June 25 ,2020, – What a great day! a few of us got together in the park to sing and play. Noriko, Len, Sid and myself had so much fun. We all played and sang exceptionally well. A Northern Cardinal sang and accompanied Sid as he played. Len brought his guitar because it is easier to manage (Trigger Finger). What a great voice. As usual, Noriko and Sid were simply wonderful. We maintained social distancing. Several people stopped to listen to us and Eliezer supplied ice tea for the group. Check out the photo in the gallery under “Happy Times”. Let’s do it again soon!
March 23, 2020 – Though people are self-isolating, the Corona Virus has not stopped the After Dinner Ukulele Society from attending meetings – online that is. This evening we had our first online meeting and it was a blast. Members performed from the comfort of their own homes and what amazing performances they were. Our beloved president Mrs. Zarnicky did a great job hosting the event. It was truly a pleasure seeing Guy again. This talented entertainer and humanitarian composed and performed two songs on the spot, which generated much participation and laughter. His pet pig also sang along with us from time to time. Harold attended our virtual meeting and regaled us with several tunes on a small travel guitar. We’re waiting for him to buy a ukulele. Sophia was unable to activate her video but we were fortunate to be able to listen to her beautiful playing. Arianna played several songs and even received some online strumming instruction. Sid played several songs on his baritone ukulele. His songs were moving. Even Mrs. Zarnicky shed a tear. Jack played several songs while wearing a wig. He brought his wife to the meeting and she at one point even sat on his lap. Noriko had a bit of trouble connecting to the computer at first but succeeded after a few minutes. Are we ever glad that she did! As usual Noriko played beautifully on her soprano uke. Eliezer played a few songs as well. Many of our attendees wore special hats. This was funny and totally unexpected. The meeting was a great success and for a while these difficult times were forgotten. Everyone is looking forward to our next online meeting. Won’t you join us next time? When? We’ll keep you posted.
September 9, 2019 – What a fun meeting! We began with several warm-up songs such as “The Unicorn” and “A Hard Day’s Night”. This was followed by a bit of musical theory and instruction on how to approach the single notes in “Do, Re, Me” from “The Sound of Music”. Harold joined us for the very first time and are we ever glad that he did. This seasoned musician is a guitarist. I suggested that it would be easier for him to transition to a baritone ukulele because of the tuning. Len, our resident baritone uke player even gave him expert instruction and pointers. No problem for Harold. Len then told him to imagine that the low E and the A strings of his guitar were removed and that a capo was placed on the 5thfret. – Voila, standard ukulele tuning. Harold loved it. He then proceeded to play a blues number. Wow! Here are some of the many songs played during the evening. Len played “If” on his baritone ukulele. What a beautiful song. What a beautiful voice. Claudio played “On the Road Again” and “La Paloma”- a very difficult solo piece. Claudio is a wonderful musician who loves to work on challenging songs. It is a pleasure listening to him play. Jack asked me to choose a song for him to play during “Open Mike”. I chose “He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands”. He played it well but requested that I choose something a bit more challenging for the next time. Way to go Jack! Freda gave us her rendition of “Tumbalaliaka”, a beautiful Yiddish song and “The Green, Green grass of Home”. Freda is amazing. By the way, she also has her eye on a tenor uke with a low G tuning. Sunshine and Sid both sang and played along during the group songs. Sid was a bit shy to perform during the “Open Mike” part of the evening. Come-on Sid. No pressure. We’re all friends here. Sunshine performed “Donna, Donna” her old standby. Eliezer played “A Whole New World” and Lightfoot’s “The Mountain and Maryann”. The evening was a blast and everyone left looking forward to our next meeting.
