Preview! “What Ukulele Players REALLY want to know” eBook by Barry Maz @bazmaz

What Ukulele Players REALLY want to know

A guide, written FOR beginners..

by

Barry Maz

Published by Barry Maz at Smashwords

Copyright 2011 Barry Maz

To new ukulele players everywhere….

Cover photo – Mainland Mahogany Concert Ukulele – photo copyright Barry Maz 2010

INTRODUCTION AND HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS BOOK

I’m Barry, and I’m a ukulele player. Well, actually, I am not just a player. In fact, I have found myself rather obsessed by the ukulele. You see, the little instrument can do that to you, it kind of gets under your skin. Before you know it, it has taken hold and you are stuck. It’s fun though!

I’m actually a guitar player by trade and have been playing for over twenty years, until a few years ago I was re-watching a documentary about a hero of mine, George Harrison. George liked the uke. In fact, that is an understatement, George LOVED the uke. In fact many of his friends are on record pointing out that he actually put the uke higher than the guitar in his affections. He would always travel with two ukuleles, so that if he was playing with friends, he could also pass one to somebody else to join in. I love that story. George had the ukulele bug bad, just like me. In fact, most people I meet who have started playing the ukulele have the same bug…

When I first bought a ukulele, totally contrary to all of my knowledge and good practice with guitars, I assumed the uke was a toy instrument, that it wasn’t very serious. I therefore spent as little money as I could get away with in the hope of having some fun. How wrong I was. You see it turns out that the world is flooded with cheap ukuleles that frankly, don’t play very well. Nor is the ukulele a toy or anything that shouldn’t be taken seriously. It’s an instrument and it needs the same thought and attention any other instrument receives. This frustrated me, but I carried on, and bought a slightly better ukulele.

continue reading next 20 pages of preview at  smashwords.com
  • Well worth checking out! Written from a UK-uke perspective for beginners. This preview gives a good insight into the content if you are not sure whether it is for you. Bargain price for the full book – Much less than the cost of a pint! If you like his website Baz, invites you to buy him a beer :-)

http://gotaukulele.blogspot.com/2011/01/ukulele-ebook-published.html



A ukulele Valentine’s present | @ukuleleporn

Oh drat! Only one left and they don’t ship to the UK ;-(

Top 10 Ukulele Lessons & Articles of 2010 at UkuleleTricks – some great Beginners Tips and Songsheets

Written on December 23rd, 2010 by UkuleleTricks
http://www.ukuleletricks.com/top-10-posts-of-2010/

Top 10 Posts of 2010

Ukulele Tricks is only a few months old, but I’ve been so blown away by the welcome we’ve received from you all and the ukulele community. I’ve started to make some friends with other ukulele bloggers like Brad from Live Ukulele, Woodshed from Ukulele Hunt, Tim from Ukeeku, and other folks from the Ukulele Underground forums. All these guys have GREAT ukulele websites and have been nice enough to share the word about some of the great resources here on Ukulele Tricks.

I thought it would be fun to look back on the year at some of the best posts here on Ukulele Tricks. Many of these posts became great because you all asked questions and made comments. This is what this blog is about… YOU. I want this to be a community of ukulele players that help each other out. So thank you for your contributions, emails, questions, and comments. It’s awesome!

With that being said, let’s take a look at some of the best articles on Ukulele Tricks for 2010!

Go to UkuleleTricks to see the Top 10 Ukulele Lessons & Articles of 2010

 

aNueNue Papa II Concert Ukulele Giveaway (via Ukeeku – A place to reflect on ukuleles and ukulele reviews)

Some unusual ukuleles reviewed – and ukes mean prizes!

aNueNue Papa II Concert Ukulele Giveaway So here we are again, I have a ukulele that I am lucky enough to give to one lucky person. What I have here is a aNuNue Papa II concert ukulele, with gig bag, and an Orca stand. I reviewed the ukulele a while back (LINK) and it took a bit for them to decide what I could do with it. How to Enter: Subscribe to ukeeku.com, Just put your e-mail address i … Read More

via Ukeeku – A place to reflect on ukuleles and ukulele reviews

CANCELLED – Sunday Jan 30th at The Biscuit Factory

Thursday sessions as normal:

  • Thurs 27th Jan – Cumberland Arms
  • Thurs 3rd Feb – Cumberland Arms

Next Sunday session:

  • Sun 6th Feb – The Biscuit Factory

 

Durham Beginners Ukulele Group – Facebook Page

DurhamUkuleleBeginnersGroup
Facebook Page Info:

A new ukulele class in Durham City kicking off in January 2011 led by an experienced uke teacher and community musician.

So why play the ukulele? Well, as more and more people are finding out, it’s fun, you can pick up new tunes quickly and it’s one of the easiest musical instruments to learn!

Absolute beginners welcome :)

To book your place email Ian at ukuleledurham AT gmail.com (replace AT with @)

Course starts Tuesday 11th January 2011

We meet every Tuesday from 7.30pm-9pm
at Antioch House, 66 Crossgate, Durham City, DH1 4PR

Fees:
10 week course- £48.00
Or 2 installments of £24 in week 1 and week 5.

You’ll need to bring a uke, but don’t worry as among the many delights of the ukulele is the fact that they are the cheapest musical instruments out there!

Check out www.marketmusic-durham.co.uk for a great range of good quality and affordable ukes!

Neat! Twitter bot UkeChord texts uke chord fingerings to your cell phone! @ukechord

Worth signing up for Twitter just for this.  Wonder if there is a clever Latin name for “Occasionally Forgets Ukulele Chords” ?
Best wishes,

Lizzie X

Thursday Dec 30th – Ukes4Fun at The Cumberland Arms 6:00 to 8:00 as usual

Lovely session last week! I've written to The Cumberland to thank them for the mince pies and mulled wine and they have confirmed that we are OK for Thursday as usual this week. Hope you can make it and, if you can't, all the best for the New Year :-)

Lizzie X

Win a “uke leash” – Free competition from gotaukulele blog

FREE COMPETITION to win a Uke Leash – ends next week!! get your entry in! http://bit.ly/e4JQ3i (RT @bazmaz) 

CANCELLED: Ukes4Fun Nov 18th; Next session is Thurs Nov 25th – with Birthday Cake courtesy of the Cumberland Arms

The bad news: The Cumberland Arms is very sorry but we cannot have the “music room” next week on Nov 18th ;-(

We could not think of an alternative venue tonight but if anyone has any ideas please let me know a.s.a.p. (The Biscuit Factory closes earlier now so that is not an option).

The good news: to celebrate Ukes4Fun’s 1st birthday, the Cumberland Arms is going to bake us a cake for the session on Nov 25th :-)

Lizzie xxx