Uke Week

Last week was my first intense week of ukulele. I had my beginners class on Monday, band rehearsal Tuesday, went to watch the band perform at Sundance Kitchen at Friday, and attended the monthly workshop in Alameda on Saturday. Sunday afternoon I went to the park with my sister and baby cousins and the uke. It was a beautiful Sunday in Golden Gate Park. We fed the birds by the lake on 36th Ave and then I played some songs for the kids to dance to. Jonathan, the youngest, loved it and danced throughout each song. He even attempted to play the uke.

Here's a link to the song/dance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0nj7Q51H7o

This week will be similar. Monday night I had class with Saichi and Mark. We played Puamana (the first Hawaiian song I've ever learned) in the key of A and worked n harmonizing. Of course I struggled, often ending up on the instructor's note instead of my assigned harmony note. I definitely need some ear training. I can't hear the 3rd and 5th note in my head to start singing it right on cue. We also learned a new song, with a cha-lang-a-lang strum. It was harder than Puamana although the instructor said it should be easier to learn. It's called Waikaloa.

Tuesday night I had rehearsal - and I went an hour early so that I could copy the humongous songbook. It took me an hour to copy 1/4 of it which is probably around 150 pages of music. Unfortunately I left it there so I hope that it's still in good shape when I visit Saichi this Saturday. Band rehearsal was good - I met 4 other band members who were equally as welcoming and talented. I really feel fortunate to have been welcomed to this group. So far it seems like I have years to practice to get to the level of other members. I got my picture taken for the band website...so hopefully my profile will be posted soon. We worked on Mehameha, White Sandy Beach, Olomana Moon (written by Saichi), Kamalani, and Moanalua. My favorites are the first two and Kamalani.

Kapalakiko Hawaiian Band

Tonight I joined the Kapalakiko Hawaiian Band rehearsal.

It was the first time I was part of any performing band (outside of school). We started with a pot-luck dinner at 6:30pm, then set-up amps, mics, and music stands for the rehearsal at 8pm. We went right into practicing songs that Saichi chose. The song book is a binder with over 700 songs! Each song was beautiful with it's own story, history, and feeling. I got to record some on my iPhone so that I could listen and practice over the week. I have been informed it will take me 5+ hours to copy all the songs in the song book so that I can have one of my own.

There is amazing talent in the group. I met 8 members, most of whom were apprentices. Apparently, you will either be a 1st seat (pro) or an apprentice. They were incredibly welcoming. I was formally inducted to the band as I received 3 Kapalakiko Band t-shirts. This is truly an amazing opportunity to learn from the best. I was able to keep up with the songs (especially since verses repeat at least once) so as we played more and more of the same song I began to grasp more and more. I still need Hawaiian language lesson and apparently - voice lessons too. I'll see what I can do about that.

There is also an opportunity to learn slack-key guitar - so that's in my near future too. This is the start to a wonderful journey. I can't wait to see where I am 5 years from now.

Here's the Kapalakiko Website: http://www.kapalakiko.com/

Time for bed.