May 6, 2019 – We have had many wonderful sessions since our last meeting report but I have been lazy… I mean busy practicing and have not had the time to write about them – lol. This evening’s meeting was fun, incredibly inspiring, and just plain amazing. Eliot joined us for the first time tonight and are we ever glad that he did! This amazing musician began playing the ukulele about a week ago but has been playing the guitar for a long time. His transition to the ukulele is simply astonishing. This is one serious musician. Len our resident baritone player gave him some private instruction on the benefits of playing the baritone uke. Eliot however, decided to stick with the tenor. After a plethora of warm-up songs, the group moved on to the “Open Mike” part of the evening. Noriko began by playing “Feeling Groovy”. She insisted on the group singing the chorus with her. Jack almost began dancing when she played “Summer Samba”. Noriko is extremely talented. (Kanojo wa mata totemo kawaīdesu.) 彼女はまたとてもかわいいです。 Lynn performed “Yellow Submarine” and “Till We Meet Again”. She sang along with our many other performers and what a beautiful voice she has. Watch out Freda! Eliot was the next to play. He wowed us with his solo uke rendition of “Yellow Bird” and the theme from “Chariots of Fire” Wow! Jack played “The Lava Song” and “Octopus’s Garden”. Jack is relatively new to the ukulele and his fluidity in chord changing is amazing. We try not to tell him how good he is because we don’t want him to get a swellhead. Jack is getting a new ukulele for father’s day. We can all hardly wait. By the way, I’m a father too. Hint. Hint. The beautiful photo taken by jack can be seen in the “Once Upon a Monday” section of our photo gallery. It’s the first photo there. Click on it and then click on the ‘I’ icon below. Thanks Jack. This evening his beautiful cowboy shirt was ironed when I accidently sat on it. Sorry Jack. Our next performer was Len. He played “Song Sung Blue” and “Sweet Carolina”. His playing makes me very happy. Adapting our songs to the baritone ukulele is very challenging but he is doing a great job. The finger stretching involved is very difficult but it is improving his tennis technique. The beautiful Freda played “Molly Malone”. She insisted that we join by singing along for the chorus. Freda also played “Hymn D’Amour”. If you want to learn fancy fingerpicking, Freda is the one to ask. Arianna is another skilled musician. She introduced us to an Australian ukulele group and gave us a wonderful rendition of “In the Middle” Well done Arianna! I played “G_d Bless the Child” and a comedic song called “Ghost Chickens In the Sky”. We all ended the evening by playing “Happy Trails”. The After Dinner Ukulele Society is where it’s at. Won’t you join us for the next meeting?
December 3, 2018 – Hooray! Maureen and Guy returned after a long absence. It was great seeing them again. Our meeting was really special. In addition to the happy reunion, Christmas songs, Chanukah songs and many other popular favourites were played. We sang in French, English, Hebrew and Japanese. Lynn visited our club for the first time. This amazing lady was taught two chords early in the evening and was able to play a medley of songs for the entire group. Not bad for her first time with a ukulele. By the way, she also has a beautiful voice. We hope to see her at the club often. Everyone in attendance performed solos and had huge smiles on their faces. The After Dinner Ukulele Society has that affect on people. You should consider joining us but only if you want to have an amazing fun-filled evening.
October 29, 2018 – This evening we had a very special visitor. Angie came to Montreal all the way from Australia. She told me that she never travels without her 4-stringed friend and wanted to know if it was ok to attend our meeting. Visitors are of course always welcome at ADUS. Her amazing talent and creativity delighted everyone. She played a wonderful arrangement of Leonard Cohen’s “Dance Me to the End Of Love” but my favourite was an original song about a platypus, which I hope she’ll share with us. Freda took some of the lady’s into another room where they worked on “Till There Was You”. The harmonies sounded amazing. Later in the evening, Freda played “Something Stupid”. Sunshine played “Dona, Dona”. She requested several songs and was found singing away to all of them. Claudio played “A Pub With No Beer” and several other Latin numbers. Len dazzled the group by playing “Home From The Forrest” on his baritone uke. Noriko played a lovely Hawaiian song called ‘Hanalei Moon’ and I played “Imagine” and “Alexander Beatle”. What a great evening it was.!
August 6, 2018 – Montreal had a tornado warning this evening. I don’t remember that ever happening before. Only a few people braved the weather to attend but the meeting turned out to be excellent and extremely entertaining. We were joined by Rich and Lisa, two visitors from Nevada. Talk about talent! Lisa wowed us with her brilliant ukulele technique. She performed on a very unusual ukulele made out of linen. The group was small in number and the ambiance was both intimate and cozy. Rich played on one of our loners, a Kala spruce topped tenor travel ukulele. We played all kinds of songs, from many different genres. The jazz numbers were especially well received. Towards the end of the evening, Lisa gave us a mini lecture about movable barre chords. New friendships were made this evening and both hugs and emails were exchanged. ADUS, what a great place to be. Won’t you consider joining us?
June 18, 2018 – What a wonderful meeting we had tonight! Noriko joined us for the first time. She is a seasoned player and the group had a great time listening to her play. We also met Dave who visited us from Victoria. David has a wonderfully rich basso voice and his skill on the ukulele is incredible. We played several Canadian songs together including “Something To Sing About” and “O Canada” our national anthem. Freda’s harmonies were marvellous. Len brought a projector and the group was able to see the music on the wall. This evening the solos were special. Noriko played “By the Beautiful Sea” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbour”. David played “My Blue Heaven” and “1, 2 Button My Shoe”. His cording for both numbers were amazing. Freda played “I Am What I Am” and “Quand le Soleil Dit Bonjour Aux Montagnes”. Eliezer played “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” and Gordon Lightfoot’s “The Pony Man”. Len played “Song For a Winter’s Night” also written by Lightfoot. The highlight of the evening however, occurred when Len performed “Do It Now” a song he had written earlier in the day. That man is talented and he plays tennis too. See you all next time.
