Description
Intermediate Alumnus | 11 Weeks* | 2 or 2.5 Hrs per week | £295
| *plus rehearsals on performance dates
These are our bi-annual terms gearing up to vocal and uke performances for if you have already completed Learn To Uke’s Intermediate course. If you haven’t, you’ll be welcome to join us when you have.
The rehearsals are learning new skills that are specific to the upcoming performances. We will focus on vocal harmonies and also ukulele parts so you can choose to play rhythm and/or fingerstyle (there will be options for both). You can choose to opt out of the singing and focus solely on the picking/musicianship if you prefer, but singing and playing is encouraged.
It’s a friendly, inclusive group. If you make friends and chat to people/stay in touch between rehearsals (there are 2 WhatsApp groups you can join), you’re likely to learn as much from the other members of the group anecdotally during the term as you do from Lorraine (for rhythm/strumming) and Lauren (for singing). There’s something for you, whether you’re feeling plucky and want to do some melody picking, or you want to stick to strumming. Whether you’ve sung for years or you’ve previously only sung in the shower, you’ll be fine. If singing in tune is an issue you want to address, we recommend additional private singing lessons to help you with pitching and working on your ear to larynx training. This (sadly) can’t be done in a group environment. You can find someone locally here. Before you book that, please check that the teacher has a piano and can help you with pitching/scales/breathing exercises as well as pitching your voice an octave lower than a female voice if you have a low male voice. These skills will prove really handy in the group and in your life.
If you book before 9th September, you’ll get to vote on the new songs we add. We will add 5-6 brand new (as voted by you) songs and also 5-6 from our back-catalogue. We may whittle these down to have only the ones you feel confident with for performances.
“Play to your strengths, grow beyond your limits.”
You will have all of the songs (with chords/tab/tutorial video/as appropriate) in a dropbox ahead of rehearsals, so you have a chance to play them beforehand. When you’ve learned to play them, we’ll rehearse in the group on Monday nights. You will need to listen to the songs (if you don’t know them) and play through the materials and practice at home prior to the rehearsal so that you are familiar with the pieces and have had a go at each part of the song. This will enable us to treat the group meetings as a rehearsal (though we’ll iron out any creases or ambiguities) rather than a lesson which could slow things down. We’ll sing and play 1-2 songs in parts as an ensemble by the end of each session.
Term Overview:
With a maximum of 28 people (although there are usually fewer), the purpose of the 11-week rehearsals on Mondays is to work towards a series of end of term concerts with a focus on ensemble playing and singing in parts. You will need to review the songs and materials and practice at home from up to 2-weeks prior to and in between the rehearsals. You will also need to commit to coming along to most of the Monday sessions, especially towards the end, when we’ll be gearing up for our performances. Please be aware that we may need additional time prior to the gigs, as we might have a confidence-boosting ‘top/tail’ rehearsal.
Times for rehearsals are all from 7-9 or 9:30pm. (Sometimes, Lorraine might want to help/see you can sing harmonies and play uke parts after Lauren has finished. Sessions with Lauren will be from 7-9pm and there might be 30-60 mins extra with Lorraine infrequently, if needed.)
The Monday rehearsals:
September 23, 30
October 7, 14, 21, 28
November 4, 11, 18, 25, 30*.
*On 30 November, we will meet at 11am and rehearse for a friends and family show that will happen at 15:00 that day. Please do ask friends and family to book this time in to come and see you, along with the other shows, below.
There are 2 confirmed performances, as follows;
November 30, 3pm, Upstairs Horse & Stables, SE1 – friends and family show
December 2, 7:30pm, Upstairs Horse & Stables, SE1 – friends and family show
There are also 4 unconfirmed performances;
December 5, 12pm, The Globe Theatre
December 9-19. There are 3 possible performance options at large winter festivals. The details aren’t confirmed yet, but it’d be great if you’re all game for these.
For all of the performances, please invite your friends and family along to see you.
If you prefer to see all of the dates in a google calendar, here you go
Some FAQs:
Why should I join?
You’ll meet new people and learn/perform brilliant arrangements of well-known songs. The vocals and the ukuleles will be split into parts, so, rather than strumming away at the same thing, you can learn a part, and you’ll be part of a happy, harmonious ensemble.
Is it only for expert players or singers?
In a word, no! It’s open and arranged specifically to flatter all levels of ability, so don’t feel like you need to be a virtuoso singer or player. The sum will sound brilliant because of all its parts. You all matter! It’s a very likeable and social group who will offer friendly advice and encouragement, especially if you are new to the group. Ask and you shall receive. We’re in the 6th/7th incarnation and most people seem to have decided to continue as it’s fun and great to see your progress.
How many people can be in it?
It’s limited to a maximum of 30 players and singers, but we need a minimum of 16 to make it viable to go ahead.
Will you be doing one every month?
No. It is a longer course with a focus on performance so there will be a maximum of 2 of these per year. One leading up to summer festival performances and another leading up to winter (festival?) performances (fingerless gloves may be needed).
