Newsletter von Ralph Shaw

[Ukulela]

Soooooooooooooooo...und nun noch das Ganze übersetzt..... :roll:  :shock:  :roll: .....hab nur russisch gelernt, bin schon froh, wenn ich mit Ralph seiner DVD klarkomme und da muss ich manchmal noch meinen Gatten bemühen, damit er mir den Translator macht  :mrgreen:

Ich finde den Ralph aber alles in allem überwältigend.

LG Ukulela

[Uketeufel]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Ukulele Entertainer

Inspired Ideas to Maximize your Music
February 12, 2013
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Dear Raimund,
 
St. Valentine\'s Day is in two days time. It also happens to be your last chance to participate in my Love and Laughter Project. So far I\'ve raised $6,570. This amount falls short of the projected $18,000 it will cost me to pay for the project.  

 

What\'s your reaction to this news? Did I succeed or fail? The concepts of success and failure are never far from the mind of the ukulele entertainer.

 

Word count this issue:  979 words + photo of a Clown to brighten your day.

 

Estimated reading time: A tad under 4 minutes (+ 10 more seconds to smile at the photo.)

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UE #96 Failing (to Succeed!!)  

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By the way: people have participated (by pre-ordering CDs, house concerts etc.) at every level except the Option 8 - SONGMASTER category. Think about having a song written for someone you love.  It could be a treasured gift.

 

 

Does my achievement of collecting one-third the required amount seem somewhat mediocre? I\'ve gambled on recording two full length albums at a time when CD sales are in major decline as millions of music-listeners access music for free online. There exists a real possibility that, even if both albums garner critical acclaim, I may never see a profit.

 

It doesn\'t sound like much of a coup does it. But if you want to know how I feel I\'d have to say I am dead chuffed! (a Yorkshire phrase meaning to feel extremely pleased.)

 

We all try to succeed. And, when it comes to performing, we aim for success all the time. That\'s because failure is so hard to take. I\'ve known people who vowed never to perform again after suffering humiliation through misspoken words, forgotten music or some other embarrassment. Why do we persist in an art-form where errors are made in public and catcalls are as likely as curtain calls?

 

I\'ve bounced back from more humiliating failures than I care to recall: some so traumatic their memory still dredges a groan from my solar plexus region. Here\'s a reluctantly offered example; excuse me if I shudder:

 

My career as a solo entertainer began early 1991 as Ralph the Clown. Wishing to be \"different\" I avoided the traditional red nose. Instead my make-up was a light flesh base with red lips and red around my eyes surrounded by large white circles edged in black. I thought it was pretty innovative. My props: magic tricks, juggling balls, a Suzuki ukulele, face paint, balloons and Yorick (a rubber skull with moveable jaw) were all carried in a guitar case. It was my second gig. I was the roving entertainer at a large indoor mall. I was entertaining three young children when a hysterical woman shot towards me. I can\'t remember her exact words but it went something like, \"Who are you? What are you doing with these children only yards from the exit doors? Where are their parents?\"

 

Explaining that I was a clown hired by the mall only made things worse. Staring aghast at my face she said, \"You\'re not a clown, you don\'t look like a clown and [pointing to Yorick] what\'s that?\" With his bouncing rubber jaw Yorick had been amusing the kids with his take on life as a disembodied skull. But I was too crushed to explain further. She told me to get away from the children and then headed off still threatening to report me to the mall authorities.

 

Wandering disconsolately back through the mall I looked up and recoiled in further shock as I saw a frightening figure coming towards me. It took a moment before I realized it was my own reflection.  My make-up, fine in the bathroom mirror, was morbidly ghoulish at a distance. I recognized how my appearance, my proximity to exit doors, three parentless children and a talking skull gave off a startling constellation of worrying signals. I imagined a newspaper headline: Little Mall of Horrors Woman Warns Parents Beware of Skull Clown. I felt ready to quit. Once home I told this to the agent, who was unperturbed, \"Don\'t worry Ralph, have a beer. Relax, it\'ll be fine.\"

 

The experience taught me several vital and, in retrospect, fairly obvious do\'s and don\'ts about entertaining. Next day I created a new look. It included a humble red nose and I\'d never again be mistaken for anything but a clown.  

 
Ralph the Clown circa 1994 holding a Dixie Banjo-Ukulele

I see the creation of a performer as being somewhat like sculpting. When the young Michelangelo started carving the, already blocked-out, statue of David he must have sensed the perfection that lay within the marble. But only by chipping away at the excess could he reveal the beauty within. The discarding of unwanted material is akin to the choices made after our performance screw-ups. The removal of that which does not serve us guides us towards greater perfection.    

 

We think of performance success as being perfectly played songs followed by loud audience approval. And that is a glorious thing. But it doesn\'t teach us much. Far richer is the cataclysmic failure: its stark lesson shining bright light on the parts we need to improve, guiding us through the dark to more glorious horizons than our imaginations ever conceived.

 

In reality most of our shows lie somewhere between all-out success and irrevocable mishap. It\'s up to us to enjoy the highlights while transforming disaster into future applause.

 

So was my fund-raising successful? I\'m proud of the six-thousand-plus dollars that so far came my way. Seventy-six people donated. It\'s touching and humbling that people from dear friends to unknown strangers have participated. Especially so when you consider that I don\'t even use social media. Every dollar has come from a reader of this e-newsletter.

 

You could say that my personal choice in not joining Facebook is a failure. I\'m aware that smart use of Facebook could have increased participation. But, rightly or wrongly, I fear that spending energy on social media would have a negative effect on my work and that\'s made me shy of such activity. When people ask why I don\'t use such a proven marketing tool I jokingly reply, \"Facebook? Oh I decided to write a book instead.\"

 

I\'m fortunate to have the involvement of super-producer Steve Dawson as well as incredible performances from top musical talents, as you will soon get to hear! Any of them could have declined involvement. That my peers have such faith in my success is hugely gratifying. After all, their names will be on the work and no artist wants to be associated with mediocrity.

 

To sum up: Success is success but failure is a means to greater glory. Confusing perhaps? Let\'s see. I mentioned that I feel dead chuffed. Well, Yorkshire folk have another saying: Where there\'s muck there\'s brass.  

 

Meaning: There\'s glittering treasure to be found in that which appears worthless.

 

It\'s your last chance to be part of the Love and Laughter project. Learn about the options!

 

 

© Ralph Shaw 2013  

 
 
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Need some help with your ukulele skills?

1) DVDs for Adults and Kids: The Complete Ukulele Course DVD series will get you playing a wide variety of strumming styles. Take a look at what\'s available visit: www.RalphShaw.ca

2) New Book: The Ukulele Entertainer
                   Powerful Pointers for Players and Performers

Be the Best Ukulele Entertainer You Can Be!

Put strings on a ukulele - correctly,
Play three styles of triplet strum
Know where to look when you sing
Tackle nerves and stage fright
Start and run a ukulele club
Remember lyrics and sing on pitch
Create a killer set list and much more. Learn from a seasoned pro how to relax and improvise, introduce more dynamics into your playing, even-just for fun-how to make ukulele wine! You\'ll get some lessons in musical history and be royally entertained by the \"King of the Ukulele\" himself.
Available from www.RalphShaw.ca  
Now on eBook too! Find it on kindle, kobo and all other ebook formats. Don\'t forget to leave a review too!
 
\"where else can you learn to play the \"wimpy-strong\" strum from a man who actually touched Liam Neeson\'s wig?\" -From the foreword by ukulele master James Hill

3) CDs also available include: King of the Ukulele, Table for Two and By George!

 Upcoming Performance Dates:
 

February 22: Vancouver Ukulele Festival Evening Concert Details t.b.a.

March 24: Fundraiser for Hawaii Wildlife Sea Turtle Conservation at Arbutus Music, Nanaimo. B.C. Ralph Shaw to do a workshop and concert. More performers too Click here for details.

In non-ukulele news: Check out Avaaz (the word means \'voice\' in Urdu, Farsi and other languages.) They achieved a colossal 17 million members in 2012 and use the weight of people-powered democracy to successfully keep government and corporate greed in check.

 

If you found value in this newsletter. Please forward it to your friends that may be interested (Just use the little blue \"forward email\" link near the end of this email).

Got ideas for future newsletters? Then let me know. I\'ll be more than happy to consider them.

Privacy Policy: I will never share information from my email contacts list with anyone, for any reason whatsoever.

To change your email address: Go to the \"update profile/email address\" link near the end of the page.

To unsubscribe: Go to the \"safe unsubscribe\" link near the end of the page.

To subscribe: just visit my Newsletter Signup page where you can also see the Archive of previous newsletters.

Make a financial contribution to support this newsletter:
Make a Donation using Paypal or Credit Card


© Ralph Shaw 2013


 
 
 
 
You can Contact me by...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email:bowlerhat@shaw.ca
phone: 604 689 2937 (Intl +1)
on the web:http://www.ralphshaw.ca/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Uketeufel]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Ukulele Entertainer

Inspired Ideas to Maximize your Music
February 19, 2013
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Raimund,
 
Today I discuss the benefits of bringing more precision into your music and also give the final total brought in by my Love and Laughter CD fundraiser. btw. If you get value from this newsletter please consider forwarding it to a friend!

 

Word count this issue:  603 words.

 

Estimated reading time: Less than 2.5 minutes.  

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UE #97 Improve Your Musical Accuracy        

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The single most important thing that most of us can do to improve our music is to play with more accuracy.

 

This idea may seem contradictory. Music is an expressive art so we generally think of celebrating it with freedom, flow and warm fuzzy feelings and not with a pedantic devotion to precision. In fact I can already hear you asking, But Ralph, will attention to more exact playing really improve my music and make it more beautiful to listen to?

And Ralph says, Yes it will. You want to be a good musician? Then be accurate.

 

The great thing about working on accuracy is that you don\'t need to learn anything new. Just strive diligently to improve what you\'re already doing. For example if you want to work on your singing then some of things you can practice include: singing every note with exact pitch, making every word clearly understandable, controlling your phrasing, tone, vibrato and so on.

 

And when you play ukulele think about becoming more meticulous about how you play. For example if there\'s a difficult chord transition, practice it relentlessly until you land on the strings perfectly and right on time. However the most noticeable area where we can forever improve our playing is by making each strum happen when it\'s supposed to.

 

I recently saw an ad in a musician\'s magazine for a drumbeat analyzer. It helps drummers make their rhythms more exact. The device is a rubber pad that you drum on. The built-in computer then tells if your beats arrive early, fall behind or strike right on time. It appeals to me and I don\'t know if there is something similar for uke players; probably not. However there is a gadget you may already have that can help your playing immensely: The Metronome.
 

Metronome Avoidance Disorder is a disease (I just invented) suffered by quite a few ukulele players who unfortunately believe that playing to a precise click takes the fun out of playing. If you\'ve tried playing to a metronome and discovered that it\'s really hard to do; it means you should do more of it not less. A guaranteed way to make your strumming sound better is to make it more precise. And there\'s no shortcut to precision other than habituating yourself to a rigorous and regimented beat.

 

Metronome work is so beneficial because it gets your attention out of yourself; splitting your focus between what you are doing and what is going on around you. It\'s a great brain exercise! In fact using the metronome may soon become like a game for you: both fun and challenging at the same time.

 

Don\'t worry about overdoing it to the point where your strums become mechanical in their machine-like consistency. That doesn\'t happen. Enough metronome practice will affect your playing in such a way that most people won\'t have a clue what you improved. They\'ll just know they like it better.

 

For a while: instead of learning some new song or technique, try taking what you\'ve got and making it better than ever.

 

And...speaking of accuracy. The crowd-funding appeal to raise money for my  Love and Laughter project ended rather amusingly. Once my total got to $9,380 I asked my local ukulele club friends to help push it to 10K. There was a last minute flurry of support and unbeknownst to them, for my total wasn\'t yet posted, the last donation hit $10,000 right on the money!

 

Mixing the albums begins in March. I\'m presently looking at artwork and will let you know how things are progressing. Big thanks to everyone who participated!



 

© Ralph Shaw 2013  

 
 
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Need some help with your ukulele skills?

1) DVDs for Adults and Kids: The Complete Ukulele Course DVD series will get you playing a wide variety of strumming styles. Take a look at what\'s available visit: www.RalphShaw.ca

2) New Book: The Ukulele Entertainer
                   Powerful Pointers for Players and Performers

Be the Best Ukulele Entertainer You Can Be!

Put strings on a ukulele - correctly,
Play three styles of triplet strum
Know where to look when you sing
Tackle nerves and stage fright
Start and run a ukulele club
Remember lyrics and sing on pitch
Create a killer set list and much more. Learn from a seasoned pro how to relax and improvise, introduce more dynamics into your playing, even-just for fun-how to make ukulele wine! You\'ll get some lessons in musical history and be royally entertained by the \"King of the Ukulele\" himself.
Available from www.RalphShaw.ca  
Now on eBook too! Find it on kindle, kobo and all other ebook formats. Don\'t forget to leave a review too!
 
\"where else can you learn to play the \"wimpy-strong\" strum from a man who actually touched Liam Neeson\'s wig?\" -From the foreword by ukulele master James Hill

3) CDs also available include: King of the Ukulele, Table for Two and By George!

 Upcoming Performance Dates:
 

February 22: Vancouver Ukulele Festival Evening Concert.

March 24: Fundraiser for Hawaii Wildlife Sea Turtle Conservation at Arbutus Music, Nanaimo. B.C. Ralph Shaw to do a workshop and concert. More performers too Click here for details.
 
If you found value in this newsletter. Please forward it to your friends that may be interested (Just use the little blue \"forward email\" link near the end of this email).

Got ideas for future newsletters? Then let me know. I\'ll be more than happy to consider them.

Privacy Policy: I will never share information from my email contacts list with anyone, for any reason whatsoever.

To change your email address: Go to the \"update profile/email address\" link near the end of the page.

To unsubscribe: Go to the \"safe unsubscribe\" link near the end of the page.

