Beatles for the Ukulele!  Beatles and the ukulele just seem to go side by side. The Beatles cross generational classics can be wonderfully performed on the uke and learning a few will broaden your repertoire and make you a huge hit at uke play-a-longs and uke gatherings everywhere. Learn to interpret such time honored songs as "Let It Be", "Penny Lane", "Here, There and Everywhere", "I'm Looking Through You", "In My Life", "If I Fell" and many more!

Classical Tablature Playing -  

Ever wanted to go beyond strumming chords to playing actual solo instrumentals? Ever wished you could playing classical pieces on the uke such as "Panis Angelicus", "Finlandia", or the CLASSIC music of J.S. Bach? Using tablature notation is a way to do that, but even seasoned strummers can have some challenges in understanding, interpreting and ultimately playing songs using this form of notation. This workshop will guide us through the wonderful world of tablature. Hints on how to interpret, how to practice and how to play tablature in a comfortable manner will be presented. No prior tablature experience is required.

This is "the" sound you hear on 1930s-'40s Western Swing and Hawaiian recordings.

This is a beginning "from scratch" steel guitar class.We'll learn how to hold the bar, tune the guitar, easy chord positions and vibrato. Please email me prior to The Lone Star Uke Fest, and I will send you a “gear sheet” detailing the proper string gauges needed, bar type, picks etc. An electric lap steel with an amp is needed (with a headphone jack PLEASE!) –or an acoustic Dobro type guitar or headphone amplifier. Some basic guitar finger picking techniques are required for this class.

Intro to Swing Uke:

The ukulele is not a toy! You can get a lot of music out of that little box! Let’s have a good time together while we become better musicians. In terms of your proficiency level for this class; you should be able to play basic open string ukulele chords and be able to play a chord progression up to tempo.A sense of humor and the willingness to have some fun goes a long way too.

Some of the topics we will cover during the class:

1. We will take two familiar swing tunes and convert the basic open-string chords to more interesting closed-string voicing to achieve a more appropriate “jazzy” or swing feel.

2. Getting the swing feeling in your rhythm.

3. Explore moveable chord shapes.

Lead Soloing and Song Enhancement -

This is an intermediate level class.  Have you ever wondered how a ukulele or guitar player takes a solo during a song?  Are they making up the solo on the spot?

How do they know where the notes are?    Basically, it’s a very simple system of patterns.  We will touch the surface of this topic during the class.  You will be soloing within 15 minutes, guaranteed!

We will also learn some easy chordal techniques to make your instrumental ukulele playing more interesting. 

Topics covered during the class:

1. Lead soloing – It’s all in the chords (or pretty close by).

2. We will take a familiar song and enhance it by applying chord substitutions and half step approaches.

Beyond Three Chords...What Do I Do Now?

Life after C, F and G can be intimidating. But after this class, you’ll be dashing and daring, taking on every chord in the book: diminished and augmented chords, minors, and everything else. You’ll be able to play those songs that you always skipped before. You’ll learn how to put variety into your strums, and learn lots of new songs in various styles. Bartt will provide song charts & chord charts. Highly interactive – be prepared to PLAY!

Day One- We’ll concentrate on chords and strums, and learning the groups of chords that often go together. Lots of practice exercises, and easy songs with new chords in them. We’ll also play chords in the 3^rd and 5^th positions, so you can move beyond the third fret. You’ll be a better player, with more techniques and more confidence in your own greatness!

Day Two - We’ll move on to fancier chords, using various strums to go with them, and we’ll do a little bit of finger-picking. We’ll also work on group dynamics: playing as a group, bringing the energy level up and down, synchronizing with each other, and adding stops & starts to songs. If your Sunday afternoon uke group plays every song the same way, at the same tempo, with the same rhythm, it gets boring. Your meetings will become a whole lot more fun and interesting when you surprise them with these tips!

Ten Fancy Strums and One Dumb One; Scales in Every Key and How To Play Them Right!

Day One -Unleash the majestic power of the STRUM! Your strumming hand has unlimited variety. Use it fearlessly. Use it creatively. Multi-finger strums, Up-Down type strums, Speedy strums, Thumb strums, Waltz strums, Flowing strums, Gentle strums, Vociferous strums. You’ll put some flash into your playing, and challenge each other to an all-important Strum-Off! We’ll also get into some alternate fingerings to make your chord changes faster and smoother. Prepare to be dazzling!            

Day Two - Knowing the right notes. That’s the secret to playing melodies, solos and scales. Bartt will hand out charts that tell you exactly which notes match the chords, so you can play solos for any song. You’ll also get practice exercises to help you memorize the scales, so eventually you won’t need to look at the paper. You can play faster and cleaner by choosing the correct fingers (left AND right hand), and we’ll do plenty of practicing during class. We’ll also talk about fingering techniques that give your solos personality: tremolo, hammer-ons, open notes vs. fretted notes, bending notes, and tons more.

John Smith, aka JB Wahoo, will show you how to make a creative, multi tasking inexpensive musical Washboard, and demonstrate it’s use for rhythmic accompaniment.  Get into the rhythm of things by rubbing your family the wrong way with your very own paragon of percussion.

Vocal Techniques - Heather is a vocalist with the Four Strings of Swing band. She will give you tips on improving your technique - proper breathing techniques, how to have good singing posture while you're playing the uke sitting and standing, some easy to medium difficulty warm-ups and good practicing techniques.