January 2016 Fourth Thursday Meeting

We had some new members this time, thank you all so much for coming. We're really enjoying meeting at the Marble Falls Public Library, the facility is lovely and the staff has been so friendly and helpful. Thanks so much!

January 2016 Second Thursday Meeting

We have a couple of new members this month, Sally and Dakota. Sally is an experienced ukulele player whose playing and voice adds a lot to our mix and Dakota is a new uke player with guitar experience (and a fine voice).

Lisa, Sally, Virginia, Elizabeth, Don, Dakota

Aloha, Jake!

Tonight we went to see Jake Shimabakuro at Bass Concert Hall in Austin. Jake is considered the world's best ukulele player and for good reason. He's taken a simple instrument places it's never been before, from a vibrant rendition of Queen's Hungarian Rhapsody to a heartrendingly delicate version of Schubert's Ave Maria.

His performance was amazingly vibrant for a duo, he plays with his whole body and never allows the audience time to get fidgety. His bass player Nolan Verner has exquisite technique (four finger picking) and complements Jake's music perfectly. He plays a four-string but I suspect he may have a BEAD tuning, at least I think I was hearing some thumping low notes.

We stayed to have our ukuleles signed by Jake. He spent time with each person who wanted an autograph and/or picture and made everyone feel noticed and appreciated. He's pretty much my ideal as a performer and a person. He liked the motto on our business card; "Changing the world, four strings at a time."

Many thanks to our friend Daniel Adams for driving, his wife Carol Navarro Adams and our friend Katie Do for the wonderful company. It was a memorable and very special evening.

October 2015 Fourth Thursday Meeting

We have Ukulele Club twice a month and we decided to host in a new location one of those meetings. Some of our regular members live in Marble Falls and we think another location might get some more members. The Marble Falls Public Library has great facilities and an enthusiastic staff, we were made to feel right at home. Here's our first meeting in our new digs!

Don, Cheryl, Lisa, Virginia, Mike, Elizabeth, Luis, Daniel

October 2015 Second Thursday Meeting

What great good luck, our youngest members were able to attend this time. Abby and Micah came and had a great time strumming along. Daniel has obviously been practicing, because he sounds much better than he claims to, especially for a beginner! Thanks for coming out, y'all!

Here's some news. In order to meet a little closer to some of our members' homes and to try to build membership, we have booked the Community Room at the Marble Falls Public Library for the 4th Thursday of each month, beginning this month, same time.

Abby, Lisa, Micah, Daniel, Don

September 2015 Fourth Thursday Meeting

Tonight was our bi-monthly Highland Lakes Ukulele Club meeting and we had bunches of fun. Our experienced musician/new member Lee was able to make it this time. Don fixed Elizabeth's baritone uke that she played as a teenager, so that makes her an 'experienced beginner'. She jumped right in with enthusiasm and joy and she's got the fever like the rest of us!

Don, Virginia, Lisa, Lee, Elizabeth

September 2015 2nd Thursday Meeting

We enjoyed meeting our new members Daniel and Elizabeth, both beginners and thinking this is just about as much crazy fun as they had imagined (or perhaps they were just humoring me). We played our old faves from the current songbook and I've vowed to get some new songs in for the next meeting.

Don, Lisa, Elizabeth, Daniel, Luis, Cherie, Virginia

August 2015 2nd Thursday Meeting

Once again the computer and monitors are up and running so we can sit comfortably and read the song sheets. We had a couple of new members who got away before I could get a picture. Daniel got some advice from Don on choosing and buying a left-hand ukulele and Lee, an accomplished musician, came by to check us out and see what the club is like. Harriet stopped by and is seriously considering buying a uke, she gave all hers away to children.

We went over some of the regular songs and the Hawaiian/Island set list for the upcoming Luau at Gateway Villas in Marble Falls, should be lots of fun!

Don, Lisa, Luis, Harriet, Virginia

Restoring A Baritone Ukulele

Our member Cherie has an old Tara Baritone Ukulele. The top didn't have sufficient bracing inside to support the bridge, so the tension of the strings was warping the face of the instrument.

Don removed the bridge and fabricated a tailpiece to secure the strings. The original bridge was glued and screwed so removing it damaged the first layer of plywood which he repaired with sawdust and superglue. He made a floating bridge and replaced the original tuners.

I wanted to make it look a LOT better, so I asked my friend Sheri if I could use some of her acrylic paints and borrow her shop for the day. It's been 40 years since I painted anything so it was a bit nerve-wracking at first but as soon as I started it went pretty well. 

Once the paint was dry, I applied a couple of coats of polycrylic, Don restrung it and it's an attractive, playable instrument.

Young Folks

Our friend Lisa has two very musical children (no surprise) and they have been interested in ukuleles. There's nothing like having an instrument in the house and like-minded people to hang out with so Abby and her brother Micah now have ukuleles! We're so pleased that they're members of our Club!