UE #77 Find Your Passion

What is Your Passion? With so much going on in our lives it can seem pointless to even consider it. I can almost hear the reply, "Huh? You want me to work full-time, raise kids, make meals and follow my passion? Sure thing buddy!"  

Btw. Please consider forwarding this newsletter to a friend. Oh, and while you're here, check out the brand new Ukulele Entertainer book! 

I complained to a friend of mine recently. She's a singer named Kristie. I griped that my life has become too diverse and I muttered that my activities have increased to the point where they're not so enjoyable anymore. Extra pressures include paperwork and endless online communication. But it's also from taking on new projects without letting old ones go. The result, I grumbled, is that I'm juggling more objects and it's becoming less fun.

I felt mean-spirited to complain in such a muttering, grumbling sort of way. To display a lack of gratitude for opportunities in life seems churlish; especially when compared with the miserable lot of all those clapped in the shackles of grinding servitude. But instead of chastising my selfishness Kristie took me in a surprising direction. She asked, "What is your passion?"

"Erm, why?" I replied, "What's that got to with anything?" She said, "If you know your passion then you can devote more time and energy to that and less to the other things."

I was stunned. This was a new way of thinking for me.

Some things were easy to cross off my passion list. They included taxes, house-hold chores and anything involving a computer or phone (basically life's unavoidable duties.) Much harder to choose from were my various work related roles: making music, live performance, teaching uke workshops, singing, creating songs, recording, and writing. All these things I take pleasure and pride in. If I had to drop all but one of them which would it be? This spurred me on to a new round of griping, "I can't possibly...it's too hypothetical...how can I choose just one?"

With further urging I narrowed down my top passion contenders to two choices. Kristie then asked me to imagine placing one of these in each of two corners of the room. As I closed my eyes she reminded me to visualize the choices I had made and the parts of the room where they resided.

Kristie said, "Do you feel a pull towards one of the corners?"  

Yes I did. The attraction to one corner was unmistakable, and slightly overwhelming. Moments before this my mind had been a confused swirl over what to do. Now it was clear. Apparently this was my passion. The other trivialities in my life paled in comparison and I felt a surge of deep feeling; an abiding sense that this experience was profound and true. It was actually enough to stop me grumbling for several minutes.

Many take up the ukulele with some idea that it will lead them to their passion. Which they believe must be to perform onstage. But I disagree with this thinking. When I travel to ukulele clubs I meet a wide cross-section of people who all happen to play the ukulele. But look more closely and you'll see the instrument is but a  conduit to many possible passions. The uke players come together to make music but their natural roles soon become evident:

Some are leaders: they express themselves by forging a vision for the group.

Some are carers: they scan the group looking for those in need of assistance and come to their aid.

Others are teachers: they strive to develop their own understanding in order to pass the knowledge to others.

Some are communicators: they develop the threads of interconnection that bind everyone together and help to disseminate information.

Some are stage entertainers: they shine in order that we may connect with our own spirits.  

Some are social entertainers. They may never go near the stage but are always ready to share a song or a story that will crack you up.

Some are hosts: they offer their homes and time to accommodate visiting entertainers from far away (Indeed I am presently being humbled by the kindness of several Australian strangers who are going out of their way to make my upcoming visit there possible.)

If you don't know what your passion is, perhaps this can help: Figure out what you enjoy doing most of all. It has to be something that you feel strongly about. It should be nearly as vital to you as food, air and water; something that you'll always want to do no matter where life takes you.

If your answer is unclear then sit in a quiet room and place your two most fulfilling activities in each of the far corners. Then close your eyes and notice if there is a pull of attraction towards one part of the room. You may experience this as a sense of peace or another feeling that draws you. If this works but seems incomplete it could be that you need to define your passion in more detail. Try using the technique more than once to refine your choice.

Knowing your passion helps focus your energies and decision making. Do newly presented choices further your life's purpose or are they mere sidelines and distractions? Cut out the things that no longer serve you. It's good for us to be diverse, for as author and waterbed inventor Robert Heinlein said, "Specialization is for insects", but enough is enough.  

Figuring out what you don't want is important. And imagine the joy you'll get in doing what you love, in the place where you want to be. It's certainly nothing to grumble about.

