A job PLAYING ukulele

bornagainjeeper

bornagainjeeper

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So i live in southern illinois wine country...some of the finest fruit wines around and great grape wine to boot...Recently my friend, a magician, got a job at Blue Sky Vineyard as a table magician for the guests, and was told that they were looking for mandolin and lute players to walk around in the gardens and play to the tables...He suggested i give them a ring...

I'm concerned because A.) i have very limited experience playing in public (though i think 10 or fewer people at a table may not be an issue
B.) i can't memorize lyrics and chords well
C.) i may not be good enough to start with...

I'm pretty sure if i audition i'll get the spot...even though ukulele isn't what they are looking for...but i think i'd get it, which makes me nervous...there is no harm in auditioning, i can take defeat, but WHAT IF I GOT IT? could i really pull it off?

there videos (several play in a row)
http://www.blueskyvineyard.com/videos
 
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Go for it. The risk of Youtube is that it doesn't discipline us to actually LEARN songs; we can get away with a lead sheet in front of us, and have 2 or 3 goes. Of the 40 or so songs I've done, I'm not sure I could play more than 10 right now.

I did, however, once have a side career as a covers artist in pubs, playing 2 hours a night to half-listening drunk people, and I was able to retain everything for that. Print up lead sheets with chords and words, so you can take a glance every now and then between songs - that will help. More than that, however, just practise a lot. Sing the songs over and over in your head, do your set right through every night at least once, in addition to working on the ones that need more. You'll do it.
 
SamWise said:
Go for it. The risk of Youtube is that it doesn't discipline us to actually LEARN songs; we can get away with a lead sheet in front of us, and have 2 or 3 goes. Of the 40 or so songs I've done, I'm not sure I could play more than 10 right now.

I did, however, once have a side career as a covers artist in pubs, playing 2 hours a night to half-listening drunk people, and I was able to retain everything for that. Print up lead sheets with chords and words, so you can take a glance every now and then between songs - that will help. More than that, however, just practise a lot. Sing the songs over and over in your head, do your set right through every night at least once, in addition to working on the ones that need more. You'll do it.
Click to expand...


thanks alot for the advice..all good...the one issue is, lead sheets are likely not an option because i'd be walking around from picnic table to picnic table in a big open yard playing table by table
 
uke can do it!
 
DO IT! You've got it, I promise. It won't be as hard as you imagine, due to two main reasons: 1) strum any chord on a uke and people are instantly happy, and 2) the people to whom you are playing are already wine-induced happy. IF you do mess up or forget something, keep playing and fudge the lyrics...no one will notice.

People give advice all of the time, but this is from first-hand experience. My first gig EVER was in front of a couple thousand people at Mardi Gras. I'm not an extremely confident player either, but for the above mentioned reasons, it turned out to be one awesome experience.

Let us know how it goes!!!!!!! Good luck!!!!!!!
 
bornagainjeeper said:
all night long?
Click to expand...

Yes! If you run out of stuff, just play C-F-G in different combos, strum patterns, or picking patterns. People won't even know. It's got my bf fooled - he thinks I'm an awsome player. lmao

I think you should go for it. Everything new is nerve racking. But just like anything else, it will get better with practice and exposure.
 
First of all: you ARE good enough.

Playing and singing in public is largely a matter of confidence. If you can sing in tune (which you can) and accompany yourself simply with a regular beat (which you can), you will impress people. But you have to do it boldly and with panache. Don't be timid or doubt your abilities and most people with like what you're doing - simply because they can't (or daren't) do it themselves.

Sam's advice is good. Pick your songs well though. Choose some obvious ones to start off with and then add more when you get a feel for what will go down well. Choosing the wrong song (one that offends for instance) will spell disaster.

You have a powerful, loud and clear singing voice that is very easy to listen to. There is no problem there at all. Keep the ukulele accompaniment simple - most folks in the UK are impressed that it is possible to get any music out of it all (unless it's a song about window cleaning).

I've played in public lots (though not on the ukulele). The secret is:

1. Be confident.
2. Choose the right material.
3. Be pleasant and smile.
4. Prepare some witty reposts that make them laugh without putting them down (even if they deserve a good thumping).


KEN
 
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What you need to do is work on memorizing your songs. You will not be able to carry chord sheets with you as you walk from table to table. There will be more than ten people. Those events can have a lot more people than a single table. That is the reality here.

You will have to work on learning your songs completely and be able to play about thirty or so before you can realistically take on a gig unless you know that the duration is short enough for fewer songs or you are "part" of the entertainment and not the whole show.

I am not being negative... just that I'd love to see you succeed and that means being properly prepared.

Having said all of that... work at a song list and have them all memorized... then go for it.
 
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khrome said:
Yes! If you run out of stuff, just play C-F-G in different combos, strum patterns, or picking patterns[...]
Click to expand...

Part of a very important point.

Many members of my band play with music stands and sheets! We've actually made it part of the band's trademark "look"! Obviously, If you're walking around that gets difficult to do, and you can easily come to rely on it to the extent that you're screwed if you forget your music.

Instead of trying to memorise the chords individually for every song, maybe try to recognise which ones use which common progressions (as most probably will).

For example, just about every 12-bar blues will use the I-IV-V.

Many others will be built on I-vi-IV-V ...or... I-V-vi-IV ... etc etc etc.

Once you get into your head the association between common progressions and a list of songs which use them, it can relieve the pressure quite a bit!

If the worst comes to the worst, build your set around songs that only use common progressions. It can still seem like a good varied repertoire. "La Bamba" is different enough from "Johnny B Goode" that most punters won't realise they have much same chords. Play in a couple of different keys and you can make the sense of variety even greater.

:shaka: :music:
 
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Why not? what's the worst thing that can happen?
(apart from a guy destroying your uke for disturbing his romantic picknick)
But when choosing your songs, don't always think "What do I like to play?"
You should pick songs that people know and can sing along,
success guaranteed
Go for it you lucky bastard...
 
buddhu said:
Instead of trying to memorise the chords individually for every song, maybe try to recognise which ones use which common progressions (as most probably will).

For example, just about every 12-bar blues will use the I-IV-V.

Many others will be built on I-vi-IV-V ...or... I-V-vi-IV ... etc etc etc.

Once you get into your head the association between common progressions and a list of songs which use them, it can relieve the pressure quite a bit!
Click to expand...

Thinking of chords in terms of key relationship rather than letter name was an enormous help to me. Specifically, I started using the Nashville Number System when I got to town a gazillion years ago. It really helps train the ol' ear, and eventually eliminates the need to even have a chart for a lot of songs in the first place.

But that's kind of a different topic.

As to whether or not to take the gig... heck yeah! :cheers:

JJ
 
Go for it. It's a perfect match for the uke. We do the same a local garden, we volunteer there. Try it you'll meet alot of great people at the least. Don't be nervous, just go and have fun.
 
If it is, in fact, a wandering minstrel thing, going from table to table, that would seem to me to reduce the number of songs you have to have at the ready. Play song 1 at the first table, stroll over to the next and play song 2. song three at the next table and you can start over.. The people at table 4 haven't heard song 1 at all.

If you find the idea of performing in front of live bodies appealing, you are going to have to start somewhere, so why not here? They will even pay you! All my public playing has been non-paying.
 
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