Your invitation to the Seasons of the Ukulele!

[pabrizzer]

You're getting good advice here.
If you tell me where you are in the world I'll tell when it's a good time to introduce your new season. And I'll certainly PM you in the week before and keep in touch as your season approaches. A quirk of the seasons is that it all revolves around Hawaii time and goes for 8 days.
Just tell us what sort of songs you want us to bring and how many. There are usually around 40ish participants - so use that number to know how many songs you think you can listen to and set your limit accordingly.
Certainly no need for prizes but some sort of closure for the season is always appreciated. All up to you as host.
Really no need to worry.
Any specific questions - just ask and you'll get a response as you can see.....

 

[robinboyd]

Yes, I am super nervous about hosting, but I'm more nervous about doing everything right. Do I give out prizes or NOT, am I critiqueing right? Or more? Is the theme right or not challenging enough? My brain is in a panic.

Hi Aspieman,

Don't stress.

I like to give out small prizes (usually souvenirs from where I live) but there is no need to. Nobody will be upset either way.

As for the judging criteria for prizes, most people just draw names out of a hat because it's really really hard to decide, but if you want to award prizes based on your own judgment, that's fine too.

With regard to comments, just be nice and the rest doesn't matter. Remember that people's playing and singing ability varies wildly but they (we) are all contributing to the best of their (our) ability and trying to make the whole thing fun and enjoyable. As a warm up, why not try commenting on as many people's videos as you can in a season that you aren't hosting? Everyone loves receiving comments

As for the theme, again, it doesn't matter. There have been themes where I have really struggled to come to grips with the content (Who is Buffy Saint Marie and what is Bluegrass, anyway?) and some that have been ridiculously easy (I mean every song that's worth playing was written in the 1980s and 1990s, right?). Either way I've had fun with them.

I've also posted a link to a tutorial that Linda made about creating playlists, etc. It helped me when I hosted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plprrAWxpEA

 

[Croaky Keith]

Ha, ha, - I was trembling the first time I hosted - so I know where you're coming from.

Once you get the theme posted & add a couple of comments to the first videos you start to relax, so don't fret it.

If you do find you are having any problems, just shout out, & we'll all help you out.

 

[aspieman456]

I'm hoping everything goes well here, and thank you guys for the advise, you guys. Limiting to one or two songs is a good idea so I'm not very overwhelmed. I live in Huntington Beach, Ca., Standard Pacific time.

 

[pabrizzer]

I'm hoping everything goes well here, and thank you guys for the advise, you guys. Limiting to one or two songs is a good idea so I'm not very overwhelmed. I live in Huntington Beach, Ca., Standard Pacific time.

The time to post your season theme would be around 5:00pm on Saturday (July 28) and the season would start at 3:00am on the Sunday (July 29).

 

[haberkow]

First ever submission, though love SOTU. Don't think anyone has done "Dancing in the Dark" yet? Also not sure I'm submitting right!

 

[bird's eye view of my ukelele]

helloooooooooooooooooooooooooo! that ideally needs to go on the thread for that season - go here https://forum.ukuleleunderground.co...brating-a-Year-of-Music&p=2122536#post2122536 and post again and you'll be all good! :rock:

 

[Desert Pavement]

Welcome haberkow. BEV gives you good advice.

And Lynda, sorry about leaving you off the playlist. I’ve remedied it and hope you will be able to find it in your heart to forgive me.

 

[bird's eye view of my ukelele]

thank you andy!! but i can't forgive you - because i was never cross about it!

 

[Heady]

I kinda know one song that fits this week's theme (on two fronts), but I know the chords, not the melody, and don't have anywhere close to the guts* to sing. Is (some what ham handedly) strumming without lyrics allowed?

*got kicked out of chorus in 1983. Haven't recovered.

 

[bird's eye view of my ukelele]

heady, yes, just strumming would totally qualify as an instrumental version, and they are always welcome. or you could kinda talk the lyrics, that's a thing. i didn't make it into the choir at school, and was always getting told off in music class for singing an octave down (i could never sing high enough!), but now i sing every week for the seasons!! the uke is so liberating, and the seasons are a very welcoming and encouraging place, i hope you will join us, and give singing a go if and whenever you feel you want to. there isn't a right way to do anything, and some famous singers have had voices that, strictly and technically speaking, are not so super perfect, but they are very much loved for their music regardless

 

[Croaky Keith]

If you can find them, take a look at some of my first posts, then think about it again! :biglaugh:

(I still can't sing, I think my best was when I talked the lyrics.)

