Of all the ukulele workshops I’ve ever been to, this was by far the best, and let me tell you, I’ve uked a fair bit in my time. [Disclaimer: I haven’t, but I played trumpet until I was fifteen, and it’s all much of muchness, really.]
The workshop garnered a strong turnout of more than twenty people, from youngest to the oldest generations of players, from novices to seasoned pros. There was an atmosphere of ease to which I felt incredibly welcome, and I was encouraged to reignite the musical career that had stalled in my teenage years.
‘Is this the ukulele workshop?’ I ask upon arrival. It was. The presence of many ukuleles might have answered my question before I began, but I thought a ukulele was a type of goat. It’s not. I was not alone in my ignorance: others who had stumbled into the event by virtue of their taste for coffee were just as new to it as I was. This put my mind at rest. Ready to begin, I picked up my Puretone 3000 and began to uke.
Tricity promised that we would all reach the top of the mountain together – there were going to be no casualties along the perilous road of ukulele instruction. A couple of sore fingers, a coffee-burnt tongue and smiles were the only things inflicted upon us that day! We progressed rapidly, beginning with the easiest pieces, ‘Que Sera Sera’ and ‘You Are My Sunshine’, and eventually finding ourselves thrown into the deep end with such classics as ‘These Boots Are Made For Walking’ and ‘Wimoweh’. I wouldn’t say I’m about to jump up on stage any time soon, but I certainly developed a level of competence that makes me look back with scorn at the man I used to be.
All jokes aside, I went into this, quite honestly, with some scepticism. But despite myself, I had a smashing time. You don’t need your own ukulele, or any prior knowledge. Everyone starts from zero, and it is remarkable how easy it is to pick up. Tricity was charming, knowledgeable and gave us an insight into the wit that she will no doubt put into great effect in her solo shows. Do something new next Saturday: go to the Third Man and uke to your heart’s content.
