mikelz777
Well-known member
Do you like the music that your ukulele group plays? I would define "like" as you do play or would have chosen to play the song(s) on your own, independent of the group or its influence?
I thought it would be fun to play with a group of other ukers so I decided to test the waters and attend an open gathering. The repertoire played by the group (2-3 uke clubs) was stuff like Five Foot Two, You Are My Sunshine, Shine On Harvest Moon, All Of Me and the like. I didn't say it out loud but I thought to myself, "What's up with all these stale, corny songs?" There was an attempt at playing a "cooler" song for the group, a hit song from the 60's, but it was played at such a slow tempo it was really hard to get into. It wasn't until they had an open-mike portion of the gathering that some cooler, more interesting songs were performed. Out of curiosity, I checked out the web site of one of the groups in attendance and they happened to have their group songbook listed. Of the 70+ songs listed there, I could only find 3-4 that I would have chosen to play on my own and even those, I wouldn't have played very often.
Do groups tend to gravitate towards those type of songs because they supposedly sound good on or are associated with the ukulele? Is it because they are good singalong songs for a group of people? Is it a sign of the music tastes of the people who are in charge or that tend to drive the group? Do you see this trend in your group or is it different? I think it's one of the things that's holding me back from attending a group. I do play that type of music on occasion and even have some of it in my own songbook (though none of the songs listed above) so I'm not totally opposed to it but I wouldn't enjoy it predominantly on a regular basis.
Just for a point of reference, here are some of the artists found in my songbook as I page through it: Bob Dylan, Walk Off The Earth, The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Herman's Hermits, Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Jimmy Buffet, Hank Snow, Hank Williams, The Derailers, The Everly Brothers, Don Gibson, The Band, Eddie Cochran, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Buck Owens, Red Sovine, Jimmy Rogers, Leon Redbone, Counting Crows. I'd be interested in hearing others thoughts and experiences.
I thought it would be fun to play with a group of other ukers so I decided to test the waters and attend an open gathering. The repertoire played by the group (2-3 uke clubs) was stuff like Five Foot Two, You Are My Sunshine, Shine On Harvest Moon, All Of Me and the like. I didn't say it out loud but I thought to myself, "What's up with all these stale, corny songs?" There was an attempt at playing a "cooler" song for the group, a hit song from the 60's, but it was played at such a slow tempo it was really hard to get into. It wasn't until they had an open-mike portion of the gathering that some cooler, more interesting songs were performed. Out of curiosity, I checked out the web site of one of the groups in attendance and they happened to have their group songbook listed. Of the 70+ songs listed there, I could only find 3-4 that I would have chosen to play on my own and even those, I wouldn't have played very often.
Do groups tend to gravitate towards those type of songs because they supposedly sound good on or are associated with the ukulele? Is it because they are good singalong songs for a group of people? Is it a sign of the music tastes of the people who are in charge or that tend to drive the group? Do you see this trend in your group or is it different? I think it's one of the things that's holding me back from attending a group. I do play that type of music on occasion and even have some of it in my own songbook (though none of the songs listed above) so I'm not totally opposed to it but I wouldn't enjoy it predominantly on a regular basis.
Just for a point of reference, here are some of the artists found in my songbook as I page through it: Bob Dylan, Walk Off The Earth, The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Herman's Hermits, Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Jimmy Buffet, Hank Snow, Hank Williams, The Derailers, The Everly Brothers, Don Gibson, The Band, Eddie Cochran, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Buck Owens, Red Sovine, Jimmy Rogers, Leon Redbone, Counting Crows. I'd be interested in hearing others thoughts and experiences.
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