Ukulele Jam tips for those who are not too cool for school

Hey ukers, here’s your reminder that 7pm this coming Monday, March 18 (the Monday after St. Patrick’s Day) is a super fun UKE JAM at Wild Joe*s in Bozeman!

This will be a low-key, unstructured, wide-open jam. (no mics! no boss! just come!) Bring your own song ideas to play, or come play along. We will NOT be providing all the songs and chords on an overhead. (But we will have a whiteboard and some chord diagrams on hand, in case anyone needs a bit o’ help.)

It’s okay to bring songs on paper, or in your headbone, or whatever you like. We’ll just see how things go. It’s a jam, man.

ALERT: At the risk of sounding fussy, I’m going to write down some tips here for those who are new to jamming. If you’re too cool for school, don’t read this part or you will throw up!

What makes a GOOD JAM SONG? In a nutshell: Familiar, Repetitive, 4 chords or less* (*obviously that’s not a rule, just a fuzzy guideline). Usually the best jam songs are something that people are already familiar with, or that they can learn pretty quickly. Songs with a repeating chorus that people can sing along on are usually fun.

What’s a JAM BUSTER? A song that’s just way too complicated for people to pick up, or that nobody else knows and you really don’t know well enough yourself to lead. …Kinda tends to grind things to a halt.

What’s woodshedding? Woodshedding is practicing up a little ahead of time. (Like you might sneak out of the cabin and run off to the woodshed and practice where nobody can hear you, then really impress folks and they’re like, “Wha??? How’d you learn that up so dern good?”)

Where can you find some songs with uke charts? There’s no shame in playing something simple, and there’s no such thing as cheating. If you don’t know any songs by heart, don’t beat yourself up.
Here are a few sites with uke chords that you can print out and bring along, if needed.

• ALLIGATOR BOOGALOO     http://www.alligatorboogaloo.com/uke/tabs.html
• DOCTOR UKE     http://www.doctoruke.com/songs.html
• RICHARD G    http://www.scorpexuke.com/songlist.html
  Of course there are lots of other sources. These just happen to be a few that I’ve found pretty dependable.
• ULTIMATE GUITAR If you don’t need uke charts, ultimateguitar.com has one zillion songs with lyrics and chords…but try them out first, because they are user-submitted and sometimes they’re not quite right.

So, you know… blah blah blah… Happy Woodshedding!

FINALLY, and Srsly:
All “4 tips on jamming” poopiness aside, do anything you want! The most important thing is to get out there and have fun! So do that!

Monthly Ukulele Jam – Monday March 18

Folks keep asking us to keep organizing ukulele events, so starting this March, we’re going to try some unstructured, un-amplified sessions, beginning with a wide-open ukulele jam at 7pm on Monday, March 18. at Wild Joe*s coffeehouse in Bozeman.

This will NOT be the kind of thing where we have all the songs planned ahead of time. It’s up to the players to brings song ideas of their own to share with the group, and help folks play along. (Songs with repetitive choruses make good jam songs, because even if everybody doesn’t know the words, they can join on the chorus!) If you like, feel free to bring six or so photocopies of your song, or just tell us the chords and dive in. Whatever!

In the spirit of helping beginners, we will have a whiteboard on hand and chord diagrams, so come, strum and be awesome.

Ukulele Love and Tragedy Play-Along Booklets for Feb 13

Hi uke pals, we have 16 awesome Love and Tragedy songs in the mix for this year’s Valentine Ukulele Open Mic and Play-Along event at Wild Joes (Wed., Feb. 13, 6:30pm).

Here’s a PDF of the Love & Tragedy Ukulele Valentine Play-Along Songbook for those who want to woodshed a bit beforehand, or to print a large print version, or paper their bathroom, or whatever.

–>  Love and Tragedy Songbook

We’ll have about 30 handy heartache hymnals on hand, free, while they last, but you are welcome to print your own to be sure you’re set up.

Selections from our treasure trove of prizes of dubious origin and questionable value!

In addition to joining in the play-along fun, we do hope that lots of lovesick and/or lovelorn souls will come out to perform a song of their own choosing for the open mic portions of the occasion.

If you can play a lovey-dovey and/or tears of anguish song on the uke, why not share your brilliance and/or good intentions with a wildly supportive audience? We promise, LOVE for open mic performers will be in abundant supply! (Hint: Don’t pick one of the play-along songs as an open mic number.)

PLUS!  If love itself weren’t enough, there will be PRIZES of dubious origin and questionable value for the most heartbreaking performance and the most sugary sweet performance.