Some people just post for the fun of it, whilst others are more 'professional' about it, it's all good, (& you will get better at it).

 

[Ms Bean]

We recently had a 'nonsense', scat, jabberwocky week. You could do something like that, just hum or whistle the melody, or bring out your kazoo. It's all good!

 

[hands_on_lanzon]

.

This is an invitation to UU members (and lurkers!)
who have never posted a uking video,
but think you maybe...possibly...might like to try it.
​

All UU members are invited to post a video in a Seasons challenge. After one video post, you become a Seasonista, and the sky will be bluer and your cereal will taste better from that day forward!
If you post videos in subsequent weeks, you gradually develop performance confidence and a bunch of uking buddies who care how you're developing.
The Seasons' founding father is chrimess, who came up with the idea and who posts videos regularly.

Here's generally how it works:
+ Seasons of the Ukulele is a subforum under UU Contests.
+ The Seasons weeks are friendly challenges, not competitions! It's a community of ukers who play and encourage each other. Each Season is hosted by a volunteer Seasonista.
+ Each Season runs from early Sunday to midnight the following Sunday—you have 8 days to prepare and record a video for that week's theme.
+ Each theme is chosen by the volunteer host (you have to be a Seasonista to host) and announced when the Season launches so everyone has the same time to prepare.
+ The host offers some kind of judging, but it's not always based on skills—it may be the feeling you project. Sometimes it's a drawing. Once it was knife-throwing.
+ There are prizes, but they're generally just for fun.

The best things about participating:
1) It builds your confidence. Kindly people—who have all been beginners!—comment encouragingly.
2) It gives you a goal to get good at a song each week.
3) You get to know some UU members better by watching them and interacting on the thread.
4) You can hear a wide variety of songs and styles, many of which may be new to you.

Questions? Ask in this thread, ask any Seasonista, or ask Ralf (Theonlyukethatmatters), who is the Seasons' marvelous Volunteer Coordinator. He keeps the hosting sign-up list and has posted all the playlists in one thread.

Please join us in the Seasons—just one entry makes you a Seasonista!
You don't have to be perfect—you're good enough right now!​

—Ginny


Here's the omni-playlist link: http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/f...tting-together-all-the-seasons-of-the-Ukulele

Here are the themes we've done so far: http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?69035-Sign-up-for-future-Seasons

.

Why not strike while the iron's hot and give this ol' thread a bump?!

It's probably not the best time to ask folks to join since it sounds like there's actually a pretty intriguing prize* this week and the UAS in me wants to keep participation to a minimum, so I have a better chance to win! (was that a run on sentence?) Too lazy to try to edit.

(*please dont let this intimidate or deter you! Prizes seem to occur more not than often and the only judge is the host!)

If you've been curious about the Seasons, check out this thread! Start from the beginning and read a few posts. You'll see some humor, some welcoming words, and even a great intro to posting to YouTube from @UkeCan1 in post #14.

Come on in! The water's fine!!

 

[UkeCan1]

Why not strike while the iron's hot and give this ol' thread a bump?!

It's probably not the best time to ask folks to join since it sounds like there's actually a pretty intriguing prize* this week and the UAS in me wants to keep participation to a minimum, so I have a better chance to win! (was that a run on sentence?) Too lazy to try to edit.

(*please dont let this intimidate or deter you! Prizes seem to occur more not than often and the only judge is the host!)

If you've been curious about the Seasons, check out this thread! Start from the beginning and read a few posts. You'll see some humor, some welcoming words, and even a great intro to posting to YouTube from @UkeCan1 in post #14.

Come on in! The water's fine!!

Chris is right ... we welcome newcomers! Come give the Seasons a try.

And yes, this week there's a uke at stake ... but it's about the fun we have together ... any prizes we may get are icing on the cake. (And yes, you can win prizes even if you're new and just learning to play. I won one in my second week of the Seasons, sixth week of playing. AND it's not about the prizes.)

Chris was very sweet to acknowledge my YouTube instructions in post 14, which I had completely forgotten about. Sadly they are 9-1/2 years old, and virtually nothing in them works the same any more. I suspect they will confuse you more than help you in 2023.

Edwin posted some great instructions the other day on a different thread. Perhaps he or someone will add them here.

(There are also great instructions online - you can just Google how to do it. It's pretty straightforward.)

There's a bit of setup and a small learning curve if you're new to the Seasons and/or making video ... and some emotions to work through, possibly. You can do it. It's worth it. You're worth it!

We welcome you!