Sunday, January 4: Song Circle

Ring in the new year and join SUPA at the Ballard NW Senior Center for a monthly song circle from 2:30-4:30p. Doors open at 1:00p. Song Circle only $3.

Sunday, January 18: Ukulele Wikiwiki: SUPA Beginners Workshop

Join Pat at the Ballard NW Senior Center for the monthly Ukulele Wikiwiki beginners workshop. Recommended for beginning players or ukulele dreamers - all ages welcome. Doors open at 1:15p. Workshop 1:30-3:30p. Only $3. Email Pat for more information.

Sunday, February 1: Song Circle

Join SUPA at the West Seattle Senior Center for a monthly song circle from 2:30-4:30p. Doors open at 1:00p. Song Circle only $3.

Sunday, February 15: Ukulele Wikiwiki: SUPA Beginners Workshop

Is the SUPA Song Circle too spookie first time out.. or even second time? A "Bbm".. scares the willies out of ya? Join Pat at the Ballard NW Senior Center for the monthly Ukulele Wikiwiki beginners workshop from 1:30-3:30p. Recommended for beginning players or ukulele dreamers - all ages welcome. Doors open at 1:15p. Only $3. Email Pat for more information.

Friday, Feburary 27: Lil' Rev Workshop

Join us for a workshop and concert with Lil' Rev at the West Seattle Senior Center (4217 SW Oregon St) for a workshop (6-7:30pm, $20) and a concert (8:00pm, $10). Workshops on this tour include Easy Solos, Blues II, Rock 'N' Roll Ukulele, Old Time & Country Styles, and much more. (Actual workshop TBD.) All playing levels welcome. Stay tuned to Yahoo Groups or the web site for ticket information.

Workshops

Dusty Strings Workshops

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Our own Uncle Gregg Porter and Uncle Rod Higuchi will present two workshops at Dusty Strings: Ukulele for Absolute Beginners (12:15p) and Hawaiian Songs for Ukulele and Voice (2:45p).

12:15-2:15pm: Ukulele for Absolute Beginners. Did you get an ukulele for the holidays and need to know what to do with it? Been wanting to play an instrument, but didn't know where to start? Got the desire to bring a tropical touch to your wet winter? Try the little four-stringed charmer that has long been considered the easiest instrument to learn. In this workshop, two of the leaders of the Seattle Ukulele Players Association (SUPA) will get you started on the basics - learning your strings, tuning 'em up, and getting a few chords under your belt, so you can actually play a song by the time you leave the room. Recommended for beginners only.

2:45-4:45pm: Hawaiian Songs for Ukulele and Voice. So, you already know some basic chords, and have discovered how much you like to sing and play your uke. Yet every time you bring out the instrument, someone asks if you know any Hawaiian numbers. Don't let your fear of the language keep you from getting a couple Island songs under your musical belt. Two of the leaders from SUPA (Seattle Ukulele Players Association) will help you through a couple of classic songs, with easy chording. A little lesson in language, pronunciation and history will give you some background, and you'll discover how easy it is to figure out how to sing in Hawaiian - maybe you'll be able to accompany a hula dancer soon! Recommended for players who have some comfort with a handful of chords and can sing while playing.

Beginning Ukulele with Susan Howell

Thursdays, Jan. 8, 15, 22, 29, 7:45-8:45 p.m., $80. Learn fundamental skills to get you playing ukulele! We'll work on rhythm, strumming patterns, and some fingerpicking. With a few basic chords you can play along with others and accompany yourself on a multitude of songs. Learn to transpose songs into a good key for your voice, where the notes are on the fretboard, and how to pick out simple tunes.

Starting Out With Your Uke with John Leder

Wednesdays, Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25, 6:30-7:30 p.m., $80. Learn basic skills needed to begin enjoying music with your ukulele, including knowing instrument parts and care, holding and tuning your ukulele, and strumming techniques. We'll explore two new songs each session, and learn how to read chord charts and play the handful of chords you need to play hundreds of songs! Learn to transpose a song to fit your voice, and play familiar songs from simple scales.

For more information about these events, contact Dusty Strings at the web address and phone number listed at the bottom of this page.

Concerts & Other Events

Calendars

Check the calendar at the Northwest Hawai'i Times web site for Hawaiian events of interest throughout Puget Sound.

For a large listing of venues, events, calendars, etc. for folk music, including ukulele, visit our own Richard Gillman's extensive complilation.

Odds & Ends

Catch Jake Shimabukuro's performance of While My Guitar Gently Weeps from the February 20 appearance on Conan O'Brien.

Newsletters

The monthly newsletters are available as downloadable PDFs.

November 07, December 07, January 08, March 08, April 08, May 08, June 08, July 08, September 08, November 08, December 08, January 09

Song Circle Locations

Check the schedule, but we rotate among three main locations for our song circles. The names, locations, addresses and maps are listed below.

Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon St, Seattle, WA 98166; 206-932-4044; Google Map)

Ballard Northwest Senior Center (5429 32nd Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107; 206-297-0403; Google Map).

Dusty Strings (3406 Fremont Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103; 206-634-1662; Google Map).