Poll: Do you Play with a Group

I've met several times with a small group of 6 to play and learn new songs since we all got inoculated.

The uke club I belong to just met outside in a park for an afternoon jam. It was so great to see people in person instead of via Zoom.

Next week we have a larger official meeting in a park. With a playlist and everything.

July 7 will be out first indoor meeting at the Moose Lodge where we used to meet every Wednesday. Woo hoo!

Was surprised that there's essentially an even split between those that play in a group vs. solo. Just had a feeling that there'd be more in groups.

ampeep said:

Was surprised that there's essentially an even split between those that play in a group vs. solo. Just had a feeling that there'd be more in groups.

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Right. That's what I expected. As nice as playing with a group can be, having a great isn't automatic. A great deal depends on the leader. Consider people who want to play a song over and over to do it better; someone who has to tell us about rests and beats, and pronunciation; someone who keeps talking well beyond the point where talking is necessary.

Yes, I play with a ukulele group. We get together weekly and during the pandemic year we made zoom work for us. We are back to every other week in person and every other week on zoom. Some people just aren't ready for in person yet so we want to accommodate them. We also have a small group within the large group that does performances. We've done a few recently. Our in person meet ups is at a new place, a senior co-op, and we are drawing an audience when we all get together. So that is fun.

Does a large hound, a Siamese and an African Grey count as a group?

Pre-pandemic - 2 local uke groups, and church worship band every Sunday.

Covid 2020-2021 - twice weekly Zoom with Ukulele Catskill, once a week Facebook Live with Tiki Dave, once a month Zoom with local group, and Zoom church service music. The weekly Zoom open mic with Ukulele Catskill has greatly increased my courage to sing & play solos over this past year. I consider that a Covid blessing of sorts.

Current Situation (can't bring myself to say Post-Covid yet) - Local groups are back together outdoors/some indoors. I finally got to start music volunteering at my local children's hospital once a week playing instrumental music. Church worship band will start again this month. We began in-person worship a few weeks ago, and I got the chance to see if my Zoom solo courage would translate to performing a solo for an actual audience. It went great. I credit my new long distance Zoom friends at Ukulele Catskill for their wonderful encouragement to push my boundaries.

ubulele said:

I play alone. And my dog has gone deaf.

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And he's probably grateful for that.