Mosely Green is 5 minutes' drive from my home, in the heart of the Forest of Dean. It's a favourite feasting spot when friends visit Chez Angie. It's also the venue for my latest quest to widen my circle of friends and enrich my social life.
Since last September I've been learning to play the ukukele, and reckon that my skills are now good enough to join a ukulele group. Such groups are springing up all over the country as ukulele playing enjoys a surge in popularity, but it was a pleasant surprise to discover one so near to my home, that met every week. I went along for the first time at the end of April and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The following meeting clashed with General Election night, when I planned to stay up until the wee hours and watch the results come in, so I gave The Rising Sun a miss. Yesterday, though, I returned and again had a truly wonderful evening. Most folk in the group are much more proficient uke players than I, but there's plenty of help on hand when, for instance, I can't remember how to finger B7. My biggest problem, though, is that I still have to look where my fingers are going on the fret board, whereas others seem to know it instinctively. Consequently, I often lose my place in the music, but that's all part of the learning process.
Here's a clip from a YouTube video, showing the group in action. You won't see me as it was filmed before I joined, but I hope you will see that the emphasis is far more on having fun than achieving technical excellence.
Angie, this is really interesting! Are they very serious? Is there much of a regular commitment? I'm beginning to think that I should be doing something similar in the dens and dives of Mid Sussex...
ReplyDeleteLucy
Lucy, I can't speak for the uke groups of Sussex, but ours is very fun-loving and there is no requirement to come regularly; you simply turn up whenever you wish. As well as meeting weekly, our group also attends local event (such as Beer Festivals) but, again, there's no obligation to go along. They did a Flash Mob at the Tall Ships Festival in Gloucester last year that's on YouTube. Put "gloucester ukulele flash mob" into Google and it should be top of the list.
ReplyDeleteSailing! Priceless...
ReplyDeleteIf you are going to be a proper "flasher", you need to get them to work on the surprising reveal and the melt away before discovery...
Too late :) They've been discovered and invited back this year.
DeleteLooks an interesting group to join and I noticed they have a guitar there too. They all had music sheets too I noticed. One of the hardest things I have found in playing is not only remembering which songs you can play but sometimes remembering the chords too. As amateurs I can understand that but eventually with practice we do get better, just look how you have come on Angela after a relatively short time.
ReplyDeleteShirley Anne x
I had presumed that the 'guitar' was actually a baritone ukulele. The picture's not clear enough to count the tuning pegs, though I believe you may be right.
DeleteYes, there are a couple in the group who seem to know the chords without looking at the music, but most of us are grateful for those sheets. We share music via a private Facebook group so, in theory, we all have the same settings.
Ah, I don't (won't) use Facebook...
ReplyDeleteLucy
I share your dislike of Facebook, Lucy. However, there is a way of getting access to a closed Facebook group without exposing yourself to the world of social media...
Delete• Open a Facebook account, using any name that takes your fancy, such as Lucy Em. Don't be tempted to fill in any of the profile stuff, such as schools and jobs.
• You need an existing group member to admit you to the group, so befriend that one person. It might be courteous to explain what you're up to beforehand.
• When you've been admitted to the group, unfriend them.
Now, you have access to all the information being shared on the group, but no-one else can find you, as you're no-one's friend. You'll probably discover there there are already several other Lucy Ems (as there are Angela Kays) on Facebook, further preserving your anonymity.
... If the group is public (as ours may well become) then, of course, you can just join it without befriending anyone. You'll still have to put up with Facebook asking you, from time to time, if you know various other members of the group, but it gives up in the end.
Delete