Happy *almost* New Year! I hope you all have been and still are enjoying the holiday season with friends, family, and fun. I am really looking forward to making music with you in 2025 and am here with info and invitations!
Weekly Classes
‘Ukulele! I’ll be teaching IN PERSON in SW Portland / Beaverton on Wednesday evenings and SE Portland on Thursday evenings, and ONLINE on Thursday mornings (Pacific time). All classes start January 15/16 and run 8 weeks:
- ‘Ukulele for Beginners. Covers all the basics you need to know for early success in your ‘ukulele playing: how to hold and strum your instrument, a strong repertoire of songs, and other essential skills and good habits. IN PERSON in Beaverton and in SE Portland.
- Beyond Beginner ‘Ukulele. For players with basic skills looking to take it to the next level: popular and accessible songs to build up a repertoire of chords, keys, strum patterns and maybe even a fingerpicking pattern or two! IN PERSON in Beaverton and in SE Portland; ONLINE Live on Zoom.
- ‘Ukulele Jam Songbook Study. A mixed-level ukulele class for players of various learning styles and experience. Using songs from our 2025 Jam Songbook, we’ll expand our repertoire of musical skills and techniques, including new chords, various strumming / fingerpicking patterns, and occasional riffs and fills to complement our playing. IN PERSON in Beaverton and in SE Portland; ONLINE Live on Zoom.
Songwriting! I’m super excited to launch an ONLINE songwriting cohort in January and greatly appreciate the patience of those who have been waiting for this!
- We’ll start with a weekly introductory class Intro to Songwriting: Basics & Beyond, which runs Live on Zoom on Saturday mornings, 10:00-11:30am Pacific time, January 18 – February 22. Learn more and register here.
- In March, we’ll start up mixed-level Songwriting Sessions on 1st & 3rd Saturday mornings, so keep an eye out for more info on that.
Monthly / Quarterly Jams
Our monthly jams in partnership with Artichoke Music and Portland Folk Music Society will continue! In addition, I’ll be hosting a Spring Zoom Jam in March (exact date TBA). Save the dates and/or donate ahead of time via the links below.
- Saturday, January 4 – 1:30pm Songbook Work Party / 2:00pm Jam at Artichoke Music in SE Portland. Join me a little early so we can put together our new 2025 Songbook! There’s a slightly different format and some new songs, so thanks in advance for bringing your many hands to make light work. 🙂
- *EDIT* No January Jam in Beaverton ~ Come join me at the Portland Old-Time Music Gathering this weekend!
Saturday, January 18 – 1:00pm Pre-Jam Workshop / 2:00pm Jam – at Southminster Presbyterian in Beaverton - Saturday, February 1 – 1:00pm Pre-Jam Workshop / 2:00pm Jam – at Artichoke Music
- Saturday, February 15 – 1:00pm Pre-Jam Workshop / 2:00pm Jam – at Southminster Presbyterian in Beaverton
- Saturday, March 1 – 1:00pm Pre-Jam Workshop / 2:00pm Jam – at Artichoke Music
- Saturday, March 8 – 1:00pm ONLINE JAM, Live on Zoom (Subscribe to the e-newsletter to receive the link!)
- Saturday, March 15 – 1:00pm Pre-Jam Workshop / 2:00pm Jam – at Southminster Presbyterian in Beaverton
Special Workshops
- Saturday, January 11, 10:00am-Noon, How to Change Your ‘Ukulele Strings. This workshop will demonstrate the process for you, then allow you time to practice putting a new set of strings on your own instrument, provided as part of your registration by the Artichoke Music store. Learn more and register here.
- Pre-Jam Workshops, 1st and 3rd Saturdays, 1:00-1:45pm. As you saw above in the Jams list, each jam is preceded by a short skills workshop. 1st Saturday workshops are an on-going study and practice of How to Lead a Song at a Jam, offering you the chance to practice with a small group of fellow jammers. 3rd Saturday workshops are a series of strum pattern studies affectionately called “Strumming Support Group”. Learn more about both workshop series here.
So much fun ahead!
Whew! We’re in for a ton of fun in the New Year, I hope you will join us. As always, you can stay most up to date by subscribing to my e-newsletter and/or reach out any time with questions and concerns. Both of these options are available here.