Newsletter von Ralph Shaw

[Uketeufel]

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

Powerful Pointers to Perk up your Playing
November 10 2009
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Dear Raimund,


This week we take a look at the unusual my-dog-has-fleas tuning. How did it get to be that way and why does its popularity persist? You\'re receiving this newsletter because you subscribed. If you found value in it then please consider forwarding it to a friend. (to unsubscribe simply use the link at the bottom).

Word count this issue: 850 words

Estimated reading time: About 3½ minutes

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UE#12 The My String

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John King tells of the time a boy took his ukulele to the Kamaka ukulele factory and told Sam Kamaka that he needed a new \'flea\' string.
Sam said, \"I think you mean a C string.\"
The boy replied, \"No its the flea string in my-dog-has-fleas\"
 
my-dog-has-fleas is  one of the most famous mnemonics in music. Its right up there with  \"do-re-mi\" and \"shave-and-a-haircut--2-bits\". Those famous 4 words help us to remember how to tune our uke when there is no pitch pipe or electronic tuner around.
 
For beginners and experts alike, the most interesting and perplexing string of all is the \"My\" string. This is the G string for those in GCEA, the A string for those in ADF#B and the 4th string from the floor for those who don\'t play it upside down (don\'t laugh I know people who do exactly that).
 
Most stringed instruments are tuned from low to high. The guitar, mandolin,
violin, bass, cello, tenor banjo, harp, and lute are all like this.
The ukulele on the other hand is characteristically odd in that its strings traditionally go High Low Low High. The fancy name for this is re-entrant tuning.
 
If the My string is tuned an octave lower the ukulele then becomes a small guitar (albeit without the 2 bass strings). Tuning the ukulele with a low G gives a bigger range of notes and makes the instrument much more accessible for guitar devotees. So why do so many ukulele players stay with the high My string? It is unusual, quirky, sometimes troublesome and seems to make little sense but its popularity endures. Let\'s take a look at this unusual mode of tuning and find out how it got to be this way.
 
No one knows the true origin of my-dog-has-fleas. But we do know that the ukulele is descended from 2 instruments native to the Portuguese island of Madeira. The ukulele\'s small size comes from the machete (pronounced mah-SHET) but the tuning comes from the larger Rajao (pronounced rah-ZHOW) which was tuned DGCEA. The Rajao was tuned in the re-entrant style with both the D and the G tuned high. The D was eliminated giving us the ukulele\'s GCEA tuning.
 
In the mid 1800s even guitars were sometimes tuned with re-entrant strings. This made possible a particularly beautiful style of playing known as Campanela. \'Campanela\' means the ringing of little bells. Campanela playing has the rule that no string may be plucked more than once in succession. Therefore if you want to play an F note followed by another F note you have to find the same F on 2 different strings.
 
As you can imagine this is a very tricky way to play. It leads to some unusual fingering shapes and requires devotion to the cause to make it work successfully. But boy does it work! Playing by this method allows each note to ring. This leads to an overall sound that I would best describe as being harp-like. Its not easy to do but is incredibly sweet and, because of the necessary overlap of available notes, campanela style playing requires a re-entrant tuning.
 
To hear ukulele played in the campanela style seek out work by the great musician and historian John King mentioned at the top of this piece who is sadly now departed and dearly missed. When I first heard him play I was struck by the light and angelic music this stolid looking musician produced. At the time it was almost as surprising to me as if a block of granite were to suddenly get up and dance.
 
So now we know how the my-dog-has-fleas tuning originated but why did it persevere? The bell like tones of campanela were long ago abandoned for strumalong favorites like Five Foot Two Eyes of Blue and Leaning on a Lampost. Still there is a powerful attraction to the jaunty bounce that the high My string provides.
 
Having a high string on the top and the bottom does seem to work uncommonly well for people who like to strum. Whether you strum up or down you always end on a high note!
 
Also, and slightly surprisingly, the high 4th string is not a problem for players who play arrangements that bring out both rhythm and melody. This Chord Melody technique can simply be described as a way of playing that gives the illusion of melody and chords being played simultaneously. Because there are no available low strings all lower melody notes must be played in a higher register.
 
The interesting part for me is that my ear hears this and seems to \'fill in\' the arrangement so it appears as if there are lower notes being played than are actually present. An audio illusion!
 
The high tuned G also makes the ukulele an ideal and rare candidate for playing in frailing and clawhammer styles usually associated with the 5-string banjo (see my DVD Essential Strums for the Ukulele to learn this technique).

There are also great reasons for using a low G string which I will save for another time!
 
What with differing tunings and alternate strings it becomes obvious why, when you ask a ukulele player how many ukes he/she owns, seldom do you hear, \"Oh just the one\"!


I wish to acknowledge John King and Dan Scanlan for their writings on the history of the ukulele.

Listen and See John King play Bach in Campanela style

[Uketeufel]

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

Powerful Pointers to Perk up your Playing
November 17 2009
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Dear Raimund,


As a father and a ukulele teacher I have learned a thing or two about child psychology. This week I have 10 ideas to help make your child choose to pursue a life of music. If you found value in it then please consider forwarding it to a friend!

Word count this issue: 740 words

Estimated reading time: About 3 minutes

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UE#13 Getting Kids Interested in Music

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Music has been shown over and over again to be the most beneficial thing for a child to learn. Forget math, languages, sport and science. If you really want to develop your child\'s brain you need to get them hooked on music.
 
The understanding and presentation of the musical art develops the brain/body connection in ways that no other school subject can. There is the mathematical understanding of the musical rules as they pertain to melody, harmony and rhythm. Then learning to superimpose on this the artistic nuances of dynamics and feeling adds a multi-dimensional aspect to the skill.
 
At the same time all this mental work is going on the body is also performing astounding feats. Fingers, arms and even feet move independently of one another to make the necessary sounds. Playing music is a full mind/body workout leading to tremendous and satisfying rewards which, if not financial, may be spiritual or personal in nature.
 
Musical people generally live longer, are less stressed and live healthier lives than any other kind of people. I can also personally attest that musicians as a whole tend to be kind, warm, intelligent and inclusive people.
 
Now that I have established how vital the study of music is for your child/ren I want to offer help that will make certain that they lead a full and happy life in the glorious pursuit of music!
 
Tip #1 DON\'T ENCOURAGE THEM WHATEVER YOU DO!!!  
This is most important. As soon as your child gets the merest whiff that music might be good for them nothing will turn them off faster. Trying to convince your child that because mom and dad think its cool they should find it cool too WON\'T WORK!
 
Tip #2 Find ways to punish them if they appear to be enjoying anything remotely musical.  
For example. Put on some classic 60s rock music with a good beat. If you notice them tapping their feet in time to the music you should get angry and send them to bed without dinner. Let them figure out for themselves what they did wrong.  
Another example: Johnny comes running in saying that he tried Timmy\'s trumpet. Even if he says he successfully played a tune resist the temptation to look up. Instead just sneer and say, \"Whatever.\"
 
Tip #3 Take time to expose your children to live music.  
While doing so make derisive comments about the musicians on stage. Remember to exaggerate the poverty, loneliness, substance abuse and other miseries that belie their apparently carefree and joyful stage demeanor.
 
Tip #4 Get a good ukulele. Then remove the strings and use it as a plant pot.
 
Tip #5 Cut down their allowance any time you catch them humming,  whistling or table-top drumming.
 
Tip #6 Positive reinforcement of miserable and soul-destroying jobs is an excellent idea.  
But be careful with this one. It can backfire. For example your lawyer daughter may get interested in musical copyright law. Your politician son might decide to use the saxophone to help his political career. And we all know what happened to Bill Clinton...
 
Tip #7 Sit down and instruct them in the many drawbacks of a musical life.
These include all the things kids hate most:
Late nights, the attention of many admirers, nutrient poor meals eaten in fast food joints and the vague eventual possibility of great financial reward.
 
Tip #8 If they do take up a musical instrument be sure to maintain a constant stream of negativity any time the subject comes up.  
You want your child to rebel. So it is very important to give them something to rebel against. Make sure they see you visibly groan every time the instrument comes out of its case.
 
Tip #9 Make fun of them in conversation and make sure that they hear you.
In your best Homer Simpson voice say, \"My son is learning the uku-ma-lele. He thinks he\'s gonna be a BIG star someday Haw haw\"!
 
Tip #10 Buy The Complete Ukulele Course for Kids DVD by Ralph Shaw and leave it next to the garbage.
Chances are they will sneak the DVD into the house and secretly teach themselves whenever you are out!
 
On the other hand... If you are fortunate enough to still have a reasonably sane relationship with your child - then give them a ukulele and one of my instructional DVDs  this holiday season and learn to play joyful music together. Now that\'s more like it!!

I hate to talk about Christmas so soon. Its still only November aargh. But I have learned that shipping can take a while. If you do want to order any of my instructional DVDs or CDs now is the time to do it!

(PS. For those of you wanting more realistic tips to encourage your young prodigy - help is on the way. I\'ll have some (sensible) ideas for you next time!)

[Uketeufel]

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

Powerful Pointers to Perk up your Playing
November 24 2009
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Dear Raimund,


Children love music. And they can be easily discouraged if their early interest is not thoughtfully nurtured. This week I look at helping your child and you get started on a successful musical life. If you found value in this newsletter then please consider forwarding it to a friend!