How much time will I have to spend practicing?
It depends on how much time you have. Ideally, you’ll practice your vocals daily, if you record the warm-ups/your parts from the session, you can repeat these at home. Likewise, you’ll receive the songs ahead of time so we won’t be spending as much time in-depth learning how to play chords or spending time on chord changes during the sessions. It makes sense to have a look, and go through them before you come to the session so that you can ask questions about any chord tricks/rhythms you may need to.
Can I bring my own food/drink?
Not this term. There is a minimum spend for the rehearsal room, so please do buy food and drink at the venue to assist us to achieve this target to be allowed to continue to use the room.
Can I pay in installments?
Yes. Drop Lorraine an email to arrange this.
UPCOMING DATES:
Start Date | Time | Venue | Address | Post Code | Status |
Mon 23 Sep 2019 and for 11 rehearsals. |
7-9 or 9:30pm | Horse & Stables. | Near to London Bridge station | SE1 | [available] |
Put the performance dates in your diary please! | Above | Performances are listed above and need to be in your diary | There is a google calendar you can sync to, here |
This was the first full band/choir performance at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Concert for Winter, 2016:
For upcoming performance updates, please follow @ukechoir ‘like’ on fb and share this link if you want to get us a gig!
Charlotte –
I had an absolutely brilliant time on this course. I learnt so much from Lorraine and all of my other band mates too. It was great to learn new songs with proper vocal arrangements and have the challenge of public performances at the end to incentivise you to work harder. My family and friends are amazed by how much I have improved since the start of the course. Highly recommend.
Marcus –
Once again I find myself at the end of the alumni band course, and staring at the empty spaces in my diary until the next one comes along. The full 12 week course provides for a much broader learning experience as the group comes together and learns from each other, all ably guided at the helm by Lorraine and her highly capable team of experts. The final end of term concert not just a challenge to push your practice harder, but a fantastic experience and enjoyable in itself. I highly recommend the course to anyone who wants to take their playing to the next level; the extended format helps you gain confidence with the songs far beyond what is possible on the shorter courses.
ikita –
I have had so much fun and learned so much on this course. It will take your playing to another level. Songs chosen by band members are arranged with different parts for the the ukulele and vocals in much greater detail than is possible on a shorter course, all with a view to performing at the end of term. Lorraine is a great teacher and motivator, you will learn so much from her and from fellow band members as well as making friends and having a great time. I never thought I would perform live, but the confidence this course has given me has made me want to do it all again.
gcalvert –
A is for we ALL strum together, giving each other tips, tricks, and time. The real pleasure of this course is getting to play with other people, and making a great sound all together.
L is for LEARNING more strumming, rhythm, picking, singing. Every song was arranged in different parts so we could all choose what skill we wanted to focus on.
U is for the UKULELE, what else. Who knew this little instrument was so versatile, and that it could make such a big sound in a group.
M is for MUSIC. I never knew before I did this course that I could begin to understand how music is put together. It has given me the confidence to start thinking about how I might put my own songs together
N is for NUGGETS, those little bits of information that really transformed my playing, like play with a metronome, record a video of yourself, how to memorise a song line by line.
I is for INTERESTINGLY. This course is such great fun and is taught by Lorraine in a captivating, varied and interesting way, always looking for a different angle so that everyone makes progress.
This course is all about ALL LEARNING UKULELE MUSIC NUGGETS INTERESTINGLY. It is so much fun, gives you something to practice for, stretches what you know and challenges you to learn more.
stephen saleh –
Absolutely brilliant. Loved it so much and the gig at the end was one of the best things I’ve ever done. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to step up a level in their uke playing.
David Liddle –
Great fun – better than the initial lessons as everyone was that little bit more committed.
John –
Great value for money. The programme took me out of my comfort zone, made me practice to keep up and provided the resources in the form of videos and recordings, as well as face to face tuition, to help me get things right. The end of term performances were exhilarating.
Derek Adams –
Brilliant course, lots of hard work but also lots of fun and met very nice people on the course. Thoroughly recommended.
LAWRENCE T. –
Just completed the 12 week Alumni Band/Choir course, a truly wonderful and fun filled experience!
The weekly courses are well planned and structured, initially finding our voices and fitting it together with our playing, and of course each other! The song selection was nice and varied (we all had our favorites!), most having set voicing and harmonies as well as some challenging strumming and picking patterns to learn. After a few weeks of hard work and vocal training, it was amazing and satisfying to hear what we accomplished and to then perform in front of a large crowd (we performed at 4 festivals!) was incredibly rewarding. We were truly a choir! (check out our videos!)
It was great to continue learning with Lorraine, who is very passionate about the direction and progress of the group and invests a lot of time and effort into the course during the weekly rehearsals of course, but as well as ensuring we have suitable audio, video resources outside of them too.
Great to be able to meet so many like-minded and enthusiastic players during this course, I am already signed up for the Autumn/Winter course and look forward seeing the old faces again and hopefully a number of new ones too!
Very excited to see how the next course unravels, roll on September!