I work for my local township in a building that houses a Senior Center. Part of my gig involves assisting a very casual senior chorus with their music, their props, etc. This week, they started rehearsing for their 2019 holiday concert in which one of the members - a small, delicate woman probably in her late 70's - is going to be featured on her brand new ukulele.
She has taken two lessons so far and, (forgive me for saying this, but...) if her uke playing is anything like her singing, she probably just doesn't have the chops to get a whole lot out of it.
My problem is that, when I told her after last week's rehearsal that I play the uke, she replied (sort of hesitantly) that maybe I can "show her a few things" before the next rehearsal. I could sense that she probably isn't ready to be upstaged by someone who has played a few years, so now I'm wondering how to handle the situation in a way that encourages - rather than discourages her to practice and get better at the instrument.
I know you might be thinking "If she's already in her 70's, she probably has no ego invested in her ukulele playing," but this woman (like many of the seniors in this club) is of a rare breed who goof around and pretend to be singing just for fun, but actually think they've got some talent.
So, should I just try to suck when I play for her, or do you think there's any value in trying to show her what a little practice can accomplish? (PS: I'm no ukulele virtuoso, but my 50 years as a drummer just sort of enables me to sound a lot better on the uke than I actually am!)
She has taken two lessons so far and, (forgive me for saying this, but...) if her uke playing is anything like her singing, she probably just doesn't have the chops to get a whole lot out of it.
My problem is that, when I told her after last week's rehearsal that I play the uke, she replied (sort of hesitantly) that maybe I can "show her a few things" before the next rehearsal. I could sense that she probably isn't ready to be upstaged by someone who has played a few years, so now I'm wondering how to handle the situation in a way that encourages - rather than discourages her to practice and get better at the instrument.
I know you might be thinking "If she's already in her 70's, she probably has no ego invested in her ukulele playing," but this woman (like many of the seniors in this club) is of a rare breed who goof around and pretend to be singing just for fun, but actually think they've got some talent.
So, should I just try to suck when I play for her, or do you think there's any value in trying to show her what a little practice can accomplish? (PS: I'm no ukulele virtuoso, but my 50 years as a drummer just sort of enables me to sound a lot better on the uke than I actually am!)