Word count this issue: 784 words

Estimated reading time: About 3 minutes

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UE #14  Growing Musical Children

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1)     Use Good Quality Soil
 
My DVD: The Complete Ukulele Course for Kids begins with a short demo showing the difference between a good quality uke and an inferior model. I demonstrate how a badly made ukulele will play out of tune and sound awful even when properly tuned.
 
Shortly after  its 2004 release I was approached by a mail-order company. They wanted to sell a Children\'s Ukulele + Instructional DVD combo in their catalogue. They thought my DVD would be perfect for this package.

However... After viewing my DVD they decided to drop the project because, as they candidly told me, my demonstration of  a \'bad\' ukulele was exactly like the one they were hoping to market!
 
Gone was an opportunity to make some extra money but on the other hand I was proud to do my bit towards creating some awareness around ukulele quality.
 
I started playing ukulele in 1990. At that time ukuleles were generally thought of as starter instruments for children. The thinking was that if a child showed interest and ability in the ukulele only then would it be worthwhile to invest in a \'real\' instrument such as a guitar, piano etc.
 
The problem with the \"try a cheap instrument first\" approach is that a bad instrument will always sound bad no matter who plays it. What possible chance does a 9 year old beginner have with something like that? They end up placing the blame for their awful sound on their own meagre abilities. I wonder how many thousands of kids have been put off playing music for life all because of their initial failure with a useless uke?
 
Get the best instrument you can afford. A ukulele with a sweet and resonant sound is  FAR more likely to be picked up and strummed.
 
2)     Spend Time With Your Children in the Garden
 
Every grown up musician I know plays music because they enjoy it. It is vital that the spirit of enjoyment, love and fun of music be fostered in our children.
Think about this: One of the most difficult life skills that many of us learn is the ability to talk. Yet who teaches us this? No-one! We hear our parents and siblings talk and slowly we figure it out. We all want to be participants in our surroundings.
 
When parents (who don\'t sing, dance or play music themselves) vigorously enforce a daily practice regime on their offspring how are their kids supposed to take that? Will music feel like a timeless activity or like a chore?
 
I run a ukulele club and parents often bring their children along. The little ones delight in being surrounded by happy people who sing and play music. Seeing the happiness that is on those kids faces I just know they are going to be musical adults.
 
3)     Add Food, Sunshine and Water
 
So much of our kid\'s time is spent either watching screens (games/TV/computer), doing homework or on out-of-school activities that there is little room for idle dreaming. A free flowing imagination is the wellspring of genius.
 
So think about how you live. How much screen-time do you and your kids have compared to other occupations? Do they really need to be doing 4 different out of school activities?

and...If you think your child is getting too many frivolous homework assignments discuss that with the school. Tell them Ralph Shaw sent you!
 
4)     Allow Time for Growth
 
When I was 8 years old there was a knuckle-headed boy who was way behind in his reading. While most of us gobbled up one book after another he was sounding out every syllable. It was painful to watch. A few years later he was surpassing the rest of us with his reading and other intellectual abilities (though not all were school approved)!

His brain had just taken longer than most to develop the myelin sheathing necessary for full brain functioning. I didn\'t know all this then but apparently its very common. The lesson here is to stay positive and let your kids develop in their own time.
 
Many children don\'t have the coordination that it takes to form chords and strum. Some kids can do this at age 6 but others might be 11 or 12 before they are ready. Just keep introducing them to music in all its wonderful forms. Let them watch you struggle and strive to master your art. Let music be a natural part of life.

Remember: You won\'t make a plant grow faster by pulling on the stem.
 



 
 

My Ukulele Course for Kids DVD shows young students of all abilities doing their stuff. A child too young to play can still watch and listen and learn. That is how it starts!
It\'s a great price. Less than $20 for over 90 minutes of material plus booklet. Order now in time for the holidays!

 
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Want to improve your ukulele skills?
 
The Complete Ukulele Course DVD series will help you to play and perform better. The use of teaching DVDs is the best way to learn by yourself. You get to see and hear everything you need to know and you can pause and rewind as often as you wish.
1 The Complete Ukulele Course shows you how to get started with tuning and strumming. It then teaches you a variety of techniques to make your playing more and more interesting!
2 Essential Strums for the Ukulele will give you specific strums and a song to go with each one. These include: samba, blues, frailing, bossa nova, bo diddley, reggae and much more. Essential!!
3 Ukulele Playalong has the chord changes up on the screen and you get to strum and sing along. Great fun and excellent practice at a great price!
4 The Complete Ukulele Course for Kids - Get this dvd and a ukulele for the child/ren in your life and it could change their life. Music is a wonderful way to learn and have fun at the same time. The ukulele is a non-threatening and joyful introduction to music education.
 

All the above DVDs are available from: www.RalphShaw.ca


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).

On Facebook? Then join the Ralph Shaw Fan Club

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.

© Ralph Shaw 2009


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

[Uketeufel]

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

Powerful Pointers to Perk up your Playing
December 01 2009
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Dear Raimund,


Want to do more than just play the same old boring strum over and over? Here are some ideas for you to try. Btw. Did I ever mention that I have a degree in Physics?!
If you found value in this newsletter then please consider forwarding it to a friend!

Word count this issue: 830 words

Estimated reading time: About 3½ minutes

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UE #15  Create New Strums - Digitally!
(or The Complete Guide to Playing the Computulele)

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Listening to a skilled player you may wonder at the amazing complexity they achieve with their strumming. Maybe you yearn to play new and vibrant rhythms that will make people want to tap their feet and move their bodies.
 
The truth is that Strumming is actually very simple. There are basically only 3 possible strums. That\'s right just 3!!!
 
They are:
1) The Down strum. This strum is achieved by strumming down the strings.
 
2) The Up strum. You do this one by strumming up the strings.
 
3) The...erm no sorry I was wrong. There are only 2 strums (see above).
 
Therefore all that rhythmic complexity you hear when you listen to Brudda IZ, George Formby or Ralph Shaw (ta daa!) is all just variations of Down and Up strums.
 
Simple eh?!
 
This reminds me of computers. We use computers so much in our every day lives that we forget the exquisite simplicity that is behind their mindblowingly rich variety. Every computation done in a computer\'s brain is based solely on 1s and 0s.  


While studying for the aforementioned Physics degree at Liverpool Polytechnic I actually built some very simple electronic computer circuits.                                                            

The circuit functions like a switch. If there is electricity flowing through it then that registers as a 1. No electricity flowing through reads as a 0. Getting millions and millions of these circuits all working together on a tiny silicon chip gives us the massive computing power needed to operate the phone system. Which we use to call the \'Dial-a-Geek\' repair guy who rushes over when our PC crashes yet again.  
 
I hope that by comparing your ukulele to a Hewlett Packard Pavilion Elite m9340f Desktop PC with 22\" Monitor I am not confusing you with unecessary technical jargon. Nothing could be further from the truth! I am merely pointing out that if you can strum Up and you can strum Down then you have already got what it takes to play any kind of rhythm.
 
So how do we go from the simple Down Up Down Up strum to playing something more interesting? Let\'s have a look!
 
A key element in strumming is where you put the accents. By \'accent\' I am talking about a heavier than usual strum. A main beat. Without these accents our strums would sound endlessly repetitive. Akin to a ticking clock.
 
Example: In 4/4 time there are 4 beats in a bar. The most common strum used while singing in 4/4 is the \"Wimpy-Strong\" strum. Its a weak strum followed by a strong strum. (note that \'strum\' can mean a single stroke or a combination of strokes).
 
Wimpy-Strong goes like this:
   1     &        2      &     3      &      4       &     (etc.)
down  up  DOWN  up  down  up  DOWN  up
 
The above strum shows heavier DOWN strums on the 2 and 4 beats. Many songs are played in this way but there are countless more ways to play.
 
Classical Music usually has the main accent on the 1 beat like this:
   1        &       2     &      3      &     4      &
DOWN   up   down  up  down  up  down  up
 
African music tends to accent the 3:
   1      &       2      &      3       &     4      &
down   up   down  up  DOWN  up  down  up
 
Why don\'t you try putting accents in different places and see what you come up with?
 
Example: Putting accents on the 1 and 3 has a forward driving feel (like a train getting up steam!):
    1      &      2     &        3       &     4      &
DOWN  up  down  up   DOWN  up  down  up  
 
Don\'t forget that you can also put accents on UP strokes too:
   1       &      2      &      3     &      4      &
down   up   down  UP  down  up  down  UP
 
This one is slightly unorthodox but may be perfect for certain songs. Just keep trying more accent variations for yourself.
 
Wait there\'s more!:
There is no rule that says Downs and Ups always have to follow one another.
 
Try the Syncopated Strum (aka. Split Stroke) it goes like this:
    1      &      2        &       3     &        4       &
DOWN  up  down  DOWN  up  down DOWN  up
 
This one can be tricky to do. The strum is not really hard to do but it confuses many people because it has a DOWN accent on an \'&\' beat (after the 2). Btw. If you need help with this one you can hear and see this strum in both of my DVDs: The Complete Ukulele Course and Essential Strums for the Ukulele.
 