© Ralph Shaw 2011   

New Book!!!: The Ukulele Entertainer
Powerful Pointers for Players and Performers

Be the Best Ukulele Entertainer You Can Be!
available from www.RalphShaw.ca

Put strings on a ukulele - correctly,
Play three styles of triplet strum
Know where to look when you sing
Tackle nerves and stage fright
Start and run a ukulele club
Remember lyrics and sing on pitch
Create a killer set list and much more. Learn from a seasoned pro how to relax and improvise, introduce more dynamics into your playing, even-just for fun-how to make ukulele wine! You'll get some lessons in musical history and be royally entertained by the "King of the Ukulele" himself.
 

"where else can you learn to play the "wimpy-strong" strum from a man who actually touched Liam Neeson's wig?" -From the foreword by ukulele master James Hill.

UE #76 How to Do the One Finger Roll

There are many ways to play a roll on a ukulele. Today I will attempt to describe the most economical way of all.

One of the great advantages of not using a pick is that having your fingers and thumb available gives you access to a wider variety of playing techniques. One such technique is "the roll".

What is a roll? A roll is what you hear when several individual beats happen so quickly that it sounds like a continuous vibrating sound. I often call it a "thrum". For example if you flick through a deck of playing cards slowly you'll hear flak-flak-flak. But do it quickly and it sounds more like: fl-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r (the rolling r-r-r-r sound being like the front-of-tongue vibration of the 'r' when a Spaniard says "Burro").  

The roll is also one of the signature sounds of Spanish flamenco guitar. The sound is achieved by strumming down on the strings, one finger at a time, using some or all fingers of the strumming hand. You can try it right now. Find a level surface and drum the pads of your fingers on it as if you were impatiently waiting for something. Try it using three fingers. Do it slowly at first making sure to keep all the beats evenly spaced. Speed up the roll. Now add another finger and then the thumb until all five digits are making a nice "thrumming" sound. Now reverse it: if you began the roll with your pinky now start it using the thumb.

Playing a roll on the ukulele is very similar to drumming on a desk except that instead of using the pads of the fingers you'll more likely be doing it with the fingernails or sides of the fingers. Experiment with the three and four finger roll. Always aim for a clear rolling sound and incorporate it into your playing. I show the technique on two of my DVDs: The Complete Ukulele Course and Essential Strums for the Ukulele.   

Most  players favour starting a three or four finger roll with the pinky finger. Others, like myself, begin the roll using the index finger and ending with the ring or pinky fingers. The former method has the advantage that it allows you to do a five finger roll, ending with the thumb, if you so wish.  

Ever heard of the six finger roll? It sounds like the start to a joke but it actually is a real technique. I first heard of it as being taught by Bob Brozman. It involves changing the direction of the roll so that one or more fingers are being used more than once in a seamlessly continuous sound. This leads us to the highly improbable but very real ten finger roll. Matt Dahlberg showed me this extraordinary technique. It involves the five digits rolling first in one direction and then immediately rolling back the other way. The slinky movement of the hand while doing this is an effect I call "the ukulele double helix". The ten finger roll sounds exciting, is visually stunning and musically pretty useless. Even Matt admits that the technique, though highly cool, is not one that fits comfortably into most musical situations.

Myself, I prefer simpler techniques. You can get an excellent roll by having the finger strum down immediately followed by the thumb. This "thumb-roll" is shown in the syncopated strum section of my Essential Strums DVD.  

But for sheer simplicity nothing can beat the one finger roll.     

This is an unusual technique. My usual policy is to instruct learners to practice new techniques slowly before gradually building up speed. Unfortunately I find that the one finger roll only truly sounds like a roll when played at speed. So you'll have to figure it out on the fly. Also note that it is effective if you strum with your finger-end like I do. But it may not work for thumb-strummers.   

Start by playing one of your faster numbers. As you strum, put in a quick shake of the finger and then return to the regular strum. That's all there is to it. Technically what you're doing is inserting a very short and fast tremolo. Keep a nice loose wrist as you strum down-up-down-up then quickly add some additional down-ups at double speed. But it is far easier to simply think of it as incorporating an added finger-shake.

A bonus of this technique is that, if you do happen to strum with a pick, you can now play a fast roll without having to use any additional fingers.    

