3 Chord Thursday Sea Creatures

On Thursday 29th June 2023, we celebrate National Fishermen’s Day with songs about sea creatures: clam, crab, fish, dolphin, (rock) lobster, octopus, oyster, plankton, sea cucumber, sea weed, shark, Sponge Bob, squid, whale, … For ideas, check out this 43-page ukulele song book of boat and sea shanties.

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3 Chord Thursday Original Songs

On Thursday 15th June 2023, we invite you to submit and perform your original song, that is, a song you wrote yourself. For copyright reasons, we will not publicly livestream this session but we will still record this 3 Chord Thursday song session for review purposes. You are most welcome to submit a video of your song if you’re not able to perform it live. It’s National Freelancers Day — that’s why!

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3 Chord Thursday Children’s Songs

Did you know that Thursday 1st June 2023 is International Children’s Day? We celebrate it with children’s song in 3 Chord Thursday. Check out the 24 most popular nursery rhymes arranged for high-G ukulele in the 80-page book “Fun with Uke Book“.

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3 Chord Thursday Mother’s Day

On Thursday 18th May 2023, we celebrate Mother’s Day, the first time in 3 Chord Thursday. Traditionally it’s celebrated on the second Sunday of May each year in the USA, Canada, and Australia. Elsewhere in the UK, Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man and Nigeria, it’s also called “Mothering Sunday” and celebrated on 19th March 2023. Why does it differ so?

We welcome you to share a favorite song of your mother.

C0-hosts: Bruce (IT), Ali (CA)

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3 Chord Thursday Spanish Songs

On Thursday 4th May 2023, we revisit songs in Spanish, which we began a year ago for Cinco de Mayo. Join us in 3 Chord Thursday for this festive occasion with festive hispanic colors (see below). Check out the ten fun Spanish ukulele songs.

Our opening warm-up lesson will introduce the Andalucian cadence, which is a minor chord progression commonly used in Flamenco music: i–♭VII–♭VI–V (or V7) and back to i (in minor mode) or vi-V-IV-III (or III7) (in major key).

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3 Chord Thursday Earth Day Theme

On Thursday 20th April 2023, join us in Zoom to celebrate songs for Earth Day. We’ve acknowledged Earth Day through music in 3 Chord Thursday, twice previously in 2022, and in 2021.

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3 Chord Thursday Anniversary 60’s

We celebrate our third anniversary on Thursday 6th April 2023 in Zoom. Join us to look back on how we began, revisit the themes, the most popular being the sixties, jeopardy games, and more! A is for anniversary, acknowledgement, and appreciation.

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Ukulele Play Along Video

A play along video is one you can play (your instrument) along to. Also known as a playalong video, one with ukulele chord diagrams allows you to play your ukulele (hands free). Adding lyrics allows you to sing along, like karaoke. I have been experimenting with using the piano, organ, and guitar as backing tracks, giving it a fuller sound than the lonely sound of a single ukulele. Here are some samples.

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Piano Harmonisation (Harmonization)

By special request, I am offering a new 8-week piano course in Zoom to take beginners to the next level of playing. Read from lead sheets and play songs you’d like to play. It’s open to all levels though not complete beginners. [What you’re learning when you’re taking a piano class.]

FALL 2023 starts 10/24/2023 at 5 PM EDT and runs for 8 Tuesdays (except 10/31).

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Music Theory: HARMONY

What’s the difference between melody and harmony? Both require notes to define and describe them. One is ordered sequentially through time. The other can also be stacked vertically. We associate melody with words and harmony with emotions. Is there more?

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