To subscribe: just visit my Newsletter Signup page where you can also see the Archive of previous newsletters.

Make a financial contribution to support this newsletter:
Make a Donation using Paypal or Credit Card


© Ralph Shaw 2013


 
 
 
 
You can Contact me by...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email:bowlerhat@shaw.ca
phone: 604 689 2937 (Intl +1)
on the web:http://www.ralphshaw.ca/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Uketeufel]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Ukulele Entertainer

Inspired Ideas to Maximize your Music
March 5, 2013
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Raimund,
 
For those of us who played ukulele before 1995 there were few heroes to draw from. The fresh new internet--a toddler on shaky legs--still grasped the coffee-table of life for support; so any ukulele heroes we did have were known because of their presence in movies, recordings and TV: Tiny Tim, George Formby, Lyle Ritz, Roy Smeck, Arthur Godfrey. The Hawaiian scene was pretty much unavailable except to the comparatively few who actually went there. And as I hunted libraries and thrift stores for tidbits of ukulele knowledge, another name kept surfacing: J. Chalmers Doane. btw. If you get value from this newsletter please consider forwarding it to a friend!

 

Word count this issue:  953 words.

 

Estimated reading time: Just over 3.5 minutes.  

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UE #98 How to be a GREAT Music Teacher - Part 1      

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   

J. Chalmers Doane is legendary in Canada as the man who, in the 1970s had the brilliant idea of teaching ukulele to children by bringing the instrument to hundreds of schools across Canada. In fact it was his Ukulele in the Classroom method that I kept seeing in music stores. A collector friend once gave me a copy of that book. It was signed on the front: To Arthur Godfrey Best Wishes from Chalmers Doane.

 

I returned this artifact to Chalmers while attending Nova Scotia\'s Ukulele Ceilidh in 2009. Since then, while at Langley\'s annual Ukulele Workshop, I\'ve been fortunate to teach with Chalmers as well as two more brilliant descendants of his work: Peter Luongo and James Hill. That I, a self-taught player, should get to teach alongside these highly trained teachers is in itself strangely unreal to me. And the fact that I\'m there at all is thanks to James Hill who I presume feels I have something to offer ukulele students that is outside the scope of traditional music teaching.  

 

Whatever his reasons I\'m grateful and indebted to him for giving me the chance to know J. Chalmers Doane.

 

Seeing his name on so many dusty old music books gave me the impression that the writer, if still alive, was probably clinging to life by a thread and having his dinner through a straw. It was amazing to discover that the almost mythical J. Chalmers Doane was not only very much alive but extremely healthy and energetic. I also found him to have a childlike mind for inventiveness and play. This surprised me because his Ukulele in the Classroom method--essentially a ukulele manual for learning music--was stuffed with scales and basic melodies that to me seemed at odds with the type of enjoyment I was getting from the instrument. So I expected him to be a staid school-teacherly type. That idea of him changed once I\'d made him laugh.

 

Not everyone gets my sense of humour. I like to amuse people but I couldn\'t tell you why my brain sometimes makes the leaps and connections that it does. Often what comes out of my mouth isn\'t a joke, in the standard sense, but a twisted way of looking at a situation that leaves it up to the listener to figure out the rest. Somehow, for whatever reason, Chalmers and I are a good fit. He likes my sense of the ridiculous. I adore his snapshot life-stories that flash brilliantly with playful inventiveness, love of excellence and care for people. Last October I took him up on his offer to visit his home in Nova Scotia all the way at the other side of Canada.

 

\"He was twenty-eight when he became head of Halifax\'s school music program.\" His wife Jean was telling me over a cup of tea in her kitchen. \"He worked hard,\" she continued, \"but he made it a rule to have fun every day.\"

 

I don\'t remember exactly where Chalmers was at the time Jean said this; he might have been keeping a tennis appointment with friends who regularly meet to battle it out on his home-made tennis court. As Chalmers toured me around the house, sheds and fields that comprise his property I learned about other ways that he has fun in his life. He has a home-made Sjoelbak game (Dutch Shuffleboard) in the living room, a ping pong table in the basement (surrounded by floor-length fabric to prevent balls bouncing hither and thither); a pool table in an old barn, and outside on a sloping field there\'s a home-made six hole golf course--without sand-traps--that has never seen the care of a professional greensman but does the job quite adequately.

 

After dinner the games began. First I lost at Sjoelbak; though, thanks to beginners luck, I almost had an early victory. Then out to the barn we went where he thrashed me eight games to one at pool. By then we were warmed up for the slightly more strenuous gyrations of basement ping-pong. In half a dozen games I didn\'t even come close. The guy is the same age as my mom. Such a losing streak might have been embarrassing had not the whole evening been so enjoyable.

 

As we sat in his living room, exhausted (at least I was) after our evening\'s jousting, Chalmers innocently asked me, \"What do you do for fun at home in Vancouver?\"

 

And with that question he had me. I was stumped, flummoxed and at a complete loss. My gut instinct told me that having a beer in front of the TV didn\'t count; reading didn\'t count; cycling, jogging and other exercise didn\'t count--unless they included an element of socializing--which for me they don\'t; solo ukulele practice might count for some people but not for me seeing how it\'s been my occupation for two decades. In that moment I realized that play-time and fun are vital qualifications you need to have in order to pass a full and balanced life. Chalmers assured me I was fine but I felt I was failing somehow.

 

As you read this do you think you have enough fun in your life? I know that residing in a downtown apartment, as I do, doesn\'t exactly supply the means to create a golf-course. But there\'s a nice pitch and putt over at the park; there\'s a community centre with ping-pong, skating, badminton and a host of other activities: all previously disdained by me as the domain of people with nothing better to do. I\'ve now learned--thanks to Chalmers--that it\'s time to look at play in a new light.

 

Playful fun is a guiding consciousness that made J. Chalmers Doane into a legendary educator. In Part 2 I\'ll explain how that works.

 

© Ralph Shaw 2013  

 
 
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Need some help with your ukulele skills?

1) DVDs for Adults and Kids: The Complete Ukulele Course DVD series will get you playing a wide variety of strumming styles. Take a look at what\'s available visit: www.RalphShaw.ca

2) New Book: The Ukulele Entertainer
                   Powerful Pointers for Players and Performers

Be the Best Ukulele Entertainer You Can Be!

Put strings on a ukulele - correctly,
Play three styles of triplet strum
Know where to look when you sing
Tackle nerves and stage fright
Start and run a ukulele club
Remember lyrics and sing on pitch
Create a killer set list and much more. Learn from a seasoned pro how to relax and improvise, introduce more dynamics into your playing, even-just for fun-how to make ukulele wine! You\'ll get some lessons in musical history and be royally entertained by the \"King of the Ukulele\" himself.
Available from www.RalphShaw.ca  
Now on eBook too! Find it on kindle, kobo and all other ebook formats. Don\'t forget to leave a review too!
 
\"where else can you learn to play the \"wimpy-strong\" strum from a man who actually touched Liam Neeson\'s wig?\" -From the foreword by ukulele master James Hill

3) CDs also available include: King of the Ukulele, Table for Two and By George!

 Upcoming Performance Dates:
 

March 24: Fundraiser for Hawaii Wildlife Sea Turtle Conservation at Arbutus Music, Nanaimo. B.C. Ralph Shaw to do a workshop and concert. Other performers too Click here for details.

April 26/27 Larsen Music, Victoria B.C. Workshop and show. Details are coming.

May 2013: NEW! Ralph Shaw\'s West Coast Love and Laughter Tour (Oregon and California.) Details being organized. Keep watching this space!!
 
If you found value in this newsletter. Please forward it to your friends that may be interested (Just use the little blue \"forward email\" link near the end of this email).

Got ideas for future newsletters? Then let me know. I\'ll be more than happy to consider them.

Privacy Policy: I will never share information from my email contacts list with anyone, for any reason whatsoever.

To change your email address: Go to the \"update profile/email address\" link near the end of the page.

To unsubscribe: Go to the \"safe unsubscribe\" link near the end of the page.

To subscribe: just visit my Newsletter Signup page where you can also see the Archive of previous newsletters.

Make a financial contribution to support this newsletter:
Make a Donation using Paypal or Credit Card


© Ralph Shaw 2013


 
 
 
 
You can Contact me by...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email:bowlerhat@shaw.ca
phone: 604 689 2937 (Intl +1)
on the web:http://www.ralphshaw.ca/

[Uketeufel]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Ukulele Entertainer

Inspired Ideas to Maximize your Music
March 12, 2013
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Raimund,
 
You\'d be mistaken to think that J. Chalmers Doane was some sort of 4-string evangelist whose sole mission was to get thousands of Canadian kids playing D-tuned ukulele. It is in effect what happened but that was only one result of a much wider goal: to transmit the love of music to as many people as possible. btw. If you get value from this newsletter please consider forwarding it to a friend!

 

Word count this issue:  1057 words.

 

Estimated reading time: About 4 minutes.  

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
 
 
UE #99 How to be a GREAT Music Teacher - Part 2        

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   

It\'s astounding to realize that Canadian high-school teachers have to play and teach every single instrument in their high school bands. And Chalmers was no exception. To this day he can pick up and play any one of a dozen or so instruments. Jam with him at a festival and he\'s more likely to play clarinet or double-bass than ukulele. Think about that for a moment. His uke is in D-tuning, his clarinet in Bb and the bass is in, well, whatever basses are tuned in. None of that matters to Chalmers. In fact, he finds the discussion over which ukulele tuning is the superior one, C or D, to be completely irrelevant. You may find this surprising since it\'s because of his use of D-tuned ukulele that kids across Canada still learn on D-tuned instruments.

 

And believe me, at the Langley Ukulele Workshops, debates regarding C or D superiority have been known to get a little heated. But Chalmers says that so long as you\'re playing the right note or chord it matters not whether you\'re in C tuning, D tuning, strumming a balalaika or blowing bagpipes. End of discussion. You\'ll actually get far more passion out of him if you should happen to ask him how to practice.

 

I\'ve seen Chalmers talk for fifteen minutes on the subject of real music practice. His thesis essentially boils down to making practice fun. If you\'re going to be playing the same thing over and over again find ways to make it entertaining for yourself so that it stays fresh and interesting. That notion of entertainment is the key to Chalmers\' phenomenal success as an educator.

 

At one period in his life he taught adult marching bands. The outdoor practices occurred near a military training base where at particular times on certain days they\'d do parachute jumps. Chalmers noted these times so that when he was out with a new group of players he\'d tell them, \"We\'re going to start playing now, but in two minutes you\'re going to see a plane fly overhead and a guy is going to jump out just over there.\"

 

Imagine the momentary thrill those new musicians got when his prophecy came true. That sense of wonder is something we normally associate with movies. But it takes a mind like Chalmers\' to bring magic to life and his particular genius was to connect that feeling to making music.

 

Basically Chalmers is a fiendishly clever trickster; as talented as Brer Rabbit, Tom Sawyer and Bart Simpson all rolled into one. But he\'s different. His

evolved form of trickery only results in mutually beneficial outcomes: win-win situations.

 

Here\'s an example of how that works: He once owned a wood-splitting machine with which he\'d cut wood for his winter heating. Noticing that his neighbour, a somewhat younger fellow was cutting his wood laboriously by hand, Chalmers got to thinking. Eventually they struck a deal whereupon he gave his wood-splitter to the neighbour for free who in return promised to cut Chalmers\' firewood for as long as they remained neighbours. It was a clever little deal that both parties are still delighted with.

 

A classroom story that I really enjoyed was one where he asked the kids to listen really hard to a short piece of music; for at some point a triangle would sound. On hearing the triangle they should raise their hands. But then, just at the moment the triangle was played, Chalmers had a loud and sudden coughing fit. At the end of the piece he asked \"Who heard the triangle?\" No one had. \"Hmm, that\'s very strange.\" he said, \"Because it was definitely there. I\'ll play it again. Listen more carefully.\"

 

This time when the triangle sounded Chalmers was over by the classroom door and with perfect timing he slammed it shut. Again the piece ended and he asked if anyone had heard the triangle this time. Still no one had. \"That is really so peculiar because it\'s definitely there, clear as a bell. Let\'s try again.\" So again the process was repeated with some other timely distraction. On the fourth time he played the piece--without coughs, bangs or yells--the sound of the triangle rang brightly around the classroom and every hand shot up.

 

Listening is the first major skill that a musician must acquire and I have never heard a more brilliant and playful way to get kids to listen over and over again to the same bit of music with full focus and intention. That one lesson was a marvelous education for them. And along with the lesson came a feeling of delight. What child among them could help wondering what the trickster teacher would have in store for them next class?
 

I believe what makes Chalmers Doane an Einstein of education is that when he chooses to put his mind to a problem he simply refuses to give up until he\'s found an elegant solution. Most other educators just aren\'t thinking that way. But it\'s worth doing. The habit of thinking in novel ways will transport the brain to new and interesting destinations. I feel that, to some degree anyway, I share a similar aptitude for this sort of lateral thinking.

 

In the lunchroom at the Langley Ukulele Workshop we, the faculty, were eating our sandwiches while Jim D\'Ville happened to mention that in 1964 Buck Owens had a hit single reach number one in the Billboard charts. The B-side then took the place of the A-side at number one: a unique occurrence in musical history. I said, \"But Jim, my understanding is that records reach their chart position according to record sales.\" \"Yes.\" Jim agreed. \"Well surely,\" I continued, \"it was the same record.\"

 

This simple thought-twist tickled Chalmers and afterwards he mentioned to me that he was entertained by my way of thinking. The following morning the faculty were together again; this time for brunch and to discuss how the workshop weekend had gone. Once again the discussion of teaching with C or D tuned ukuleles came up. And again Chalmers gave his opinion that it doesn\'t really matter.