© Ralph Shaw 2011   

UE #75 How to Build a Ukulele Case

Do children still get home-made Christmas gifts? I certainly did. I don't mean to infer that I come from a particularly poor family. It is true that money was pretty tight in those days, but so it was for most young families in the little Yorkshire village of Millhouse Green. I'd gaze through my bedroom window at the frosty garden hoping for snow and wishing for toys from the toyshop. Oh, how little did I know. My future playthings were not residing on store shelves waiting to be bought. Neither were they at the North Pole undergoing construction by Santa's undergrown munchkins. Neither were they hidden; wrapped and ready in the mid-morning of my childhood, lying dormant in secret coves known only to my parents. In fact, they were not so very far above my head.

For many years the weeks leading up to Christmas would find my dad up in the attic making gifts for me. I was asleep. Either that, or too young to be curious as to why my father spent so much time up above the trapdoor. Now I am older I remember those secret gifts with far more clarity than I do any of my shop bought toys.

There was a fort or "castle". Its formal name changed depending on whether it was occupied by small plastic cowboys repelling equally small plastic "indians"; or knights in armour, fighting, what else, but American G.I.s who were the only other adversary available to me at the time. I also remember a black policeman's hat. My dad even made me a flyover (or overpass) for me to push my toy cars over and under. I had no roads, just a single go-anywhere bridge. It worked. It was also quite bumpy. The fort was lumpy and bumpy too; so much so that my weapon waving warriors would rock precariously at the battlements anytime the fortress was nudged. This is because my toys were made from paper maché: my father's chief medium when it came to my Christmas gifts. In case you've never come across it, paper maché is a porridgey mixture of wallpaper paste and torn scraps of newspaper that becomes quite solid and substantial when dry.

One year I clearly recall a wondrous sight in the window of the toy shop at the top of Shambles Street in Barnsley. It was a glorious thing to behold. A bright red rock 'n' roll drum-kit. I thought about it, I longed for it and I must have talked about it. For on Christmas morning I had my very own set of bright red drums. My dad had taken two plastic plant-pots, one small, one large, and, attaching them together, he cleverly transformed them to make a very credible pair of bongo drums. Their tops were painted silver and trimmed with gold braid. When I think about it I can still smell the paint we used in those days.

I would be lying to say I wasn't disappointed. Bongos did not make the cut. I wasn't interested in "hand" drums. It had to be sticks. My disappointment was slightly alleviated when my dad hand-carved two wooden drumsticks for me. However it wasn't long before my sticks pounded through the paper maché drum-tops and my bongos went back to being plant-pots once again.

My goal in relating to you these tales of unusual, and uniquely undulating, gifts is not to elicit sympathy. Neither is it to make any claim that my dad was any cleverer, kinder, more frugal or resourceful than your or anyone else's dad. Though he could be all those things at times. My only goal is to suggest that the objects we make for ourselves are immensely cooler than anything you can ever possibly buy. I played with those attic-born gifts more than any mass-made factory fare you could mention. They were magical objects, and though they're now long gone, the memory of them is burned into my consciousness.

I make my own things now. I use a technique not unrelated to paper maché. It was shown to me by the great Tomas Kubinek who learned it from the legendary Al Simmons. Here's what you do: Take some corrugated cardboard and cover it with canvas and carpenter's glue. You'll discover that it hardens to become an extremely strong and light material. The product is very tough and happens to be perfect for making ukulele cases. It is also light, strong and always fixable. I wrote a song that describes the technique in detail and I've been singing it for some time. The lyrics are below and I offer them to you now. All I beg in return is that you please send me a photo of your home-made ukulele case or any other object that you make using this technique.

If you want to see and hear the song: here it is on Youtube.  

How to Build a Ukulele Case by Ralph Shaw 

  

Use corrugated card for the top and base

But the sides should be of the none-corrugated kind

Use half-inch foam to pad your case

A sleeping mat from a camping shop is fine

The handles, clasps and hinges can be rescued from a knackered old doctor's bag

Or make-up box or satchel ready for the dump

And buy some paint, of a suitable hue

And a great big bottle of carpenter's glue.

It can be a lot of fun when you know what to do

Using cardboard, canvas and carpenters glue

You can do it by yourself you can put it on a shelf

You can tell the neighbours, "I did that myself"  

Begin by drawing 'round the thing you want inside the case

Add one inch around then cut it out and that will be the base

Do the same for the lid, then measure for the height,

Add one inch then cut the cardboard for the sides.

