Workshop: Ode to Joy

Posted on January 13, 2024 by Anne Ku

To celebrate the bicentennial of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the only one that uses the human voice, we will play the Ode to Joy for the ukulele. Watch the documentary about Beethoven’s Ninth.

This one-hour workshop is re-scheduled for Thursday 5th September 2024 at 4:30 PM EDT after 3 Chord Thursday Hooked on Classics. You can participate in-person at the Walter Baker Building in Boston, Massachusetts or in Zoom. Whether you participate in Zoom or in person, please Register for the Zoom link to get the sheet music we will be using in advance. This workshop is one of four I am giving at the Nutmeg Ukulele Festival on Saturday 14th September 2024 in Simsbury, Connecticut.

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Workshop: the Hawaiian vamp

Posted on January 13, 2024 by Anne Ku

Also known as the Hawaiian turnaround, the famous Hawaiian vamp refers to a short chord sequence that can introduce and end a song, intercede between verses and choruses. The chords depend on the destination key.

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3 Chord Thursday Poems & Parodies

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Anne Ku

Thursday 21st March 2024 is World Poetry Day (and the Vernal Equinox). Can you think of songs that started as poems? Can you put words to music? Explore the world of words, rhyme, alliteration, and more! Parodies included!

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3 Chord Thursday Irish

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Anne Ku

It’s tradition to share Irish songs in March for St Patrick’s Day. On Thursday 7th March 2024, we celebrate with Irish songs, as we have done previously in 2023, 2022, 2021, and Irish Playlist. Stay after for a workshop on Hawaiian songs.

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3 Chord Thursday Island Tunes

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Anne Ku

On Thursday 15th February 2024, we celebrate songs of Hawai’i and other islands. Wear something bright and colorful! [This session is in Zoom only; AND there is no workshop afterwards.] The Zoom password has changed. Please re-register and join us up to half-hour before 3 PM EST.

Effective 15th February 2024, your first 3 Chord Thursday song session in 2024 is FREE. You’re also welcome to have as many people in your Zoom session as you like without further subscription. In-person with the host is free. The next in-person is Thursday 2nd May 2024. Register in Zoom as often as you like to get the Zoom link. Enter Zoom at any time to set up. The host and performers will do sound and visual checks half-hour before the start time. All sessions are live-streamed and video recorded for review and replay.

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3 Chord Thursday: World Ukulele Day

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Anne Ku

The second day of the second month is National Play Your Ukulele Day. This has evolved to World Play Your Ukulele Day, International Ukulele Day, or World Ukulele Day. We celebrate a day early on Thursday 1st February 2024 at 3 PM EST by introducing our ukuleles and telling stories of how we got into playing the ukulele.

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3 Chord Thursday Thesaurus

Posted on January 11, 2024 by Anne Ku

It’s National Thesaurus Day on Thursday 18th January 2024! This is a special day for those who love WORDS. We celebrate the theme of THESAURUS in 3 Chord Thursday with a lot of imagination. Is Thesaurus the last dinosaur? Can you think of songs with BIG, BEAUTIFUL words? Songs that use synonyms? Or can you accompany the verses and refrains of a single song DIFFERENTLY? How about songs about words?

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3 Chord Thursday: Pop Music Charts

Posted on January 9, 2024 by Anne Ku

Our first session of the year fell on Thursday 4th January 2024 which is Pop Music Chart Day. Seriously! It’s the first time we held the song session of 3 Chord Thursday WITHOUT a webpage or an advance notice of a line-up. This one-hour gathering was a hybrid session, with five people participating in-person and twelve in Zoom. Use Betty Lou Music website to find the songs listed on the charts. You can tranpose the song sheets, too! 

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Sightreading, the art of reading music

Posted on January 9, 2024 by Anne Ku

Sightreading, also known as prima vista playing, refers to playing the correct notes on a musical instrument while reading the notation at first sight or glance (at the tempo written). It is a skill that can be learned but requires practice to master.

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Workshop: Auld Lang Syne

Posted on January 2, 2024 by Anne Ku

It’s THAT time of the year when everyone bursts out singing “Auld Lang Syne.” This popular tune is also sung on Burns’ Night. Here’s an opportunity to explore different ways to make this song interesting, a useful skill applicable to any song. First mentioned in my earlier blog post, I’ve since discovered many different ways to play this song.

If you are not attending in-person but wish to join in Zoom, please register to get the Zoom link. Note: you do NOT need to participate in 3 Chord Thursday to join this workshop.

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