 

I said, \"His name is Chalmers Doane, so that can be C or D\". Peter Luongo quickly jumped in saying, \"But it\'s J. Chalmers Doane, what does the J stand for?\" Eagerly Chalmers responded \"It means Just C or D.\" His face lit up as he turned towards me saying, \"See, I\'m getting better at this!\"

 

© Ralph Shaw 2013  

 
 
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Need some help with your ukulele skills?

1) DVDs for Adults and Kids: The Complete Ukulele Course DVD series will get you playing a wide variety of strumming styles. Take a look at what\'s available visit: www.RalphShaw.ca

2) New Book: The Ukulele Entertainer
                   Powerful Pointers for Players and Performers

Be the Best Ukulele Entertainer You Can Be!

Put strings on a ukulele - correctly,
Play three styles of triplet strum
Know where to look when you sing
Tackle nerves and stage fright
Start and run a ukulele club
Remember lyrics and sing on pitch
Create a killer set list and much more. Learn from a seasoned pro how to relax and improvise, introduce more dynamics into your playing, even-just for fun-how to make ukulele wine! You\'ll get some lessons in musical history and be royally entertained by the \"King of the Ukulele\" himself.
Available from www.RalphShaw.ca  
Now on eBook too! Find it on kindle, kobo and all other ebook formats. Don\'t forget to leave a review too!
 
\"where else can you learn to play the \"wimpy-strong\" strum from a man who actually touched Liam Neeson\'s wig?\" -From the foreword by ukulele master James Hill

3) CDs also available include: King of the Ukulele, Table for Two and By George!

 Upcoming Performance Dates:
 

March 24: Fundraiser for Hawaii Wildlife Sea Turtle Conservation at Arbutus Music, Nanaimo. B.C. Ralph Shaw to do a workshop and concert. Other performers too Click here for details.

April 26/27 Larsen Music, Victoria B.C. Workshop and show. Details are coming.

May 2013: NEW! Ralph Shaw\'s West Coast Love and Laughter Tour (Oregon and California.) Details being organized. Keep watching this space!!
 
If you found value in this newsletter. Please forward it to your friends that may be interested (Just use the little blue \"forward email\" link near the end of this email).

Got ideas for future newsletters? Then let me know. I\'ll be more than happy to consider them.

Privacy Policy: I will never share information from my email contacts list with anyone, for any reason whatsoever.

To change your email address: Go to the \"update profile/email address\" link near the end of the page.

To unsubscribe: Go to the \"safe unsubscribe\" link near the end of the page.

To subscribe: just visit my Newsletter Signup page where you can also see the Archive of previous newsletters.

Make a financial contribution to support this newsletter:
Make a Donation using Paypal or Credit Card


© Ralph Shaw 2013

[Uketeufel]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Ukulele Entertainer

Inspired Ideas to Maximize your Music
April 02, 2013
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Raimund,
 
You\'re reading my 100th Ukulele Entertainer Newsletter. Begun in September 2009 with fewer than 500 subscribers it now goes out to a fairly colossal (I think) readership of over 3500.

 

Communicating with so many people opens doors to all manner of disagreements and misunderstandings. So I write carefully, aiming to be truthful and informative as well as entertaining and kind. Occasionally people disagree but mostly the feedback is good. In fact for all ninety-nine issues I hardly wrote a single thing I wish I\'d said differently. Except once...

 

btw. If you get value from this newsletter please consider forwarding it to a friend!

 

Word count this issue:  988 words.

 

Estimated reading time: less than 4 minutes.  

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
 
 
UE #100  Regarding Hats  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   

As part of Issue #80: Make Better Youtube Videos - Please! I cautioned all performers to avoid the reckless use of hats with the phrase, \"Hats can make you look odd, foolish, creepy or just plain crazy.\"
 

That comment bothered some people. In fact certain readers no longer perform in a hat, \"because I know you don\'t like hats Ralph\" said in an accusing tone as if I\'m responsible for spoiling their fun. Others tell me that despite my anti-hat stance they continue to sing in a hat.  

 

I feel slightly guilty for having burst a few blissful bubbles of heady ignorance. But the reactions are understandable.

 

Hats are personal. In 1981 a group of high spirited youths entered a Yorkshire pub wherein an old fellow in a flat cap sat at the bar contemplating his glass of stout. One of them, in a moment of abandon (not me), grabbed the cap off the old man\'s head and, popping it onto his own, beamed round at his mates with amusement. What he didn\'t see was the old man slowly winding up for a massive punch. Since everybody but the offending youth could see what was about to happen he was the only surprised party when the octogenarian fist connected with the side of his head. And the reaction from everyone in the pub? The kid had it coming. Such violence is way out of line for most types of insult. But you just don\'t mess with other people\'s hats.  

 

Nevertheless I stand by my views on wearing hats while performing, but feel I should qualify my position.

 

If you\'re a performer you want people to remember you. Therefore you need to display an appealing and consistent product. We are our own billboards. Each of us is a pitch-person for our own talent as we hawk and hustle to get others to buy into what we have to offer. Your performance garb should align with both your stage personality and your music. Sing Rockabilly songs dressed in a nun\'s habit and people will demand clarification. Great entertainers go to great lengths to look the part. Even those appearing not to care about how they look still make a clear statement (for example late-80s Grunge musicians wore grungy clothes not because they didn\'t care but because that was their chosen look.)

 

As salespeople of ourselves our heads are our trademark. The area on and around our faces is the most watched part of us. So whether you go for long, spikey or afro, in the case of hair; or choose a topper, trilby or toque as a hat, I suggest you think carefully about what you wish to portray. Elvis Presley knew this. Ever see him with mussed up hair? No. That\'s because his hair was his hat. His dyed black, slicked back hairdo was the most consistent item worn throughout his career.

 

You may have to experiment or you won\'t know what bandana, beret or beehive will work for you. But my suggestion is to think about it awhile before deciding it\'s a grand idea to go onstage wearing your \"Pete\'s Trucking\" baseball cap, or some distended lump of felt resembling an unidentifiable fungus.

 

When I first began performing I adopted the bowler hat (derby to Americans.) I wore one at every show for about fifteen years. It broadcast my Britishness before speaking and gave the audience an immediate sense of connection with what I offered.

 

I eventually stopped wearing the bowler for practical reasons: 1) It gets hot in warm weather and 2) it\'s a difficult item to travel with. Protecting a good hat takes special care. And the limitations airlines place on bags made my bowler an unfeasible, and unfoldable, accessory.

 

I\'m not the type to wear an eye-catching hat everywhere I go. But doing so can offer advantages. Grammy-winning musician and farmer Keoki Kahumoku on the big island of Hawaii, has a hat that he wears both onstage and off. It appears to be a reworked felt cowboy hat with the hat-band removed. It\'s a slightly unusual look and at the same time quite brilliant for it, along with his beard, makes him immediately recognizable. I visited Keoki and he took me to a see an experimental farm that works to obtain high produce yields using tanks of live fish as fertilizer. A talk was in progress and even though we were still some distance away the person giving the talk suddenly stopped her presentation on noticing Keoki\'s unmistakable outline.

 

\"Hi Keoki! Ladies and gentlemen allow me to introduce you to Keoki Kahumoku.\" she shouted while waving enthusiastically in our direction. My friend suddenly became a celebrity. Keoki was brought to the front where he gave an impromptu and extremely interesting speech about the importance of sustainable agriculture. Keoki is neither the first nor the last to understand the importance of head wear as a recognition tool.

 

Unlike with Keoki the theater performers\' stage personality is usually completely separate from their civilian appearance. And there are others, like myself, who comfortably live in both worlds. In my case I rarely perform or teach without a bow-tie although it\'s a look you probably wouldn\'t see me in while walking around my neighborhood. Thinking about it, the bow-tie, being close to my face, functions as a sort of reverse hat. Characteristic facial hair (think ZZ Top, Frank Zappa) also does this, as does an unusual pair of spectacles (Buddy Holly\'s optician solved Buddy\'s problem of not being able to see onstage by suggesting he try some distinctively eye-catching frames; and it\'s easy to see what that did for his career.)

 

So forgive me if my comment caused you to part from your precious hat. I was only trying to be helpful. It\'s all about finding something that suits you and improves--rather than detracts from--your stage performance.

 

Finally my hat goes off to all of you who have stayed with me as I continue to write, create and entertain. Here\'s to the next 100. Thank you for supporting my work!!

 

Next time: Exciting news about the Love and Laughter Project.

 

© Ralph Shaw 2013  

 
 
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Need some help with your ukulele skills?

1) DVDs for Adults and Kids: The Complete Ukulele Course DVD series will get you playing a wide variety of strumming styles. Take a look at what\'s available visit: www.RalphShaw.ca

2) New Book: The Ukulele Entertainer
                   Powerful Pointers for Players and Performers

Be the Best Ukulele Entertainer You Can Be!

Put strings on a ukulele - correctly,
Play three styles of triplet strum
Know where to look when you sing
Tackle nerves and stage fright
Start and run a ukulele club
Remember lyrics and sing on pitch
Create a killer set list and much more. Learn from a seasoned pro how to relax and improvise, introduce more dynamics into your playing, even-just for fun-how to make ukulele wine! You\'ll get some lessons in musical history and be royally entertained by the \"King of the Ukulele\" himself.
Available from www.RalphShaw.ca  
Now on eBook too! Find it on kindle, kobo and all other ebook formats. Don\'t forget to leave a review too!
 
\"where else can you learn to play the \"wimpy-strong\" strum from a man who actually touched Liam Neeson\'s wig?\" -From the foreword by ukulele master James Hill

3) CDs also available include: King of the Ukulele, Table for Two and By George!

 Upcoming Performance Dates:
 

April 26/27 Larsen Music, Victoria B.C. Workshop and show. Details are coming.

May/June 2013: West Coast Love and Laughter Tour (California, Oregon and Washington)

Attention Seattle readers! I\'m looking for a venue or house concert to perform in Seattle on Sat June 8. Contact me if you have any leads!

May 17/18 Ukulele Retreat, Southern California
May 19 Island Bazaar Huntington Beach, Southern California. 3pm workshop 7pm concert
May 25 Sebastopol Ukulele Festival. Workshop + Concert - Details later
May 26 Da Silva Ukuleles. Workshop + concert - Details later
May 31 Eugene Ukulele Club - Details later
June 1 Portland OR. Ukulele Workshops - Details later
June 2 Portland OR. 5pm House Concert - Details later
June 8 Seattle Concert? Call me if you have ideas!!
June 9 Dusty Strings, Seattle - 2 workshops 12:15 to 2:15 and 2:30 to 4:30

 Details being organized. Keep watching this space!!
 
If you found value in this newsletter. Please forward it to your friends that may be interested (Just use the little blue \"forward email\" link near the end of this email).

Got ideas for future newsletters? Then let me know. I\'ll be more than happy to consider them.

Privacy Policy: I will never share information from my email contacts list with anyone, for any reason whatsoever.

To change your email address: Go to the \"update profile/email address\" link near the end of the page.

To unsubscribe: Go to the \"safe unsubscribe\" link near the end of the page.

To subscribe: just visit my Newsletter Signup page where you can also see the Archive of previous newsletters.

Make a financial contribution to support this newsletter:
Make a Donation using Paypal or Credit Card


© Ralph Shaw 2013

[Uketeufel]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Ukulele Entertainer

Inspired Ideas to Maximize your Music
April 23, 2013
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Raimund,
 
It\'s all done. My two new albums Love and Laughter are recorded and ready to be shipped out to everyone who contributed to their creation.

 

My West Coast tour of California, Oregon and Washington (May/June 2013) is finalized and tickets are already selling. Who knows when I\'m there again so check the tour dates below and book early!  

 

Official CD release date is June 20, 2013. But, if you want to get your hands on my new creations sooner than that, keep reading...

 

btw. If you get value from this newsletter please consider forwarding it to a friend!

 

Word count this issue:  628 words.

 

Estimated reading time: about 2.5 minutes.  

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
 
 
Love and Laughter - Ready to Roll!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   

It\'s been a busy time and the fruits are ripe for the picking. My two albums are perfect and ready to be \"officially\" released on June 20th 2013 (view the album covers). But!! if you\'d like to hear them much sooner you can. Here are two ways you can do it:
 

1) One last chance to contribute. I have reopened my Love and Laughter fund raising appeal. For one week only you can head to my Love and Laughter page and make a donation towards the creation of my albums. There are several options to choose from to order one or more CDs. The only part that no longer applies is that you won\'t be able to get your name printed on the CD package. We\'re shipping immediately to everyone who already contributed to this project.

2) I will be selling Love and Laughter CDs at my live performances in California, Oregon, Seattle and British Columbia. Book early to avoid disappointment (one house concert in Portland already SOLD OUT so we added a second venue for June 1) scroll to end to find tour dates.


More big news is my June 20 CD Release Concert!

 

Ralph Shaw performs from his new albums: LOVE and LAUGHTER with: Steve Dawson (Guitar) + Rob Becker (Bass) + Guests at the Rogue Folk Club, Vancouver.  

 

This is a rare-and possibly only-chance to hear me play live with the legendary Steve Dawson. I strongly recommend that you buy tickets early for this because the Rogue Folk Club has a loyal following of members who attend all the concerts. It could sell out quickly. The venue has wonderful acoustics and promises to be a great midsummer evening of Love and Laughter!

 

If you\'ve ever seen Ralph Shaw you\'ll know he is an unparalleled showman with a knack for engaging an audience. His music has been described as hilarious, inspirational, outrageous, touching, and thought provoking. See him perform original songs from his two new albums (titled: Love and Laughter and produced by multi-award winner Steve Dawson) accompanied by some of Vancouver\'s finest musicians.
 

His Love CD is a collection of songs about every aspect of Love: finding Love, the exultation of falling in Love, lost Love, the comfort of a long term relationship and the transcendence of eternal togetherness.

 

The Laughter CD covers subjects as diverse as conversing with dogs, the joys of drinking tea, the childhood friend who became handyman at the Mustang Ranch (Nevada\'s famous legalized brothel), the building of a ukulele case, the British vicar who got his legs waxed for charity, the art of learning to yodel and more moments from his unusual life as Canada\'s \"King of the Ukulele\".

