Hiram Bell Ukulele Class at College of San Mateo

reneesarah

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The first session of Hiram Bell's ukulele class at College of San Mateo in San Mateo, California was held today. There were 55 students in the class. More people wanted to sign up, but there just weren't any chairs for them! Hiram can really play, and as a teacher he is kind and has a sense of humor. He also includes comments like (paraphrased) "Musicians are artists, and their canvas is silence." He suggested we play a "G" chord differently than I had been taught previously- he says it helps later on to play it the way he suggests. And our first assignment for next week is to go to low G tuning. :cool:
 
Thanks for the report. I think one of his classes played at the Northern California Ukulele Festival in 2011, and I've been curious about what his classes are like. Please post about his classes again as you progress!
 
The class didn't end up working out for me. There were initially 55 students, which means all kinds of skill levels walking in the door. That was ok, although the endless tuning up at the beginning of class could have been prevented by students bringing their ukes to class in tune after the first class. Unfortunately a fair amount of the students would attempt to tune their ukes, practice the last lesson segment Hiram had covered, and talk while he tried to tell us about the next part of the lesson. It really amazed me how many people were willing to talk and play while he was trying to teach. I asked Hiram if he could please ask them to listen rather than play when he was speaking because I could not hear what he was saying. He quite literally told them to shut the "f" up. So not a win.
 
I took a workshop/kani ka pila that Hiram gave at the Aloha Festival in San Mateo on August 5. He seems like a really nice guy and he's really talented and knowledgeable about the uke, but I also felt that there were some crowd control issues that affected my experience. It amazes me that people will come someplace to avail themselves of an educational opportunity and then completely undermine that opportunity by talking over the instructor and otherwise ignoring or interrupting him. However, the fact that he could attract 55 people to a class is a nice reflection on the popularity of the ukulele, I guess. I just wish it was attracting more *polite* people.

I don't mean to undermine Hiram's classes, but if you're looking for a different class, you might try Saichi Kawahara's class at his home in Visitacion Valley. He teaches in 8 week segments, of which we are now in week three, so the next class won't be starting until the fall. I took the beginning class and I've been taking the intermediate class for almost two years. Here's a link to the website. http://www.kapalakiko.org/Kapalakiko/Home.html
 
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"Musicians are artists, and their canvas is silence."

It's interesting how a music teacher would make a statement like this. As an art teacher, I have compared music to art many times. When I was in college the music majors seemed to admire the art majors and the art majors admired the music majors. It wasn't uncommon to hear a comment from a music major like " wow, I wish I could draw like that" and then from an art major, "hey, I wish I could play like that." Art is art.
 
Hiram's ukulele class is like a goldmine for me. Clear presentation and teaches you the why that I wanted to learn. Never had music lessons and Hiram gives you an understanding of the theories!

He does set the bar high so you will need to practice to "get it". If you don't practice, you will not learn like anything else in life.

Excellent presentation and live entertainment every class! Can't wait to learn more!

I'm glad to hear this. From my Aloha Festival experience with him I learned that he's very talented, knowledgeable, and engaging. I also felt that in a non-boisterous setting (many at the free Aloha Festival workshop were restless or distracted), a person could learn a lot from him in an entertaining way. I'm glad that his class has been an invaluable experience for you.
 
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