Auckland Uke and Singing: INTERMEDIATE class SUNDAY at 11AM

Hi and welcome the Auckland Uke and Singing intermediate lessons!

Please note:
There are various levels of classes offered within this Meetup group.
This Sunday's class at 11am is intended for those of you who are already familiar with basic major and minor chord shapes, have learned some strumming patterns including the "island strum" (also known as calypso) and the "chuck" strum, can play simple songs on the ukulele and feel keen on advancing a bit faster than in a group for beginners, but not quite ready to join the "4 Strings Sing" performing ensemble group that some may wish to join later - you can find out more about that here: https://4142298.xyz/4-strings-sing-auckland-based-ukulele-performing-ensemble/

I'm looking forward to meeting each of you and sharing music together. This one-hour lesson will take place most weeks (usually Sundays) until mid-June. Please feel free to write me some suggestions if there are specific songs you dream of learning :) I have put together a 2023/2024/2025 Student Survey for this purpose so please feel free to fill this out to let me know more about your musical interests and aspirations. Thanks!

STUDENT SURVEY LINK
https://us21.list-manage.com/survey?u=7b8f0ec6845e7d0c5e9d4da2b&id=67174b8412&attribution=false

ACCESS: GROUP CLASSES LOCATION

Though my 2-year Ockham Collective artist residency officially came to an end in 2021, I was invited last year to return to the O.C. spaces as an alumni to host my uke classes in their venues. A big thank you to the O.C. for having me back! I'm very grateful.. The Auckland Beginner Ukulele & Singing group sessions will therefore be held in a lovely big ground-floor space called Ockham Collective at The Nix, on Nixon Street in Grey Lynn. Entry is through #6 Nixon Street.

BOOKING & PRICING:
Payment of $25/person/class can be made in cash on the day or directly to the account below.

Sonia's account:
ANZ Freedom account
Name: Ms S Wilson
Number: 01-0205-0083380-00

Bulk purchase discounts are available as follows:
$120 for 5 sessions ($5 discount)
or
$200 for ten sessions ($50 discount).
Sessions bought in bulk do not need to be consecutive, but please keep track of your own attendance diligently as it would be complicated for me to do so instead. Thanks!

Booking is required via the events on this page. There are 20 spaces max in each class available on a first-come-first-serve basis.

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• What we'll do

We will be exploring the basics of music theory around this instrument (no rocket science, just enough to get you comfortable with starting to play by ear and how to decipher tabs or easy music scores) and the voice, as well as learning a vocabulary of chord shapes, strumming patterns and a variety of songs in different genres. We will occasionally venture into the realm of playful group improvisations.

One of the main challenges of playing ukulele and singing is the art of putting those two together, so we will spend time getting to know the phrasing of various songs and developing your ability to synchronise your singing and playing so you can build up the skill and confidence to eventually perform in front of an audience, if you ever wish to do so.

As I am experienced in choir singing, we will also look at some harmony singing on some of the songs.

• What to bring
A ukulele! Many of my students also find it helpful to have a strap on their ukulele.

Please tune your ukulele before the start of the lesson using an electric clip-on ukulele tuner, a tuner app on your smartphone or your ear (for those feeling very confident). A well-tuned ukulele will tend to make you want to play more frequently...

It will be much easier to play the notes / chord shapes on uke if the nails on your left hand are not too long.

• Important to know
Please don't shy away from this learning experience by fear of not being good enough. We are all on a learning journey, myself included. Everyone is musical in my opinion. It's just a matter of exposure, experience and practice. I intend for these group lessons to be educational in a fun and relaxed kind of way. My intention is to create a "safe zone" for musical play and learning in good company.

Thanks for being part of this group and I hope to see you soon!

xoxo Sonia