To introduce the joy of ukulele to this area of Dorchester, Milton, and Quincy around Boston, Massachusetts, I’m giving workshops followed by thematic jam sessions. A workshop is a group learning experience, where I teach specific skills needed to play the instrument. A jam session is group playing and singalong, where I provide song sheets and lead everyone in playing together. Workshop participants are encouraged to stay for the jam sessions, especially for the warm-up. If you don’t have your own instrument, I have extras I can lend you for a small fee.
All jam sessions are free. Doors open 15 minutes before the workshop and session. To get on the mailing list, please fill out the Google Form so that I can contact you for your reservation. If there is sufficient interest, I will organize a separate workshop to cater to different age groups. At the moment, the workshops are geared towards preparing participants for jam sessions.
All workshops and sessions are held at the following location unless otherwise indicated. To enter, please knock on the window (right-hand side of the front door) or the inner front door.
Walter Baker Artist Lofts
Common Room (ground floor)
1231 Adams Street
Historic Lower Mills
Boston, MA 02124
Milton T (red line to Ashmont then Mattapan Trolley)
Wednesday 21 February 2018 Heartbreak Hotel MeetUp RSVP
6:15 – 7:15 pm basic workshop $15 adult. $5 child. [+$10 ukulele loan]
FREE 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm jam session with Heartbreak Hotel (34-pages)
(warm-up with basic chords and strums)
Wednesday 28th February 2018 Oscar Winners MeetUp RSVP
special guest: ukuleles of Tiny Tim & Arthur Godfrey
7 – 8 pm basic workshop $15 adult. $5 child. [+$10 ukulele loan]
FREE 8 – 9 pm jam session (warm-up with basic chords and strums)
Wednesday 7 March 2018 Two Chord Songs (20 pages) & MeetUp RSVP
7 – 8 pm basic workshop $15 adult. $5 child. [+$10 ukulele loan]
FREE 8 – 10 pm jam session (warm-up with basic chords and strums)
Saturday 10 March 2018 Focus on Strumming Workshop
$15 adult. $5 child. [+$10 ukulele loan]
3 – 4:30 pm Workshop: “Different Strokes with Different Folks” – strumming patterns for easy and familiar two to three chord songs. You can be a total beginner, as this focusses on the right-hand.
Wednesday 14 March 2018 Two Chord Songs (20 pages) & MeetUp RSVP
7 – 8 pm basic workshop $15 adult. $5 child. [+$10 ukulele loan]
FREE 8 – 10 pm jam session (warm-up with basic chords and strums)
Friday 23 March 2018 Island Theme (14-pages) & MeetUp RSVP
7 – 8 pm basic workshop $15 adult. $5 child. [+$10 ukulele loan]
FREE 8 – 10 pm jam session (warm-up with basic chords and strums)
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From Friday April 27, 2018 3:30 – 4:30 pm (8 consecutive weeks) – FREE
Beginning Ukulele Workshops for Teens (6th to 12th grade)
Ukuleles and clip-on tuners provided
Adams Street Branch, Boston Public Library
Saturday April 28th 2018 Ukulele Melee in Hamilton, MA – don’t miss!
Basic Modules (this pre-requisite for other workshops will be offered more frequently than other modules):
- Set-up & Get-up: how to hold your ukulele, tune it, use your right and left hands.
- Must-know Chords and Strokes: 20% of all the chords you need to play 80% of the songs, similarly for strokes
- Strum and Singalong: how to find the right range for your voice, play and sing at the same time
- Intros & Outros: beginnings and endings
- Two Chord Songs: learn to switch between chords, e.g. Eleanor Rigby
- Self-help: tips on free tutorials, song sheets, chord charts & more!
Intermediate Modules
- Different Strokes for Different Folks: focus on the right-hand (for the right-handed), strumming techniques and patterns for different kinds of songs and styles (reggae, rock, pop, folk, waltz, etc) This can also be for beginners.
- Strike the Right Chord: focus on chords, alternative fingerings, moveable chord shapes, short-cuts
- Common Chord Progressions: did you know that the chord sequence used in Pachelbel’s Canon is the same as Puff the Magic Dragon, One Tin Soldier, and Streets of London? There are so many more like this.
Advanced Modules
- Take Your Pick: focus on picking and plucking, reading tablature, picking out melodies and riffs
- Transpose to Compose: transpose the chords in the song sheet to the chords of the song in Spotify or Youtube or to suit your voice range
- Chord Melody Arrangements also known as finger style
- Ukulele Ensemble: play different parts (depending on skill level) to make a beautiful sound together
Song Books (PDFs) (visit Ukulele Page for links and free download)
- Super Blue Blood Moon (22 pages)
- Heartbreak Hotel (34 pages)
- Movie Music: Oscar Winners
- Two-Chord Songs
- Island Theme (16 pages) NEW!
- Easy Beatles
- Irish Favorites
- Ukulele Originals: Tiptoe Through the Tulips, Tonight You Belong to Me, The Moon Song
- Politically Incorrect & Hilarious
- Across America: San Francisco Bay Blues, Carolina In My Mind, Massachusetts, California Dreamin’, Tulsa Time, Maui Waltz, Yellow Rose of Texas, MTA Song (Boston), Georgia On My Mind, Tennessee Waltz, Chattanooga Choo Choo, Banks of Ohio, New York, New York
Related blogposts: (visit Ukulele Page for links to tutorial articles)