Remembering dad on Father’s Day

Posted on June 18, 2018 by Anne Ku

Today may be the first time I’m joining everyone else in cyberspace, to remember my dad on Father’s Day. In Mandarin Chinese, the word for father is “ba ba” which sounds like “eight eight” — thus the eighth day of the eighth month is the preferred day to celebrate Father’s Day for the Chinese.

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The Handy Man Can

Posted on June 11, 2018 by Anne Ku

When my friends posted a video of their business called “The Handy Man” on Facebook, I was suddenly reminded of a parody I wrote years ago on the song “The Candy Man” because I was so fascinated by what one man could do.

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Leavin’ on a Jetstream

Posted on June 11, 2018 by Anne Ku

It’s easy to get sidetracked when you’re in a bathroom store buying your first bath tub together. You just want a no frills tub for two for a small bathroom. Each tub you try not only gets bigger but comes with more bells and whistles until you get the largest one with jetstream and massage options. Once you get home, you discover that you can barely move around in the bathroom. You’ll also need to knock through a wall to fit it. Continue reading →

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Safely dance the safety dance: riffs and meaning in music

Posted on June 10, 2018 by Anne Ku

Still reeling from the high energy ukulele jam of the “Eighties Extravaganza,” I can’t stop exploring the songs we didn’t get to sing. One of these is the one hit wonder by the group “Men Without Hats.”

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Selecting songs for a select audience: eighties extravaganza

Posted on June 2, 2018 by Anne Ku

In music, the formal or official term for song selection is “repertoire development.” It sounds sophisticated and significant, and it should be, for it is not trivial at all. Repertoire development refers to creating a balanced portfolio for performers. In programming a concert, it refers to creating an attractive programme for the audience. How does this apply to selecting songs for ukulele jam sessions? In particular, songs from the eighties?

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Ukulele Crash Course for Complete Beginners

Posted on May 5, 2018 by Anne Ku

After giving different kinds of ukulele workshops in Massachusetts, I’ve decided to offer a crash course for those beginners eager to participate in the ukulele scene that’s spreading across the world like wild fire. For time-challenged adults, it’s about making time to get a 1.5 hour dose of instruction in a group setting.

[Related entry: for the absolute, complete, total beginner in ukulele]

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Cold beer for cool blues

Posted on April 18, 2018 by Anne Ku

“Will there be cold beer?” the guitarist asked.

“Not sure, why?”

“I’ll come if there is.”

What is an evening of twelve-bar blues without beer? It doesn’t go with herbal tea, which is what I have been brewing each Wednesday evening for our ukulele jam session. Last week, I brought chocolate cake for “Easy Beatles.”

Herbal tea makes sense for “Earth Day Jam” next Wednesday. But tonight — it’s cold beer for cool blues.

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ABBA GOLD JAM

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Anne Ku

Our first ABBA GOLD ukulele jam will take place on Tuesday 1st May 2018 at 7 pm EDT in the common room of the Walter Baker building in Historic Lower Mills.

We will celebrate ABBA’s announcement of new songs, first time in 35 years with a trivia pursuit game and aim to play all 19 songs on their gold album. Join us!! RSVP via meet-up for this FREE singalong to ukulele accompaniment.

While compiling our ukulele songbook for “Easy Beatles” I came across a triibute concert to ABBA on Wednesday 2nd May 2018. Suddenly I remembered how much I love ABBA. How can we devote an evening to the Beatles without one for ABBA?

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Easy Beatles Jam Session

Posted on April 10, 2018 by Anne Ku

As I explore music for ukulele jam sessions, I keep discovering Beatles songs I’ve never heard of before. In London, I chuckled at the politically incorrect “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” and the funny “Octopus’s Garden.” George Harrison’s “I’ll Follow the Sun” and other songs by individual members of the Beatles are all so very interesting. They wrote more than 300 songs though not all were performed or recorded.

Sadly, on this day 10th April 1970 the band officially broke up.

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The freedom and friction of fiction writing

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Anne Ku

“Pick up a postcard on your table and write your address on it. Take what you’ve learned in this conference and write to your future self. Which words of encouragement would you impart?”

Among the postcards of city scenes and outdoor landscapes, the beach scene is the closest to me. I felt a lump in my throat.

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