What? There’s MORE???? Indeed: Rumor has it that Bozeman’s own heartthrob Ryan Cassvaugh just might show up to emcee. Eeee! Ryan is the mostest! So grab your ukulele and your sweetie and and a cuppa joe, and we’ll see you on Wednesday, Feb 13!

Love and Tragedy — Ukulele Valentine Serenade at Wild Joes Feb 13

The Bozeman Ukulele Cabaret will host an all-ukulele night of Valentine-related songs from 6:30 to 8:30 pm on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at Wild Joe’s Coffeehouse in Bozeman.

 The theme for the evening is “Love and Tragedy,” so all ukulele players can feel welcome, whether their love life is a Tiptoe Through the Tulips or a Total Eclipse of the Heart.

Half of the evening will be open mic, so performers can serenade their sweetie or wallow in lovelorn sorrow, whichever the case may be.

Open mic sign-up will be posted at 6:30, or performers can sign up in advance online. (Comment your name and open mic song title on this page, and we’ll add you to the list.)

There will also be a play-along style Valentine ukulele serenade, with chord charts provided, so players of all abilities can dust off their ukes and strum along.

 The public is invited to stop in and listen, or to bring a ukulele and join the fun.

For updates, keep an eye on the Bozeman Ukulele Cabaret’s Facebook page.

Songs to Chill By fun sheets and upcoming February 13 Uke event

Hey uke pals, thanks for coming out to the January play-along at Wild Joe’s! Here is a delicious PDF [ ALL SONGS 1280x800 ] of the songs we played tonight with a few bonus tunes, in case you want to try them at home. (To give credit where due, I got some of these arrangements from our friends at Ukulele Boogaloo and Dr. Uke.)

Next up is our “Lovers and Martyrs” Ukulele Valentine Serenade on Wed. Feb. 13 at 7pm.

It will be half open mic, and half play-along, so it oughta be a great opportunity to make your sweetie swoon, or to drown your romantic sorrows with your own personal four-stringed romance counselor, however it happens to shake out.

We plan to have a nice PA set up in the front window of Wild Joe’s for those who would like to enter the ukulele limelight and perform a song, and all comers will be welcome to bring their ukes and play along on some all-play tunes.

See you Feb 13!

Songs to Chill by Ukulele Play-Along Jan 16 at Wild Joe’s

Ukulele players of all abilities are invited to join the Bozeman Ukulele Cabaret for an evening of chillaxing with cozy melodies and warm harmonies on Wednesday, January 16 from 7:00 – 8:30 at Wild Joe’s Coffeehouse in Bozeman.

Bring your ukulele and play along on a song list that will include easy and intermediate tunes from Simon and Garfunkel, Neil Young, James Taylor, and other favorites. (We plan to project chords on the big screen to make it easy for everybody to follow along!)

This isn’t a performance, just a chance to get out your ukulele and play it. No mics, no sweat — just fun! If you like, bring your own ideas for a familiar song or two that all can jam along on, or just show up and strum. All are welcome.

Feel free to comment on this blog with your suggestions, and find BozemanUkuleleCabaret on Facebook to stay in the know with upcoming events. See you Wednesday, Jan 16!

Halloween Themed Ukulele songs

We just did an extemporaneous Halloween themed play-along, and some folks asked for the chords, so here they are in PDF form.

Please pardon mistakes, and particularly my awful attempt at expressing tab for the solo on Don’t Fear the Reaper. (No warranty is expressed or implied, except that it’s probably both wrong and incomprehensible!)

Thanks Ukulele Chordfinder for the screen grabs I showed in Don’t Fear the Reaper, and thanks, GUGUG, for the inspiring arrangement.

Psycho Killer

Because the Night

Werewolves of London

Science Fiction Double Feature

Little Red Riding Hood

Don’t Fear the Reaper

Beatles and Stones Ukulele Night Slideshow

On September 28, the ukes came out for a night of Beatles and Rolling Stone covers at Wild Joe’s Coffee in downtown Bozeman. Emcee (pal/collaborator/arch-rival) Samuel Sveen warmed up the crowd with his inspiring original tune, “Let’s Have Fun.” Then, members of the Bozeman Ukulele Cabaret group opened the night with “Two of Us.”