 

Ralph\'s critically acclaimed book, The Ukulele Entertainer, his many CDs and ukulele instructional DVDs have delighted, and transformed, thousands of new ukulele players. So experience the performer who entertained Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, for the 2010 Winter Olympics. And be royally entertained by The King of the Ukulele himself!

 

Concert Details:

Thursday June 20th 8pm

Rogue Folk Club, St James Hall

3214 West 10th Ave, Kitsilano, Vancouver. BC

Tickets: $20. call 604 736 3022 to book  

More concert info and tickets here.



West Coast Tour Dates are below...


I look forward to meeting many friends, old and new, over the next couple of months. See you soon!


Ralph Shaw

 

© Ralph Shaw 2013  

 
 
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

May/June 2013: West Coast Love and Laughter Tour (BC, California, Oregon and Washington)  

 

April 26/27 This weekend! Larsen Music - Victoria British Columbia:  

Concert Friday April 26, 8pm / Workshop Sat April 27 12pm: Secret to Infinite Strumming Patterns  


Fri May 17/18  Southern California Ukulele Mountain Retreat (California Ukulele Academy): Workshops, Concert, campfire, jamming, trees, fresh air and fun!!!

Sun May 19 Island Bazaar Huntington Beach, CA 3pm-Workshop (Secret to Infinite Strumming Patterns.) 7pm-Concert

Sat May 25  Sebastopol Ukulele Festival. CA Workshop + Concert

Sun May 26 Da Silva Ukuleles Berkeley, Northern CA 3:30 to 5pm Workshop ($25 Secret to Infinite Strumming Patterns) + 6pm concert ($20) $40 if you take both.

Tue May 28 Lauren\'s Restaurant, 14211 Highway 128, Boonville, CA 95415 8:30pm 707-895-3869 $10 cover

Wed May 29 Chico Ukulele Club, Trinity Methodist Church, Chico. Workshop and concert. Details coming but meanwhile contact Cynthia Davis for details

Fri May 31 Eugene Ukulele Club (The Ukulaneys) 6:30pm Strumming Class + pot luck and ½ hour concert. For info Contact P. Sage, Washington Park Community Center, 2025 Washington St., Eugene.  

Sat June 1 Portland Ukulele Association: Evening Concert + 2 Ukulele Workshops:
Workshops: 12 - 1:30pm  Secret to Infinite Strumming Patterns + 2 - 3:30pm Melody Licks for Strummers ($25ea, $45 for both.) Contact M. Brogan to book Workshops at St. David\'s Episcopal Church Community Hall 2800 SE Harrison, Portland, OR 97214
7pm House Concert $20 hosted by M. Brogan. Contact M. Brogan to book and get address.

Sun June 2 Portland Oregon House Concert 5pm - Details and booking info here This one is already SOLD OUT!

Sat June 8 Bellevue, Washington (Seattle) House Concert Email Jean Smith to book your seat and get address details

Sun June 9 Dusty Strings, Seattle - 2 workshops 12:15 to 2:15: Secret to Infinite Strumming Patterns and 2:30 to 4:30: Melody Licks for Strummers

Thur June 20 CD Release Concert at Rogue Folk Club, St James Hall, 3214 West 10th Ave, Kitsilano, Vancouver. BC Canada. Rogue Folk Club Info and Book Tickets Here $20. or phone: 604 736 3022


Digital Downloads of Love and Laughter: From June 20th you can download mp3 versions of both albums from iTunes, Spotify and all the rest. You can also prepay your download order with iTunes from May 23 and get a taster track. The rest of the album will download automatically on the release date.
 

Need some help with your ukulele skills?

1) DVDs for Adults and Kids: The Complete Ukulele Course DVD series will get you playing a wide variety of strumming styles. Take a look at what\'s available visit: www.RalphShaw.ca

2) New Book: The Ukulele Entertainer
                   Powerful Pointers for Players and Performers

Be the Best Ukulele Entertainer You Can Be!

Put strings on a ukulele - correctly,
Play three styles of triplet strum
Know where to look when you sing
Tackle nerves and stage fright
Start and run a ukulele club
Remember lyrics and sing on pitch
Create a killer set list and much more. Learn from a seasoned pro how to relax and improvise, introduce more dynamics into your playing, even-just for fun-how to make ukulele wine! You\'ll get some lessons in musical history and be royally entertained by the \"King of the Ukulele\" himself.
Available from www.RalphShaw.ca  
Now on eBook too! Find it on kindle, kobo and all other ebook formats. Don\'t forget to leave a review too!
 
\"where else can you learn to play the \"wimpy-strong\" strum from a man who actually touched Liam Neeson\'s wig?\" -From the foreword by ukulele master James Hill

3) CDs also available include: King of the Ukulele, Table for Two and By George!  

 
If you found value in this newsletter. Please forward it to your friends that may be interested (Just use the little blue \"forward email\" link near the end of this email).

Got ideas for future newsletters? Then let me know. I\'ll be more than happy to consider them.

Privacy Policy: I will never share information from my email contacts list with anyone, for any reason whatsoever.

To change your email address: Go to the \"update profile/email address\" link near the end of the page.

To unsubscribe: Go to the \"safe unsubscribe\" link near the end of the page.

To subscribe: just visit my Newsletter Signup page where you can also see the Archive of previous newsletters.

Make a financial contribution to support this newsletter:
Make a Donation using Paypal or Credit Card


© Ralph Shaw 2013

[Uketeufel]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Ukulele Entertainer

Inspired Ideas to Maximize your Music
May 07, 2013
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Raimund,
 
While recording my two new albums Love and Laughter I started musing on the most famous recording artists of all and wondered what made them so outstanding in every area of their music. btw. If you get value from this newsletter please consider forwarding it to a friend!  

 

My tour of California, Oregon and Washington (May/June 2013) is fast approaching so check the places & dates at the end of this email to see concerts and workshops. Until June 20 these are the ONLY places you can get the new CDs.    

 

Love and Laughter CD Release Concert is on June 20. If you\'re in Vancouver come and join the fun! Concert tickets available here.  

 

Word count this issue:  934 words.

 

Estimated reading time: just over 3.5 minutes.  

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
 
 
Push and Polish: Beatles Style

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   

\"It\'s the ultimate geek book for recording engineers.\" said Steve Dawson.

I was sitting cross-legged on the studio floor during a break in recording. The whopping tome I\'d just opened was holding down the base of a microphone stand which in turn supported a draped blanket used to acoustically screen my area of the studio from the other musicians. The book contained every bit of known information about how the Beatles recorded their music
 

It was very impressive. The book contained technical specifications of studios, instruments, amplifiers and indeed every object ever involved in creating a sound on a Beatles album. It struck me how far the makers of those iconic albums had gone in their quest to make sounds that had previously not existed.

 

Of course fame and money help. It\'s expensive to experiment on a big scale but 1960s recording companies were investing heavily in all kinds of bands; and some of their recording work was just as creative and interesting as what the Beatles were doing: Motown, The Beach Boys, The Doors, The Velvet Underground, The Kinks, Frank Zappa and more. But none came close to gaining the exponentially disproportionate fame that the Beatles achieved.

 

It got me thinking about the elements that drove the Beatle\'s career to such high levels. And my conclusion is that that they had a vital pair of attributes that I call push and polish which they applied to every aspect of their music.

 

I first came to understand this concept on reading an interview with Steve Miller (of the Steve Miller Band.) He said Paul McCartney once advised him to take special care with song-writing; to keep working on a song even when you think it\'s done. This statement gave me an insight into what makes great performers so successful.

 

Musicianship

 

What the Beatles did: Every member of the band put in thousands of playing hours to get their musical skills up to scratch. In recent years when Beatles master tapes are pulled out of the vaults engineers can isolate and hear individual instruments. It is very evident that there was no sloppy playing going on. Every member of the group added to the overall sound.  

 

What less effective musicians do: They practice their instrument until they get \"good enough\". At this point their desire to get better dwindles as they take comfort in the thought that any mistakes they make will be covered up \"by the others\".

 

Performance


What the Beatles did: They performed in a whorehouse in Hamburg for eight to ten hours a day, six or seven days a week for months on end. They sought out and studied great songs and learned how to present them with musicality, energy and style.

 

What less effective musicians do: They learn some songs and practice them until they sound \"good enough\". Over time the performance of each song doesn\'t get any better. In fact it often worsens because they\'re no longer consciously working towards improvement. If they go to whorehouses it\'s usually not to become better musicians.

 

Song-writing

 

What the Beatles did: Every song they wrote was honed and polished. They wrought melodies until they were unique, memorable and singable; lyrics were written to express exactly what they wanted to say; chord changes and harmonies were devised that were surprising and appealing.

 

What less effective musicians do: Often they\'ll copy a song they like, but to make it \"original\" they tweak and change the melody and end up with something bland and forgettable. Either that or they come up with a brand new melody that just happens to be bland and forgettable and then don\'t bother to improve on it. The chord changes either remain identical to standard songs or so random that they sound weird and unsuitable. Lyrics are jotted down but barely go through any sort of editing process: grammar is confused, clichés abound, ideas and lyric lines are mind-numbingly pedestrian and predictable. But they mostly get away with it because they never learned to sing clearly enough to make more than 34% of their lyrics understandable anyway.

 

Recording

 

What the Beatles did: They pushed the boundaries of what was possible. Multi-track recording was still in its infancy but they achieved amazing results (especially when you consider that the Sergeant Pepper album was recorded on a 4-track machine.) This was done with a team of people (producer, sound engineers and musicians) who had individually studied their craft and who strove together to reach new realms of recording artistry.

 

What less effective musicians do: They connect affordable microphones to a computer and discover that they have exponentially more ways to manipulate sound than the Beatles team ever dreamed possible. Unfortunately, without pushing to perfect the product to the highest standard possible, the results end up sounding amateurish; as you might expect. However this doesn\'t matter because the creator is still able to proudly say, in a fake Liverpool accent, \"Ah\'ve just ricawded me new CD. D\'yah fancy a listen?\"

 

Most of us at some time have displayed aspects of lazy creativity; indeed it\'s a necessary part of the learning process. But we can also remember how the Beatles pushed further and polished finer every aspect of their creativity and bring that same consciousness to our own work.

 

Finally I must admit that although I respect The Beatles immensely I\'ve rarely enjoyed their music. Perhaps it\'s got something to do with me living near Penny Lane for nearly four years and not being able to walk down that street without that infernal song going round and round in my head for the rest of the day. Damn those pesky Beatles!

 

© Ralph Shaw 2013  

 
 
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

May/June 2013: West Coast Love and Laughter Tour (California, Oregon and Washington)  

 

Fri May 17/18  Southern California Ukulele Mountain Retreat (California Ukulele Academy): Workshops, Concert, campfire, jamming, trees, fresh air and fun!!!

Sun May 19 Island Bazaar Huntington Beach, CA 3pm-Workshop (Secret to Infinite Strumming Patterns.) 7pm-Concert

Tue May 21 Modesto Funstrummers meeting: 5pm. Presbyterian Church, 1600 Carver Road, Modesto, CA

Sat May 25  Sebastopol Ukulele Festival. CA Workshop + Concert

Sun May 26 Da Silva Ukuleles Berkeley, Northern CA 3:30 to 5pm Workshop ($25 Secret to Infinite Strumming Patterns) + 6pm concert ($20) $40 if you take both.

Tue May 28 Lauren\'s Restaurant, 14211 Highway 128, Boonville, CA 95415 8:30pm 707-895-3869 $10 cover

Wed May 29 Chico Ukulele Club, Trinity Methodist Church, Chico. Workshop and concert. Details coming but meanwhile contact Cynthia Davis for details

Fri May 31 Eugene Ukulele Club (The Ukulaneys) 6:30pm Strumming Class + pot luck and ½ hour concert. For info Contact P. Sage, Washington Park Community Center, 2025 Washington St., Eugene.  

Sat June 1 Portland Ukulele Association: Evening Concert + 2 Ukulele Workshops:
Workshops: 12 - 1:30pm  Secret to Infinite Strumming Patterns + 2 - 3:30pm Melody Licks for Strummers ($25ea, $45 for both.) Contact M. Brogan to book Workshops at St. David\'s Episcopal Church Community Hall 2800 SE Harrison, Portland, OR 97214
7pm House Concert $20 hosted by M. Brogan. Contact M. Brogan to book and get address.

Sun June 2 Portland Oregon House Concert 5pm - Details and booking info here This one is already SOLD OUT!

Sat June 8 Bellevue, Washington (Seattle) House Concert Email Jean Smith to book your seat and get address details

Sun June 9 Dusty Strings, Seattle - 2 workshops 12:15 to 2:15: Secret to Infinite Strumming Patterns and 2:30 to 4:30: Melody Licks for Strummers

Thur June 20 CD Release Concert at Rogue Folk Club, St James Hall, 3214 West 10th Ave, Kitsilano, Vancouver. BC Canada. Rogue Folk Club Info and Book Tickets Here $20. or phone: 604 736 3022


Digital Downloads of Love and Laughter: From June 20th you can download mp3 versions of both albums from iTunes, Spotify and all the rest. You can also prepay your download order with iTunes from May 23 and get a taster track. The rest of the album will download automatically on the release date.
 

Need some help with your ukulele skills?

1) DVDs for Adults and Kids: The Complete Ukulele Course DVD series will get you playing a wide variety of strumming styles. Take a look at what\'s available visit: www.RalphShaw.ca

2) New Book: The Ukulele Entertainer
                   Powerful Pointers for Players and Performers

Be the Best Ukulele Entertainer You Can Be!

