Play Lists for Gatherings?

UkerDan

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I've been teaching teenagers and know what songs and styles the love.

BUT now I'm starting a community group that will have children, teens, young adults, adults, and retired folks. Before I recreate the wheel, can some of y'all share set lists being used by other groups?

Thanks!
 
We use a lot of Cynthia Lin's song arrangements in my community group.

I am faculty advisor to a college group. We let the students pick songs first, and then try to find chord sheets.
 
The music at a social event is going to be set up to be easy to play or very well known so there is not a need to spend a lot of time learning the tunes.

I agree with Bill. Can you share with me your song ideas that are easy to play and very well known? Finding and/or creating chord charts is not an issue. I'm just curious what songs other groups have found work really well with mixed aged groups.
 
It's good to have a mix of songs. A few of your teenagers' favorites. Some classic rock for the boomers (Bad Moon Rising, The Weight). Something millennial (500 Miles, I'm Yours, Hey There Delilah). Classic country (Hey Good Lookin', Your Cheatin' Heart, Folsom Prison Blues). Motown (My Girl, Heatwave). Something from the Great American Songbook (Blue Skies, Sentimental Journey). Campfire folksongs (the other 500 Miles, Midnight Special, This Land is Your Land, Country Roads).

Everybody knows Beatles songs. They sing along with Hey Jude at retirement homes and preschools. I Want To Hold Your Hand. Eight Days a Week. I Saw Her Standing There.

Songs from Disney/Pixar movies. When You Wish Upon a Star. Let It Go. Can You Feel the Love Tonight? You've Got a Friend in Me. Other movies too: Singing In the Rain. Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

Local favorites. Around here you can't miss with Sweet Home Chicago.

Your first meeting will be the hardest. You can invite people to suggest their favorite songs next time. You can't please everybody with every song, but hopefully everyone will find at least one song that's familiar and makes them feel like this is the right place to be.

You Are My Sunshine will never let you down.
 
As a millenial with a range of music tastes, I think acmespaceship's response is right on the nose. The classics will probably do the trick. Disney is great. Classic folk songs and classic rock are great. Beatles are great. I don't listen to much country but I don't see why not. Good songs that most people will have heard of (obviously maybe not the youngest kids, but they can learn some good songs). You Are My Sunshine was in fact the first song my friend taught me when I was learning.
 
I've been teaching teenagers and know what songs and styles the love.

BUT now I'm starting a community group that will have children, teens, young adults, adults, and retired folks. Before I recreate the wheel, can some of y'all share set lists being used by other groups?

Thanks!

what's your playlist for teenagers?
 
Here's what the teens were into:


Dynamite (C F G Am Em) -https://youtu.be/6eOUkJiaxT8
Shut Up and Dance With Me - https://youtu.be/zS-EKntqk3Q
Old Town Road (A C G D) - https://youtu.be/0hdgX3DwBGM
Wake Me Up / Avicii (Am F C) - https://youtu.be/0VtcmM-WfD8
Uptown Funk (Dm & G7) - https://youtu.be/UMrrSeCiUoU
Wavin’ Flag Coca-Cola Celebration - https://youtu.be/5Xrk5pThEeU
Shake it Off - https://youtu.be/1H4v8mOV1-0
Best day of my Life - https://youtu.be/7fL9zbj4M4w
One Call Away (C F G Am) - https://youtu.be/SlqINOuqGtc
Stay With Me / Sam Smith (Am F C) - https://youtu.be/6XZCuy_0b8Q
Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae) Dm & Am - https://youtu.be/ejKLWMFoYWI
Girls Like You -https://youtu.be/Az0NNK1xBOM
See You Again - https://youtu.be/8hzSjhog80Q
 
Your first meeting will be the hardest. You can invite people to suggest their favorite songs next time. You can't please everybody with every song, but hopefully everyone will find at least one song that's familiar and makes them feel like this is the right place to be.

You Are My Sunshine will never let you down.

Thank you! This is just what I was looking for!
 
