A Good Day

Today was a good day in my ukulele universe. One of my groups did a Christmas concert at an assisted living facility. We've played for them a few times in the past, and they seem to enjoy it. This was pretty impromptu, with no rehearsal upfront. Our main leader was out of town, so another member jumped in & sent out some Holiday music for us to play. We did great & had the residents singing along. It was wonderful fun for all of us.

A few of us volunteered to do solos. I played a chord melody of "Greensleeves" and also an original instrumental I wrote. My original is not a holiday song, but has a winter vibe to it. The picture in my head when I wrote it was of sitting in front of a fire, watching it snow outside. Perfect for Utah at Christmas Time. This was the first public outing for my new Cocobolo ukulele, and I brought my Roland AC33 amp to serve as our sound system. Two big thumbs up for both. The Roland worked perfect for the medium sized room, and we could plug in the mic, plus ukuleles as needed. The fact that it runs off batteries makes it so versatile. The Cocobolo sounded awesome thru the Roland amp. Chorus setting with just a touch of reverb. I'm really digging this new uke a lot.

So it was a good day, full of music, and fun, and spreading the holiday cheer with our ukuleles ..... aka Little Instruments Of Joy!

Happy Holidays to all of my UU ohana.

That sounds like a wonderful day!

Excellent, Rafter! Sometimes the more impromptu outings are the most fun, as we're kinda forced to keep things loose going in! Glad that "Utah At Christmas Time" was well-received too! I have been playing about once a week over at a local Alzheimer's care facility. I just do a solo thing, using the uke to accompany myself singing my favorite songs from my youth (sixties and seventies Top 40). It's fun and rewarding, hopefully brightening "the moment" for those whose minds have become rusty. Seems like music transcends that rustiness, as even the folks with the most advanced diminishment perk up when they hear a uke and a voice!

That is a Good Day! Giving back makes everyone feel good!

This thread is making my heart full and my head happy. Well done Raftergirl and I am extremely impressed you are writing songs, that is so far beyond my comprehension. Also thanks to the rest of you that unselfishly play for others. Bless you all

A great day! So impressed you write songs and share them with others! Brava!

Well done to you and to your whole group for brightening the day for the people in the assisted living facility. I'm sure you made their day a happier one.

I'm a big fan of chord melodies. Because I'm a shy/mediocre singer, they give me the chance to play the melody of a song, as well as the chords. Sometimes I just sit down and start playing chords that sound good together. That's what happened last winter. Three chords got stuck in my head. I had the handouts on chord progressions that Mitch Chang gave out in his workshop at the 2018 LA Uke Festival. That helped a ton in figuring out what came next. One thing led to another, and it gradually became a melody. After I tweaked it, and got it to where I wanted it, I made myself write it down. Blank tab sheets and a pencil. Writing it down is so important, especially when you're busy, and getting older. Stuff just seems to fall out of my brain at a faster rate these days. When I thought about a title for it, I just closed my eyes and let the melody form a picture in my head ....... a cold winter's evening, a warm fire, and snow falling outside a window. So it's called "Firelight." It had been awhile since I'd played it, so I did a lot of practicing this past week.

This was the first time I've ever played it for an audience. It's a mellow & plaintive tune. I was a bit worried about how it would fit in with the "holly jolly" stuff. Then I remembered that we were ending with Silent Night, so it fit just right. It was very well received. As always, I was nervous, but I made it through with no mess ups.

Next week is the Christmas concert at the children's hospital where I'm a nurse. One of the music therapists & I are going to do a duet on I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas. That should be a blast. Then there's Christmas Eve service at church. My desk is piled high with music right now..... but my heart is full of ukulele joy!

Sounds like everyone had a good time. Thanks for spreading good cheer and music.
And congratulations on performing your original instrumental as well!

Fantastic! Can't ask for more than making the world a better place and having a good time doing it!

Love the insight into your songwriting process.

Good luck with the upcoming shows. I'm sure the kids will love Hippopotamus!

I found a plush hippo toy and will have it displayed when I and 4 other guys sing and play "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" at our ukulele club's annual Christmas dinner/party. I stuck a small pet Santa Hat on it. Very cute.

I know what you mean about thoughts and ideas dispersing quickly as I get older. Now I tend to lose the PostIt notes I write too.