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.

Ukulele in Atlanta, Georgia

This past weekend (Thurs-Sun) I was in Atlanta for a conference on Industrial Organizational Psychology. The ukulele I borrowed fit perfectly in my suitcase and so it traveled along. It was a good trip. The best part of it was visiting the Georgia Aquarium. It was amazing - even more fun, wonderful, and majestic than Disneyland (and I LOVE Disney). Here's a link to the video clip of the 'Gentle Giants' exhibit which featured 50 different species including sawfish shark, hammerheads, manta rays, sting rays, groupers, and 4 bus sized whale sharks. You can swim with them if you sign up and pay $$$. Definitely something I will do in my lifetime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7W2KYRV4w8

I played each night and practiced my favorites (I'm Yours & Somewhere Over the Rainbow). Here's a clip of I'm Yours in my bunny outfit from the Kenexa party at the conference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wOFYh6bmjM

I did get to perform for my niece-in-law, Hannah while she rested in bed feeling a bit ill. She recognized I'm Yours and even tried to learn the chords (C, G, Am, and F) for the song. We spent Sunday relaxing around the house - homes are amazingly large and beautiful in Atlanta. We did go to a paint your own pottery place and I made a mug with ukulele on it. It was wonderful to hang out with my nieces/nephew-in-laws.

Tonight I attended my 3rd ukulele class. I was the ONLY student. I thought it would be akward, especially when the teacher would hear me play without others covering up my mistakes. But it was fun. I especially enjoy hearing the stories about how various ukulele players started or changed Hawaiian music/history. Saichi Kawahara knows a lot of history and is excited about passing it on. He's 73 and he just won the Hawaiian Music Lifetime Achievement Award. Really nice guy too.

During class we practiced Puanama in the key of F, G, and A (which is new). We practiced over and over again. I think I have the double strum down, but I have a hard time saying all the Hawaiian words. I definitely continue to sing it the way I first learned it, wrong. We worked on harmony again - and boy did I sound bad. It's hard to hear where I should be, especially when Saichi sings harmony too. He kept requesting that I sing louder, which I did do when we were singing in unison, but once we hit a harmony verse, I was unsure and therefore quiet. It would be awesome to train my ear to hear harmony one day.

At the end of he class Saichi invited me to join his band! I was super excited for the opportunity. I'll be attending their practice tomorrow night so I will share how that went later.

FingerStyle Solos - Twinkle Twinkle

I received the FingerStyle Solos for ukulele by Mark Kailana Nelson today. I started working through it, landing on my first fingerstyle song: Twinkle Twinle Little Star. The songs progress in difficulty as you work through it. Here's my first shot at playing Twinkle Twinkle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOkxuJr4ksk

It takes forever to upload videos on this blog site...so I tried to do so on Youtube which doesn't cut time but does improve in success rate. So this 1 minute song took about 1 hour to upload. Anyways, I also got another book, the Fretboard Roadmap - which is a lot harder because it requires that you memorize formations. But I guess once you do, you can play all over the fretboard seamlessly without thinking about the right flats or sharps in your chord.

Learning about Jake, then meeting him...all in two week's time

March 12, 2010 - Jake Shimabukuro was featured in on www.CNN.com

(http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/showbiz/2010/03/11/jake.shimabukuro.ted2010.cnn). His video, created for Ted.com, was one of the most popular videos to watch...and being an avid news junkie, I clicked on it and was instantly dazzled by Jake's passion for the Ukulele. He likened the instrument to a little child's voice - high pitched, happy, and one that just puts you in a good mood. The next thing I did was go to www.YouTube.com to watch him perform some songs. At once, I sent an email to my guitar teacher with the link.

He wrote back:

"We shall be focusing on playing like Bruce Lee from now on. :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puSkP3uym5k
Thanks Ellen"

That was all I needed before I knew that the Uke would be the next big thing in my life.

March 15, 2010 - I made a list of things that I would really like to have in my life and sent it to my husband, Bobby.