Put strings on a ukulele - correctly,
Play three styles of triplet strum
Know where to look when you sing
Tackle nerves and stage fright
Start and run a ukulele club
Remember lyrics and sing on pitch
Create a killer set list and much more. Learn from a seasoned pro how to relax and improvise, introduce more dynamics into your playing, even-just for fun-how to make ukulele wine! You\'ll get some lessons in musical history and be royally entertained by the \"King of the Ukulele\" himself.
Available from www.RalphShaw.ca  
Now on eBook too! Find it on kindle, kobo and all other ebook formats. Don\'t forget to leave a review too!
 
\"where else can you learn to play the \"wimpy-strong\" strum from a man who actually touched Liam Neeson\'s wig?\" -From the foreword by ukulele master James Hill

3) CDs also available include: King of the Ukulele, Table for Two and By George!  

 
If you found value in this newsletter. Please forward it to your friends that may be interested (Just use the little blue \"forward email\" link near the end of this email).

Got ideas for future newsletters? Then let me know. I\'ll be more than happy to consider them.

Privacy Policy: I will never share information from my email contacts list with anyone, for any reason whatsoever.

To change your email address: Go to the \"update profile/email address\" link near the end of the page.

To unsubscribe: Go to the \"safe unsubscribe\" link near the end of the page.

To subscribe: just visit my Newsletter Signup page where you can also see the Archive of previous newsletters.

Make a financial contribution to support this newsletter:
Make a Donation using Paypal or Credit Card


© Ralph Shaw 2013


 
 
 
 
You can Contact me by...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email:bowlerhat@shaw.ca
phone: 604 689 2937 (Intl +1)
on the web:http://www.ralphshaw.ca/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Uketeufel]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Ukulele Entertainer

Inspired Ideas to Maximize your Music
June 11, 2013
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Raimund,
 
Having completed my three week west coast tour I\'m eager to tell you all about it. I\'ve marveled at the variety of experiences and the kindness of the people who populate the western part of the USA.

 

Love and Laughter CD Release Concert coming June 20 in Vancouver. It\'s the only time to see me perform songs with fellow recording artists: Steve Dawson, Rob Becker plus guests. Don\'t think about catching my show \"next time\" for this is the ONLY one. Steve Dawson is moving to Toronto and there won\'t be another chance. I think it will be a blast and, if you\'re able, I would truly love for you to be there. Get Concert tickets here.  
 

If you really can\'t be there - no worries because Love and Laughter CDs are now available from my website!!  

 

Word count this issue:  1436 words.

 

Estimated reading time: Just over 5 minutes.  

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
 
 
Ralph\'s West Coast Tour: Part 1 - Canada to SoCal & Modesto  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   

Even the best planned trip can have something unforeseen keeping you frantically busy up to the final minute. For me it was the discovery that someone had uploaded my entire \"Essential Strums for the Ukulele DVD\" to Youtube. The result was that I spent my last hour in Canada filing a copyright infringement complaint with Youtube to have it removed. Actually, I tell a lie, it wasn\'t my last hour because I now remember we had to wait two hours at the border to get our visas processed; including fingerprinting. It irked Kathryn that the US government now has our fingerprints but our own government doesn\'t. And the gestapo-like experience involved in crossing the border (in either direction) is never pleasant. No matter how innocent I actually am I always have a nagging feeling they\'ll get me for a crime I didn\'t even know existed. Tip for the day: Men, when crossing the border don\'t wear red trousers. I did that once and it was like waving a red-flag in front of a bull. In the end they let me through, eventually...

 

After the border and with a flush of exhilaration it felt good to be on the so-called open road. This was my first tour with my wife Kathryn. Now that our daughter is old enough to take care of things at home it made sense to bring Kathryn along. I enjoy traveling alone but I often get twinges of sadness at not having someone alongside to share special moments. Nevertheless, I harbored some misgivings: Would she adapt to the daily business of traveling who knows where, meeting who knows who and eating who knows what?  

 

As it turned out things went great. And Kath had good ideas too; like renting a comfortable vehicle to take us the distance. It\'s surprising how quickly perks such as air-conditioning and cruise control soon become essentials. First night we were wined and dined in fine style by our good friends Patty and Bill in Springfield, Oregon (the genesis of The Simpson\'s home town.) Patty gave us each Ukes and Yoga T-shirts: Tune In and Tune Up. I love wearing mine, it makes people smile. The next night we stayed with a high-school friend of mine who (and you may find this interesting) was the handyman at Nevada\'s Mustang Ranch--North America\'s famous legalized house of ill-repute--for five years. On learning of his former occupation I wrote a song in the George Formby style (resplendent with innuendo and double-entendre) and recorded it on my new Laughter CD. Btw. I\'m quite proud of my Formby style uke solo in the middle of that song - possibly my best yet.

 

The views, as we drove from Reno through the wind blown High Desert to my first event--a mountain ukulele retreat near San Bernadino--were spectacular. It was real Hollywood cowboy country. California has a way of showing you things that you only expect to see in movies. When suddenly a tumbleweed blew across the road I couldn\'t help but let out a high and lonesome yodel.

 

The ukulele retreat, organized by The California Ukulele Academy, was at Alpine Meadows, Angelus Oaks. It felt healthy and exhilarating just to be there. We stayed in log cabins, breathed fresh air and ate surprisingly good food. In such a summer camp setting I expected to see big cauldrons of spaghetti and tomato sauce being cooked up but that wasn\'t the case here. They served tasty food and catered to various special diets too. Meeting the other teacher/performers was great fun. It was nice to see Jim D\'Ville again and get to know jazzy player Sarah Maisel plus ukulele blues aficionado Jason Arimoto. It upset me only slightly to learn that Jason has a PhD in Molecular Biology, thus rendering my physics degree somewhat less spectacular as a ukulele qualification. I was thrilled to perform my first concert of the tour and particularly pleased that Doug Reynolds also invited me to teach my ukulele performers workshop. It was well attended and I get the sense that ukulele players are realizing there\'s a lot more to making music than just being good on an instrument.

 

Next we headed to Island Bazaar in Huntington Beach (south of L.A.) Arriving on a sunny Sunday we had about an hour to check out the beach scene. Again I had to pinch myself to realize that I wasn\'t in a movie. Every Southern California stereotype was there: blonde bimbos in big shades and bikinis, coppertone hunks in colourful shorts and cool attitudes, bearded big-shots in sleeveless T\'s on Harley bikes, dudes with surfboards strapped to their vintage vehicles and tourists with white legs and short socks with sandals (ahem, actually that was me.)

 

Island Bazaar is an all-ukulele store run by Shirley Orlando who is a true music business veteran. Hanging out with her and hearing her stories alone made the entire trip worthwhile. She\'d once owned a music store which went out of business due to mega-music chains like Guitar Center muscling in with their high volumes and low prices. Later she opened Island Bazaar to sell Tiki furniture, Hawaiian fabrics and Polynesian related knick-knacks. It was then that a couple of guys, Kent Olson and Tom Noble of the Kolohe Ukulele Club, stopped by to ask if the group might be allowed to practice in the store. As time went on she brought in more ukuleles and packets of strings (and my tutorial DVDs.) Soon she was a music store again; only now she was solely dealing in an instrument completely disdained by the monster music shops. Many ukulele clubs meet at Island Bazaar to learn and jam together and Tom is still there. I strongly recommend you check it out if you\'re ever near Huntington Beach. And say Hi to the great Shirley Orlando. Get this: She once wrote a full-length musical that sold out a 300+ seat theatre for seventeen performances. Not too shabby for a first attempt!

 

A forbidding part of the trip for me was the anticipation of driving across L.A. But, thanks to my new GPS device and highly capable driver (Kathryn), we got through without any problem at all and only wished we could have had more time to see the sights. But Modesto beckoned. Everyone I\'d told said, \"Oh, you\'ll be hot in Modesto.\" I took that to mean my popularity was assured. But they were talking about the physical temperature. Hitting the central valley around Bakersfield, even with A/C on, you could sense the temperature kick up a notch or three. We stopped at a Starbucks for coffee and learned they have a \"loonie button\" on the cash till. (Loonie, the nickname for the Canadian dollar coin, is so called because it shows a loon on the tails side.) It was surprising and comforting to know that even this far south they were set up to unburden us of our Canadian cash. Even though its reason is no-doubt mercenary it still felt somehow brotherly.

 

The road to Modesto (Route 99, sometimes known as the Pacific Highway) began as a horse and stagecoach route extending north well into Canada and all the way on down to Mexico. Parts of Route 99 were also some of the first stretches of road to receive a white dividing line down the middle. This was thanks to the persistence of Dr. June McCarroll--a resident of Indio on Route 99--who fought for years to get her \"ingenious but impractical\" idea accepted by the authorities. We\'ll never know how many lives have been saved by both her simple concept and persistence in doggedly fighting to make it happen.

 

These days the drive takes you past thousands upon thousands of acres of tree farms. It\'s stunning to see how much land, organization and know-how is used to keep our grocery store shelves so well stocked. However an unfortunate part of such monoculture farming (as we learned from a documentary just prior to our trip) is that it\'s leading to the deaths of millions of honey bees. Something like seventy-five percent of America\'s bees get trucked into the Central Valley every year in order to pollinate the trees. It\'s a system that worked for a long time but it doesn\'t seem to be doing the poor bees any favours.  

 

In Modesto I got to meet The Funstrummers! The group, led by Lorrie Freitas, is slightly unusual because as well as being a ukulele club they are very active in performing community shows. I gave them a customized workshop which included feedback of some performance pieces. At the very end of the evening they sang for Kathryn and I a beautiful farewell song rendered in such a heartfelt way that the only response I could offer was, \"Don\'t change a thing!\"

 

Next week come with me as I take you to Sebastopol, San Francisco and Boonville!

 

© Ralph Shaw 2013  

 
 
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Performance Dates 2013:

 

Thur June 20: CD Release Concert at Rogue Folk Club, St James Hall, 3214 West 10th Ave, Kitsilano, Vancouver. BC Canada. Rogue Folk Club Info and Book Tickets Here or phone: 604 736 3022. Tickets $20.


Weds July 10: 7 to 8pm. Open air concert in Mission BC. Envision Twilight  Concert Series


Sat July 27: Nanaimo Ukulele Festival in Nanaimo BC

and more to come!! In fact I\'m thinking of a US East coast tour next so if you know of a uke club, festival or suitable venue for me then let me know and I\'ll try and include it in the itinerary.


Digital Downloads of Love and Laughter: From June 20th you can download mp3 versions of both albums from iTunes, Spotify and all the rest. You can also prepay your download order with iTunes from May 23 and get a taster track. The rest of the album will download automatically on the release date.
 

Need some help with your ukulele skills?

1) DVDs for Adults and Kids: The Complete Ukulele Course DVD series will get you playing a wide variety of strumming styles. Take a look at what\'s available visit: www.RalphShaw.ca

2) New Book: The Ukulele Entertainer
                   Powerful Pointers for Players and Performers

Be the Best Ukulele Entertainer You Can Be!

Put strings on a ukulele - correctly,
Play three styles of triplet strum
Know where to look when you sing
Tackle nerves and stage fright
Start and run a ukulele club
Remember lyrics and sing on pitch
Create a killer set list and much more. Learn from a seasoned pro how to relax and improvise, introduce more dynamics into your playing, even-just for fun-how to make ukulele wine! You\'ll get some lessons in musical history and be royally entertained by the \"King of the Ukulele\" himself.
Available from www.RalphShaw.ca  
Now on eBook too! Find it on kindle, kobo and all other ebook formats. Don\'t forget to leave a review too!
 
\"where else can you learn to play the \"wimpy-strong\" strum from a man who actually touched Liam Neeson\'s wig?\" -From the foreword by ukulele master James Hill

3) CDs also available include: King of the Ukulele, Table for Two and By George!  

 
If you found value in this newsletter. Please forward it to your friends that may be interested (Just use the little blue \"forward email\" link near the end of this email).

Got ideas for future newsletters? Then let me know. I\'ll be more than happy to consider them.

Privacy Policy: I will never share information from my email contacts list with anyone, for any reason whatsoever.

To change your email address: Go to the \"update profile/email address\" link near the end of the page.

To unsubscribe: Go to the \"safe unsubscribe\" link near the end of the page.

To subscribe: just visit my Newsletter Signup page where you can also see the Archive of previous newsletters.

Make a financial contribution to support this newsletter:
Make a Donation using Paypal or Credit Card


© Ralph Shaw 2013


 
 
 
 
You can Contact me by...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email:bowlerhat@shaw.ca
phone: 604 689 2937 (Intl +1)
on the web:http://www.ralphshaw.ca/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Uketeufel]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Ukulele Entertainer

Inspired Ideas to Maximize your Music
June 18, 2013
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Raimund,
 
Today I continue my west coast ukulele tour of the USA. Come with me to take in some surprising sights in North California.

 

Love and Laughter CD Release Concert coming June 20 in Vancouver. It\'s the only time to see me perform songs with fellow recording artists: Steve Dawson, Rob Becker plus guests. If you\'re coming - BRING YOUR UKE: there will be a strum along portion in the show. Get Concert tickets here.  
 

If you really can\'t be there - no worries because Love and Laughter CDs are now available from my website!!  And as of Thursday June 20 they\'ll also be available for download on itunes and similar sites.

 

Word count this issue:  1822 words.

 

Estimated reading time: Just over 6 minutes.  

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
 
 
Ralph\'s West Coast Tour Part 2: Sebastopol, Berkeley and Boonville  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   

Leaving the Central Valley we noticed the almond and fruit trees give way to fields of grape vines. We were in wine country. And then we noticed a crop of a very different nature: wind! Wind turbines are a familiar sight for many communities willing (and some not so willing) to try non-polluting energy sources. But California has a wind farm on a scale I never imagined. We stopped the car and got out and marveled for in every direction--from horizon to horizon--were acres of rolling hills with their tall grey sentinels whirring in the wind. About as tall as downtown office towers they stood--hundreds of them--all facing the same way as cattle grazed beneath: an awe inspiring juxtaposition of the bucolic and the space age. But there was no time to linger for we needed to get to school.