Interesting posts. I am new to the uke, and also a local uke group. Our group has a songbook which is very eclectic. It covers Folk, Metal, Rock, Pop, and standards such as Singing In The Rain. Many members highlight their musical preferences during the sessions. When I am on my own, I tend to key on songs I like. I also ( and this comes from my teaching background ) try to select songs that will build up my Uke skills. I tend to focus on what I call the holy triad...which is C, G, and F. This allows me to work on my strumming refinements. My private list to learn and refine has the following : Never Ending Song For You, I’m into Something Good, Shambala, After The Gold Rush, Act Naturally, Pumped Up Kicks and Renegades.
 
Do a search for uke groups and look at their websites and you will see a lot of downloadable setlists and individual songs.

Also check out U3A Uke groups, many here in the UK have such setlists in PDF format.

Do of course ask nicely if you can download and use the efforts of their own hard work.
 
Col50, a question if I may? I am interested in learning some old English pub tunes and was wondering what a song list would look like? I know Dilly and Dally, Mary Mack and a few others....but if I’m in a pub in the U.K. and someone starts singing....what songs do they truly all know and sing along with?
 
Col50, a question if I may? I am interested in learning some old English pub tunes and was wondering what a song list would look like? I know Dilly and Dally, Mary Mack and a few others....but if I’m in a pub in the U.K. and someone starts singing....what songs do they truly all know and sing along with?

More than likely they will be general popular karaoke songs but some to definitely learn is Streets of London (Ralph McTell), Scarborough Fair (do the Simon and Garfunkle version), Danny Boy, Part of the Union (Strawbs), When Im Dead and Gone (McGuinness Flint), Pete Seeger’s If I Had A Hammer should also go down well as will a couple of skiffle songs by Lonnie Donegan, My Old Mans a Dustman and Puttin on the Style. But remember the King of the Uke was My George Formby so his Leaning on the Lampost and When Im Cleaning Windows will both go down extremely well.

Old time Pub Tunes are more likely to be what we call Folk songs but these are very much regional in nature and hence a Cornish Folk song will mean nothing to anyone over 100 miles away, its the same thing in Lancashire where I live our songs will not mean much to someone 100 miles away.

The caveat is Scotland, Loch Lomand, Auld Lang Syne, Flower of Scotland etc we all know them.

You could not do better than to listen to Runrig, the greatest band ever, Hears of Olden Glory, Beat The Drum, Proterra, Every River, search their version of Loch Lomand it is world class.

We have a Folk Show on our BBC Radio 2 which you should be able to listen to either live or via the BBC iPlayer app that plays some great music.

Checkout the music of Steeleye Span, Fairport Convention, Gigspanner, Martin Carthy, Kate Rusby.

Finally you have to include Beatles sing along classics like Hey Jude, Ob la d ob la da, with a little help from my friends, yellow submarine.
 
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Thanx Col50. I forgot about the Strawbs. I will do some research on your suggestions....George Formby maybe a little down the road for me as he was really quick. I read somewhere that at one time he was the highest paid entertainer in the U.K.

When I taught I used songs to teach English and Canadian culture. I used a number of our folk and pop songs....and we have so many that you could do a set on each province....so I understand the regional nature of knowing songs.
 
Thanx Col50. I forgot about the Strawbs. I will do some research on your suggestions....George Formby maybe a little down the road for me as he was really quick. I read somewhere that at one time he was the highest paid entertainer in the U.K.

When I taught I used songs to teach English and Canadian culture. I used a number of our folk and pop songs....and we have so many that you could do a set on each province....so I understand the regional nature of knowing songs.

Yes George Formby was an outstanding uke player, we have a uke tutor with over 30 years teaching and even he says that many of Formby’s solo riffs are beyond his playing ability.

We have seen your Sultans if String in concert and have seen Bruce Guthro (Nova Scotia) many times both their music is very different yet roots inspired.
 
I’ve been hosting a monthly group strum and sing along since March. We try to have a central theme to the songs and then pick tunes from different eras. We seem to always have at least one each Beatles, Stones and Elvis number. We’ll have an old old old folk tune, a Tin Pan Alley song etc. Country and Western is very popular. Very often, we’ll have parody of a well known song like “Will the Turtle Be Unbroken “.
Themes: Colors, Places (cities, states, rivers etc), American tunes (for July), Spring, sunshine and rain, Moon.

