WORKSHOPS
(For you and your uke!)
[Level I-beginners; II-intermediate; III-advanced]
FRIDAY, MAY 29 1:30-3:00 PM

PLAYING UP THE NECK-(II)-Uncle Zac- This workshop is designed for any player
who wants to break out of first position and begin to find their way up the neck -
the course is set up to accommodate ukes of all sizes and tunings as well as players from
beginner to intermediate-using his using his Theory of Four method, unclezac, a player
for over 45 years, will walk you through various steps to easily recognize and play chord
inversions that will help you begin your journey into chord solo and chord melody -
using the whole fretboard is the ultimate goal of this course and getting you there is the
ultimate goal for Unclezac -

"TRICKS and LICKS". Moe Dixon A few FUN ways to spice up your repertoire with a
little fingersyle blues, folk, and ragtime. Rolls,pull-offs,slides,open tunings,endings. Fun
for all levels

PUAMANA AND THE UKE-(I, II, III) Mihana. Irmgard Farden wrote Puamana about
her home on Maui. The structure of the song lends itself to ukulele at any level. Mihana,
Irmgard’s daughter, will give view the history of song and the group will play it together.

HAWAIIAN SONG “Played-By-Ear". (I, II, III) Pat Palika Enos Palika will find the
Aloha lurking in several songs the way Hawaiian do, by listening! Always fun, and his
sidekick, Bill Tapia will poke pukas in his presentation 

THE UKULELE ORCHESTRA -(II)-Jared Denhard This will be a hands on class on
creating ensemble arrangements for multi level ukulele ensembles, Including melody,
chord and arpeggio parts. Fun sample arrangements will be provided.-(II)-Jared Denhard

CHORD SUBSTITUTION ON UKE-(II)-Mark Michaels-How to “Jazz Up” Your
Ukulele Mark Michaels of www.newyorkukuleleschool.com shows you how to take
simple 2 or 3 chord songs (“Singing In the Rain”, “Moonlight Bay”, “Bei Mir Bist du
Schoen”, “Lydia The Tattooed Lady”) and flesh them out into more “musical” pieces in
this interactive, participatory workshop. He will illustrate how one can substitute chords
using principles of relative major/relative minor, II-V7’s, diminished and augmented
chords and cycles of fourths. Recording the workshop for personal use is allowed and
encouraged, and please bring a tuner (and ukulele!) if you wish to play along.

UKE FOR BEGINNERS ( I) Ty Olopai leads a beginners workshop, focusing on three
songs with simple chords. The goal is to add these tunes to the new players repertoire.

FRIDAY, MAY 29 3:30-5:00 PM

FUNDAMENTALS OF HAWAIIAN STEEL GUITAR-(I, II)-Sean Bolivar of Nalu Noa-
We will be discussing and exploring the main characteristics of steel guitar in Hawaiian
music - the traits that really give steel guitar "that Hawaiian sound". Topics will include:
great players who have formed and expanded the language of Hawaiian steel guitar,
turnarounds - the mainstay of Hawaiian steel guitar, Hawaiian steel guitar vibrato, "the
hula pick", the use of palm harmonics, glissandos, and more!

BANJO UKE-(I)- Meg Reichard of Les Chauds Lapins Meg Reichardt of Les Chauds
Lapins (the hot rabbits) introduces the class to the banjo ukulele a hybrid instrument
popularized in the 1920s. With its unique timbre and ability to be played very, very loud
the banjolele has much to offer the adventurous uke player. We’ll cover basic tunings,
simple chords and the slightly different picking and strumming techniques used on this
instrument due to the short decay time. In addition, we’ll play through one French
chanson “Parlez-moi d’amour” popularized by Lucienne Boyer in the 1930s and reprised
by Les Chauds Lapins on their debut album. For more info www.leschaudslapins.com

STEP UP THE RHYTHM-(I, II)-Jim Geyer of Mr Badger-Jim will show how to use
rhythmic alterations to enhance any song. Introductions and turn-arounds can also benefit
from changes in rhythm patterns.

HULA FOR ALL (I,II,III) Luana Haraguchi, whose halau (hula school) has been in New
York since 1968, will give an introductory overview of traditional hula and its rich
cultural and communicative value.

UKE LEADS IN THE BAND-(II)-Sebastien Dufour of Small World Project"Unusual
playing technics on the uke: borrow stuff to other musical instrument or other style of
music. Ex: sitar from India, oud from arabia, flamenco guitar of Spain, brazilian
percussions, etc.

UKE FOR BEGINNERS (I) Makalina has introduced many students to the ukulele. She
will focus on simple chords allowing a beginner to join in playing complete songs.

