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Ken Middleton

Remember: a ukulele is forever
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Workshops for 2013


Here are the ukulele workshops I am offering for 2013

Please contact me by email if you would like me to teach any of these classes at your festival, club or event.


BLUEGRASS UKULELE

In this two-part workshop I will examine several the different ways of playing bluegrass music on a ukulele. This will include finger-style, strumming and flat-picking (without a pick).  Many of the main techniques used in bluegrass playing like hammer-ons, pull-offs, bends and slides will be carefully demonstrated and you will all using them in no time. We will also be looking at the similarities between the skills needed for performing bluegrass and Celtic music e.g. playing using campanella voicing. You will get the chance to develop new skills through playing actual pieces of music that I has specially arranged for this workshop. If time permits, there may be opportunity to perform a four-part piece together as a group. For this class will need to have an understanding of how to read either tab or conventional notation. Please bring along a ukulele (soprano, concert, or tenor) with standard gCEA re-entrant (high G) tuning. It will be challenging but a lot of fun.

Level 3-4 (Intermediate to Advanced)

PLEASE NOTE This class can also be taught as a one-session workshop.


FINGER PICKIN' A MELODY

Here a completely new workshop for 2012. I aim to cover how to bring out a melody whilst finger-picking the accompaniment. You will be learning new techniques and trying them out on a number of well-known, popular songs. In order to really benefit from this class, you will need to have some experience at basic finger-picking and some understanding of which chords are used in the common keys (C, F and G for instance) . Come with soprano, concert or tenor tuned to high G re-entrant tuning if possible.


Level 2-3 (Intermediate)



WHAT TO STRUM AND WHEN TO PICK


In this workshop we will be taking a simple 4 chord song and finding new, exciting ways to play it. We will discover how to inject variety and contrast into what we play. Hopefully, we will learn how to escape from the rut of playing strumming patterns.

Level 2-3 (Intermediate)

PLEASE NOTE This class can also be taught as a Beginners workshop.



CELTIC UKULELE


This two-part workshop begins by looking at the basic skills of good finger-picking.  You will then move on to cover timing, fingering and campanella voicing in considerable detail. In addition, you will learn techniques like hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, acciaccaturas and other ornaments. We will also briefly explore the characteristics of the different dance forms. The skills learned in part one of this workshop will be build on in part two and it would certainly be an advantage to take both sessions in order to benefit fully from what is on offer. In these sessions we will work on actual pieces that I has specially arranged for the purpose. You will need to understand how to read tab. Please bring along a ukulele (soprano, concert, or tenor) with standard G C E A re-entrant (high G) tuning.

Level 3-4 (Intermediate to Advanced)

PLEASE NOTE This class can also be taught as a one-session workshop.


COUNTING IN THREES

Most ukulele players want to be able to do the triplet strum, but everyone seems to teach it differently. That's because there are lots of different ways of doing triplets. In this class we will be exploring several different ways of doing three-note strumming effects. We will be finding out that the finger we use in our right hand has a major effect on the strum. We will also delve into the mysteries of syncopation. 

Level 1-2 (Beginner to Intermediate)


DECORATING WITH YOUR LEFT HAND

A lot of players believe that all the left hand has to do is hold down a chord and change to the next chord at the correct place. In this workshop we will look at how to add lots of interest to your playing just by adding a few extra techniques and effects with your left hand. Amongst other things we will look at hammer-ons, runs, accents, muting and ornaments to our basic chords. In other words, we will learn to decorate our music. New for 2012.

Level 1-2 (Beginner to Intermediate)


CLAW-HAMMER UKULELE

This aim of this workshop is to learn the techniques of playing in a claw-hammer style. It can be taught at several levels, from the absolute basics to the use of much more complex skills including slides, pull-offs, hammer-ons, chromatic runs and blues notes. We will be using a number of typical tunes that work well with this way of playing. At the more advanced levels we will be learning how to turn more or less any tune into an authentic-sounding claw-hammer piece. A high G, re-entrant instrument will work best with this class.

Level 1, 2 or 3 (Beginner or Intermediate)


GETTING OUT OF YOUR RUT

Have you ever wondered why you are playing a song just the same way everyone else is? Have you ever thought about playing a song a radically different way? Have you ever considered why you aren't making as much progress as you would like? If the answer to any of these questions is 'yes', then this may be the workshops for you. We will explore ways of making your music more interesting, exciting and different. It won't always be by making things more complicated either. We will look at unusual fingerpicking techniques, the value of silence and simplicity in music, how many fingers to use when strumming, how to get a better tone, when to turn down the volume and many more things. New for 2013.

Level 2-3 (Intermediate)