Ukulele Sessions at The Cumberland and The Millstone | @thecumby | @MillstoneSthGos

Every 1st, 2nd and 3rd Thursday at The Cumberland Arms 6:00 – 8:00

• 1st Thursdays – Ukes4Fun with Dot and Misspent Uke
• 2nd Thursdays – Ukes4Fun New/Old Songs with Denis
• 3rd Thursdays – Ukes4Fun with Dot and Misspent Uke
• 4th & 5th Thursdays – NO SESSION

New/old songs for 2nd Thursday Sessions with Denis:

• Many thanks for bringing new songs and reviving some old songs that have lain dormant in the Songbooks for a long time!  We now have a stash of these to re-visit in Denis’s sessions on 2nd Thursdays.
• Please hold on bringing new songs/reviving old songs to Thursday sessions until we have got these ones under our belts.  For the next few Thursday sessions, we would like to rock steady with some familiar tunes plus the new/old ones you have already brought along to Denis’s sessions.

Reminders for everyone for all Thursday sessions, including me!

• Leading songs: If you are going to lead a song, make sure that you have practiced playing and singing it before you get to the session
• Song arrangements: The simpler the song arrangement, the more likely it is “work” as a “session song”. We have some very good players who are capable of adding all sorts of finesse and flourishes to a song. We love hearing these played but they work better as an occasional “solo spot”. If you are playing at this level then you can probably work out a simpler arrangement so that most people can play along with you. There are some good tips here:
  http://ukuleleinthedark.com/ud52-trimming-away-how-to-simplify-song-sheets/
• Play it again, Sam! Dot has a good ear for the sort of songs that are likely to become popular in sessions. If you get the nod from Dot that it is a “good song”, take the hint and give it a run at another session asap!
• Practice makes perfect: It might take a few sessions before everyone is familiar enough with a new song for it to settle in and “work”. This applies just as much to well-known songs (when everyone might have a different version playing in their heads) as to less well known songs (when perhaps only the the song leader “knows how it goes”).
• Give us a clue! You can use the email list to send links to YouTube videos, audio files on SoundCloud, etc. to help familiarise everyone with a new song that you are going to introduce (it helps even more if the recording is in the same key that you are going to use but that is not always possible)
• Song sheets: You can also use the email list to send song sheets to everyone – but please still bring at least 10 copies on paper when you are introducing a song for the first time.
  • If the song is already in our Song Books – and is in the same key – then everyone should have access to it already: https://ukes4fun.org.uk/songsheets/
  • See the the tips on that page about creating new song sheets
  • See this post for information about easy ways to create new song sheets online:
    https://ukes4fun.org.uk/2014/01/12/online-tools-to-make-song-sheets/

See this page for more information about Thursday Sessions

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Sundays about twice a month at The Millstone 2:00 – 4:00

• Please note: the Sunday Sessions are not suitable for “Beginners”.

See this page for more information about Sunday Uke Sessions @ The Millstone South Gosforth

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Calendar

For the latest information on dates, times and venues for Thursday and Sunday Sessions, please check the Calendar: https://ukes4fun.org.uk/calendar/

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“Shout-Up” Campaign at The Cumberland Arms

Update: 31 August 2018

Message from Dot

Hello Everyone,

The Cumberland has become part of a campaign called “Shout Up”. This was set up initially to protect women from harassment in bars throughout Newcastle.

You can find out about the campaign on the “Shout Up” website: https://www.shoutup.org

You can also see posters on the pub walls.

This is a “heads up” to anyone who attends our sessions.

We play in the Cumberland so we need to be aware of and sensitive to what they consider to be appropriate behaviour.  

Dot

What to do if there are any problems

Staff at the Cumberland Arms have been trained to deal with sexual harassment as part of this Campaign.

If you experience or witness sexual harassment, the purpose of this Campaign is to encourage you to alert Bar Staff so that they can deal with the problem promptly and effectively. You do not have to literally “shout” – the point is immediacy of action, not volume :-)

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