 

When it comes to teaching ukulele to children the conventional wisdom is to wait until they are about 8 years old. Before then their physical coordination is generally not sufficiently developed. I was curious to see how Dan, a kindergarten teacher of five year old children, had managed to get his class involved in music. He\'s a co-organizer of the Sebastopol Ukulele Festival and he\'d invited me to meet and entertain the kids at his school. I showed up at the school without a bow-tie on--a sartorial faux-pas. Fortunately Dan met me outside the classroom and mentioned that the kids had seen my DVD and were expecting the bow-tie. So back to the car I went for a quick change.

 

The kids beamed when they saw me and made me feel incredibly welcome. They picked up their ukes and sang with open and exuberant joy. What Dan has done is remarkable for it allows the kids to get the full pleasure of music while taking into account their physical limitations. The ukuleles were divided into three groups of about five players in each group. One set was tuned to an open C chord, the next to F and the next to G7. You wouldn\'t want to strum these ukes all together. The way it works is that Dan plays the song and gestures to tell which group (C, F or G7) to strum along.  

 

The kids don\'t chord, they just need to strum in rhythm and sing; which they do, at the tops of their voices. All young children have attentions that wander but Dan has found that music has the power to focus and unify the group like nothing else can. It was extraordinary. One felt that so long as they kept singing and strumming these kids could take over the world!  

 

Vancouver, Canada has long been known as a centre for alternative movements. Since the 1960s, when it became Canada\'s hippie central, there\'s been no shortage of yoga classes, organic foods and sustainable living advocates. Yet Sebastopol is so advanced in these areas it makes Vancouver look like Redneckland. First to Peter Lowell\'s organic eatery for lunch. Looking around at the animated diners at other tables it seemed everyone was discussing something incredibly interesting. While nibbling on Classic Nicoise a man in a purple shirt with a crystal pendant spoke in plum British tones about some book he\'d read. Another two fellows, one looking quite Dudley Moore-like, appeared to be discussing a film script. And next to us was a man in show-jumping clothes with a woman and a little boy. I felt I wanted to strike up a conversation them but I didn\'t. I imagined that if I\'d brought my ukulele along I could have sung a song for the kid just to see his reaction. As it turned out this would have connected us all immediately for these same people showed up next day at the festival. The dad is a banjo-uke player and had his instrument in his car while I had mine in mine. It goes to show, everyone should take their ukulele everywhere.

 

After lunch Kathryn walked around the town while I dozed in the car. Opposite me was a park bench and I couldn\'t help but notice, as I raised a tired eyelid from time to time, that even the homeless people here seemed reasonably well to do. One fellow sat luxuriantly combing his beard for about 45 minutes. Every time I opened my eye there he was, like a lion, untangling the fibers of his beard with some sort of narrow comb about the size of a fork. Come to think of it, that\'s probably exactly what it was.

 

That evening we went to a winery, non-restaurant. It\'s an interesting concept. You order by ticking boxes on a menu and then get your own cutlery, side plates and water from a nearby table. The food and wine were excellent and the conversation most enjoyable thanks to Dan and his wife Sarah: a three-time mayor of Sebastopol no less.

 

The main force behind the First Annual Sebastopol Ukulele Festival is Jim \"Mr. Music\" Corbett. My inner anthropologist is terminally fascinated by the personalities that choose to put on festivals. I wonder what drives them. But in Jim\'s case it\'s easy to see: from his smile to his body language, the guy simply loves music. It was a nicely organized festival too. A friend of mine commented though that there was so much happening, both on the stages and in workshops, there was no time to simply hang out and jam with other people. It\'s a very minor criticism but one that many festival organizers could take note of: plan a little down time.

 

Next morning we drove to Mike DaSilva\'s place in Berkeley. I\'ve known Mike since 2005 and possibly earlier. He\'s been making ukuleles for nine years and all his instruments have a particular quality of open resonance that I recognize when I hear it. He\'s an artist too. He\'s not afraid to dye his woods and imbue his creations with character and colour.

 

His workshop is also unique. As you\'d expect he has everything for building ukes and for training wannabe uke-makers. But his space is also designed for holding concerts and workshops, which he does on a regular basis. A whole lot of people spend a great deal of time in the on-line ukulele community, but if you want to get real and hear ukulele, touch ukulele and even breath some ukulele dust then head on over to Mike DaSilva\'s place. It\'s the real thing.

 

After teaching and performing at Mike\'s (as well as reacquainting myself with friends old and new that had come to see me) Kathryn and I headed to San Francisco\'s Seal Rock Hotel. It\'s is a living relic from decades past that provides large rooms, a pool, a tiny elevator and parking; all for a price you can\'t complain about. The clerk informed us that Hunter S. Thompson stayed there. I wish she could also have informed us about correct use of the baggage cart whose square footage was almost identical to that of the elevator. How we struggled to manhandle that cart into the elevator\'s sub-compact space. We pushed, pulled and rocked it from side to side before cajoling it fully through the door. Next day discovered the cart can be steered from one end only; push from the other end and it becomes as obstinate as a tired mule; which, by then, is pretty much how I was feeling. It was good to have a quiet room. The cool sea breeze wafted through the off-white curtains as we dined on cheese, olives, crackers and half a bottle of wine before going to sleep.

 

On Memorial Day morning we looked around San Francisco. After buying coffee and take-out from the Greens-to-go Restaurant we strolled around Fisherman\'s Wharf. My favourite thing was the Musée Mécanique: a large collection of antique coin-operated amusement arcade machines. It was such an innocent pleasure to wander around with a handful of quarters choosing which machines to try out. One of them, called End of the Trail, consisted of a broken-down covered wagon, its cover hanging in tatters; nearby an animal skull reposed on the dry earth. I inserted 25 cents and prepared to watch the show. From the left side of the diorama a fan began to blow causing the tattered canvas pieces to shiver in the wind. That was it, the whole thing. And to be fair, it did last a while, but when a father and son came to insert their coin I told them, \"Save your money. You see what it\'s doing now? That\'s all it does.\"

 

The diorama left me with a sense of poignancy however. Back in Eugene, Bill had lent me a book called The Worst Hard Time about the tragic history of the 1930\'s dust bowl. The people who lost everything on America\'s Great Plains were as fresh in my mind as perhaps they were for whoever created this low-tech coin-operated diversion so long ago.

 

Then north: to Philo in the Anderson Valley. Our GPS machine caused us to overshoot by several miles and it was only when the voice said, \"You have reached your destination\" while all around us lay thick forest we figured something was wrong. Out of cell phone range we backtracked to Navarro - the last settlement we\'d encountered. I entered the store and asked to use the phone. The owner who only seemed to have the use of one arm agreed to dial the number for me on his phone that had buttons but no digits. He handed me the handset saying, I don\'t know if that\'s the right number...it probably is.\"

It was correct and soon we were with Dennis. I\'ve known him for years, as he has been a familiar face at numerous ukulele festivals. He\'d organized a restaurant concert for me in the local town of Boonville. It was one of the smaller events of the tour but perfectly delightful. The turnout of around twenty plus people was more than satisfactory for a Boonville Tuesday night where folks are generally early-to-bedders. The locals even have their own dialect: Boontling, that is so complex one might almost call it a language. I learned that if I\'d wanted a pay phone earlier that day I might have asked for a Bucky Walter. Bucky is the slang word for a nickel (the old price of a phone call) and Walter is the name of the first person in the valley to get a phone.

 

The Anderson Valley is a place where memories are long and humor is rife. I wonder if they\'ll remember me next time I\'m there? I also wonder if they\'ll invent a name for the ukulele? Say a \'Plucky Dennis\' or a \'Strummy Shaw\'. I have no doubt they\'ll think of something.

 

Next time: Come with me as I return home via Chico, Eugene and Portland.

 

© Ralph Shaw 2013  

 
 
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Performance Dates 2013:

 

Thur June 20: CD Release Concert at Rogue Folk Club, St James Hall, 3214 West 10th Ave, Kitsilano, Vancouver. BC Canada. Rogue Folk Club Info and Book Tickets Here or phone: 604 736 3022. Tickets $20.


Weds July 10: 7 to 8pm. Open air concert in Mission BC. Envision Twilight  Concert Series


Sat July 27: Nanaimo Ukulele Festival in Nanaimo BC

and more to come!! In fact I\'m thinking of a US East coast tour next so if you know of a uke club, festival or suitable venue for me then let me know and I\'ll try and include it in the itinerary.


Digital Downloads of Love and Laughter: From June 20th you can download mp3 versions of both albums from iTunes, Spotify and all the rest. You can also prepay your download order with iTunes from May 23 and get a taster track. The rest of the album will download automatically on the release date.
 

Need some help with your ukulele skills?

1) DVDs for Adults and Kids: The Complete Ukulele Course DVD series will get you playing a wide variety of strumming styles. Take a look at what\'s available visit: www.RalphShaw.ca

2) New Book: The Ukulele Entertainer
                   Powerful Pointers for Players and Performers

Be the Best Ukulele Entertainer You Can Be!

Put strings on a ukulele - correctly,
Play three styles of triplet strum
Know where to look when you sing
Tackle nerves and stage fright
Start and run a ukulele club
Remember lyrics and sing on pitch
Create a killer set list and much more. Learn from a seasoned pro how to relax and improvise, introduce more dynamics into your playing, even-just for fun-how to make ukulele wine! You\'ll get some lessons in musical history and be royally entertained by the \"King of the Ukulele\" himself.
Available from www.RalphShaw.ca  
Now on eBook too! Find it on kindle, kobo and all other ebook formats. Don\'t forget to leave a review too!
 
\"where else can you learn to play the \"wimpy-strong\" strum from a man who actually touched Liam Neeson\'s wig?\" -From the foreword by ukulele master James Hill

3) CDs also available include: King of the Ukulele, Table for Two and By George!  

 
If you found value in this newsletter. Please forward it to your friends that may be interested (Just use the little blue \"forward email\" link near the end of this email).

Got ideas for future newsletters? Then let me know. I\'ll be more than happy to consider them.

Privacy Policy: I will never share information from my email contacts list with anyone, for any reason whatsoever.

To change your email address: Go to the \"update profile/email address\" link near the end of the page.

To unsubscribe: Go to the \"safe unsubscribe\" link near the end of the page.

To subscribe: just visit my Newsletter Signup page where you can also see the Archive of previous newsletters.

Make a financial contribution to support this newsletter:
Make a Donation using Paypal or Credit Card


© Ralph Shaw 2013


 
 
 
 
You can Contact me by...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email:bowlerhat@shaw.ca
phone: 604 689 2937 (Intl +1)
on the web:http://www.ralphshaw.ca/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Uketeufel]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Ukulele Entertainer

Inspired Ideas to Maximize your Music
June 03, 2013
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Raimund,
 
Touring the U.S. west coast was a wonderful experience. Come along on this final stage as Kathryn and I head home from California via Oregon and Washington.  

Hey Guess WHAT!! Love and Laughter CDs are now available from my website and also available for download on itunes and similar sites. btw. Many thanks to everyone who came out to my Love and Laughter CD Release Concert. It was a truly momentous event!    
 

Word count this issue:  1627 words.

 

Estimated reading time: Just over 5 minutes.  

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
 
 
Ralph\'s West Coast Tour Part 3: Paradise to Portland    

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   

We were driving to Paradise. Which, in case you don\'t know, is a small town about half an hour from the, somewhat larger, town of Chico heading into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Paradise resides near the edge of a majestic canyon that is positively eye-popping. Part of its impact may come from the surprise that it\'s there at all, but still, the wonders of this country must be great indeed for such an outstanding feature to remain basically unknown to the rest of the world.

 

Paradise is where we met with Tonya Dale, a.k.a. Ukulele Tonya. I know her as a familiar visitor to ukulele festivals and she\'s also a leading figure in the local ukulele scene. Tonya and her husband run their mail marketing business from a house in Paradise. The building doubles as a guest house which is where Kathryn and I stayed. On first sight the house does not look very large but its rooms are unexpectedly, um, roomy. I\'ve lived most of my life in small English houses and cozy apartments and one gets used to everything being close by. Therefore it\'s a strange feeling to stay in places that have more space than I\'m used to. In such cases it slowly dawns on me that I\'ve started to think of the trip from bedroom to kitchen as a commute.

 

Unfortunately there was no time for hiking and sight-seeing (not even indoors) for I had an appointment with the ukulele players of Chico. On the way we stopped to eat at the Sierra Nevada Tap Room and Restaurant. It was sweltering as we parked the car; and I mentally praised the building owners for erecting a huge shade structure over the parking lot. On second look I noticed that the framework supports a vast array of solar cells performing double duty as both providers of shade and purveyors of electrical power. Tonya told us that the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company is well known for introducing all kinds of forward-thinking ideas into its business model and, because of this, have made themselves into a very popular local, and nationally known, enterprise. Apparently their beer is also very good but not for me thanks; I was on my way to work.

 

With bags plus ukuleles hanging from my shoulders I arrived at the church for the workshop and concert. I blundered my way into a room where a dozen serious looking women sat in a circle. I said, \"This isn\'t the ukulele workshop is it?\"

One of the women replied, \"No.\"

\"Whoops, sorry everybody. Well when you\'ve done your meeting, grab a ukulele and come and join us!\" They laughed as I made my cumbersome retreat. That\'s when I noticed the sign on the door: Meeting in Progress - Alcoholics Anonymous. I can\'t claim that playing ukulele will solve their problems, but even the idea of it made them lighten up for a moment.

 

As with so many ukulele groups the one in Chico is active and full of friendly ukulele players. The evening was organized by Cynthia but a major force behind the group is David, the pastor of the church. His slightly unorthodox approach to his profession (such as using ukuleles and wearing a circus look t-shirt) reminded me of Father David (another minister with his own ideas) from my English hometown. So onstage I took special delight in singing the Father David song from my Laughter album.