It read:

Subject Line: Expensive Gifts for Ellen's milestones

"Just keeping a list in case I forget:

• Waterproof digital camcorder (small and easy to hold and use)
• Food dehydrator (mini one please)
• Ukulele (I'd like to learn the instrument and I'm willing to sell a guitar if that's what it takes)
• Puppy (always the number one choice from the list of gifts)"

March 19, 2010 - after doing some shopping to prepare for a party the next day, Bobby pulled over at the Guitar Center on Vanness Street by our home. He said, "we're here to buy you a ukulele." Jumping out of the car with big smile, I found myself strumming the ukulele for the first time.

'Wait a second...the chords are completely different from the guitar! Ok...only four strings. This is going to be harder than I thought.' It usually is. So with some help, I ended up with the Ukulele Chordbook and the Cordoba acoustic-electric ukulele. I'm on my way to playing like Jake.

March 20, 2010 - after a birthday party I threw for one of my best friends ended, I got on the uke while Bobby cleaned up. I started playing "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz with four new chords I learned. Towards the end of the song there was knocking on the door so I head to open it and find three party people back for more. Actually, they left a jacket. They heard me singing through the door and demanded a performance. Obligingly, I played the uke for my first audience ever...finishing to cheers and applause.

March 21, 2010 - I went online to find some local uke teachers...and emailed two of them. One email bounced back and the other enclosed an entire class syllabus in his response back to me. Classes were forming and the first class took place the following day, March 22. I immediately responded and asked if I could join the class. With friendly Hawaiian swagger, I got a note that read, "Aloha mai e Ellen, Please come and join us." Yay! My first big step (after purchasing a Ukulele) to learning the uke.

After learning some basic chords for my favorite song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/It's a Wonderful World," I fell asleep with the uke at my bedside.

March 22, 2010 - After work, I headed to THE KAPALAKIKO BASIC UKULELE CLASS. I was the first one to arrive and was immediately put to work setting up chairs and stands for 6 people. I met Saichi Kawahara, the teacher and leader of the Kapalakiko Hawaiian (18 person) Band. He's an interesting teacher who has a passion for spreading his love of Hawaii, its music, and its culture. Our class time was spent on the origin of the ukulele, Hawaiian music, and how the greatest uke players of today have varying styles based on their childhood turfs (neighborhoods). There were five students total, one of which I will be forever thankful to: Mark.

Mark came about 15 minutes late to class because he was in the East Bay purchasing a uke for Jake Shimabukuro to sign at his concert that night. I said, "Jake's in town?!? Is the concert sold out?" Turns out he had an extra ticket! I rushed home to tell my husband about everything that transpired that night. Mark arrived to the event at Yoshi's Jazz Club early and found an additional ticket. Serendipitously, Bobby and I headed over and got our own table for the show. I even got to take my very own picture with my new Idol, Jake Shimabukuro. Is this destiny or what?

The show was amazing. He played some new songs to come out in his next album (143) in the fall and some old favorites that I've already become familiar with (Blue Roses, Trapped, Me and Shirley T, $5 unleaded, While my Guitar Gently Weeps, Crazy G, Let's Dance). My favorites were 143 and Blue Roses. I'll have to say watching him perform is just tantalizing. It shows how possible it is to learn anything and everything there is to an instrument and to make it do what you feel, think, and dream.

That night I made a promise to myself - that I would learn everything about the Ukulele there is to know. This includes all the notes on the fret board, the notes that form a chord (not just how to play the chord, but what's in the chords), and the best chord progressions. Although I've played the guitar for 2 years now, I still don't know where the notes are and what makes up a chord. I just memorize the chords to a song and play them without any understanding to why it sounds right. I believe the basic understanding of chords will be the key ingredient for me to learn to play uke solo pieces like Jake someday. It will be a long and challenging journey, but maybe one day, I can play alongside Jake. That would be one sweet day.

So, today, March 26, 2010...I've decided to start blogging about my path with the ukulele. I hope you'll find inspiration, joy, peace, and laughter as you read about this journey.