Not only that!:
There is no rule that says you have to strum on every beat. You can miss strums out.
 
Here is the Samba strum:
  1    &    2    &     3    &    4    &    1    &    2    &    3    &     4     &

down    down     down                down    down up       up  down    


(This strum is also featured on the aforementioned Essential Strums DVD)
 
By now you should be getting the idea! There is a huge amount of computer-like strumming complexity to be had. You can create and discover a host of strums for yourself.

Just remember these 4 rules:
 
1) Accents. Try putting accents in different places and use them on both Up and Down strums.
2) Ups and Downs don\'t have to follow one another. A Down can follow a Down and Ups can follow Ups.
3) It is OK (more than OK) to miss out strums altogether. This creates a nice feeling of space within the strum.
4) Don\'t forget to erm...actually there are only 3. Sorry I did it again.
 
Now take your digits off your computer keyboard, put them on your ukulele and start playing!!!

[Uketeufel]

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

Powerful Pointers to Perk up your Playing
December 08 2009
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Dear Raimund,


Hold that Tiger! This week I have 3 suggestions to help recognize and release some of that unwanted tension.
If you found value in this newsletter then please consider forwarding it to a friend!

Word count this issue: 698 words

Estimated reading time: Less than 3 minutes

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UE #16   Just Relax
 
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How quickly things change. Morning in the village started out like any other. Men and women sat outside their huts. Some repaired fishing nets while others prepared the breakfast of fish and flatbread. The children played nearby but not near enough. A woman looked up and saw the tiger. She drew in a gasp that alerted everyone to the danger. Faces looked up to see the animal moving towards the children with deadly grace. Slow and powerful.
 
The children played on, joyfully unaware of the threat. No-one stirred but everyone was ready to move. Some were mentally prepared to jump up and grab their children. Warriors slowly reached for weapons determined to pounce and engage the tiger. Others were ready to run and find safety for themselves. Everyone held their breath. Watching, silent, tense...
Perhaps a distant sound or a strange smell caused the tiger to stop and gaze around. He looked back at the children and then at the crouching figures of the adults. Quickly he turned and loped away.
 
The danger passed and everyone breathed deeply. All relaxed with one big sigh. Aaah! One of the women called the children home and breakfast was served. The tiger was never mentioned. The children didn\'t need to know how close the danger had been!
 
I tell this story to illustrate that becoming tense at the right moment has enabled our ancestors to survive since our very beginnings. It\'s a fact that with life comes stress. For many of us however stress can lead to body tension. We learn habits of tensing ourselves during our childhood and subsequent development.
 
The only problem is that this undercurrent of tension has become chronic in our modern society. Everyday decisions involving family, friends, work etc. set up this muscle tightening. But whereas the tigers of the past would eventually get caught, killed or chased away our modern causes of tension stay with us all day long.
 
Different people hold tension in different places. For some it is the stomach area, others tighten their jaw. A very common place to hold tension is in the neck and shoulders which often leads to headaches. Tension, wherever it may be, is not very helpful.
 
Unless you are dealing with the modern urban equivalent of a rogue tiger, such as a prowling boss or a runaway Rottweiler, you don\'t need to be tense.
 
Ukulele playing and bodily tension do not go well together. Keeping parts of yourself tense can really handicap your playing. It doesn\'t feel good, doesn\'t look good and the resulting music doesn\'t sound so good.
 
So take my advice: \"Just Relax!\"
 
Hmm. This is a lot like telling an insomniac to \"just go to sleep\". Easier said than done.
 
It actually takes some effort and work to get truly relaxed. Here are 3 things you can do:
 
1) Become aware of where you hold tension. Many of us are unaware that this is even going on. I thought I knew what my own body was doing until I took some classes in the Alexander Technique. My Alexander teacher showed me that the way I imagined my body to be when sitting or standing was quite different from the way it looked to others. It seemed I had pockets of tension all over the place! Get to know where you are holding tension in your body. Especially after encounters with your modern-day tigers!
 
2) Notice where you have tension and then think about letting it go completely. Remember to breathe deeply. While working at the computer there is a tendency to shallow breathe. Find a way to remind yourself to take fuller, deeper breaths.
 
3) When you play ukulele your movements should be fluid and relaxed. While strumming on a simple chord try doing a mental internal body check. See if you can notice where unnecessary tension resides. Consciously let it go. Again and again. Old habits die hard and it takes persistence to chip away at them until they dissolve completely.



 
 
Interesting fact for the day:
About twice as many tigers are kept as pets in the USA than live wild on the rest of the planet.
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
\"Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast...\"
William Congreve

Now that you\'re nice and relaxed let my DVDs show you how to play Ukulele!

 
The Complete Ukulele Course DVD series will help you to play and perform better. The use of teaching DVDs is the best way to learn by yourself. You get to see and hear everything you need to know and you can pause and rewind as often as you wish.
1 The Complete Ukulele Course shows you how to get started with tuning and strumming. It then teaches you a variety of techniques to make your playing more and more interesting!
2 Essential Strums for the Ukulele will give you specific strums and a song to go with each one. These include: samba, blues, frailing, bossa nova, bo diddley, reggae and much more. Essential!!
3 Ukulele Playalong has the chord changes up on the screen and you get to strum and sing along. Great fun and excellent practice at a great price!
4 The Complete Ukulele Course for Kids - Get this dvd and a ukulele for the child/ren in your life and it could change their life. Music is a wonderful way to learn and have fun at the same time. The ukulele is a non-threatening and joyful introduction to music education.
 

All the above DVDs are available from: www.RalphShaw.ca


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).

On Facebook? Then join the Ralph Shaw Fan Club

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.

© Ralph Shaw 2009


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

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

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Ralph Shaw Entertainment | 105-1035 Pacific St. | Vancouver | BC | V6E4G7 | Canada

[Uketeufel]

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

Powerful Pointers to Perk up your Playing
December 15 2009
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Dear Raimund,


This week I want to tell you about a wonderful project that really is changing lives. If you found value in this newsletter then please consider forwarding it to a friend!

Word count this issue: 880 words

Estimated reading time: About 3½ minutes

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UE #17  Ukuleles for Peace
 
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The lyric goes Happy Christmas (War is Over). Well how about it?

I think it\'s safe to say that most of us want peace in the world but how many of us really do something to make it happen?

 

Paul Moore does. Let me tell you about him. He\'s a British ex-pat in his late 50s or thereabouts. A professional entertainer, he made Israel his home many years ago.

 

One day, frustrated at the ongoing strife that seems to have always been a part of that region, Paul came to a decision. He finally figured that Peace, if there is such a thing, will not soon come about by political means. It has to begin with people. So 6 years ago he approached a Jewish school and an Arab school in his area and proposed the idea of a ukulele orchestra.

 

The musicians in the orchestra would be Arab and Jewish kids. The schools agreed and Paul\'s \"Friendly Monster\" was born. Paul had no idea what an all-consuming task he was taking on.

 

Practices and rehearsals were set up. Paul had to find playable ukuleles. He gave up his free time to travel and organize. Evenings and weekends were all given up towards getting these keen, bright-eyed young children their first musical education. The kids loved it. Not wanting money issues to hinder participation Paul began raising funds to pay for things such as instruments, strings, travel to shows etc.

 

Pot-luck picnics in public parks were organized. Trips and holiday celebrations were set up. Of course the parents had to come along too, so did siblings. Age old prejudices and fears were laid aside. So began the rituals of Arab and Jewish families sharing food while their children played games and made joyful music together.

 

If you have any doubt about the power of music take a look at this video of 2 of Paul\'s students and then tell me you don\'t believe in Paul\'s vision!

 

As much fun and benefit as this is on a local scale Paul Moore has kept his eye on a greater goal. He wants the world to see what can be done. Paul has long said that he wants the Ukuleles For Peace Orchestra to play before the United Nations.

 

As a step towards this goal I am helping him with something that could potentially place his Orchestra before a world-wide audience.

 

The Winter Olympics will be here in Vancouver in February (only 2 months away). Hundreds of Thousands of people including athletes, spectators, politicians, royalty, the media and performers will descend on this city for a vibrant and colourful celebration of winter sports and culture.

 

Just over 1 year ago I helped arrange a meeting between Paul and an Olympic organizer. The upshot is both good news and bad news. The good news is that the 2010 Winter Olympics have agreed to allow Ukuleles for Peace to come and perform during that time. The bad news is that the Olympics are unable to allocate any budget for either their performance or travel.

 

Coming to the Winter Olympics could be remarkable in many ways. Not only would it go a long way toward Paul\'s dream of  showing the world how unity, friendship and peace are there for the taking. It would also be a life-changing experience for these children of whom some have never been outside their native land.

 

Help so far has come from several sources. Accomodation will be with the families of the Langley Ukulele Ensemble. Think of that! Arab and Jewish kids from Israel being able to hang out with Canadian kids who are also in a ukulele orchestra.

 

A Vancouver Rabbi, known for his work in bringing Arabs and Jews together has offered time and fund-raising to help bring Ukes for Peace to Vancouver. Other organizations here (like the Jewish Federation) are also raising money. Oh, and don\'t forget the families who are over in Israel running around trying to gather money for this project so dear to their hearts.

