Group Leaders

Jerryc41

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Be thankful for good group leaders. It's not an easy job. I go to as many jam sessions as I can, and only two are run like professional events. They are both led by the same person in different locations. The other sessions are still fun, but there is a difference in the flow. We often wind up laughing while playing because of the lack of cohesion.

In order to have a good jam session, you need music that everyone can access quickly, and you need a leader who can actually lead. Stumbling over words or chords or changing the pace from slow to fast to slow again really messes with the playing of songs.

Be thankful if you have a good leader in your group. It's not an easy job.
 
Laughing while playing may one of those endearing aspects of ukulele that sets it apart. I mean, you never hear of players of other instruments laughing while they play. Well, maybe the harmonica players would, if they could.
 
Myself and another member of my main uke group volunteered to lead the group while our leader was out of town. What an eye opening experience. I gained a whole new level of respect for what she does after that.
 
I've been playing in two groups and they are like night and day. Leadership has a lot to do with it.
 
The leader of my group, Cali Rose, is the best I've ever encountered. She's a working professional uke player with gigs all week long, and takes the time twice a week for an hour each to lead the group. She also teaches ukulele classes at Boulevard Music every Saturday morning. It was just her birthday and the 50 or so members of our group collected cash and each signed a card to show our great appreciation, as we do every year. The group has been together for almost 10 years, that should say something about how well she does.


This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 11 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 35)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
True this. A good leader is priceless. It's not something everybody knows how to do... but it is something you can develop with practice.

I've played in groups for 12 years now (good grief!) and I have come to the conclusion that Karl Marx was right... at least when it comes to running a uke group. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." The people who are reasonably good at doing something need to step up and do it. Meanwhile, the people who still need help should get it... and keep working to build their skills so they, too, can contribute.

Sometimes a club can split up different responsibilities. Maybe there's someone who's really good at making schedules and keeping things organized. Someone else might be great at choosing setlists and/or arranging songs. Others might be good at leading a group and keeping everyone together on the beat. Still others have the social skills to make everybody feel welcome. If a group is really firing on all cylinders there will be several people contributing to all of these tasks and it won't all come down on one person carrying the entire load.

The clubs I have known that depended on just one person to do it all... well those clubs failed. Burnout, personality conflicts, or just the inevitable likelihood that any one person will someday move away or otherwise have to stop. A good group leader deserves our respect and a team of reliable sidekicks who are able and willing to help.
 
I think someone in this forum recommended this book. And I want to do the same.

"How to Start and Grow an Ukulele Group" by Joshua Waldman (Founder of the Tigard Ukulele Group.)

It has tons of excellent information and tips about forming and running a ukulele group/club. Offering several different approaches rather than just one way to do it. I liked it so much, I bought a copy for all of the board members of the club I belong to and for the new music director. It has influenced several changes in the way we do things.
 
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