Lang/Lit/Music - Ukulele - Ukes 4 Fun!
“Ukuleles are wonderful friendly little instruments and once you learn a couple of tunes on it, it will give straight back to you unlike any other instrument I know. Everyone should have one at home because they cheer you up.” So says one of Britain’s cheeriest and best-loved musicians, Joe Brown. And he should know. He has been playing the ukulele for years since the popularity of the instrument was revived after a concert in memory of George Harrison in 2002.
His love of the instrument is shared by the members of the Stanway U3A’s Ukes 4 Fun group which now meets every Friday morning at a new venue, Kingsland Church rooms, London Road, Lexden. There is a free dedicated car park, a lift up to the spacious room and drinks on site!
Group members have varied skills but many have progressed through the beginner stages of Ukulele playing and now focus on extending and developing their skills, techniques and knowledge as well as practising individual group arrangements for many different songs and genres. With the members supporting each other and happy to share their own experiences, learning, playing and singing is so much fun! We have now developed and produced Songbooks 1 & 2 as well as Folk Songs and Rock ‘n Roll collections. The Group was working on compiling Songbook 3 when Covid struck!
And all those new skills were put to good use from time to time when Ukes 4 Fun Group expanded their skills to perform at church fetes, local music festivals and residential homes – and we hope to again in the future! The group also welcomes those who play complementary instruments, including the mandolin, guitar, and banjo as well as percussion accompaniments.
A warm invitation is extended to anyone who thinks they would like to join the group, to come along one Friday morning to meet everyone and see/hear us in action. A basic knowledge of your instrument (soprano, concert, tenor) is required to enable you to get the most out of what the group has to offer. The group meets just before 10am and finishes around 12.00, when we can use Kingsland’s friendly, welcoming café. For further details, please make contact with the group leader via the Bluebird contact button at the side of the page.