 

The financial mountain is a large one however. The costs of flying 15 to 20 kids plus a few parents could be as much as $50,000.

 

I promised Paul that I would support him in this. Which is why I am reaching out to you now. The Ukuleles for Peace Project has always been run on a shoestring. Every year Paul wonders if he can continue. Then he looks into the faces of young children eager to join their older brothers and sisters in the Ukulele band and he cannot say no. Paul calls U.f P. his \"Friendly Monster\". It has taken over not only his life but also that of his wife Daphna who runs the necessary administration. Often it gets in the way of him making a living for himself. Basically he needs some help!

 

Financial Donations: You can donate to Ukuleles for Peace at their website. There is a donation button at the top left of the page.

 

Air Travel: Some help is coming from El Al Airline for flights between Israel & Toronto but the portion from Toronto to Vancouver needs to be dealt with. If you know of some way of obtaining cheap or free flights between Toronto and Vancouver that could be most useful.

[Uketeufel]

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

Powerful Pointers to Perk up your Playing
December 22 2009
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Dear Raimund,


It is no accident that well written songs have the tools built into them to make them easier to remember. Our survival as a race has depended on it.

If you find value in this newsletter then please consider forwarding it to a friend!

Word count this issue: 748 words

Estimated reading time: under 3 minutes

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UE #18  How to Remember Lyrics part 1
 
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Human beings are relative newcomers to the written word. For most of our history we have relied on our memories to accurately pass large amounts of knowledge down through the generations. For those of us who can\'t even remember what we did yesterday this seems an extraordinary feat.

 

Our clever ancestors knew that our memories were not perfect so they put the information into song form.

 

This ability still remains. Most people when asked how many days there are in October have to run through the poem 30 Days hath September to find the answer. As children we learn the alphabet song which puts the letters in little clumps that mostly rhyme with the \'ee\' sound.

 

When I wrote my song: How to Build a Ukulele Case (view the video here) I had no idea that I was following a tradition that went back to the beginnings of civilization.

 

Our ancestors had songs to help them remember volumes worth of information: historical events, names of forebears, which plants were dangerous to eat, which animals might eat us, which tribes should be avoided, which were friendly, myths, legends and suggestions for healthy and happy living.

 

For the knowledge to be transmitted accurately the words were put into a form that kept mistakes to a minimum. Songs were composed chock full of techniques that kept the words intact over countless exchanges.

 

Using rhyme is one great way to remember words. We know the last word in this Dorothy Fields lyric must be Street:

 

Just direct your feet

To the sunny side of the ____

 

Knowing the tune, the beat and the context there are no other words that reasonably fit. In this example the use of alliteration also makes the words very easy to remember.


Alliteration describes a sequence of words which begin with the same sound eg. Peter Piper Picked...)

 

Let\'s look more closely at the song On the Sunny Side of the Street and see if we can spot songwriting techniques that help us to remember the words.

 

Here is the 1st line:

 

Grab your coat and get your hat

[Strong visual of leaving the house. Note the repeating hard G in grab and get]

 

Leave your worry on the door-step

[Notice the rhyming \'or\' sound in the underlined words. These internal rhymes are known as Assonance]

 

[The \'ah\' sound is used over and over in:]




Can\'t you hear a pitter-pat

And that happy tune is your step




[Notice the internal rhyme of \'Can\'t you\' with \'happy tune\'.


Though she hardly uses the letter p in the rest of the song look at how she puts all her \'p\' words together with pitter-pat and happy creating a veritable soundscape! This technique called Onomatopoeia.


Onomatopoeia describes words that sound like the thing they represent. eg. tick tock for the sound of a clock].

 

I used to walk in the shade

With those blues on parade

[Assonance of used and blues]

 

If I never have a cent   [ne-ver rhymes with have a]

I\'ll be rich as Rock-e-fel-ler  


[Alliterative \'R\' words in rich and Rock-. Also the continuing \'eh\' sound in nev-er, have a, cent, as, -e-fel-ler]

 

Gold-dust at my feet

On the sunny side of the street


[Another strong visual to end with. Lots of golden light here and dust and sunny are another internal rhyme]

 

The skill of Dorothy Fields in her songwriting made her songs very memorable. Rhyme, Assonance, Onomatopeia, Visual Imagery and her use of Alliteration made sure that her lyrics would remain timeless and unforgettable.

 

The above kind of dissection can be an important memory aid when we use it consciously.

 

Next time you commit a song to memory look for all these little tricks that the songwriter has deliberately put in just for you!

 

Memory is not one single skill. It is a collection of tricks and techniques. Some of these are innately learned in childhood and others are discovered later in life.

 

You may not have noticed but Fields\' masterpiece: On the Sunny Side Of the Street is another \"How to...\" song. She is clearly and cleverly helping us learn that life is happier, richer and more golden if we remember to keep a positive attitude and a cheerful disposition.

 

I have actually written an incredibly good song called: How to Remember Song Lyrics.





It lays out in crystal clear terms every single memory technique you will ever need. With this song you will never again forget another song lyric. I have it here somewhere. Now where in tarnation did I put it?...











 




\"Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves.\"

J.M. Barrie
 
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

and don\'t forget!!!....

The Complete Ukulele Course DVD series will help you to play and perform better. The use of teaching DVDs is the best way to learn by yourself. You get to see and hear everything you need to know and you can pause and rewind as often as you wish.
1 The Complete Ukulele Course shows you how to get started with tuning and strumming. It then teaches you a variety of techniques to make your playing more and more interesting!
2 Essential Strums for the Ukulele will give you specific strums and a song to go with each one. These include: samba, blues, frailing, bossa nova, bo diddley, reggae and much more. Essential!!
3 Ukulele Playalong has the chord changes up on the screen and you get to strum and sing along. Great fun and excellent practice at a great price!
4 The Complete Ukulele Course for Kids - Get this dvd and a ukulele for the child/ren in your life and it could change their life. Music is a wonderful way to learn and have fun at the same time. The ukulele is a non-threatening and joyful introduction to music education.
 

All the above DVDs are available from: www.RalphShaw.ca


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).

On Facebook? Then join the Ralph Shaw Fan Club

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.

© Ralph Shaw 2009

[Uketeufel]

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

Powerful Pointers to Perk up your Playing
January 05 2010
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Dear Raimund,



The start of a new year can be a time of doing familiar things in new ways. Today a lesson from golfer Jack Niklaus which is worth bearing in mind for all of us who enjoy getting to grips with the ukulele.




If you find value in this newsletter then please consider forwarding it to a friend!

Word count this issue: 776 words

Estimated reading time: around 3 minutes

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UE #19 A Ukulele Tip from the Best Golfer Ever
 
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Before I begin I just want to say: I have never understood golf. Why anyone would spend so much time and money developing a skill of such non-existent value is beyond my comprehension. Ukulele playing on the other hand is an entirely different matter.

Now that I\'ve got that off my chest and alienated all my golfing friends we can continue!

 

During an interview sometime in the mid-1970s Jack Nicklaus allowed us, the golf-adoring public, to hear some of his training tips. The only part I remember is this:

 

Once a year Mr Nicklaus would have his coach show him how to hold a golf club and hit a ball.

 

Bear in mind that Jack Niklaus is regarded by many to be the best professional golfer ever. He competed at the highest level of the game for 25 years. Competing in 100 major championships he came 1st or 2nd an astonishing 36 times.

 

At the time of the above interview while at the top of his game he was still being shown how to hold a golf club! So, with a new year just beginning and in the spirit of getting back to basics, let\'s look at ways to hold a ukulele.

 

How you hold the uke depends on your playing style, your body shape and whether you are sitting or standing. Therefore I am not going to tell you that there is one correct way to hold a ukulele.





So many variables are involved that I often change how I support the uke several times during the course of a song. Watching me play someone once told me that the ukulele seemed almost to \'float\' of its own accord.

 

You can experiment with new ways of holding your ukulele.

(please note - I am right handed, lefties will have to reverse the instructions)

 

Try these:

1)    My basic hold is to place the ukulele on the upper part of my chest. The body of the uke is in the crook of my arm leaving the right hand free and flexible. The left hand supports the neck of the instrument. Sometimes the neck sits in the valley between the thumb and index finger or it may be held with the pressure of the thumb on the back and the fingers on the front. In this way I can strum using my fingers or a pick. Important: Keep the left hand in a straight line with the arm - this makes finger movement easier and prevents wrist problems later.


 

2)    Now bring your right fingers under the body of the uke to support it and use your thumb to strum or play single strings.

 

3)    Hold a chord and bring your left elbow towards your side. Now turn up your left palm and see if you can support the whole weight of the instrument with your left hand. Obviously it is now difficult to change chords but this technique is good should you need to free up your right hand for a short while. (Be careful trying this with heavy instruments such as banjo-ukes).

 

4)    Lower the uke so it is at a level just above your hips and play it there. (This can be useful for people with breasts many of whom tell me they prefer to \'wear\' their ukulele using a strap).

 

5)    Using a strap. I rarely use one now but when I made my Complete Ukulele Course DVD I was almost exclusively wearing a strap.

As well as solving the above breast issue a major advantage of a strap is that it leaves your hands free for other activities such as: playing other instruments, hand-clapping and waving at the waiter to bring another pina-colada.

