3 Chord Thursday BIRDS

Posted on January 9, 2023 by Anne Ku

On Thursday 30th March 2023, we will share songs about birds. To prepare for our third anniversary on 6th April, the opening warm-up lesson will cover how to play Happy Birthday in four different keys. Don’t miss it! We start at 3 PM EDT (8 PM BST) and end an hour later. 3 Chord Thursday, the thematic song session in Zoom, founded at the beginning of the pandemic, is open to anyone anywhere in the world, recorded on YouTube video for review and reflection.

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3 Chord Thursday Irish Theme

Posted on January 3, 2023 by Anne Ku

On Thursday 16th March 2023, we will celebrate beloved songs about Ireland. Wear green else you’ll get pinched — or virtually pinched. Check out the song list and song sheets the previous times we’ve done this: last year (2022), Irish Playlist, 2021, and the song Ride On. Note: Daylight Savings Time: 3 EDT = 7 PM GMT (UK starts a week later) = 9 AM HST (Hawaii does not observe daylight savings)

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3 Chord Thursday RIP Burt

Posted on January 3, 2023 by Anne Ku

Thursday 2nd March 2023 is World Book Day on which we are paying tribute to Burt Bacharach who wrote more than 500 songs, of which 73 topped the charts. The multi-Grammy and Oscar winner passed away on 8 February 2023, leaving a massive musical legacy, including the Oscar winning song Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head. In this one-hour session Zoom, we will open with a short warm-up lesson on how to play this famous tune.

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3 Chord Thursday Hawaiian Love Songs

Posted on January 3, 2023 by Anne Ku

On Thursday 16th February 2023, we will be jamming on the island of Maui sharing love songs of Hawaii in Zoom, as it’s just past Valentine’s Day. For inspiration, check out the songs we did last year and videos from in-person kanikapilas (Hawaiian word for jam session) and timeless love songs. Be sure to wear your aloha shirt or mumu or something Hawaiian. Wear a lei. Bring your kazoo for this one-hour song session in Zoom at 3 PM EST (10 AM HST).

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3 Chord Thursday World Ukulele Day

Posted on January 3, 2023 by Anne Ku

Thursday 2nd February 2023 is World Ukulele Day. Last year we celebrated in style. This year, we will do the same. Share songs well-accompanied by the ukulele. Show off your ukulele! Join us in Zoom!

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3 Chord Thursday Chinese Zodiac Signs

Posted on January 3, 2023 by Anne Ku

On Thursday 19th January 2023, we celebrate Chinese New Year of the Rabbit (which falls on Sunday 22nd January) by sharing songs about any of the 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac or songs in Chinese. We start promptly at 3 pm EST (8 pm GMT) with livestream (recording to YouTube) and a warm-up lesson.

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Chord Choreography

Posted on January 2, 2023 by Anne Ku

Fingering and switching chords on the ukulele (or the guitar) is akin to the way a pianist changes fingers to play different chords on the left hand. It’s easier to stay in the same position (that part of the keyboard) and play chord inversions than to jump around the keyboard playing root positions (of chords). What slows one down is having to look at the left hand, thereby risk getting lost or playing wrong notes. Similarly, ukulele and guitar players that have to move their eyes from the sheet music to the left hand and fretboard and to the right hand fingers may also risk getting lost or playing wrong notes.

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Morning Has Broken

Posted on January 2, 2023 by Anne Ku

The song I played on the guitar and piano as a teenager on Okinawa was fun because of the catchy piano introduction that’s also used between verses. It starts in the key of D but modulates to C for the first verse. Staying in C for the second verse, it returns to the D for the third verse and the modulates back to C for the fourth verse (which is a repeat of the first verse). Released in 1971, it is Cat Steven’s greatest hit. He took a relatively unknown Christian hymn first published in 1931, and harmonized it differently, most notably using a piano arrangement and performance by Rick Wakeman. The text was written by an English poet famous for nursery rhymes, and the hymn was set to an old Scottish Gaelic melody known as Bunessan.

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Silent Night transposed and translated

Posted on December 21, 2022 by Anne Ku

What is the most famous song sung at Christmas? Written by an Austrian priest and set to music by another Austrian, Stille Nacht has been translated to more than 300 languages. Silent Night, as we know it, can also be sung and played in different keys. Play along to the following two videos created for my music classes in Zoom.

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Simple Gifts revisited

Posted on November 19, 2022 by Anne Ku

What can you do with a two chord song? As Elizabeth Barrett Browning famously wrote, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” We demonstrated a few ways at 3 Chord Thursday which provided food for thought, just in time for Thanksgiving.

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