro, it's on your left, directly across the road from a Shell gas station and the Fiesta Grill (great Mexican food, which can be brought to Harry's!).

http://www.harrysmarketatwhitecross.com/

Hope to see you there!

Durham Ukulele Orchestra gig this Friday

What could be better than an evening of live music? How about an evening of live music played on little tiny instruments?

The Durham Ukulele Orchestra will perform classic songs from multiple genres bathed in glorious vocal harmony and played on a variety of instruments both large and small at Harry's Market at White Cross, on Friday, March 12 from 7-9 p.m. With this band, you can expect the unexpected!

The Durham Ukulele Orchestra is:

Marilee Annereau - vocals, ukulele, celestette, melodica, bass, percussion
Scot Billman - vocals, ukulele, percussion
Jay Cunningham - vocals, ukulele, bass
Brian Lewis - vocals, ukulele, accordion, mandolin, bass
Paul Overton - vocals, ukulele, bass, percussion

Harry's Market features free live music every Friday night. They serve beer, wine, coffee, tea and other drinks, Loco Pops, and an assortment of baked goods. They're located at 3300 Highway 54 West, exactly 5 miles west of Carborro Plaza. As you go west from Carrboro, it's on your left, directly across the road from a Shell gas station and the Fiesta Grill (great Mexican food, which can be brought to Harry's!).
http://www.harrysmarketatwhitecross.com/

Hope to see you there!

Last jam of the year!

Tonight, Monday December 21st, is the last uke jam of 2009. We'll have the usual uke jam song books out, along with some holiday song books. All other songs are welcome, especially ones that reflect your experiences this time of year, be they Merry Christmas songs, Bah Humbug tunes, songs in celebration of the solstice, snow, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah... or if you prefer to fantasize about getting away from it all with some beach music, that's fun too. Come play with us.

I also hear there will be cookies.

Halloween/Moon-themed jams in October

In celebration of Fall, the month of October, and Halloween, and as a warm up for Bookulele, we're going to focus on songs with Moon themes, and any other Halloween tunes we can think of. So bring along your halloween/moon songs and come play with us!