Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs

Instrument FAQs

What is a ukulele then?

It’s a Hawaiian instrument. It looks like a small guitar but it has 4 strings. Ukuleles are VERY easy to play – they won a Guinness World Record for being the easiest to learn. They can be used as an introductory instrument, to prepare you for larger fretted stringed instruments, but they are very addictive, so you’ll probably stick with it.

Why should we play the ukulele?

It’s easy to learn which makes it fun, it’s portable and because you can get lots of people in a room to play, it’s a social instrument because it’s so small it’s not intimidating and it’s a great leveller.

Why is it so popular at the moment?

People have cottoned on to the fact that it’s easy, fun, social and portable.  We do wish they’d stop using them in so many adverts, though!

Team Event FAQs

Who can do it?

Pretty much everyone can join in. Absolutely no prior musical experience is necessary. It is, by design, the musical equivalent of ‘paint by numbers’ and everybody is welcome. We bring everything you’ll need to add musical fun to any event. Whether you have 15 or 100 people, we’ll have you all singing and/or playing a popular song or three. It’s a great leveller as you’ll all start from scratch.

How does it work?

We come along with 15-100 ukuleles, and have you and your colleagues play a song within an hour for the ‘power hour’ or you can have a 2-hour session (90-minutes, including a break) and learn around 2-5 songs.

What happens at a ukulele team event?

That is down to you. Let us know how much time you have (from 1-hour minimum right up to a full day), whether you want a one-off or a regular class, what kind of activity you want, depending whether you are looking for an ice-breaker, team building session or an ongoing workplace wellness initiative. Whether you want to learn 1-song, 2-5 songs, incorporate musical games, have a battle of the bands, music video songwriting, themed/tailored songs – these are all things we have done and we can happily tailor to your event if you let us know what you need.

Where can I hold my team event?

We can come to your workplace, a pub or event space or anywhere you like, really! An ideal environment for the session would be a clean, dry, well-lit, comfortable, private room. Prior to the session, please allow 60 minutes access to set up before the workshop and 30 minutes to pack down after the end.

Do we need any equipment to run the session?

Yes, we’ll need;
A projector and a screen. Plus (For groups of 30 or more) a mic & stand with an amp and PA system.
A music stand or table with two bottles of drinking water for the tutor.
An armless chair for each attendee. Ideally, these will be arranged in a ‘horseshoe’ around the projector screen.

When can I hold my team event?

Ukulele is good for morning, lunchtime, after work, as an ice breaker to break up a day or as a warm-up before your company party.

Some suggested options to fill specific time slots:
* 1-hour, perhaps a lunch hour to simply get you all playing 1 song
* 2-hours (90-minutes with a break in the middle) to play 2-5 songs
* half or full day, have inter-team X-factor style competition, play fun musical games to make you work as a team, or give a live performance to others, write a song.

How much does it cost:

It starts at £570 for a team of 15 for either an hour or two within central London. As a rule of thumb, allow roughly £38 per person for anything up to 50 people. The price per head decreases if you are either; a small registered charity, you have a very large team, or if you want us to source your own ukuleles to keep and/or music video (see below).

Extras:

Travel Outside of London Zone 1:

If you want us to travel further afield, we’re happy to but this will take longer/impact on our ability to teach other groups. We may need to add a buffer cost to cover this.

Music Video Filming and Editing:

If you want a memento of the day, we can either do some amateur filming, or we can get you to make a music video for other people within or out of your company. Let us know and we can bring someone in to film and edit it for you.

Ukuleles For Your Team To Keep:

If you want to buy ukuleles to give to your staff to keep, we can source and tune them up for you in advance of the workshop, then everyone can take them away and play again, perhaps for a workplace wellness initiative. Otherwise, you can hire ours and buy your own so your team can tune up their own. (It’ll take around a week to get the strings to settle down.)

*We do travel further, upon request.