With a sharp, sharp knife score the board on the bends

Then attach the sides to the base with sewing pins

Do the same for the lid as what you just did

Doubling up the sides to make a little lip

With hot glue you can hold the edges firmly in their place

Remove the pins then smother glue on the top and sides and base of your case...

Cover with cloth, thin canvas is best

Shmear more glue and while it dries...have a rest!

Once it dries, good and hard

It should sound like knocking on wood and not like card

Paint the whole thing, with the second coat on

Add the handles, clasps and hinges now you're done

You can buy a case for thirty eight dollars or less in an average store

But the one I made excluding time cost me quite a bit more...

But I'd do it all a-gain 'cause I know what to do

Using cardboard, canvas and carpenters glue.

The things we buy today are made in China and Taiwan

But you can build things just as well as a Szechuan manufacturer can.

Check it with your eye does it all look true

Made from cardboard, canvas and carpenters glue.

© Ralph Shaw  

It's been more than a delight to receive, in my email, photos of ukulele cases that people have made after attending one of my concerts; their only aid to construction was the words of my song. I can't describe how unutterably wonderful it is to think that people have made these things using only song lyrics as guidance.

I wish you a very DIY New Year!

Sithee,

Ralph Shaw. 

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Tell your friends - The Ukulele Entertainer is here!!!

"The collection of Ralph Shaw wisdom we've been waiting for. Keep it in your ukulele case, under your pillow, in your car... anywhere you might need a little inspiration from a true entertainer and a gifted teacher."     

- From the foreword by ukulele master James Hill

 

 

My new book is ready and I'm taking orders now...

Click here to order your copy immediately!

It's an exciting time in the Ralph Shaw household that's for sure. The book looks great and is everything I wanted it to be.

Here's what will happen:

Books get to me by Wednesday December 14. And mailing begins right away. First ones to be sent out will be to the supporters who already contributed towards this project. If you also want to have an excellent chance of receiving yours before the holidays order right now to make sure your book/s are sent out in the very next shipment. (If it's a gift for someone else you can use their shipping address so the book goes direct to them.)

Here's what you'll be getting:

The Ukulele Entertainer is a must have guide to improve your skills as a player and as a performer. With this book you'll learn how to:   

Put strings on a ukulele - correctly,  

Play three styles of triplet strum,

Know where to look when you sing,  

Tackle nerves and stage fright,  

Start and run a ukulele club,  

Remember lyrics and sing on pitch,  

Create a killer set list and much more.  

Learn from a seasoned pro how to relax and improvise, introduce more dynamics into your playing, even-just for fun-how to make ukulele wine! You'll get some lessons in musical history and be royally entertained by the "King of the Ukulele" himself. This book is the definitive collection of top tips from the Ukulele Entertainer newsletter series and is surely for you!

This book is only available directly from me, Ralph Shaw. So click here to Buy Now and be the Best Ukulele Entertainer You Can Be for only $19.99!


Note for international customers: Only orders from USA/Canada are sent by airmail. Other international orders are shipped by surface mail (approx. 6 to 10 weeks.) If you're a faraway customer who would like airmail please contact Ralph directly to place your order.  

About the Author 

Ralph Shaw is an "uber-talented performer with the soul of a teacher" who brings, along with his ukulele, the best of British Music Hall to the stage. The wit, charm and comic energy of his live performances are also evident in his writing. His original songs have been featured regularly on CBC Radio and can also be heard in movies and TV shows. Ralph lives in Vancouver, Canada, and travels widely to perform and teach at ukulele festivals and other events. This is his first book.

UE #74 Longevity Tips from the World's Oldest Ukulele Entertainer

Thinking to buy a ukulele teaching DVD in time for the holidays? When you purchase from my website we ship within 24 hours.  

You'll find learning DVDs for both adults and kids here: The Complete Ukulele Course DVD Series  

and... my new book: The Ukulele Entertainer is in the final stages of production. Order soon and you should receive your copy in time for the holidays - it's down to the wire I know but in a day or two I'll post the ordering information so that your copy can be sent out as soon as they come in.