The down-side of using a strap is that it forces you to play the ukulele in the same position all the time. This can limit your playing and over the long term can even lead to neck/shoulder problems. (Similar to kind of upper-body tension that can arise from carrying a shoulder bag).

 

6)    Playing finger-style or clawhammer style makes it difficult to support the uke with the right arm while playing with the right hand. In this case you can either: use a strap, play while seated or stand on one leg with your other foot on a chair or stool.

 

If you want to see some different ways to hold and play a uke then watch this 2 minute video of Roy Smeck - The Wizard of the Strings. After he tells his story you get to see him perform. He was in his 80s at the time.  

 

On the other hand. If you\'d rather see someone parading around in a pimped-up polyester outfit, while delivering a small white missile towards its very boring destination, then go watch golf!




Happy New Year From Canada!!!

[Uketeufel]

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

Powerful Pointers to Perk up your Playing
January 12 2010
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Dear Raimund,




Question: What activity is: more fun with 2 or more people involved, completely free, usually done indoors but can be done anywhere and at the end leaves the participants slightly breathless and with big smiles?

 

Answer: Playing music in your very own ukulele club! This week I\'ll tell you all about how to start and run such a club.






If you find value in this newsletter then please consider forwarding it to a friend!

Word count this issue: 915 words

Estimated reading time: around 3½ minutes
 

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UE #20  Dare to Start a Ukulele Club
 
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I never thought of myself as either a leader or a follower. When someone says, \"Follow me\" my instinct is to walk the other way. If a movement is popular I don\'t want any part of it. In fact the ukulele attracted me because I saw nobody else playing it.

 

It looks as if the ever growing popularity of the ukulele should leave me in a paradox. You probably think, \'If the ukulele continues to be in then Ralph will have to find a new, obscure activity to partake in.\'




Not so. I have always upheld the view that the ukulele is truly democratic. It is a means by which anyone with a modicum of musical talent can exhibit their individual self expression. A ukulele club is a way that many individuals can show off this uniqueness, together, as a group.


Stay with me on this I know where I\'m going.

 

Being part of a ukulele club is quite different from supporting any of the abstract human inventions that have arisen for profit and/or power. These include: major sports teams, the hollywood movie and pop music industries and most countries.

 

We are constantly being told that those things are real and important: but from my aeroplane window I don\'t see the border lines that divide countries. I just see the faces of my fellow passengers. Hey and if they happen to all be ukulele players then I know everything is going to be OK!

 

Visiting Britain\'s Yorkshire Ukulele Circle in 1996 I witnessed the ebullient joy that arises from a getting together of ukulele enthusiasts.





In the summer of 2000 I mentioned this to a friend. She spontaneously offered to pay for the newspaper advertisement if I would run a similar club. I agreed.
The Vancouver Ukulele Circle  is now in its 10th year and meets on the 3rd Tuesday of every month.

 

If you don\'t live in a place that already has a ukulele club you may want to start your own. Its not hard. Here\'s how...

 

 

1)    Let people know. Newspaper ads are good but the free way to do it would be to advertise online. You can use craigslist or social networking sites to bring people in. Put a notice in your local music store. Someone in your club may create a website. Here is ours: http://www.vcn.bc.ca/vanukes/ Wendy runs it by putting up information and pictures. I contribute by writing a short blog after every meeting.

 

2)    You\'ll need a venue. We began with 9 of us in the common room of my apartment complex. You can use a community or church hall, local pub or coffee house (ask first)! If you only have 5 members then do it in someone\'s home. If you live in a warm country then play outside: You are sure to bring smiles to the faces of passers by.

 

3)    You\'ll need a musical leader. In our case this was me but you don\'t need to be an \'expert\' to lead a song. You just need to establish the beginnings and ends of songs and decide the route that songs will take (repeats, instrumental breaks etc.) The leader should practice songs at home first to develop some proficiency.





If strong musicianship is lacking you can try playing along with Youtube performances on computer. You\'ll need to find written music with the correct chord changes to do this. My Ukulele Playalong DVD was also created for individuals or groups to use for this purpose. The DVD and songs from it can be found on my website: www.RalphShaw.ca

 

4)    Format. My club has grown to around 70 strummers. We meet once a month. Starting at 7:30 we play together for about an hour. We take a break to socalize and then come back for performance time. This is a chance for individuals to show off 1 song. We used to allow 2 songs but had to cut back as performers became more proficient and keen! We finish by playing songs together until 10pm. We even have certain songs to begin and close every meeting.

 

5)    Repertoire. In the early days members would bring copies of songs to share. For convenience we eventually compiled 100 songs into one book. Music sheets show the lyrics and chord changes. The songs must be fairly generally known but repertoire can come from any era. Have fun discovering which songs work for you.

 

6)    Objectives. Some clubs turn into proficient performing groups. However this format necessitates exclusion of weaker players. The Vancouver Uke Circle has no goals other than to play music and have fun. It doesn\'t even have to sound good, but if it does... Hey Bonus! Together you can decide what objectives you want your group to fulfill.

 

7)    Other things to do. You don\'t have to fill the whole time playing music. Get inspiration from watching video clips of great players. Bring in guest musicians. Have a teaching component taught by one of your better players. Some groups even tell me that they sit and learn something from one of my DVDs as part of their sessions.

 

These ideas are a basic framework to which you can add and change anything you want.

 

Interestingly I find that as its popularity increases I am indeed drifting away from the little four stringed fellow that we hold so dear.





Here\'s why: Stan in my uke club gave me a thrift store Baritone ukulele last year and I can\'t keep my hands off it. Thus I find myself in a sub-group of a sub-group of music and happily back on the fringes of society once again!







\"I don\'t know how to solve the problems of the world but I have a feeling it has something to do with the ukulele.\"
Marianne Brogan - Organiser Portland Ukulele Festival

[Uketeufel]

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

Powerful Pointers to Perk up your Playing
January 19 2010
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Dear Raimund,




Everyone has their own story of what initially attracted them to the ukulele. \"I was drawn by the sound\". \"A certain performer inspired me\". I was given one as a gift and thought I\'d give it a whirl\".

But admit it. One of the reasons we took up the ukulele is because a part of us just wants to show off!





If you find value in this newsletter then please consider forwarding it to a friend!

Word count this issue: 798 words

Estimated reading time: around 3 minutes
 

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UE #21   The Joy of Music Theory

 
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Truly. If you could magically and instantly be highly skilled at any musical instrument would you still choose the ukulele?

 

What if you could play: The plaintive oboe or Mozart\'s Eb concerto on the french horn? How about boogie woogie piano, jazz harmonica or the bass sax in a doo wop group? Wouldn\'t you rather be good at one of those? If your answer is still ukulele then jolly good for you.

 

As for myself I would give up ukulele instantly if I thought I could make it as the dumbek player for a troupe of belly dancers. There are several reasons why that ambition of mine will probably never happen. Not knowing what a dumbek is might be one of them.

 

Wanting to make \"easy music\" (quotations added because music is never easy so long as we continually stretch our abilities) goes hand in hand with a reluctance to learn music theory. This makes sense. Many of us take up music simply to entertain others.

 

The Oxford Dictionary of Music (and I\'m not making this up) famously and bizarrely defined the Ukulele as:

 

Ukulele: An instrument for people whose desire to entertain exceeds their musical ability.  

 

I have to wonder about the person who composed that definition. Here is what I think happened:

 

A trained classical musician. One evening, at a birthday party, he is asked to play Happy Birthday.

 

Much to his supreme embarrassment, through not having sheet music available for that song, he is unable to play it. The moment is saved by the mother of one his friends who grabs the ukulele from a nearby shelf. She leads a raucous round of Happy Birthday followed by a medley of songs that gets everyone singing, laughing and kicking up their heels.

 

From then on our highly trained concert performer harbours a certain grudge towards ukuleles and those who play them. So, when he is offered the job to help write the Ox. Dic. of Music he gratefully accepts. But he never forgets the humiliation that the ukulele brought him...    

 

I imagine that\'s how it went anyway.

 

Its easy for us ukulele players to feel a little smug at the above situation. Maybe it has happened to you, when, for a moment everything clicked and you and your uke were the life of the party.

 

So: If we can be this entertaining with a handful of songs is there any need for us to learn classical techniques? These could include: Music theory, scales, finger exercises, harmony, chord structure and more.

 

My answer is yes. You should definitely be spending time studying theory and technique. I never do it myself but I think you should. In this regard I\'m like the TV evangelist who goes back to his life of sin as soon as the cameras turn off.


 

I learned ukulele by figuring out one song after another. If I know any theory at all it has happened by accident and osmosis. As for finger exercises and scales. Nope. Never bothered. But you should. Definitely. Hallelujah and pass the hat.


 

The act of performing is not necessarily the best way to enjoy playing music. Sure its nice to be the centre of attention once in a while. But performing is like making love. People that do it often look like they are having more fun than they actually are. It can also be stressful and, when you add up the total amount of time spent doing it compared with the rest of your life, it\'s not all that much really.

 

For most people the best times they ever have playing music is with friends. There are few things more fun than playing music with someone you\'ve known for years or have just met.

