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Recent Posts
- The Z Chord or “Zed Chord” April 17, 2025
- Roman Hands & Russian Fingers April 16, 2025
- One Finger at a Time April 16, 2025
- More Major Minor Menagerie April 15, 2025
- Major Minor Menagerie for ukulele April 15, 2025
- A Minor Moment to C for high G ukulele April 15, 2025
- 3 Chord Thursday Festive Full Moon April 14, 2025
- 3 Chord Thursday Halloween April 14, 2025
- Thumb Through All That for high G ukulele April 11, 2025
- Untitled Waltz for high G ukulele April 10, 2025
- 3 Chord Thursday 2025 No Theme April 10, 2025
- 3 Chord Thursday Classical Music April 10, 2025
- 3 Chord Thursday Swimming & Water April 10, 2025
- 3 Chord Thursday Seventies April 10, 2025
- Thrice Blinded by Mice for high G ukulele April 9, 2025
- Sortie on Satie April 9, 2025
- Sense the Sicilienne for high G ukulele April 9, 2025
- Err on the G String April 9, 2025
- Melody in the Mosaic April 9, 2025
- Rein in the Rain for high G ukulele April 4, 2025
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Recent Posts: Concert Blog
REVIEW: Discovering Fingerstyle Ukulele Songbook by Colin Tribe
Colin Tribe’s new book offers new possibilities for ukulele players who aspire to fingerpick their way through thirty of the most popular songs of all time. These chord melody arrangements show a variety of ways the high G ukulele can be used for instrumental solo or duet (such as chord accompaniment and melodic fingerpicking) . […]
REVIEW: Piano Animals (duet) by Heleen Verleur
This 31-page book of four hand piano music is sheer FUN with a capital F. The composer Heleen Verleur knows just what pianists love playing: music that is easy to read, sounds hard to play, but is so much fun that you don’t want to stop until it ends.
REVIEW: Ukulele Picking Tunes Classical Gems by Paul Mansell
This 40-page book is the latest contribution to the ukulele repertoire by the UK-based ukulele and guitar composer Paul Mansell. Guitarists who play the ukulele are few and far between, for many adult learners pick up the ukulele without knowing the guitar. Yet it takes a guitarist who understands the possibilities of the re-entrant tuned […]
REVIEW: Modern Pieces for Ukulele by Paul Mansell
Review of first three pieces from the new book Modern Pieces for Ukulele by Paul Mansell
Group piano class in Zoom
Introducing my group piano class online: Group Piano Class in Zoom. The first series of seven weekly one-hour class started in June 2021. The second (continuation of the first) started in October 2021 at alternating weeks, until end of December (seven sessions). The third series of 16 consecutive weeks started at the beginning of 2022. […]
Category Archives: course
Write your own song
Have you ever dreamed of writing your own song? Not a re-make of someone else’s, but your original lyrics set to music, your idea. Or a tune that’s been going around your head that you want to put into words… … Continue reading
Spooky & scary tune for Halloween
Halloween is a big deal in the United States. As soon as the leaves start changing color, houses get decorated with witches, cobwebs, skeletons, and ghosts. Do you know a spooky and scary tune for this occasion? What makes a … Continue reading
Pachelbel Medley (workshops in Zoom)
For Pachelbel’s Birthday Party, I made a medley of songs that follow the eight-bar chord progression in Pachelbel’s Canon. In selecting the songs, I noticed that most of the 24 songs I had listed did NOT follow the progression in … Continue reading
Over the Rainbow from Oz to Iz
The most requested song that people ask me to play on my ukulele is not Judy Garland’s signature song “Over the Rainbow.” In the 1939 movie, “The Wizard of Oz,” she sings of a place that’s far away, free of … Continue reading
Pachelbel Birthday Party
Johann Pachelbel’s exact date of birth is not recorded. Born in Nürnberg (Nuremberg), he was baptized on 1st September 1653, which means his 370th birthday is either happening soon or has already happened. We celebrated his greatest gift to the … Continue reading
Correct fingering for error-free execution with ease
“Pencil in your fingering for both hands. Use a pencil in case you want to erase later. Decide on the fingering. Practice with the fingering you wrote in the score.” Why? The students in piano and ukulele classes ask. Why … Continue reading
Taster Workshop on song writing and composition
The ukulele culture of sharing songs and sightreading song sheets sometimes leads to writing your own songs. It may start with a famous poem with words that seem to suit a tune whose origins you’re not sure of. Convinced it’s … Continue reading
Music Theory MELODY
Of the essential elements of music, melody is the single most important ingredient in a song. You can think of melody as a series of notes, one after another, defined by the distance in pitch (interval) and duration. What makes … Continue reading
Fun with Uke Book
Hot off the cyberpress, “Fun with Uke” is a new compilation of illustrated, arrangements of 24 well-known, popular children’s songs based on nursery rhymes. Coloring book. To find out more, join 3 Chord Thursday Nursery Rhymes song session. The festive … Continue reading
Pluck & Play
Pluck & Play refers to a new fingerstyle ukulele course with a focus on fingerpicking technique for dexterity and better tone, to be offered in November 2022. Pre-requisite: have taken Tab & Pluck or equivalent introduction to fingerstyle course, instrumental … Continue reading