Rhythmic Uke Fingerpicking
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Amy is available for group classes and private lessons on ukulele. She has taught and performed at ukulele workshops throughout New England, including group classes at Cambridge Center for Adult Education and Ukulele Melee which she headlined in 2018. Recently, Amy taught at Spring Into Uke and The Sounding Board's Uke U. She founded Somerlele, a new ukulele festival in Somerville, MA, in 2019. Some of her workshops descriptions are listed here; Amy frequently develops new or custom uke workshops as well. Amy is based in the Boston area and teaches at her home in Somerville, MA, but will travel locally for private lessons and farther for special events; Skype lessons are also possible.
SAMPLE WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
Rhythmic Fingerpicking: This intro to fingerpicking class will help students get comfortable with playing, or plucking, one string at a time. We'll explore rhythmic fingerpicking patterns as an alternative to strumming, starting with arpeggios, and work our way up to more complex patterns. The class will culminate with a "pluck-along" appropriate for many levels.
Melodic Fingerpicking for Uke: This workshop presents a handful (no pun intended) of exercises for developing finger strength and agility. We'll cover how to read tablature and transfer that to the fretboard with some short, recognizable riffs. Then we'll look at a couple of melodies you can play now with an accompanist friend, or later on by incorporating chord melody techniques.
Ukulele blues jam: What is 12-bar blues and can you play blues on the ukulele? In this workshop, we'll analyze the basic blues form and some variations and learn how to make up our own blues in any key. We'll discuss the etiquette of the jam, and then participants will get an opportunity to strum along or even take a chorus or solo in a participatory blues jam.
Uke 101: Just starting out? Learn how to hold, strum, and tune your ukulele, basic chords, and a couple of strum patterns. We'll cover simple 2, 3, and 4 chord songs in 4/4 and 3/4 time. Discussion of how to change chords, play & sing at the same time, build finger strength, and avoid bad habits.
Stepping up to the open mic (and beyond)...: You've mastered playing alone in your living room and maybe even ventured out to some strum-alongs, but now you want to take your uke performance to the next level. This class will teach you some microphone techniques, ukulele modifications, and performance tips such as choosing songs, banter, what to do and what not to do on stage, etc. Participants will have the opportunity to introduce themselves and strum a few chords into microphone.
Songwriting on the Ukulele: How does writing songs on the uke differ from any other instrument? Do you need to be a virtuoso to begin composing intros or hooks for your original songs? This workshop explores how the deceptively simple ukulele can help unlock your songwriting potential. Award-winning songwriter Amy Kucharik will demonstrate a few music theory and instrumental skills (such as chord relationships, hammer-ons, moveable chords and ukulele picking patterns) and how they inspired some of her original music. As a group, we'll experiment with how any of these might trigger, cultivate, or enhance a new song seed. Students will come away from this workshop with a few new techniques under their fingers and ideas for incorporating those into songwriting projects.
Rhythmic Fingerpicking: This intro to fingerpicking class will help students get comfortable with playing, or plucking, one string at a time. We'll explore rhythmic fingerpicking patterns as an alternative to strumming, starting with arpeggios, and work our way up to more complex patterns. The class will culminate with a "pluck-along" appropriate for many levels.
Melodic Fingerpicking for Uke: This workshop presents a handful (no pun intended) of exercises for developing finger strength and agility. We'll cover how to read tablature and transfer that to the fretboard with some short, recognizable riffs. Then we'll look at a couple of melodies you can play now with an accompanist friend, or later on by incorporating chord melody techniques.
Ukulele blues jam: What is 12-bar blues and can you play blues on the ukulele? In this workshop, we'll analyze the basic blues form and some variations and learn how to make up our own blues in any key. We'll discuss the etiquette of the jam, and then participants will get an opportunity to strum along or even take a chorus or solo in a participatory blues jam.
Uke 101: Just starting out? Learn how to hold, strum, and tune your ukulele, basic chords, and a couple of strum patterns. We'll cover simple 2, 3, and 4 chord songs in 4/4 and 3/4 time. Discussion of how to change chords, play & sing at the same time, build finger strength, and avoid bad habits.
Stepping up to the open mic (and beyond)...: You've mastered playing alone in your living room and maybe even ventured out to some strum-alongs, but now you want to take your uke performance to the next level. This class will teach you some microphone techniques, ukulele modifications, and performance tips such as choosing songs, banter, what to do and what not to do on stage, etc. Participants will have the opportunity to introduce themselves and strum a few chords into microphone.
Songwriting on the Ukulele: How does writing songs on the uke differ from any other instrument? Do you need to be a virtuoso to begin composing intros or hooks for your original songs? This workshop explores how the deceptively simple ukulele can help unlock your songwriting potential. Award-winning songwriter Amy Kucharik will demonstrate a few music theory and instrumental skills (such as chord relationships, hammer-ons, moveable chords and ukulele picking patterns) and how they inspired some of her original music. As a group, we'll experiment with how any of these might trigger, cultivate, or enhance a new song seed. Students will come away from this workshop with a few new techniques under their fingers and ideas for incorporating those into songwriting projects.