 

It was late as we headed back to our roomy residence in Paradise. I was all for refueling the car right away however Kathryn was feeling tired and preferred to wait until morning. But I was driving so I won! We stopped at a gas station and I went inside to pre-pay. That\'s where I came face to face with a large jovial attendant who trilled, \"Greetings to you young sir!! How are you this lovely evening?\"  

 

The bouncy energy of his warm welcome seemed out of place for a late night gas station. I replied, \"Good thanks, um, how are you?\"

\"As fine as frog hairs on a frosty Friday morning!\" (a pause)  

\"Fantastic\" I responded.  

He smiled approvingly at me and said, \"I like your attitude young man. How can I help you?\"

 

After filling the tank I returned to collect my change and the gas station attendant called me young man once again. I said it was very complimentary of him to do so. He informed me that one time he had called a young boy, \"Sir\" who then whispered to his father, \"Daddy, he just called me an old man.\"

\"So,\" the attendant continued, \"ever since then I\'ve decided to call everyone young\"

 

I came out of that gas station in high spirits. I\'d learned a silly frog phrase and had a story to tell. What a bargain. I felt pleased to have stopped in. On this rare occasion, when contradicting my spouse had actually turned out to be the right thing to do, I\'d been led to ponder how even the most menial job can be a source of creativity and delight when approached with the mind of an entertainer.

 

Next morning we were on our way to Eugene, Oregon. Before leaving, Tonya and her husband took us to their local diner. With a good old American breakfast of pancakes, fruit, eggs and home-fries inside us they made sure we were adequately fueled up for our trip. Their guest-house may have had plenty of room but the same could no longer be said of my stomach.

 

It was good to be back with Patty and Bill in Springfield, Oregon. They had been our first stop on the southward journey when Kathryn and I were still full of plans and anticipation. But I also felt a little sad to have left California and be heading towards home. However our adventure wasn\'t over yet.

 

Off to lunch with friends: David and Marcia. Marcia plays ukulele and I\'ve known her for a number of years. David, though a non-ukulele player, has become a most honoured audience member of mine because several years ago he took it on himself to wear a bow-tie to every Ralph Shaw concert he attends. On the way to lunch it hit me that David would almost certainly be wearing a bow-tie. And once again, just as with my Sebastopol school visit, I was without my characteristic neck wear. I\'m thinking the time is fast approaching where I\'m going to have to bite the bullet and wear one all the time.

 

Sure enough, at his office Marcia greeted us with a big hug and there was David; resplendent in his bow-tie. I made apologies for not wearing one and our ensuing conversation was all about what an amazing article of clothing the bow-tie is! David and I have both noticed that wearing a bow-tie causes people to smile. It puts them at ease. But it also creates an expectation; wear a bow-tie and people will assume you are an interesting and larger-than-life character. That\'s quite a responsibility to take on. It\'s the reason why few people choose to wear one. To walk around with a bow-tie shows a level of fun-loving bravado. It\'s a way of announcing to the world that you\'re ready to joke, jape and joust jovially with any Joe or Jane you may meet on life\'s journey. I really should send one to the Paradise Gas Station guy, he\'d know what I\'m talking about.

 

The attendance at Eugene\'s Ukalaneys club was excellent. I taught a workshop incorporating three of my favourite strums followed with a concert of songs from my albums Love and Laughter. One of my younger fans, Josh, was there, also wearing a bow-tie. Could this be the beginning of a bow-tie resurgence?!

 

Our last stop was Portland, Oregon. Heidi, a reader of this newsletter, had offered to host a house concert for me. We were both surprised when the concert sold out within three days of going on sale. Heidi said this was a record for one of her concerts. Marianne Brogan - the innovative originator of the famed Portland Ukulele Festival - had already set up two workshops for me and now quickly organized an additional house concert to take care of the overflow. It ended up as a busy but satisfying final weekend.

 

Forty people gathered in Heidi\'s living room for my last concert. Her place overlooks the city of Portland and through her large window you take in the entire city and the scenery beyond. In fact, Heidi said, on a clear day it is possible to see four different volcanoes. As I stood before the audience at the start of my show I said, \"What an absolutely, breathtakingly incredible view. I must say, you all look absolutely wonderful!\" You know it always helps to get the audience on your side.

 

One week later I was back in the United States for workshops at Seattle\'s Dusty Strings music store and a house concert in Bellevue. Jean, the host of the concert, has a talent for quilting and a love of Hawaiian music. When she had her house renovated the architectural plans included not only a theater with stage but also a space on the wall for one of her special quilts. Knowing her fondness for all things Hawaiian I wanted to let her know that I too love the Hawaiian culture (though this is not obviously apparent from the music I play.) So as part of my concert I chose to read the final chapter from my book The Ukulele Entertainer titled Sithee - the Yorkshire Aloha in which I mention meeting the Hawaiian educator and performer Liko Puha for the first time.

 

When the last concert goer had said goodbye Jean led me into a room at the back of her house to show me one of her early quilts. It was the face of Liko Puha. She had taken time and effort to recreate his image using fabric and thread just as I had once felt moved to immortalize him with words. I love it when things come together like that.  

 
And to my American friends, readers and especially those who made our stay so enjoyable, Kathryn and I wish you all a very Happy 4th of July.

 

© Ralph Shaw 2013  

 
 
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Performance Dates 2013:

 

Weds July 10: 7 to 8pm. Open air concert in Mission BC. Envision Twilight Concert Series.



Sat July 27: Nanaimo Ukulele Festival in Nanaimo BC

and more to come!! In fact I\'m thinking of a US East coast tour next so if you know of a uke club, festival or suitable venue for me then let me know and I\'ll try and include it in the itinerary.


Digital Downloads of Love and Laughter: From June 20th you can download mp3 versions of both albums from iTunes, Spotify and all the rest. You can also prepay your download order with iTunes from May 23 and get a taster track. The rest of the album will download automatically on the release date.
 

Need some help with your ukulele skills?

1) DVDs for Adults and Kids: The Complete Ukulele Course DVD series will get you playing a wide variety of strumming styles. Take a look at what\'s available visit: www.RalphShaw.ca

2) New Book: The Ukulele Entertainer
                   Powerful Pointers for Players and Performers

Be the Best Ukulele Entertainer You Can Be!

Put strings on a ukulele - correctly,
Play three styles of triplet strum
Know where to look when you sing
Tackle nerves and stage fright
Start and run a ukulele club
Remember lyrics and sing on pitch
Create a killer set list and much more. Learn from a seasoned pro how to relax and improvise, introduce more dynamics into your playing, even-just for fun-how to make ukulele wine! You\'ll get some lessons in musical history and be royally entertained by the \"King of the Ukulele\" himself.
Available from www.RalphShaw.ca  
Now on eBook too! Find it on kindle, kobo and all other ebook formats. Don\'t forget to leave a review too!
 
\"where else can you learn to play the \"wimpy-strong\" strum from a man who actually touched Liam Neeson\'s wig?\" -From the foreword by ukulele master James Hill

3) CDs also available include: King of the Ukulele, Table for Two and By George!  

 
If you found value in this newsletter. Please forward it to your friends that may be interested (Just use the little blue \"forward email\" link near the end of this email).

Got ideas for future newsletters? Then let me know. I\'ll be more than happy to consider them.

Privacy Policy: I will never share information from my email contacts list with anyone, for any reason whatsoever.

To change your email address: Go to the \"update profile/email address\" link near the end of the page.

To unsubscribe: Go to the \"safe unsubscribe\" link near the end of the page.

To subscribe: just visit my Newsletter Signup page where you can also see the Archive of previous newsletters.

Make a financial contribution to support this newsletter:
Make a Donation using Paypal or Credit Card


© Ralph Shaw 2013


 
 
 
 
You can Contact me by...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email:bowlerhat@shaw.ca
phone: 604 689 2937 (Intl +1)
on the web:http://www.ralphshaw.ca/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Uketeufel]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Ukulele Entertainer

Inspired Ideas to Maximize your Music
September 17, 2013
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Raimund,
In 2005 I performed in a Vaudeville show. This happens periodically when yet another misguided show producer decides the public is again thirsty for ten minute-long variety acts. A big drawback with this idea (other than the mindblowingly obvious: why would anyone pay to see such a thing when Youtube is free) is the inconsistency of local live acts. Vaudeville\'s essence was that each act had something that was unique and special. But all too often that special quality has become the sheer awfulness of the performance.

If you find value in this newsletter please forward it to a friend!

 
Word count this issue:  1013 words.

 

Estimated reading time: About 4 minutes.  

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
 
 
UE #103 Dare to be Sharp!    

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The 2005 show had a beautiful African-Canadian singer who sang Summertime from Porgy and Bess. Her loud and resonant voice packed heartfelt emotion into every syllable. Her voice swooped down, rose up and vibrated the walls on every crescendo. She could have been a showstopper were it not for the fact that she sang consistently and jawdroppingly flat.

 

The worst of it was that nobody told her. After the show, overhearing her friends and fellow vaudevillians banging on about her amazing singing, I was finally moved to exclaim, \"What are you all deaf?\"

Having got their attention I faced the woman and said, \"You lady, sing flat. A performing dentist\'s drill would have elicited fewer winces than your effort tonight. If you\'re going to sing for paying customers it needs to be in tune. And you honey have some major work to do in that department.\"

 

Actually, no. I didn\'t say any of that. Show people are notoriously vulnerable and no one wants to be the one to deflate their bouncy castle of optimism and hope.

 

So I\'ll say it to you instead, \"You sing out of tune and you need to do something about it\".

 

No matter who you are I\'m probably not far off the mark with that statement, it\'s just a question of degree. A note-perfect singer is a rare being. We all need to work on our tuning. It\'s important because how in-tune you are pretty much decides if your voice is on the side of beautiful to behold or painful to bear. And here\'s the thing: no amount of ukulele practice will improve your singing. They are completely separate skills.

 

Start listening to your own voice. Listen honestly and without judgment. Hear the sound you\'re actually making and not what you hope is there.

 

Here\'s a game you can play to see how well you stay in tune over the course of a song: Play and sing something you know well. At the end of the song hold the last sung note and find that same note on the ukulele fretboard. Now sing the song again. Use the ukulele to help you get started on the right note but then stop strumming and sing the rest of the song unaccompanied. When you hit the final note of the song find it on the fretboard and compare it to the final note from before. Is it higher or lower in pitch than before?

 

My guess is that, unless you have a well developed sense of pitch, your final note is flatter (ie. lower in pitch) than the first time. Keep playing this game and see if you get closer to ending on the correct note (the name of the last note is almost always the key that the song is in.)

 

If you\'re having trouble even finding your last note on the fretboard then that\'s an issue. But don\'t give up hope. Ear tuning--that is hearing if one note is higher or lower than another--gets better with practice. I used to be awful at this skill and still have bad moments. If you feel utterly hopeless get someone more adept to help you.

 

How do you maintain the correct key without a musical instrument to keep you in tune? The answer is the mental trick of hearing the key note in your head and then singing the song without the key note changing over the course of the song. This is called maintaining the tonal center. It\'s an odd skill in that I\'m not aware that I\'m doing it but I always know when it breaks down. Spend time overcoming the parts that take you out of the tonal center.

 

Once you can maintain the tonal center for a whole song it\'s a huge step but it doesn\'t mean that every note within the song is in tune. It\'s possible (in fact highly probable) that within the song there could be many out of tune notes. You need to locate and correct these.

 

So why do we sing out of tune? Poor vocal technique is often a culprit. If you\'re not singing with strong vocal support then you\'re probably tending to sing flat. The other reason is not knowing note intervals. The Porgy and Bess lady had no problem with vocal support but she clearly had no sense of what the exact note intervals were. In Summertime the first note is on the summ vowel, the next note is on er and the word time is back on the same note as summ. It\'s quite a big jump down in pitch and then back up again to where you started. And the audience knows the tune. So it\'s pretty obvious when the time ends up drastically different than summ. You have to hear note intervals in your head to be able to sing them. In other words get to know every note of the melody and how each note relates to those before and after.

 

More tuning games:

Tune your ukulele, play a note and sing it back, either to a friend or into an electronic tuner. Are you on the note, too high (sharp) or too low (flat)? Most people are flat. If so, train yourself to sing a notch higher than you usually do. Dare to be sharp! And you might just hit the right note.

 

When melodies flow up or down in steps singers tend to make the downward steps too large and the upward steps too small. Correct this by singing downward melodies in slightly smaller steps and upward melody lines in slightly larger steps than feels natural.

 

Certain vowels often come out flat. The \"Aaah\" vowel is notorious for sounding flatter to the listener than to the singer. Seek these out and push them up a little. Summ-er-time for example has aaah vowels in both summ and time. Even er has some aaah in there.

 

You may be getting the idea that I want you to sing sharp. That\'s not the case. In fact chronic sharpness is as bad as chronic flatulence, I\'m sorry I mean flatness. But by correcting your flat spots with some nice bright sharpness you have the potential to lift your music out of the dentist\'s chair and into the realm of angels.

 

   

© Ralph Shaw 2013  

 
 
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

My new albums: Love and Laughter are now available on iTunes and other download sites. As a taster for you here is the treatment I did of How to Build a Ukulele Case (click the link and you can hear it streaming.)

 

Performance Dates 2013:

 

Sat Oct 12: 7 to 9pm. Vancouver House Concert. Probably Sold Out but if there\'s room I\'ll post details.



Fri/Sat Oct 18/19: Kani - Langley Ukulele Workshop SOLD OUT

Fri Oct 25: Ukulele Ceilidh - Liverpool, Nova Scotia


 

Need some help with your ukulele skills?

1) DVDs for Adults and Kids: The Complete Ukulele Course DVD Series will get you playing a wide variety of strumming styles. Take a look at what\'s available visit: www.RalphShaw.ca

2) New Book: The Ukulele Entertainer
                   Powerful Pointers for Players and Performers

Be the Best Ukulele Entertainer You Can Be!

