Hi,
I came across this thread and saw some questions as to what Brewkulele is. I thought IÂ’d chime in and help answer those questions. I appreciate your curiosity!
To pull back the curtain on Brewkulele a little bit, I am one of the creators of Brewkulele. I have an MA in psychology, an MBA and taught guitar, ukulele, and bass for 20 years. One of our partners is a Berklee graduate and has also taught for 20 years. Our other partner is also a longtime musician who is a co-owner of a local music store. We have brought together our knowledge and love of the ukulele to create Brewkulele.
Brewkulele is an experience for attendees of all playing levels to come out, learn a song on ukulele, enjoy the offerings of the hosting venue, and most of all, connect with others to ultimately have a fun, memorable night.
As there were some questions above about what Brewkulele is and what we do, I provided some answers below to clarify.
A social experience
Our goal is for attendees of all playing levels to be able to participate, enjoy each otherÂ’s company, and play together. We focus more on the social aspect of playing in a group rather than reading music, learning theory, or what have you.
Song choice
We do a different song at each event. We wonÂ’t repeat a song at the same venue. If you come to say, Democracy Brewing in July, that song wonÂ’t be repeated at that venue. We may do it down the line at another venue but we have a lot of songs in the pipeline and donÂ’t foresee that happening anytime soon.
Song names
To avoid copyright issues, we do not name the songs we will be learning in advertisements or in the materials provided during the event. For fun we “flip” the name of the song in a playful manner. As discussed above, when the song is “Suite Clementine”, it will be a song in the style of everybody’s favorite song to sing at Fenway Park as StageHand shared above. For another example, “Motel San Francisco” should be easy to figure out. Further, we aren’t learning songs note for note. We have our own arrangements that are structured in a way that is inclusive of all attendees.
We provide ukuleles for several reasons.
-Our events are typically during the week when people are getting off of work. Us providing the ukes allows you to avoid the hassle of either having to carry your ukulele around all day, rushing home to get it, or leave it in the car all day (please donÂ’t do that).
-For attendees who have never played ukulele before, we want to remove the barrier of having to buy a ukulele to attend. If we provide the ukulele, they learn the song, they just might learn to love it like us and buy one for themselves.
-Further, we want everybody to be in tune and in the same tuning. We provide soprano ukuleles in standard tuning (GCEA) for the event so that this is facilitated.
-Also, as SpaceForRent mentioned, we prefer not to take time away from the event to have to set up and tune each personÂ’s ukulele that maybe they just bought or had sitting around for a few years collecting dust.
-ThereÂ’s no bluetooth or fretlight involved.
Pricing
-Our events are priced at $30 per person for a 2 hour event. We do not include a drink in the ticket price. To include a drink would add an additional $10 on the ticket price which we feel, at $40 a ticket, would preclude a lot of people from attending.
To put our event in context of other night out experiences:
-Wine and paint events are typically around $45-$55 for 2 hours. No drinks are included.
-Ax throwing is $25 a person for 30 minutes (for two people) No drinks are included.
-Private lessons can range from $40-$60 for one half our lesson. No drinks included.
-Bowling can be up to $45 for one game for a party of two. No drinks included.
We are under no pretenses that Brewkulele is for everyone. As stated above, we want everyone to be able to play together and make it through the song chosen for the evening. The Brewkulele guide will check in with every attendee to ensure you are keeping up and provide assistance as needed. If you are more advanced, the guide will make adjustments to the song, either through different strum patterns, chords, or arpeggiations that can fill out the song. If, on the other hand, you are looking for an avenue to solo or would like to learn something more in depth with more personal attention, private lessons are probably the way to go.
I am hopeful you will come and experience Brewkulele. After each event, I give attendees my email address and ask them to email me any suggestions they may have. We welcome all feedback as we want to make this event better and more inclusive. IÂ’d love for you guys to come and give us your feedback. Thank you again for your curiosity.
Sincerely,
Richard Sanger
Co-creator of Brewkulele