 

Ironically, considering what happened to our Ox. Dic. guy, it is in the making of spontaneous group music that knowledge of theory and scales can really be extremely helpful. (I know what I said about making love but please try and keep your mind on music right now).

 

Sometimes your musical get-together will have others playing songs from your repertoire. But how flexible are you able to be? For example would you be able to play your songs in different keys?

 

What if there is no written music available and the song being played is unfamiliar to you?

In this case being able to figure out the song\'s key and recognizing patterns of melody, chord and harmony will greatly assist you in being able to join in quickly.

 

I have worked hard to be a good stage performer but it is in those group jam sessions that I wish I had more knowledge of the basic nuts and bolts of music. Those are the times when people who understand musical mechanics really shine.

 

In recent years the writers of the Oxford Dictionary of Music changed their entry for the Ukulele. Since they are making an effort to be less elitist in their outlook perhaps we could consider being a little more classically minded in ours.






©Ralph Shaw 2010


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


The Complete Ukulele Course DVD series will help you to play and perform better. The use of teaching DVDs is the best way to learn by yourself. You get to see and hear everything you need to know and can pause and rewind as often as you wish.


1 The Complete Ukulele Course shows you how to get started with tuning and strumming. It then teaches you a variety of techniques to make your playing more and more interesting!


2 Essential Strums for the Ukulele will give you specific strums and a song to go with each one. These include: samba, blues, frailing, bossa nova, bo diddley, reggae and much more. Essential!!


3 Ukulele Playalong has the chord changes up on the screen and you get to strum and sing along. Great fun and excellent practice at a great price!


4 The Complete Ukulele Course for Kids - Get this dvd and a ukulele for the child/ren in your life and it could change their life. Music is a wonderful way to learn and have fun at the same time. The ukulele is a non-threatening and joyful introduction to music education.
 

All the above DVDs are available from: www.RalphShaw.ca


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).

On Facebook? Then join the Ralph Shaw Fan Club

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.

© Ralph Shaw 2010  
 
 
You can Contact me by...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email:bowlerhat@shaw.ca
phone: 604 689 2937 (Intl +1)
on the web: www.RalphShaw.ca

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

[Uketeufel]

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

Powerful Pointers to Perk up your Playing
January 26 2010
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Dear Raimund,




Our media are constantly bringing us \'overnight success\' stories. Reality for most of us is not like that at all. Successful enterprises take time to develop. Today I also want to bring you up to date on the Ukuleles for Peace project plus tell you about my upcoming ukulele strumming class coming up soon in Vancouver.





If you find value in this newsletter then please consider forwarding it to a friend!

Word count this issue: 749 words

Estimated reading time: around 3 minutes
 

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
 


UE #22   Quit Your Day Job and Follow Your Dream (In 7 Quick Years)

 
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Around the age of 17 I was firmly convinced that I was going to be a famous.... something or other. I wasn\'t sure what. Only that my master plan would have me floating effortlessly over the traps and pitfalls of everyday life.

 

I would be an amazing...what? A Musician?  A Rock Star? I wasn\'t sure. In those days all I could do was play a few songs on the harmonica. But I was so delusional that I firmly believed I could make a life as a professional entertainer and be a household name by the age of 22. Imagine!

 

And that\'s what happened (except the household name part). I have now been a self-employed entertainer for nearly 20 years. In my case delusion really helped. I don\'t think I could have succeeded had someone taken me to one side to talk seriously about my becoming a professional ukulele player.

 

In 1990 I took some acting classes to help me achieve my goal. The Breck Academy was owned and taught by Peter Breck and his wife Diane. (A big-jawed man of confidence Peter starred as Nick Barkley in the 1965 TV western: The Big Valley alongside Lee Majors and Barbara Stanwyck).

 

When Gene Hackman came to Canada to film his movie Narrow Margin Peter Breck invited him to come and talk to his acting students.

 

Someone asked Mr Hackman how long it took before he got his big break. He thought for moment and said, \"7 years\". There was an uncomprehending pause of shock from the audience of 40 or so actor students. Each imagined that he or she would be heading for stardom within a year.

 

Mr Hackman continued, \"It took my room-mate 8 years to get his break.\" His room-mate was Dustin Hoffman.

 

And that folks seems to be a reality of life. The magic number of 7 years seems to pop up over and over again.





The average time for a new restaurant to start turning a regular profit is 7 years.

 

I found that figure hard to believe too. Then I thought about my sister-in-law who opened a restaurant in Greece. There was so much to learn. Employees drank the soft drinks and liquor, the clientele had to be built and systems of working needed to be established. Her first healthy year in business was the 7th.

 

A friend of mine used his inheritance money to buy a paper-recycling business. He was cursed with years of mental and physical labour, breaking equipment, difficult employees and more. The worst was that the price of paper was so unreliable that he never knew if he\'d make money. Mostly he didn\'t. I was always telling him to get out of the business but the delusional fellow continued. In his 7th year paper prices went up. By then he was experienced enough to make the most of it. He turned a tidy profit and eventually sold his business for 6 times what he\'d paid for it.

 

When people say to me, \"You\'re so lucky to be doing the thing you love.\"

I just smile and say, \" Why yes I am. Thank you for noticing.\"

 

But...what I\'m thinking is, \"Luck has nothing to do with it baby. I\'m Delusional!!!\"

 

Following your dream, musical or otherwise, is a wonderful thing but it\'s not easy. It requires dogged persistence, long hours of low paying work and great personal investments of time and money. All of which brings me to Paul Moore and the Ukuleles for Peace Orchestra. Here\'s what I wrote about them in December.

 

I\'m sad to report that they won\'t be making it to Vancouver for the Winter Olympics this year.

 

Many of you sent donations which were gratefully received but it wasn\'t enough. The clincher came when a vital donation fell through because of bureaucratic Israel/Canada tax reasons.

 

Thankyou so much to those who donated money to bring them to the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Those donations will be well used in their ongoing work. To contact Paul or find out more about Ukuleles for Peace go to:

http://www.ukulelesforpeace.com/  



Paul, Daphna and the kids have been working incredibly hard for 6 years. They deserve their big break. Maybe their 7th year will bring them to wider public attention.

 

A steady income is a valuable resource to have. I don\'t encourage you to quit your day-job without good reason. But if, like Paul and myself, you have a dream plus a tendency towards creative self-delusion then start planning now. Its later than you think!

[Uketeufel]

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

Powerful Pointers to Perk up your Playing
February 2 2010
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Dear Raimund,


There used to be very little choice in what you could buy for ukulele strings. Nowadays there are numerous varieties available. So today we\'re going to look at what part the strings play in sound production.

 

If you find value in this newsletter then please consider forwarding it to a friend!

Word count this issue: 697 words

Estimated reading time: less than 3 minutes
 

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UE #23  Ukulele Strings - Do They Matter?

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




My grandfather played a banjolele back in the 1920s. In those days if you wanted portable music you got yourself a ukulele and took it with you. Almost anyone could use a uke & play a few chords to accompany a sing-song.


As I told a Florida news reporter last year: \"The ukulele was the ipod of the jazz age\"!

 

By the time I was a young child my grandad had forgotten how to play. Even if he had been able to remember; playing that particular uke would have been impossible.

 

This is because my dad decided to help my ukulele career by stringing it with sisal. You don\'t hear much talk about sisal any more. Its that rough hairy string that you reach for when tying up old sacks. It is also great for gardening work since it is perfectly biodegradable. Its not necessarily the best string for obtaining sweet sounds from a quality instrument.

 

To be fair to my dad I was only 3 years old at the time and would rather have had a drum. My own preference would have been to remove both the strings and the fingerboard.




Years later when I finally got grandad\'s banjolele fixed up with a nice vellum and good strings I discovered that it was a dog of an instrument.

Moral: Just because it is vintage doesn\'t mean it can\'t be junk!

 

However...many an average sounding instrument can be enhanced to a surprising degree by finding the most suitable set of strings.

 

When you think about it the string IS the sound. The plucked string vibrates. This vibration causes the bridge to move up and down which in turn makes the whole front of the uke move back and forth. In this way your skinny strings go from moving a teeny tiny amount of air to moving a much larger amount.

 

The sound also bounces around inside the body of the uke before coming out through the hole. This adds to the duration of the sound.

 

It is the vibration of air that our ears pick up as sound. Without air there is no sound. Which is why; in space no-one can hear you strum.

 

Its easy to imagine that strings that are saggy, baggy and overly flexible (like elastic bands or Richard Simmons - Ha Ha) will produce less sound than tight strings. Therefore it is generally a good idea to increase the string tension.

 

Besides the instrument design (e.g. neck length) the 2 Things that affect string tension are:

 

1)    The Elasticity of the String Material itself. Nylon strings, for example, tend to be more stretchy than gut strings. There is also a newer man-made patented string material called Nylgut. This stuff manages to have similar tension/acoustic properties of gut while being quite stable under temperature changes. Metal strings (which aren\'t usually used on ukuleles) are very inflexible.

 

(Note that I don\'t say catgut. For 600 years violin strings were traditionally made from sheepgut in the Italian village of Salle. The wily old string-makers, knowing it to be extremely bad luck to kill a cat, protected their secret method by spreading the rumour that they used cat intestines for their strings.Interestingly 2 of the world\'s leading string manufacturers: D\'Addario and Mari are still run by Sallese famillies. And Aquila, the company which provides the world with Nylgut, is also Italian).