The ukulele community has learned that Bill Tapia passed peacefully away on December 2, 2011 aged 103 years. His incredible professional career spanned over ninety years. At ten years old he was already playing "Stars and Stripes Forever" on his ukulele at USO shows for the World War I troops. Amazingly, he'd learned the song directly from the composer, after hearing it played by John Philip Sousa's own band. By age twelve he was playing in Vaudeville. He later moved on to play guitar as a jazz sideman. He had some notable highlights too, including occasions when he got to accompany Louis Armstrong, Elvis Presley, Billie Holiday and Bing Crosby. It's even said that he was the one to introduce legendary broadcaster Arthur Godfrey to the ukulele.

Towards the end of his life the remarkable centenarian was touring again, performing live shows, recording CDs and signing them for countless fans of all ages. He is said to have been the oldest unionized performing musician ever.

Words like "remarkable", "amazing" and "incredible" come easily to mind when thinking about Bill Tapia. Such superlatives arise from a rare combination: his spritely old age plus his renowned talent as an entertainer. In a world where great music is often associated with youth cut short in its prime it can feel both surreal and slightly overwhelming to contemplate the human scale of time that was traveled by Mr Tapia and his uke.

As for me, I already feel old! I seem to bruise more easily now and my joints don't bend with the flexibility that they did in my younger days, when they said I was the spitting image of Michelangelo's "David" (well, one person said it anyway.) I've also had my share of root canals, strained ligaments and grey hairs. My eye-sight is very good but it's clear to see that it's not everything it was. I'm not complaining but here's what gets me: to reach Bill Tapia's final resting age I will have to live my whole life again and then several years on top of that. And quite frankly I find it very hard to imagine.

To gain some perspective on the length of his career, consider this: when Bill Tapia was a little boy there were no cars, radios or refrigerators. Or if there were he wasn't aware of them. As a young Hawaiian boy in 1915 he bought his first uke from Manuel Nunes, inventor of the ukulele, for 75 cents. And was already strumming ukulele chords when the instrument was just being introduced to the United States mainland. The roaring twenties hadn't even started.

We now think of "hapa haole" that is, "part-white" Hawaiian songs, like Ukulele Lady, My Little Grass Shack and Sweet Leilani as being substantially older than "Golden Oldies". They were popularized in the 1920's and '30s and now seem positively archaic to us. Bill Tapia was playing those songs when they first came out of the sound cones of wind-up gramophone players. And he was hearing and playing jazz right when jazz was invented. It's nothing short of astounding!

Shortly before Bill Tapia's 100th birthday he and I performed on the main stage at the Southern California Ukulele Festival in Cerritos, California. We'd both completed our sets and, as musicians often do, we were standing around at the back of the concert hall watching the rest of the show. Probably to be near our respective merchandise tables when the show ended.

A thought occurred to me that this was a unique opportunity to speak with Bill. Perhaps I could glean some secrets that might help me survive the rigours of musicianship for as long as he had done. I strolled on over and said, "I want to be doing this when I'm ninety-nine. Do you have any hints or advice to pass on?" He thought for a moment and then answered me in four words, "Just keep doing it."

I almost left it at that but felt to push the matter a little further. I said, "No, come on Bill, there's got to be more to it." He thought for a spell and said. "Well I always took pretty good care of myself. I didn't do drugs and I wasn't a drinker except for a social drink. I exercised by riding my bike every day until my doctor said I had to stop because of angina but even now I walk daily. The only bad thing I did was to smoke two packs of cigarettes a day until I was eighty-seven. I quit smoking because of the angina."

Here then, as far as I can surmise, are Bill Tapia's seven rules for a long and healthy musical life:

1)     Have the good fortune to be born with long-life genes.

2)     Be born into a time when everyone eats natural organic food and there are no unhealthy petroleum or corn derived products. Neither is there electromagnetic radiation from cell-towers, nuclear power stations, radio transmitters or X-rays. (There could still be the occasional World War or flu epidemic to survive but hopefully, with luck and some help from No. 1 you'll sail through all those.)

3)     Exercise daily.

4)     Don't do drugs and only drink alcohol in moderation.

5)     If you smoke heavily it's a good idea to quit, at least by the time you're in your late eighties.

6)     Play ukulele and sing.

7)     Just keep doing it.

© Ralph Shaw 2011   

New Book Coming VERY soon!: The Ukulele Entertainer - Powerful Pointers for Players and Performers

Essential Strums for the Ukulele. Learn ukulele in the following styles: Samba, Bossa Nova, Bo-diddley, Reggae, Blues, Swing, Syncopation, Frailing - clawhammer and Waltz. Available from: www.RalphShaw.ca  

UE #73 How to Lead an Awesome Singalong!

