Greetings from Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada

[thehappypm]

Hello everyone! Joe here. I’ve been playing 3.5 years, dabbled with guitar on and off for 40 years prior, but the ease to jam and socialize with other ukulele players got me hooked on this instrument. My 4 friends and I were upset the pandemic shut down our monthly jam sessions, so we went to weekly Zoom sessions for about 2 years. It was great practice, very pleased with how we sounded when we got back together. We now busk at Farmer’s Markets, play at Fall Fairs, seniors centres and open mic’s. I see that people love to hear live music and if I may be so bold to say so, we are an army of musicians that can deliver on that - have confidence in your ability. Play and sing with feeling and the audience will love you. I’m very pleased to be here, I found this forum seeking opinions on playing with a capo and found many respectful opinions posted. I play with either a 4 or 8 string tenor, usually unplugged, wired for sound for the great outdoors. Looking forward to giving back, sharing my thoughts and experience with the members in this forum.

 

[Ms Bean]

Welcome to UU, Joe!

I like your attitude. Have fun doing what you like, take small steps, pick songs that aren't too hard, and listeners will appreciate your live performances. For a flawless delivery, people can always choose streaming a professional artist.

 

[ploverwing]

Welcome to the UU forum, so nice that you chose to join us! Looking forward to hearing more from you as you feel the inspiration to share.

 

[ploverwing]

Oh, and "hi!" from a fellow Canuck

 

[bbkobabe]

Welcome to the forum... hearing someone play and sing joyfully never goes out of style!

 

[greenfrog]

Hello everyone! Joe here. I’ve been playing 3.5 years, dabbled with guitar on and off for 40 years prior, but the ease to jam and socialize with other ukulele players got me hooked on this instrument. My 4 friends and I were upset the pandemic shut down our monthly jam sessions, so we went to weekly Zoom sessions for about 2 years. It was great practice, very pleased with how we sounded when we got back together. We now busk at Farmer’s Markets, play at Fall Fairs, seniors centres and open mic’s. I see that people love to hear live music and if I may be so bold to say so, we are an army of musicians that can deliver on that - have confidence in your ability. Play and sing with feeling and the audience will love you. I’m very pleased to be here, I found this forum seeking opinions on playing with a capo and found many respectful opinions posted. I play with either a 4 or 8 string tenor, usually unplugged, wired for sound for the great outdoors. Looking forward to giving back, sharing my thoughts and experience with the members in this forum.

Welcome!!!

I’m curious - how did you make playing together over Zoom work despite the lag?

I’ve heard of a few ways people have made this work (using the dial-in audio option, turning off video, using music-focused platforms like RockOutLoud Live that prioritize audio and minimizing lag over video quality, two people taking turns to have one person playing with mic on and the other playing along with mic off) but I suspect that list is just scratching the surface.

I love the creativity and determination of people who found ways to keep making music together despite the pandemic (or living far apart), and am always curious to hear how they did it!!

 

[Joe T]

Welcome to UU thehappypm and a big hello from Chicago!

 

[Nickie]

Welcome to UU!
We're not buskers, I play/sing with the band Ladies of Uke. If you've never played for folks in nursing homes, you might try it. It's most rewarding. We also play (for free) in the facilities of Meals on Wheels, the clients love it.
I played with an 8 member group in the Shriner's Children's hospital, and for hospice patients for three years before Covid got it.
Hope you enjoy the pages here!

 

[thehappypm]

Welcome to UU, Joe!

I like your attitude. Have fun doing what you like, take small steps, pick songs that aren't too hard, and listeners will appreciate your live performances. For a flawless delivery, people can always choose streaming a professional artist.

Thank you for your tips!

 

[thehappypm]

Oh, and "hi!" from a fellow Canuck

Hello ploverwing!

 

[thehappypm]

Welcome!!!

I’m curious - how did you make playing together over Zoom work despite the lag?

I’ve heard of a few ways people have made this work (using the dial-in audio option, turning off video, using music-focused platforms like RockOutLoud Live that prioritize audio and minimizing lag over video quality, two people taking turns to have one person playing with mic on and the other playing along with mic off) but I suspect that list is just scratching the surface.

I love the creativity and determination of people who found ways to keep making music together despite the pandemic (or living far apart), and am always curious to hear how they did it!!

We only ever had one person unmuted - that would be the person leading the song, the chair would have displayed the music sheet for all to see, and the rest played mic off, as you described. We investigated several tools designed for multiple people to play concurrently but they demanded high speed connections which we did not all have.

So it was very basic but it kept us going and ensured we did not get out of practice.

 

[thehappypm]

Welcome to UU thehappypm and a big hello from Chicago!

Hello Chicago!

 

[thehappypm]

Welcome to UU!
We're not buskers, I play/sing with the band Ladies of Uke. If you've never played for folks in nursing homes, you might try it. It's most rewarding. We also play (for free) in the facilities of Meals on Wheels, the clients love it.
I played with an 8 member group in the Shriner's Children's hospital, and for hospice patients for three years before Covid got it.
Hope you enjoy the pages here!

Thanks for the suggestions Nickie - with the Farmers Markets shut down, we were looking for other opportunities to play - we’re ok playing for free - I’ll take these up with my partners

 

[stevejfc]

Welcome Joe!

 

[Kenn2018]

Welcome to the UU Forum Joe. Yeah, it's fun playing with others.

Tried the Zoom way and just didn't have the dynamics between us to hold our interests.

Been getting together when schedules permit. That and the weekly club meetings have made it fun again.

 

[Canada Jim]

Hey Joe, Welcome from a fellow Canuck. I'm about an hour and a half east of you on the north shore of Lake Ontario - Port Hope.
I've had a lot of fun on this site, especially since I started taking part in the seasons, a music sharing group with a new theme and host each week. Check out this week's season, Season 558 - Season 558

 

[thehappypm]

Hey Joe, Welcome from a fellow Canuck. I'm about an hour and a half east of you on the north shore of Lake Ontario - Port Hope.
I've had a lot of fun on this site, especially since I started taking part in the seasons, a music sharing group with a new theme and host each week. Check out this week's season, Season 558 - Season 558

Hello Jim, great to hear from you. I saw some postings on the Seasons and wasn’t clear on what it was all about - thanks for clarifying.