 

2)    String Thickness. Thicker strings create more tension.

(Say you have 2 strings of identical material but one is thicker than the other. Tune them to the same note and the thicker string will feel tighter).



In practical terms all of this means that a way to get more power and volume from your uke is to use higher tension strings.

 

Note: If your strings are too tight this creates other problems. Extra tight strings are harder to play and can damage your instrument as well as your fingers. They can even cause your tuners to turn in their holes making tuning difficult.

 

If you want to read more of my thoughts about string choices for various ukuleles you\'ll have to wait until next week. Sorry to keep you in suspense and hanging by a thread but I do enjoy stringing people along!







Ever-flexible exercise guru Richard Simmons shows where he keeps his ukulele strings!








©Ralph Shaw 2010



 
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Upcoming Events:
Feb 13th 11:45 to 3pm Winter Olympics Celebration: 2:30pm Main Stage show. Holland Park, Surrey. BC. (King George Hwy & Old Yale Rd.)

Feb 19th & 20th Gorge Uke Festival. Hood River, Oregon:      http://www.gorgeukuleles.org/

Great weekend of concerts and ukulele instruction from Canada\'s and America\'s finest.

Can\'t make it to the festival? Then try my DVDs! The Complete Ukulele Course DVD series will help you to play and perform better. The use of teaching DVDs is the best way to learn by yourself. You get to see and hear everything you need to know and can pause and rewind as often as you wish.


1 The Complete Ukulele Course shows you how to get started with tuning and strumming. It then teaches you a variety of techniques to make your playing more and more interesting!


2 Essential Strums for the Ukulele will give you specific strums and a song to go with each one. These include: samba, blues, frailing, bossa nova, bo diddley, reggae and much more. Essential!!


3 Ukulele Playalong has the chord changes up on the screen and you get to strum and sing along. Great fun and excellent practice at a great price!


4 The Complete Ukulele Course for Kids - Get this dvd and a ukulele for the child/ren in your life and it could change their life. Music is a wonderful way to learn and have fun at the same time. The ukulele is a non-threatening and joyful introduction to music education.
 

All the above DVDs are available from: www.RalphShaw.ca

[Uketeufel]

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

Powerful Pointers to Perk up your Playing
February 9 2010
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Dear Raimund,


This week I share my experiences of how different strings can change the sound of a uke. I also want to tell you about my brand new custom-made baritone ukulele!!





If you find value in this newsletter then please consider forwarding it to a friend!

Word count this issue: 876 words

Estimated reading time: about 3½ minutes
 

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UE #24  Give Yourself Some Extra Oomf

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




Ever had someone build you a custom-made ukulele? Its an interesting experience. You can tell the luthier exactly what you want, but, until the moment when the finished uke is finally strung, you can\'t be sure of how it\'ll sound.


 

Last October I played some concerts at Napa\'s Wine Country Ukulele Festival using my thrift store plywood baritone ukulele (made by Arrex).




I\'d never had any complaints before, but more than one person approached me to say that I should be playing a better quality instrument.

 

My friend and fellow ukulele entertainer James Hill asked me,

   \"Have you thought of getting a better baritone?\"

I told him that I had but I really liked the sound of my Arrex. He said,


  \"Yeah I used to have one of those too. The neck broke off\".

  \"It is a bit of a worry.\" I agreed.

 

The trouble was, I didn\'t feel the need to upgrade, since I happened to enjoy the lusty bark of my Arrex. However...

 

...2 hours later. Enter Gordon Mayer of Mya-Moe Ukuleles who said,

   \"We\'d like to build you a baritone ukulele. I\'ll give you some time to think about it. Just let me know. Okay?\" He started to walk off. I said,

   \"Wait a minute - I\'ve already thought about it!\"

 

Over the next few months we discussed the qualities I was looking for in a baritone uke. It boiled down to this: I wanted one with the sort of big sound that my Arrex plywood uke puts out. Gord later coined it: Arrex the Wonderdog.

 

My new instrument was completed on Jan 1, 2010 . This was also my aunt\'s 83rd birthday so I named the ukulele after her. Brunhild the Baritone was born!!

 

The instrument was beautiful but when I played it I could tell that something in the sound was missing. And that something is what I call Oomf.

 

The sound was sweet and warm but did not project anything close to the power that the Wonderdog could put out. I packaged her up and returned Brunhild to Gordon. Through email we discussed what changes needed to be made to achieve the elusive Oomf factor.

 

Gordon knows his instrument technology very well and I know a bit about acoustics from my physics studies. We looked at scale length, saddle height and body construction but I learned from him that one of the most important factors affecting Oomf is the strings.

 

Gordon did some measurements and found that the strings he had used on the 1st uke had 42 pounds of tension. Whereas the D\'Addario baritone ukulele strings that I often use have 60 pounds. Almost 50% difference!! I never got to hear the difference on that uke because Gordon showed it to a customer who quickly bought it. My slight regret is that I didn\'t try out other strings when I had the chance.

 

Therefore I encourage you to do some experimentation with different strings and see which you like best.

 

On my Larrivee soprano I like the soft feel of black nylon strings. This bugs the instrument maker John Larrivee jr. He says black strings make the instrument look cheap. Indeed!! Heaven forbid that our ukuleles look cheap eh? I totally disagree with him. Black strings on a guitar may look cheap but on a uke they look just fine.

 

More recently however John L. Jr. was very pleased to see that I had put white strings on my Larrivee. They were Nylgut strings. I had put them on not for their colour but because they deliver more sound.

 

The older Martin ukuleles are famous for being great sounding instruments but put on some Nylgut strings and you\'ll hear the sound pop into another zone altogether.

 

Its not always for the better. I tried those same Nylgut strings on my Ludwig banjo-uke. The instrument went from being loud to almost obnoxiously brash.

 

Another string material is fluorocarbon. Gordon tells me it is denser than Nylgut but because of the way the strings are designed Nylgut still produces more tension.

 

Here is an idea of what to expect:

 

nylon = warm sound, larger diameter string

nylgut = bright, medium diameter

fluorocarbon = wide (think of a broad, full sound), smallest diameter

 

I urge you to try sets of strings from different manufacturers. It\'s a bit of work but it will be so worthwhile to find which strings give you the sort of tone that makes you go, \"Hmm - Me like!\"

 

If you want to get really fancy then you can try buying individual strings. Find a store or manufacturer that let\'s you do this. Or mix and match sets of different uke strings and/or classical guitar strings. Try coming up with your perfect combo.

 

New Brunhild arrived last week and she is really something. The sound is full and resonant, warm and powerful. The body of the instrument palpably vibrates like a living thing. And yes. She has all the Oomf anyone could need.

 

What of the ever-loyal Arrex the Wonderdog? Well, he is back on the shelf and not being played much anymore. I hope he realises that even though he was cheap and old and slightly rattley he managed to set a very high standard. His big loud bark was the inspiration for helping us hone and perfect Brunhild - a superior baritone ukulele.







Brunhild

Sycamore back & sides. Bearclaw spruce top. D\'addario strings (for now!)

mya-moe ukuleles






©Ralph Shaw 2010



 
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Learn to play any ukulele like a pro! The Complete Ukulele Course DVD series will help you to play and perform better. The use of teaching DVDs is the best way to learn by yourself. You get to see and hear everything you need to know and can pause and rewind as often as you wish.



1 The Complete Ukulele Course shows you how to get started with tuning and strumming. It then teaches you a variety of techniques to make your playing more and more interesting!


2 Essential Strums for the Ukulele will give you specific strums and a song to go with each one. These include: samba, blues, frailing, bossa nova, bo diddley, reggae and much more. Essential!!


3 Ukulele Play Alonghas the chord changes up on the screen and you get to strum and sing along. Great fun and excellent practice at a great price!


4 The Complete Ukulele Course for Kids - Get this dvd and a ukulele for the child/ren in your life and it could change their life. Music is a wonderful way to learn and have fun at the same time. The ukulele is a non-threatening and joyful introduction to music education.

DVDs available from: www.RalphShaw.ca


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).

Upcoming Events:
Feb 13th Winter Olympics Celebration: 11:45 to 3pm 2:30pm Main Stage show. Holland Park, Surrey. BC. (King George Hwy & Old Yale Rd.)

Feb 19th & 20th Gorge Uke Festival. Hood River, Oregon:      http://www.gorgeukuleles.org/

Weekend of concerts and ukulele instruction.

On Facebook? Then join the Ralph Shaw Fan Club

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

[Uketeufel]

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

Powerful Pointers to Perk up your Playing
February 16 2010
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Dear Raimund,



Do you ever have the feeling that people just aren\'t listening to you? This is bad enough at home but when it happens while you\'re on stage it can be - how shall I put this - irksome.


If you find value in this newsletter then please consider forwarding it to a friend!

Word count this issue: 866 words

Estimated reading time: about 3½ minutes
 

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UE #25 Hi there! Hello - tap tap - Is this thing on?

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


Your very first time performing music in front of people is probably not such a bad experience. For many, the initiation into making music in public is to sing 1 or 2 songs at an open mic evening in a pub or coffee house.  