June 4, 2018 – We had another amazing evening at the After Dinner Ukulele Society tonight. The group worked on the 1stpart of Vance Joy’s “Riptide” and it’s sounding really good. Our homework is to check out the video in the ADUS Additional Video page, to see how to approach the song. We will work on the 2ndhalf of the song during our next meeting. Here is a short listing of some of the songs we played as a group: “Puff the Magic Dragon”, “Go Go Round”, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” and “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”. The solos and duets during “Open Mike” were especially entertaining. We hope to see you next time.
May 28, 2018 – This evening we were joined by two new visitors. ADUS is always welcoming and as usual, our new guests each received personal instruction on one of our spare ukuleles. In addition to the group and the “Open Mike” songs, those in attendance critiqued our much-appreciated Sunday afternoon concert at the Catherine Booth Hospital. The weather was beautiful and before the meeting began, some of us played our ukuleles in the park outside. Passer-by’s stopped to listen and to learn about our wonderful club. People in other countries often think that Montreal weather is very cold. That’s not true though. Last summer it was so hot that I remember seeing two trees fighting over a dog. Until next time, happy strumming.
May 7, 2018 – It was another fun-filled evening at the After Dinner Ukulele Society. Our members seem to be improving in their technique and musicality each time we meet. Carol and Inés are really coming along nicely now. Well-done ladies! Thea visited us for the first time. She is a quick study and was able to learn 4 chords on one of our spare ukuleles. Self-praise is no recommendation but I sure am a great teacher. Thea even performed a solo during the “Open Mike” part of the evening. The lady is a professional violinist. It was nice to listen to her play the ukulele, a real instrument. – lol. Her tastes in music are quite extensive and she sang along with the group for many of our songs. Len and I performed at The Elder Care Hospital last week. We were well received. We played and engaged the patients for over two hours. What fun! He is a big Gordon Lightfoot fan and we enjoyed his rendition of “Home From the Forrest” on the baritone ukulele. Freda’s new strings are settling in. That girl is getting too good. However, during one of her songs, she screamed the word “love” so loudly that I almost fell out of my chair. I can hardly wait for our next meeting. Won’t you join us?
April 16, 2018 – Hello again! It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted a meeting report. The evening began by changing the strings on Freda’s soprano ukulele. After about 3 years it was time for the change. The After Dinner Ukulele Society gave her a set of Aquila strings which I’m sure will settle in soon. Freda practices every day. The group warmed-up by playing “Octopus’s Garden” and “Yellow Submarine”. This was followed by the instructional part of the evening. We worked on “Ebb Tide” and learned how to approach a song in terms of strumming and finger-picking patterns. Ines received personal instruction in Spanish no less. Her playing is improving greatly and her harmonies while singing are just beautiful. Our Open Mike theme for tonight was love songs. Ines began by playing “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “Hatikva”. Claudio played “Rags To Riches” and Mancini’s “Nothing to Lose”. Freda played “Unchained Melody”, “Working Man” and “I am What I Am” from La Cage aux Folles. Here is a list of some of the other songs played during the “Open Mike” part of the evening: “Song For a Winter’s Night”, “Once Upon a Time”, “This Guy’s In Love With You” and “Yellow Bird”, the song for our next meeting. Tonight’s meeting was fun, interesting, entertaining, informative and was enjoyed by all. Until next time happy strumming.
January 22, 2018 –Despite the freezing rain, people attended this evening’s fun filled meeting. The group really enjoyed choosing, playing and singing group songs together. We sounded good too. Harmonies are fun but hey guys, someone has to sing the melody as well. Yea! George has returned after a long absence. He has been busy with school and family. He is currently in his last semester at CEGEP and then it’s off to university. We wish him much success. Here are some of the highlights of the evening: Claudio played Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows” and Tie A Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Old Oak Tree”. He sounded wonderful on his banjolele. Dave gave us a small presentation about movable chords and different fingerings. He then played “Sweetheart of Sigma Chai” and “Sloop John B”. Everyone joined him in song during the choruses. George played “Hallelujah” and then demonstrated some fancy finger picking technique while performing Elton John’s “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”. Both songs were transporting. Yep! We sure are glad that he’s back. He sings and plays beautifully. Freda treated us to a performance of “Unchained Melody”, “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” and “For the Good Times”. This last song is perfect for the soprano ukulele. That girl is getting good. I sang “Adon Olam” and “New York State of Mind”. My modesty prevents me from telling you how great I really was. – lol! A special thank you to goes out to Freda for being our recording secretary. Now if she could only learn how to pronounce her first name…
December 18, 2017 – The weather outside outside was frightful but our meeting was quite delightful. Yea! Guy returned after a long absence. He has been working on his new book and has almost completed it. Hopefully it will soon be available. Guy arrived at the club all bundled up and I wasn’t sure who he was until he hung up his hat and coat. What a pleasant surprise! The evening was informal and the group played many songs together. I must say that between the whistling, the singing, the ubass, the ukuleles and Claudio’s kazoo, we sounded wonderful. We are ready to do some serious recording for our website. Thank you to Guy for introducing everyone to a beautiful Korean folk song called “Arirang”. You can find it in Songbook 5. See you all next time.
