16th February Round Up

DU Business:

• Dee Ukes ‘Business cards’ were handed out. They are mainly to give my contact details to anyone who wishes to book us. They could also be given to anyone who is interested in playing the ukulele as there is a lot of useful information on our website. If you would like any more, please let me know.
• We had been asked to do a gig at Invercarron Resource Centre in Stonehaven, but due to the date requested being Easter weekend and following our discussion, I have declined the invitation. However, I have booked a provisional date for Saturday 24th September from 1.30 – 2.30pm. Please put this in your diary if you are interested in attending.
• There are still workshop places available at the Queens Hotel for Saturday 16th April, either from 10am – 12 noon or 2 – 4pm. If you know of anyone who would like to take advantage of this opportunity, then please let me know. The Friday workshops and the McGonagall Supper are fully subscribed.

We managed to cover the following songs in another fun lesson:

• Wartime Medley 1 is now Version 2.3. I have added a missing chord box for F#m and at the bottom of page 1, on the second last line, the chords now read “[G] Hark I hear the bugle [D] calling”. You can make the changes on your current sheet or print off version 2.3 if you wish. It’s sounding better every time we practise! 🙂
• Wartime Medley 2 version 1.1- This is sounding good. Remember to slow down at the end for the ‘big’ finish.
• Skye Boat Song – Great finger picking again at the intro and each of the choruses. For those who wish to further develop their finger picking on this one, I gave a brief explanation as to how this could be done:
  • Instead of using just the Thumb on the first beat, pluck the Thumb (string 4) and the Middle finger (string 2) together on the first beat. Alternate this with plucking the Thumb and Ring finger (string 1) together, again on the first beat of the next chord. You can either count 1,2,3,4,5,6 or 1& 2& 3&. Let me know if you would like me to go over this again.
• My Love Is Like A Red Red Rose version 1.1- No issues with this one, which was played and sung very nicely.
• Loch Lomond  version 1.1 – No issues with this one either. Well done.
• Scotland the Brave version 1.1 – We practised the key change a few times which proved to be a bit tricky. It is fine as long as we don’t go too fast! I will try a slightly different ending next time – after the last word Brave  E7    A    <A> We can then decide on our preference. 
• Dumbarton’s Drums is now Version 1.2 – I have made one tiny change to the words of the last line and we now sing When Jeannie kneels and kisses me.
• Red River Valley is now Version 1.1 –  I have made a tiny change with this one and have removed the [G] chord at the end, so the final chord is <D>. We probably played this one a little fast, bearing in mind the sad lyrics. Otherwise, it is quite straight forward.
• Scarborough Fair – We discussed the timing of this one and if you wish, have a listen to Simon and Garfunkel singing it and focus on how long the pause is at the end of each line.  We did really well considering it was our first attempt. it’s a beautiful song.

Thanks again to everyone for their hard work and enthusiasm. 🙂

Next week we will try:

• Top of The World
• Daydream Believer
• Love Letters In The Sand