Two roads diverged in ukulele: strum vs pluck

Posted on September 18, 2019 by Anne Ku

Ukulele players today mainly exist in one of two worlds. If you go to a ukulele club, you’re most likely a hum and strum or strum and sing person. If you belong to a ukulele ensemble or ukulele orchestra, you’re more likely to be a plucker. The former is a singalong. The latter is instrumental.

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Mauro Giuliani Polonoise or Polonaise from Op. 65

Posted on July 12, 2019 by Anne Ku

Should it be “polonoise” as printed on the title page of the sheet music or “polonaise” as we know it?

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Of guitar quartets and ensemble playing

Posted on July 6, 2019 by Anne Ku

In January 2018, I started a new ukulele group and joined the Boston Guitar Orchestra. For the latter, I begged the conductor to translate the notated sheet music for guitar part four into tablature so that I could read it. I had not touched the classical guitar for more than twenty years.

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Happy Fourth of July! Invitations to concerts

Posted on July 4, 2019 by Anne Ku

Happy Fourth of July! So many FREE concerts in the Boston area next week. My latest ukulele mail-out below includes a NOT FREE concert of a non-traditional string quartet from the Bay Area and my Boston Guitar Orchestra rehearsals and concerts.
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Solstice at Eustis 2019

Posted on June 21, 2019 by Anne Ku

Just an idea. It rhymes. It catches on.

How do we combine guitar and ukulele? One after another? Or together? At Derek Gripper’s African Music Workshop both instruments were welcomed in the same room. Everyone played together. It was one sound field.

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Ukulele Mailing List – latest e-mail

Posted on June 3, 2019 by Anne Ku

I keep a growing mailing list of ukulele students, peers, and others who are hugely interested in the instrument and everything about playing music together. However, I’m never sure that my emails actually reach those on my mailing list because sometimes Google Groups hangs up on me. So here goes the latest.
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Blacklisted IP address without warning

Posted on May 19, 2019 by Anne Ku

After several consecutive busy weeks, I looked forward to today — a Sunday with no appointments. A day to assemble my book.

My morning began with my usual routine of switching on my iPhone.

There was one voicemail message.

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Call and response workshop

Posted on April 30, 2019 by Anne Ku

One of many ways to lead a group of performers is the so-called “call and response,” which is actually a compositional technique. The leader “calls” by singing and/or playing a musical phrase. The “other” (be it students, audience, or someone else) responds with another musical phrase.

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The gift of a music education for yourself or Mother’s Day present

Posted on April 9, 2019 by Anne Ku

I am forever grateful to my parents for the gift of a music education. I remember my mother tirelessly driving a great distance to my piano teacher’s home off-base on Okinawa. In the hot and humid afternoon, she took a nap in the car while I sat for my one-hour lesson with my piano teacher. In addition to piano, Mrs Betsy Hermann taught me music theory by writing music notation by hand. At age 14, armed with the vocabulary of music, I started composing and arranging music.

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Getting the word out: website, blog, mailing list, twitter, Facebook, and ?

Posted on April 8, 2019 by Anne Ku

When you become aware that you are at the centre of those that want to know what’s going on and those who want others to know about their events, what do you do?

There is a certain responsibility that comes with knowing what’s going on. Joe Burros started a website for guitarists in New England last June after years of sending out email blasts of upcoming concerts and workshops to his mailing list. When I first learned of this service he provides to classical guitarists and aficionados, I was deeply grateful. I had no idea there were so many interesting events for classical guitarists and their supporters. Until then, I learned of such events through word of mouth.

Is there an equivalent for ukulele enthusiasts?

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