The anticipation of the event can still be quite terrifying. But, more often than not, you will find yourself before a group of sympathetic and supportive peers who understand what you are going through.

 

It is after that, when things get tough.

 

If you persist on the path of being a musical entertainer it won\'t be long before you find yourself before audiences of people who are completely ignoring you.

 

There you are. You\'ve gone to all that trouble to learn your songs and play your instrument. You\'ve endured sleepless nights and had nightmares about forgetting lyrics and being onstage without your trousers on.

 

Finally you get in front of the audience and they repay you by giving you as much attention as if you were a blob of chewing gum.

 

Why do they do this?

 

The main reason can be summed up in one word: DISTRACTIONS

 

Distractions can take many forms, though the effect they have is pretty much the same.

 

 - You\'ve been asked to perform at a reunion. Trouble is that everyone is getting reacquainted. They talk and talk and talk.

 

 - You\'re at an outdoor celebration. It took you 3 weeks to write a special song for the 90 year old birthday boy. Suddenly his niece\'s Shih-Tzu dog decides that now would be a good time to attack a runaway balloon. This causes great hilarity for all except you as you reach the most heartfelt part of your song.

 

 - You\'re performing in a long narrow room. The people at the back can barely see or hear you. They talk amongst themselves. As they get louder other people give up trying to listen to whoever it is onstage. They talk and talk and talk. Eventually the only ones still listening are your 3 pals at the table directly in front of you.

 

 - You have been asked to entertain at the Postal Workers annual dinner. The first couple of songs go great. Then, while you are telling an anecdote that has a simply terrific ending, a lady in a pink pinny wheels out the dessert cart. With one mind almost everyone in the room jumps up to get in the coffee line-up. They hustle and jostle and bustle and talk and talk...

 

- Saturday afternoon performing for beer-drinking veterans in the Legion. You are singing a beautiful WWII 1940s love ballad when over the crackly loudspeaker system come the words,

          \"We\'ll be doing the Meat Draw in 10 minutes. Last chance to get tickets. Meat Draw in 10 minutes.\" Pretty much everyone is now patting their pockets and looking in wallets for their chance of scoring a lump of flesh.

 

You get the idea.

 

The problem is that sheeple, sorry, I mean people, are very easily led astray. They bleat and baa and drop things and arrive late and have pets and children. They are scattered and unfocussed and unruly. They need a leader to keep them quiet and attentive.

 

More often than not, that someone will have to be ewe , sorry, I mean YOU.

 

When you think about it you can see why theatres are the way they are. They are a practical way of reducing distractions to a minimum.

 

As you go into the theatre; what does the sign say? NO Food or Drink in the Theatre.

 

Are they trying to help you lose weight, is that the idea?

 

No! The sign is there because they don\'t want the sounds, smells and spills that would inevitably distract other theatre-goers.

 

Think about it. How can you possibly see the action when you are hunting around your Pirate Munch Burger Barrel for the straw that\'s supposed to go with your Cutlass Jack\'s Ooh-Aaarh Strawberry Milk Shake?

 

Once inside the theatre don\'t try asking for a seat that is facing away from the stage. There aren\'t any. Tried and tested theatre design has it so that all the seats face in the same direction.

 

If at that point you are still not sure what you are there for, don\'t worry! They will soon turn off all the audience lights.


This is so you, and the rest of the flock, can now sit in the dark with bright lights shining onto whatever it is they want you to look at.

 

Talking during the show is definitely frowned upon. There are no dogs, no alcohol is served, no meat draws take place and, most of all, there are no women in pink pinnys wheeling dessert carts.

 

For a new performer the idea of a theatre performance can seem daunting, but the lack of distractions actually make it a great luxury. Unfortunately it is a luxury that doesn\'t come around too often.


 

Next week: By hook or by crook...  I\'ll talk about how to prepare yourself for the types of situations I described above. And, you\'ll get some pointers on how to get control of an unruly flock of sheeple!

[Uketeufel]

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

Powerful Pointers to Perk up your Playing
February 23 2010
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Dear Raimund,




You\'ve prepared your songs and you are ready to perform. The problem is; how do you get people to pay attention? Today we look at how to grab onto and hold your audience.




If you find value in this newsletter then please consider forwarding it to a friend!

Word count this issue: 790 words

Estimated reading time: about 3 minutes
 

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UE #26  The Power of No

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


Unfortunately some of the most difficult performing situations also happen to be the places where beginners will play in public for the first time.

 

Fortunately there are some things you can do to help your performance succeed.

 

Here are 2 of them:

 

1) Minimize Distractions.

 

This begins before you even show up at the event; actually before you even accept the gig.

 

In the past I have been the sort of foolhardy type to say yes to almost any offer that comes my way. Thus I have had many \"useful live-performance experiences\" at gigs that I probably should have turned down.

 

My friend Les Finnigan is a brilliant fingerstyle solo guitarist. He is however quite careful about what bookings he says yes to. For example, having learned that his music doesn\'t work well for New Years Eve parties he chooses not to take them. With a nod to self-help guru Eckhart Tolle he calls his technique of turning down gigs: The Power of No!

 

Before accepting a gig ask some questions. Do this conversationally rather than running down a checklist. Help the host to nudge and sculpt the plans so that you both look good.

 

When will you be performing? At the beginning of a party people tend to walk in late. There is also a lot of chatter. If the host wants people to actually listen to you then suggest to be moved to a later time.

 

Who will be there? Get an idea of the age range and number of the audience. If you know there\'ll be quite a few kids and/or elders you can plan accordingly.

 

What else will be happening while you perform? Will they be serving food or drinks? Suggest to perform before or after food but not during (unless they require dinner music). Find out if there\'ll be other competitors for audience attention (mariachi band, bouncy castle, hip hop dance troupe etc.)  

 

 

2) Be in Control.

 

This is a big one. You need to find your way to MAKE the audience pay attention.  

 

Developing your \'presence\' can be a quick or slow process depending on how much work you\'ve already done in this regard.

 

What can you do that will engage an audience and make a roomful of chattering people shut up and listen?

 

First of all you\'ll need to have, what some people call, balls. And I don\'t mean for playing ping pong. Jewish performers call it Hutzpah. Others refer to it as brazen self-confidence.

 

If you don\'t have it then fake it \'till you make it!

 

Should you be at the microphone saying,

\"Its great to be here\" While your body language is eloquently crying,

\"I kind of planned to sing for you but I\'m not really all that good and you most likely won\'t enjoy it and besides I\'m a complete fraud and shouldn\'t be here....\"

 

Your audience will pick up on that. So -

 

Be sure of your show. Know that you have something to communicate. Make your show as engaging as possible.

 

Be sure of yourself. Practice being confident. Look at confident people, especially other performers. How do they move and talk?

 

I once saw a striking looking performer get up on the stage of a somewhat rowdy bar-room and simply raise his hand. He stood there slowly looking around the room until he had everyone\'s attention and then he began to play. For him - it worked.

 

Some performers get attention by verbally connecting to the crowd. This can be done by being loud and feisty or equally with quiet power. American comedian Steven Wright presents his humour in a quiet and lethargic drawl. I once heard him refer to it as the silent roar. People have to shut up if they want to hear him.

 

Your degree of \'Presence\' has to do with your aliveness. The self-help books talk about \'Living in the Now\' and \'Being in the Zone\' or \'Staying in the Moment\'. And its true. If you are onstage constantly tuned in and adapting and reacting to life as it is right now then people will watch.

 

But no matter how much you develop this ability your presence will probably never be a match for that kitten who stands near you on the stage. What a performer she is! All eyes are on her as she simply watches a piece of fluff floating in the air...

 

 

There is so much involved in giving a successful performance. My Musical Performance Seminar is something that I teach to help people with all aspects of performing. With enough students I can be brought into your community to teach.





Otherwise please consider signing up for one of the following events where I\'ll be performing and facilitating my Musical Performers Class:


Augusta Swing Camp West Virgina August 1-6


Wine Country Ukulele Festival - St Helena, California Sept 11-12








©Ralph Shaw 2010



 
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Be a ukulele playing star! The Complete Ukulele Course DVD series will help you to play and perform better. The use of teaching DVDs is the best way to learn by yourself. You get to see and hear everything you need to know and can pause and rewind as often as you wish.



1 The Complete Ukulele Course shows you how to get started with tuning and strumming. It then teaches you a variety of techniques to make your playing more and more interesting!


2 Essential Strums for the Ukulele will give you specific strums and a song to go with each one. These include: samba, blues, frailing, bossa nova, bo diddley, reggae and much more. Essential!!


3 Ukulele Play Alonghas the chord changes up on the screen and you get to strum and sing along. Great fun and excellent practice at a great price!


4 The Complete Ukulele Course for Kids - Get this dvd and a ukulele for the child/ren in your life and it could change their life. Music is a wonderful way to learn and have fun at the same time. The ukulele is a non-threatening and joyful introduction to music education.

DVDs available from: www.RalphShaw.ca


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).

Upcoming Events:

March 5: In The House - All ukulele house concert in Vancouver
7:00pm. 3238 Fleming St. Vancouver BC.

On Facebook? Then join the Ralph Shaw Fan Club

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

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