People's access to all kinds of music has increased enormously thanks to the internet and portable music players. Now, with ukuleles in the hands of many, it is possible to provide chords and rhythm in almost any situation. The potential for group singing is limitless and today I offer ten tips to help make it great.

To simply sing with others is a basic human need as essential to our social lives as eating and drinking. But, although they were once as natural as the afternoon nap, singalongs don't happen by themselves. They require a special person: someone to organize and motivate a group of wary screen gazers and transform them from being habitually passive observers into shining pillars of song. If you think you might be one such person here are some hints to help you get it right:

1) Attract willing people. Ideally folks should know ahead of time that they are going to be singing. That way they can bow out gracefully if they so wish. If your crowd contains too many arm-folded non-participants then you'll be fighting an uphill battle.

2) Be a leader. Being a leader means several things. Its up to you to put across the idea that singing in a group is a completely natural and acceptable thing to do. Be confident and enthusiastic. Be more outrageous and silly than you normally are. If others see you letting go perhaps they'll be more willing to unshackle their spirits and free their voices. A good leader is there to serve the group by keeping things fun and flowing. This means creating a plan but also having the flexibility to stray from the plan when inspiration takes the group in unexpected directions. Avoid being over-controlling and pushy.

3) A singalong is not a performance. In our world where everything musical is presented as something to be observed by others, the philosophy of unwatched group singing can seem a very foreign concept. The listeners are the same people making the music so there should be no fear of outside judgment. As a leader it is up to you to find every way you can to make the singers understand this. Whenever anyone comments that they will sing quietly because their voice is no good, firmly and kindly tell them that there are no bad voices. Nothing matters except to do your best and have fun doing it.

4) Get others to lead. Spot the stronger singers in the group and offer them the chance to lead one song or more. This is an especially good idea if you are a better organizer than you are a song leader.

5) Choose well known songs and stay close to the original. Your singalong will be a very quiet one if people don't know the words or the tunes. I recommend you pick songs that are known by at least a slim majority of your fellows (say 60%.) Popular songs have famous recorded versions that most people know. It can be helpful for cohesiveness to keep reasonably close to these arrangements. Fancy phrasing and stylizing make it harder for others to follow. This is not a fast rule however. It can be a lot of fun to play a song completely outside the genre in which it is usually heard. I recently led my group in a high speed rendition of Amazing Grace that clipped along at breakneck pace while still suiting the song.

6) Know your material. Practice the songs before venturing to lead them. Make sure you know the beginnings, endings and the starting note. You'll make mistakes as you go but keep remembering the mantra: do your best and have fun.

7) Kill the video and photo. The recording of sounds and images implies that someone will eventually observe and judge our efforts. This creates tension no matter how polite the camera person may be. No-one likes to have their image taken while eating so why allow video and photos while singing? You're in a group but it's still private time and just because someone owns an expensive piece of gadgetry made by slave labour in a far off part of the world doesn't automatically give them the right to use it. For the most part our wannabe paparazzi think they are far better at photography than they actually are. They believe that pressing a button is an art form. It isn't. Next time one of these bottom feeding lowlifes starts "taking" your picture without permission tell them you'd prefer that they set up an easel and paint your image instead. See what kind of an artist they truly are. Seriously though, let your group decide the culture they want. For example, they may choose to allow video and photos for one or two songs only but I strongly advise against unlimited recording.
 

8) Include variety. Most songs are repetitious and singing a song the same way twice can get boring. Find ways to vary the music: Get the crowd to sing sections by themselves. Change the strumming style and the volume level. Play with the phrasing a little. Do what you can to make the same words and chords seem interesting all over again. If you have several short songs that are fun but which don't bear repetition then make them into medleys.

9) Encourage without compliments and critiques. Offering words of encouragement like, "sing louder!" and "oh yeah, you got it now!" loosens up voices without inflating and deflating personal egos that individual remarks can do. Conversely, pay close attention to what the group is telling you. React to their comments and gestures. They may provide wonderful inspiration that you can draw on to make the experience spontaneous and exciting.

10) The singalong is made and enjoyed in the immediate moment. It is never the same way twice. It is timeless. Compared with such a reality, the production values of even a space age high-definition 3-D holographic camera are as empty and worthless as dry dust. It's a precious time. Be fully present and remember, because it can't be said too much: do your best and have fun!