UKE AND YOU TUBE (I,II,III) Julia Nunes, the Queen of YouTube, will guide
neophytes through the process of posting uke songs online. The following link will
show one of her videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUGjaOAJLjk

SATURDAY, MAY 30 1:30-3:00 PM

CLASSICAL COMPOSITION ON THE UKE (II)-Jared Denhard A workshop on
techniques creating your own original instrumental compositions. Tips for developing a
musical idea into a complete melody, creating musical "question and answer" phrases,
and creating ukulele compositions based on chord progressions.

STRUMS AND RUNS FOR FUN-(I) Ukulele Bartt Basics and Beyond: Chords, Strums
and Picking Learn chords galore, fancy strums and finger-picking patterns, even if you're
a beginner. Free chord charts and lessons to take home. Learn correct finger-positioning
and a variety of strums. Get plenty of tips for better playing, too! Get more free lessons at
Bartt.net today!

THE UKE IN THE BAND-(I, II)-Tripping Lily- "The workshop will provide you with
workable, easy to apply practice techniques that will create balance in a band setting. You
will learn how to incorporate the ukulele and learn its place among other instruments.
The instructors will present a simple way of understanding music and how to use good
practice habits to improve quickly. The ukulele can also play an extraordinary percussive
role in an ensemble. Tips on how to achieve this will also be taught. Ways to not get
pigeon holed with the same right hand strumming pattern song after song, just playing
different chords sometimes is not enough to pace an entire set of ukulele music. So the
band will also show a thing or two about pacing to keep the dynamics of a set flowing.

HAWAIIAN COOKING-(I, II, III)-Raynette Gurney-After gentle coaxing and serious
threats, Raynette has agreed to share some family recipes learned from Carol Suganuma,
Lopaca and even Roland. In this workshop she and the group will prepare haupia
(coconut pudding) that we can all sample on Sunday at the luau.
HAWAIIAN SONG Played-By-Ear". (I, II, III) Pat Palika Enos Palika will find the
Aloha lurking in several songs the way Hawaiian do, by listening! Always fun, and his
sidekick, Bill Tapia will poke pukas in his presentation 

PURCHASING/COLLECTING UKES (I,II,III)-Music Guy Mike. Mike will share his
many years of experience to help all of us make the important decision to pick the best
uke. Quality, value, styles, materials, innovations, etc. will all be topics on the menu.

ADVANCED JAZZ-(II,III)-Curt Sheller- Explore just what "advanced jazz" is.
Determine what foundation is needed to explore more advanced and contemporary jazz
styles on ukulele. We'll explore chords, scales and several songs in and "advanced jazz"
style. Intermediate to advanced players welcome.

SATURDAY, MAY 30 3:30-5:00 PM

PUAMANA AND HULA-(I, II, III)-Mihana, The song, Puamana, has its own history.
Written over a half century ago, it is still used as the first song to learn hula by. Irmgard
Farden wrote this song and her daughter, Mihana performed it many times with her. She
will explore the connection of why it is the quintessential hula tune.

BARITONE UKE-(I)-Daria Grace of PREWAR PONIES will introduce people to the
unique and compelling charm of the newest uke of all, which has only been around since
the 1940s. Bring a baritone uke. Daria will illustrate 3 different ways to make major, minor and seventh chords and how to make the transition between them. We will also learn a fairly simple tune or two involving some of these chords - and maybe even an augmented chord!

CONTEMPORARY UKE-(I, II)-Victoria Vox -It's all in the strum, really... and don't
forget to bring a hammer to this class ;) You'll need one. Just kidding... sort of. ;)
We'll take a look at some tunes and different ways of playing them. Not for the faint
hearted.

COMEDIC SONGWRITING (I,II) Ellia Bisker (Sweet Soubrette) In this workshop we
will attempt to write a funny song together from scratch. The process will be
collaborative and participatory, with the goal of a final song we can play together. No
experience required, but a sense of humor and an appreciation for wordplay are highly
recommended.

UKULELE DESIGN, ACOUSTICS, AND STRINGS-(I, II, III)- Gordon & Char Mayer,
who design and build Mya-Moe ukuleles, will briefly cover ukulele construction. The
main focus of the class will be on how design choices such as wood, bracing and wall
thickness affect the acoustics of the finished instrument. In addition, they will discuss
how the musician can vary acoustics & playability through string selection. Various
tuning options, string tensions and custom string sets will be examined.

BEGINNING UKE-(I)- Jim Beloff (Jumpin’ Jim ukulele songbooks; The Joy Of Uke
DVDs) introduces you to the basics of playing the ukulele including holding, tuning,
strumming and making the chords. We will play through a dozen well-known songs
learning new chords, strums, tips and techniques along the way. Bring a GCEA sopranotuned
uke and be ready to have a lot of fun. At the end of the workshop you will have
made a new life-long friend—your ukulele! See uke there!

IMPROVISING SONGS-(III)-[Limited to 10]-Bill Tapia- We will deconstruct three of
Bill’s best-known hits, such as Little Grass Shack. How to build a song through chord
variation, rhythmic twists and melodic leads.