a big step in the right direction

Well, after nearly 7 months playing uke to myself in my bedroom i have finally hooked up with a ukulele band and WOW what a difference a day makes,
i went along to The Porthcawl Ukulele Band night and what a revelation for me, this uke band was awesome really friendly people who made us feel very welcome,
then Alan who was leading asked if we had brought our ukes along, my hand was literally shaking as i took my fluke out of its gig bag and within minutes of walking into the pub we were jamming along with the band,
in a pub,
in front of people,
who we didn't know,
with uke players who knew what they were doing,
this is a major leap forward for me and i really enjoyed losing where i was chordwise midway through some of the songs,
but it didn't matter because everyone was having a ball, there were people of all ages there from 15 up to their 70's,
i can't wait to go again
if any of you guys are looking in THANK YOU ALL for a fantastic night

kaizer

That is really cool man, playing with others is unrivaled for progress. You will learn more now than ever. I think it is most important in the beginning of ones musical journey.

Congratulations, Kaizer. If you stick around with that band, you'll be gigging all the time:

http://web.me.com/efreedom/PUB/Our_Gigs.html

You can download and print their songbook or load them to your tablet computer from here:

http://web.me.com/efreedom/PUB/Sing-along_a-PUB.html

Samples of their music:

http://web.me.com/efreedom/PUB/Download_&_Listen.html

Photos of their past gigs:


http://web.me.com/efreedom/PUB/Some_Good_Times!.html
Their webpage:

http://www.porthcawlukuleleband.org.uk/

Congrats! Now ya got a taste of that adrenaline rush of being a performer.

ah mucker im well jealous
when are you down there next mate i may come along for a look (minus uke i feel though lol)
daz

Brilliant. Playing with others and performing is the biggest "improver" to playing you will find.

Great fun and congrats, kaizer...... I hooked up a with a local uke group - we meet a couple of times a month at an Hawaiian BBQ place here and it's always a blast - good food, good music, good fun..... enjoy it, that's what music is all about.....

Great stuff! I really need to get out there and find some other ukulele people to jam with!!!

Well done, Kaizer!!! You'll be amazed at how you will progress in leaps & bounds from now on!! It is great being in a group - you can sing louder & play louder & if you miss a chord, it doesn't matter, cos someone else has it covered ........ by pushing yourself, you become better - just by walking thru that door, the hardest bit has been done already!!

Our mob is gearing up for a performance at the local Bowling Club on Australia Day, Jan 26th & yesterday, we had our first 'serious' session, after a couple of months of going thru songs, deciding which ones to do. We've only been together since August & only 1 of our group was, what I would call 'reasonably gifted in both singing & playing' - the rest of us were either beginners or 'just OK'! Most of us are still 'OK' - but, It really sounded great. The last few weeks, being holidays & all, only 2 or 3 have been attending our 'sessions' & most were whispering, not singing LOUD & PROUD ...... so it was terrific to hear them in full voice yesterday! Others will be joining in the singing as well (audience) as they will all be supplied the songs to sing - but I will be in Tasmania at a family wedding! So will miss it!

Enjoy every gathering!!

cheerio

Roberta

Nice one Richard! There's nothing like jamming with others to improve your playing.

thanx guys for all your kind words, i was still shaking when i went to bed, my fingers kept slipping coz i was sweating with nerves but WOW it was great fun, and what a friendly welcoming bunch of people, @Daz i'll give you a shout next time Daz in a coupla weeks, but you gotta bring a uke along mun otherwise its like going to the rocky horror show and not dressing up, you will be fine honestly

yes ill look forwad to that mate im really gagging to watch/listen to others play as since i have started ive only had myself and youtube as company
it would also be nice to try if i may one of your uke's as ive only ever played the one i have here and it would be nice if i had someone to tell me "it sounds terrible/ok etc"
but i do fear that it might just start the uas that i have so far been able to keep under control
daz

Yall are so lucky. There are uke players here but, who knows, maybe I wasn't good enough to play with the first of the two tiers of the group. I'd love to be in a uke group, a wind ensemble, a choir... none of which exists here. Well... choirs exist, but not to new members, it's all very traditional and tough to crack. I always feel more comfortable in a group, because of course that's what music is.

Strength in numbers!

@ Daz, what uke have you got Daz? The Mainland is going back to the shop to be checked out coz it has developed a bit of a dent and the guy wants to check it out, so which one do you want me to bring along bearing in mind that it is an acoustic night, let me know, when we get started with our club i will bring the eleuke along for you to have a strum on if you like and if the Mainland is back from the shop you can have a quick go on that as well m8
@ Plainsong there must be some uke clubs around Helsinki
@ ukecantdothat, definitely, and safety when i made a mistake it got drowned out by the other players, got completely lost on some songs though