A total of 15 performers churned out covers with vocal assistance and emphatic support from a packed house. A good share of the audience members came bearing ukuleles, which they put to good use on play-along songs like “Back in the USSR,” “A Little Help from My Friends,” “Honky Tonk Woman” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

After a huge night, the Bozeman Ukulele Cabaret street team plans to rest up for a few months before promoting another big event. (“Liking” the Bozeman Ukulele Cabaret on Facebook is a good way to stay in the loop about future developments.)

But never fear: Bozeman Ukulele Cabaret isn’t the only uke game in town. In fact, we have been nurturing a peaceful coexistence/collaborative pal/arch-rival relationship with Lamewavve Uke Group (who we readily admit are are younger, hipper, more energetic and better looking than the slackers behind the sluggish, unwieldy B.U.C. juggernaut), and those eager-beaver Lamewavvers are always cooking up new ways to get your uke out!

The Lamewavve Uke Group, hosted by Samuel Sveen, meets Wednesdays from 8-9pm in the Lamewavve co-op art/music/happening venue space located at the back alley exit of Wild Joe’s. Sam describes the uke group as “1/2 open mic, 1/2 learning, 1/2 book club,” which, when translated using the LWUG-to-BUC phrasebook, means it’s a low-key collaborative thing, open to input, energy and fun ideas. Find the Lamewavve facebook page for events and updates.

Okay! With no further ado, here are the pics from Beatles + Stones night! Huge thanks to everybody who came, helped out, supported the performers, and made it awesome!

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Woodshed Sheets for Uke Beatle+Stone Nite

We will have nifty play-along booklets on hand for folks who want to join the ukulele fun at Beatles and Stones Ukulele night this Friday, Sept. 28 from 7-9 pm at Wild Joe’s.

Here’s a PDF of the play-along songs, so you can practice a wee bit if you so desire. But don’t stress, man! It’s all good! It’s only a ukulele. Only four strings, what could go wrong? So you should come have fun, even if you don’t practice ahead of time.

To give credit where due, I found most of these arrangements at Ultimate Guitar.

Performer List + Dibs List for Sept 28 Beatles/Stones Ukulele night

Wow. People are excited about the All-Ukulele Beatles and Stones Covers night Friday, Sept 28 at Wild Joes.

If you want to perform a song or two at the Beatles/Stones Ukulele night, add a comment to this (or any) Ukulele Cabaret post with your name and the song you plan to perform, and I’ll get you on the list, while space lasts. You can play solo or duo or whatever you like (bearing in mind limited mic availability) but try to keep it Beatles + Stones + Ukulele.

Here is a list of slated performers and a running tally of “dibsed” songs. Check the dibs list to find out if you are planning to do the same song as somebody else.

The songs on the dibs list marked *group are planned as all-play songs: i.e. a core group plus anyone who wants to join in, so bring your uke! We’ll have lyric cheat sheets and chord charts on hand, and some of the songs are super EASY, so even beginners can give it a shot. All are welcome!

DIBS LIST

BEATLES SET 7:00-8:00

–”Two of Us” — Bozeman Ukulele Cabaret group

–”Hey Jude” –Deborah M. + Olivia L.

–”Rocky Racoon” — Shayna G. + Rachel H.

–”You Really Got a Hold on Me” –Samuel S.

–”Let it Be” –Olivia L.

–”Bungalow Bill” –Will S.

–”Across the Universe” –Will S.

–”All My Lovin’” –Martin R.

–”I’ve Just Seen a Face” — Joe S.

–”You Can’t Do That” –Crazy Carl

–”All I’ve Got to Do” –Marla  (maybe)

–”Norwegian Wood” *group – all play

–”Back in the USSR” *group – all play (maybe)

–”A Little Help from My Friends” *group – all play

STONES SET 8:10 -9:00

–”Paint it Black” –Shayna G. and Rachel H.

–”Under my Thumb” –Margot Z.

–”Ruby Tuesday” –Mark G.

–”Wild Horses” –Marla G. + Mark G.

–”The Last Time” –Mark G. et al.

–”Waiting on a Friend” –Joe S.

–”Factory Girl” –Mike W.

–”Dead Flowers” *group – all play

–”Honky Tonk Woman” *group – all play

–”Jumpin Jack Flash” *group – all play

–”You Can’t Always Get What You Want” *group – all play

PERFORMER LIST

–Mark Grenier

–Marla Goodman

–Samuel Sveen

–Deborah Mesko

–Olivia Langan

–Shayna Gibson

–Rachel Hergett

–Margot Zell

–Will Strand

–Martin Rollefson

–Joe Schwem

–Molly Taylor

–Mike Williams