© Ralph Shaw 2011   

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Want to learn ukulele? or improve your ukulele playing? My Complete Ukulele Course DVDs shows you how.  

DVDs for adults and kids: The Complete Ukulele Course DVD Series  

Essential Strums for the Ukulele. Learn ukulele in the following styles: Samba, Bossa Nova, Bo-diddley, Reggae, Blues, Swing, Syncopation, Frailing - clawhammer and Waltz. Available from: www.RalphShaw.ca  

 

UE #72 The Art of the Singalong

It was once a part of everyone's life that has all but disappeared. The good old-fashioned singalong...

The last great group of singers was the World War II generation. They kept the rickety pub pianos vibrating with song and laughter well into the 1980s. But since the pubs were renovated and those cranky pianos cast out along with the battered cigarette machines and charred lampshades we turn our heads only to discover that those old songsters are mostly gone. Some survive, but the ones that do are now into their nineties and unlikely to gather for a singsong at happy hour. As each one passes away so do more memories of that generation's great moments. It was an age when every event was marked with music.

Sure, there are still a few places where one can stand around the piano with like-minded veterans of song - perhaps to croon hits by the likes of Vera Lynn, Bing Crosby or Al Jolson - but they are rare now. One example is Vancouver's Billy Bishop Legion. Their regulars still drink pints and sing songs every Friday until midnight when they all link arms for the final medley. Their pianist, Bea Blackwell, has played an almost unbroken line of weekly singalongs and annual Remembrance Days for many decades.

One obstacle to the modern singalong is that even amongst those who can or would like to sing there is no common repertoire. Let's say we had an opportunity to get together and sing - what then? How would we choose the songs? I can imagine much vying over whether to sing Rock and Roll, Rhythm and Blues, Ragtime, Rockabilly, Reggae, Religious or Rap.

The demise of the family piano is also partly to blame for the decline in singalongs. Once it was the family's entertainment system but now the piano's place has been taken over by the large, black, rectangular void known as the big-screen TV.

Thoughts of all this came very strongly to me recently when I was booked to visit the family home of a prospective client. Her brother had mentioned me to her. She told me,

"My father is going to be ninety years old and he loves to sing and I can't think of a better birthday gift than a family singalong. I hear that you lead singalongs and even do house calls."

This was a misunderstanding and I could see how she had come to this conclusion. Yes, I have been known to entertain in people's homes and yes, I do lead a monthly ukulele get-together, essentially a singalong for strummers. However, a family singalong with people I'd never met was a new idea for me. But I liked the concept and went with it.

Right away I realized that with an age difference of eighty years between oldest and youngest, deciding what to sing would be the first puzzle to solve. My solution was to suggest to my client that she create a songbook especially for the occasion. I emailed to her a number of song suggestions from my own repertoire. Armed with these songs, plus additions of her own, she came up with a selection of ditties. Hopefully they'd cover the tastes of everyone at the party. The book she made was spiral bound and had a picture of her dad on the front. She sent a copy for me to work with.

Before too long I found myself, in the hour before dinner, standing on a fireplace rug leading a boisterous family singalong. It struck me what a rare privilege this was. The ukulele had taken the place of a piano but the unique feeling that comes from a group of voices singing happily together was still there. In unison we crooned, amongst others: Blue Moon, For Me and My Gal, With a Little Help from my Friends, Rubber Duckie and a song with particular meaning for me: Edelweiss.

As we sang of the alpine flower that greets us every morning and whose snow-white petals we urge to blossom and grow forever, I found myself thinking back to past singalongs in my life. Many of the participants are no longer around but I suddenly remembered them clearly. Along with an almost painful ache of nostalgia came a barely remembered sense of tender belonging; a nearly forgotten feeling of warm togetherness that I'm sure used to be more commonplace. My memory suddenly felt sharper and richer thanks to the words and melodies of the songsmiths whose strange powers have the ability to conjure up long neglected senses and recollections.

Every November 11 we are reminded of the phrase: "Lest we forget." As we remember the lost, the brave, and the good let us also spare a thought for the humble singalong whose very presence in our lives gives us something to live for.

Next week: Some hints on how to lead an awesome singalong!

© Ralph Shaw 2011   

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