I ask the strummers, via email, what songs they would like to play and if they want to sing lead, what key they prefer. Each month we start with a 2 chord song, then 3,4,5,6 and so on. By the time we hit the 20th song we’re all pretty well done.
 
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I When I am on my own, I tend to key on songs I like. I also ( and this comes from my teaching background ) try to select songs that will build up my Uke skills. I tend to focus on what I call the holy triad...which is C, G, and F.

Here's a list of YouTube uke play alongs using what you called the "holy triad"...

Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms (C C7 F G7) - https://youtu.be/a5l1trNTuEA
Tonight, Tonight - https://youtu.be/eIaF0U6wkE0
Wallflowers & Weeds - https://youtu.be/xA5tUbnjd2E
Hound Dog - https://youtu.be/Dta70Kkr3ew
The Lion Sleeps Tonight - https://youtu.be/sz9RIEuiio0 / https://youtu.be/osNvNk6_so0
One Love / Bob Marley (C G F) - https://youtu.be/Jxl2eNv_kdU
Cool (Jonas Brothers) - https://youtu.be/2uV4kvjudG0
You Are My Sunshine - https://youtu.be/IF_2WV8uLaQ
American Teen (Khalid) - https://youtu.be/kQIuVil6s1Y
Bidi Bidi Bom Bom - https://youtu.be/cjlXiwGtpow
The Duck Song - https://youtu.be/-4RyZLiEdDg
High on a Mountaintop - https://youtu.be/BUJjqvYXhjg
Limbo Rock - https://youtu.be/qq-VpLXqwwY
La Bamba - https://youtu.be/wGVXm5l6TtU
Down on the Corner - https://youtu.be/dW5Zrtt634E
Steal My Girl - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI800t6giZw&feature=youtu.be
FUN SONG (from SpongeBob) - https://youtu.be/ciriG-AZQ7s
De Colores - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq3f9U2NVSE&feature=youtu.be
Johnny B. Goode - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEygqXgvuOc
Three Little Birds - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSj2jsDFbqw&feature=youtu.be
Keep on the Sunny Side - https://youtu.be/rUTsC0WtEIM
The Alphabet Song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8L6KeesEfw
Rain, Please Go Away - https://youtu.be/2L51fGDfm_k
Mustang Sally (C F G7) - https://youtu.be/ac86n97e84w
Cheerleader C F G - https://youtu.be/9cfmMs5Icf0
Who Let The Dogs Out - https://youtu.be/WFUU6V4shck
Wipeout - https://youtu.be/XZoS4K2FwPg
 
Update...

We had our first meeting & used lots of tips from here & well as 3 requests from members on the group's FaceBook page. Here was our eclectic playlist:

Yellow Submarine
Tears in Heaven
How Much is that Doggie in the Window
Brown Eyed Girl
Sunflower (from the recent Spiderman Movie)
Coast Guard Theme Song (we're in a military town)
Lava
You Are My Sunshine
 
I like the theme idea. Do you try to get all the songs in the theme / most of the songs / half the songs?

Almost all of the songs are theme related. Occasionally, I'll throw in one that might be pertinent to the local news. ie in Chicago, "see You Later Alligator"
 
In other groups that meet monthly , I've enjoyed the themed idea (holiday, seasonal, Beatles, motown, etc). For my weekly jam, we go around the circle and pick songs from our self-made book of about 150 songs. We don't getmany younger folks so we don't have much in contemporary songs but hit many decades and mixed genre. Simple well-known songs work best. We take suggestions and add/delete each year to keep the songbook fresh. I retain diplomatic veto power as folks sometimes suggested songs either just aren't jam-suitable (too hard, too dreary, too obscure) and I know that would get no traction. Some, I have to say, I don't include because I simple detest the song and don't want to sing it each week (especially if the person suggesting it is a person who doesn't want to lead it, then it falls on me to sing "How Much is that Doggie in the Window"....not happening). Ukulele Wednesday (London based pub group) has a nice songbook of tried and tested songs (free download); a little euro-centric but very good.
 
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