John Russell-Curry: A couple of fun ways to celebrate a fun instrument
Saturday, two celebrations of the humble ukulele (pronounced oo-ku-lay-le), will take place in Northern California. One is the Uke-A-Thon at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts. This is part of the 100th Anniversary of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. The second will take place in downtown Merced.
The third Saturday of each month, a group of ukulele players meet on the third floor of Merced’s Multicultural Arts Center at 10:30 a.m. to support one another’s muscial efforts. There is a proposed list of songs to play provided online. Participants can play these simple songs with a group, which makes the sound much more rich.
The ukulele has gained popularity worldwide with groups of enthusiasts in most communities.
The gathering is designed especially to promote the use of the ukulele with familiar and easy tunes. There are volunteer leaders who instruct players with introductions to the melodies, chord use and strumming. Success is guaranteed. It’s been said that someone who brings a musical instrument to a party is expected to be good. Someone who brings a ukulele is expected to be fun. The monthly gatherings are just that, fun. They are also free to all with an instrument. Visit mercedukes@gmail.com.
John Russell-Curry, Merced
This story was originally published February 17, 2015 at 11:58 AM with the headline "John Russell-Curry: A couple of fun ways to celebrate a fun instrument."