Put strings on a ukulele - correctly,
Play three styles of triplet strum
Know where to look when you sing
Tackle nerves and stage fright
Start and run a ukulele club
Remember lyrics and sing on pitch
Create a killer set list and much more. Learn from a seasoned pro how to relax and improvise, introduce more dynamics into your playing, even-just for fun-how to make ukulele wine! You\'ll get some lessons in musical history and be royally entertained by the \"King of the Ukulele\" himself.
Available from www.RalphShaw.ca  
Now on eBook too! Find it on kindle, kobo and all other ebook formats. Don\'t forget to leave a review too!
 
\"where else can you learn to play the \"wimpy-strong\" strum from a man who actually touched Liam Neeson\'s wig?\" -From the foreword by ukulele master James Hill

3) CDs also available from my website include: Love, Laughter, King of the Ukulele, Table for Two and By George!  

If you found value in this newsletter. Please forward it to your friends that may be interested (Just use the little blue \"forward email\" link near the end of this email).
 


Got ideas for future newsletters? Then let me know. I\'ll be more than happy to consider them.

Privacy Policy: I will never share information from my email contacts list with anyone, for any reason whatsoever.

To change your email address: Go to the \"update profile/email address\" link near the end of the page.

To unsubscribe: Go to the \"safe unsubscribe\" link near the end of the page.

To subscribe: just visit my Newsletter Signup page where you can also see the Archive of previous newsletters.

Make a financial contribution to support this newsletter:
Make a Donation using Paypal or Credit Card


© Ralph Shaw 2013


 
 
 
 
You can Contact me by...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email:bowlerhat@shaw.ca
phone: 604 689 2937 (Intl +1)
on the web:http://www.ralphshaw.ca/

[Uketeufel]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Ukulele Entertainer

Inspired Ideas to Maximize your Music
October 15, 2013
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Raimund,


NEW from Ralph Shaw! Best selling DVD, Essential Strums for the Ukulele, is now available as a download. For only $19.95 you can Download the DVD immediately and get started on a whole bunch of very cool strums. It could change your life! Get it now Or read more about it here: Essential Strums DVD info


Bea Blackwell played piano in the Billy Bishop Canadian Legion Hall every Friday night for over three decades. She had a vast repertoire of singalong favourites from the World War eras and Hollywood Musicals. Showing up with my banjo-uke I only needed to tell her the name of a song and then start playing. She\'d nod her head as her fingers traveled across the ivories poking at certain piano keys to find the song key I was playing in. Seconds later both her hands would be in full flow, driving the honky tonk machine in a forceful striding style.

 

If you find value in this newsletter please forward it to a friend!

 
Word count this issue:  1092 words.

 

Estimated reading time: just over 4 minutes.  

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
 
 
 UE #104 Play Like an Old Timer  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I\'ve met other musicians of Bea\'s generation who play ukulele like she plays piano. All of them share the following characteristics: they were born in the 1920\'s, can seemingly play anything and claim not to read music. Growing up in a time when recording was in its infancy and radio was the latest techno marvel, kids had lots of time on their hands. A musically curious child had endless hours to unravel the mystery of any instrument that came their way. The result was an enviable ease and facility with their instrument that is so very different from how most people play today.

 

Like most things that look simple, but are hard to do, the art of playing any song in any key is several skills stitched together to appear as one ability. I still consider myself a novice at this but with the following knowledge and years of playing
I\'m fairly confident you too can play ukulele like an old timer.

 

In fact by then there\'s a good chance you actually will be an old timer.
 

You will need to:

1)     Figure out the key to any song you hear.

2)     Think of chords as finger shapes instead of names and play barre chords effortlessly.

3)     Know the chord changes to hundreds of songs and/or be able to recognize common chord patterns.

 

1)     Finding the Key  

Go to Youtube, or put on some CDs, and just go from song to song figuring out the key for each. The last note of a song usually tells you the key and there are other techniques too. I wrote a little about finding song keys in an earlier piece: UE# 91 What\'s the Next Chord? Part 2: Hitting the Percentages. It\'s a skill that develops the more you do it.

   

2)     Think of Chords as Finger Shapes  

To play a song in any key you only need to know it in the keys of C, F and B-flat (B-flat is written henceforth as Bb.) [This is for ukuleles in GCEA only. For ukes tuned to ADF#B the keys you need to be fluent in are D, G and C. For baritone ukes (tuned DGBE) the three keys are G, C and F. But from here on I\'ll only be giving chord names for GCEA tuning.]

 

Key of C: Play a simple 3 chord song in C. Use the chords: C, F and G7. Say King of the Road, Folsom Prison Blues or Jamaica Farewell. To change this song to the key of C#, begin by making a Barre at the first fret. (Barre means to press your index finger down across all four strings at a particular fret.) Now, while barreing, play exactly the same shapes for C, F and G7 as you did before. You\'re now playing the song a semi-tone higher. Move your barreing index finger to the next fret and play those chord shapes again. The song is now in D, a whole tone higher. Continue up the neck playing the song in ever rising keys. You find that knowing the name of each individual chord is no longer much of a help. It\'s actually simpler to just think of them as finger shapes. As you continue up the fingerboard the sound gets progressively more plinky, so, let\'s change and play the song in the key of F.

 

Key of F: In the key of F the chords for our three chord song are now: F, Bb and C7. Once you can play the song with these chords, move them all up by a half tone, once again barreing at the first fret and playing the same chord shapes. The chords are now called F#, B and C#7 although, as I said before, you don\'t need to know those names, just their shapes. Keeping these same finger shapes you can play the song in different keys by moving the shapes up and down the fretboard. But, should you find that neither of the C or F chord groups are giving you desired results then try switching to the key of Bb.

 

Key of Bb: The chord names for our same three chord song are now Bb, Eb and F7. As before, once you\'re familiar with these shapes, you can play in different keys by moving them to different places on the fingerboard using a barre.

 

Understanding the above you realize you can play your three chord song in any key. It\'s a wonderful concept. You may discover that moving quickly through these chord shapes, and taking them up the fretboard also gives you an additional tool in locating the key of any song.

 

Let\'s now move from a three chord song to one that has four or five chords. In the key of C, a five chord song may have the chords: C, F, G, Am and D7. Make a barre and play the song in different places along the neck. Now transpose the song to the key of F (so, C becomes F, F becomes Bb, G7 becomes C7, Am becomes Dm and D7 becomes G7.) Again, with your barre, play the song in different places up and down the fretboard. Got the hang of that? Then do the same song again in the key of Bb (so, F becomes Bb, Bb is now Eb, C7 becomes F7, Dm becomes Gm and G7 becomes C7.)

 

If you are new to transposing then the above may have you scratching your head in bewilderment. Transposing is actually not that hard. It\'s merely a fancy word for changing all the chords or notes in a song by the same amount.

 

Once you can play all your songs in the keys of C, F and Bb, and can move them up and down the ukulele neck, you are there. With those three chord sets you\'ll be able to play in any key without necessarily having to know the names of every single chord you\'re playing.

 

3)     Learn Songs and Chord Patterns  

Now learn a whole pile of songs and learn them in those three chord positions. As you do this you\'ll become familiar with chord patterns that get used over and over again in popular, folk, jazz, blues and classical music. The important thing is that for each song you learn in the key of F, for example, make sure you also learn it in C and Bb. Obviously this can take a while. So, if you wish to become one of those old timers who can play any song in any key, I suggest you get started right away!

 

© Ralph Shaw 2013  

 
 
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

My new albums: Love and Laughter are now available on iTunes and other download sites. As a taster for you here is the treatment I did of How to Build a Ukulele Case (click the link and you can hear it streaming.)    

 

Best selling DVD, Essential Strums for the Ukulele, is now available as a download. For only $19.95 you can Download the DVD immediately and get started on a whole bunch of very cool strums. It could change your life! Get it now Or read more about it here:  Essential Strums DVD info  

 

Performance Dates 2013:

 

Fri/Sat Oct 18/19: Kani - Langley Ukulele Workshop SOLD OUT

Fri Oct 25: Ukulele Ceilidh - Liverpool, Nova Scotia


 

Need some help with your ukulele skills?

1) DVDs for Adults and Kids: The Complete Ukulele Course DVD Series will get you playing a wide variety of strumming styles. Take a look at what\'s available visit: www.RalphShaw.ca

2) Book: The Ukulele Entertainer
                   Powerful Pointers for Players and Performers

Be the Best Ukulele Entertainer You Can Be!

Put strings on a ukulele - correctly,
Play three styles of triplet strum
Know where to look when you sing
Tackle nerves and stage fright
Start and run a ukulele club
Remember lyrics and sing on pitch
Create a killer set list and much more. Learn from a seasoned pro how to relax and improvise, introduce more dynamics into your playing, even-just for fun-how to make ukulele wine! You\'ll get some lessons in musical history and be royally entertained by the \"King of the Ukulele\" himself.
Available from www.RalphShaw.ca  
Now on eBook too! Find it on kindle, kobo and all other ebook formats. Don\'t forget to leave a review too!
 
\"where else can you learn to play the \"wimpy-strong\" strum from a man who actually touched Liam Neeson\'s wig?\" -From the foreword by James Hill

3) CDs also available from my website include: Love, Laughter, King of the Ukulele, Table for Two and By George!  

If you found value in this newsletter. Please forward it to your friends that may be interested (Just use the little blue \"forward email\" link near the end of this email).
 


Got ideas for future newsletters? Then let me know. I\'ll be more than happy to consider them.

Privacy Policy: I will never share information from my email contacts list with anyone, for any reason whatsoever.

To change your email address: Go to the \"update profile/email address\" link near the end of the page.

To unsubscribe: Go to the \"safe unsubscribe\" link near the end of the page.

To subscribe: just visit my Newsletter Signup page where you can also see the Archive of previous newsletters.

Make a financial contribution to support this newsletter:
Make a Donation using Paypal or Credit Card


© Ralph Shaw 2013

[Uketeufel]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Ukulele Entertainer

Inspired Ideas to Maximize your Music
October 14, 2014
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Raimund,


Regular readers of this regular e-newsletter will have noticed that for two or three months my newsletter has not been at all regular. Since July, thanks to summer performances and other activities, my motivation to write has dwindled down to just about nothing. With this edition I\'m aiming to break the ennui and get back onto a more regular writing schedule.

If you\'re feeling the need to revive your daily music practice habit here are some ideas to get back into it.

 

btw. If you get value from this newsletter please consider forwarding it to a friend! or if you want to unsubscribe please use the \"Safe Unsubscribe\" link near the very end of the page. Meanwhile keep singin\' and strummin\'!  

 

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
 
 
 UE #124 Seven Tips to Make You Want to Practice  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Earlier this month I was part of Tutti - an annual weekend of ukulele workshops in Langley, British Columbia, hosted by James Hill. As well as James and me the teaching staff included Chalmers Doane (Nova Scotia), Helene Beaulieau (Quebec), Paul Luongo (B.C.), Aaron Keim (Oregon) and Kevin Carroll (Texas.) As always it was a high energy time of full-on ukulele learning punctuated by regular gatherings in the school gym where all 120+ students and staff met as a group.

At one of these meetings the students had an opportunity to quiz the teachers on any ukulele related issues they had in mind. One student asked for a practice tip from each teacher. Here is some of what was said:
 
1) Practice for one minute - every day. This is a favourite tip from Chalmers Doane. All you have to do is commit to practicing for one minute every day (including Christmas and statutory holidays.) The only rule is that it be a full minute of concentrated and focused practice. No daydreaming! And the one minute begins AFTER the ukulele is removed from its case. Afterwards you may choose to continue practicing for longer than a minute. But that is up to you.  

2) Keep it fun. Remember it is called PLAYING the ukulele. So make your practice time enjoyable and playful. For example think of your scales as games. Find different ways to play them by changing the timing and the order of the notes. Also reward yourself with music and songs that pique your excitement and make you want to play them often.

3) Really listen to your instrument. This tip came from Helene Beaulieu. When you pick up your ukulele instead of getting straight on with the business of playing just strum the open strings and pay close attention to the sound. Truly listen. How do you feel? What does the sound do to your senses? Think about sound. Remember that practice is not about creating physical movements it is about making sound.

4) Any time can be practice time so keep your instrument/s within easy reach. I wouldn\'t necessarily suggest this for trumpet, timpani, double bass or bagpipes, all of which require a dedicated practice space. But ukuleles are fairly unique in that they can be transported anywhere and played at low volume in kitchen, car, bedroom, living room or waiting room without causing too much offense.  

5) Get a good instrument. Having a freshly strung ukulele that makes you feel great just to hold and hear will make a huge difference. The pleasure of a well made and great sounding instrument can make you want to spend as much time with it as possible.

6) Practice with performance in mind. Some play music purely for personal recreation but most of us plan at some time to share our music with others. Practicing for performance can mean many things. It can hone the quality of your singing and playing to a higher level. Practicing as if an audience is watching can get you familiar with playing outside of your comfort zone. Make sure to become adept at the trickier parts of songs to prevent falling apart in those places. Working towards a goal of putting the song across to an audience will deepen your connection to the instrument and to your music.

7) Consider the future if you fail to practice now. Here is a slightly sad personal story. In 2002 I bought a white upright piano. My goal was for both my daughter Aletha and I to learn to play. I imagined a future where our home would be filled with Boogie Woogie, Ragtime and singalong parties. But over time Aletha gave up her lessons and I simply forgot to play the instrument. And there it stands to this day untouched and unplayed. And this next part may make me sound a little crazy but I feel sorry for the piano. I imagine it came to our home feeling as I did at the time: excited and eagerly anticipating the music it would be making. Instead it has become a forlorn feature of our household furniture; a despondent repository for old books and bric-a-brac that get loaded onto its sad little lid. For most of 12 years it has stood silent, yearning to be played.

So if you won\'t practice for you, at least do it for the sake of your instrument.

I\'m excited to be communicating again through this newsletter. And I may even have inspired myself to have another crack at the piano before we send it away to \"a better place.\" I\'ll be sure to let you know!  

 
© Ralph Shaw 2014