December 4, 2017 – This evening the group worked on right hand technique. The song we used was “Happy Birthday”. Easy you say? Not the way we played it. Right hand technique is much more difficult than left hand technique and we learned 5 variations of the song. See the “Homework” page for more information and while you’re at it, check out the “Feedback” page. Feedback is always appreciated. Don’t be shy. Simply click on “Contact” above. Until the next time, happy strumming.
November 20, 2017 – A big ADUS welcome to two new visitors Naomi and Sigal. Both did a great job learning to play their very first songs. Congratulations go out to Adina who acquired her first ukulele. This lady has been practicing and it shows. Well done Adina. Freda began the evening by telling us about her experience recording a song for the website. She had a wonderful time laying down the tracks. The song is called “Today” and you can listen to the results in the guest songbook. Click here and then click on the music note. Here are some of the “Open Mike” highlights of the evening. Maureen wanted to go first. She joked about wanting to get it over with. This lady is a romantic. She played “Can’t Help Falling in Love With You”and sang the song to Eliezer who accompanied her on the ubass. Maureen has a wonderful stage presence and during the song put her head on Eliezer’s shoulder. Dave played an alternate version of “Frosty the Snowman” and “Jingle Bells”. Eliezer then tricked him into performing “Jihad Bells”, a totally inappropriate but funny version of the song. Throughout the evening Dave helped beginners with various techniques. Well done Dave. Adina played “You Are My Sunshine” and later on in the evening, “He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands” as a duet with Ines. Freda then performed “Unchained Melody” and “Do You Hear the People Sing” from Les Miserables. Eliezer again accompanied her on the ubass for both songs. Eliezer played “Have Yourself a Merry Little Xmas” and “Magic Moments”. He then got even by dedicating “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight” to Maureen. Freda was heard to say, “I have to learn that song” after listening to Eliezer play “Just the Way You Look Tonight. Don’t forget to check out the homework page for technique tips on playing next meeting’s song.
November 6, 2017 – This evening Adina visited our club for the very first time. She was a complete beginner but after a bit of personalized instruction, was able to perform during “Open Mike”. What a quick learner she is! Muscle memory is beginning to kick in. After our warm-up songs, the group worked on “Something To Sing About” and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. We split into two groups for the latter song and each group sang their part during the chorus. It was so much fun. If you ever feel like singing this song, it’s just a whim-a way. Here is a listing of some of the songs played during the “Open Mike” part of the evening. Adina played “Tom Dooley”, Freda played “Dream a Little Dream of Me” and “Now That the Buffaloes Are Gone”. Great job ladies! Dave performed “Abide With Me”, and “Fly Me to the Moon”. Dave is our resident jazz master. He’s so cool and we all love his jazzy chord combos. Next John, who also joined us for the first time, played “Five Foot Two”. He hadn’t played the ukulele since his high school days. He did a wonderful job and everyone enjoyed listening to him play. Oz our recording secretary for the evening played “Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps”. This lady is delicious. She has a wonderful stage presence and we just couldn’t help singing along with her. Lenny played “My Grandfather’s Clock”. This is an old song and Len dazzled us with his fancy fingerpicking. I hope that he’ll teach us how to do that when he returns from his winter vacation. Len is also an accomplished tennis player. I hear that he always beats his wife but only in tennis. Claudio played “25 Minutes to Go”. Ines did a great job playing “3 Little Birds”. She also teamed up with Claudio to perform “Los Argentinos”. Len then joined Claudio and Inés to perform “Everybody Knows”. The group joined them in the chorus. Dave and Claudio then played “From Rags to Riches”. It was now my turn to play. Several people made requests but I decided to play anyway. I played “Joseph’s Technicolor Dreamcoat” and “The Look Of Love”. All in all, it was another wonderful evening. Thank you Oz for all your help.
October 16, 2017 – Our Halloween evening was spooky, magical and of course entertaining. I came dressed as a wizard complete with robes and a staff. Being the wizard that I am, I performed a very magical rope trick. Didn’t know that I’m also a magician and ventriloquist did you? Our meetings officially begin at 7:30 P.M. but people often show up at 7:00 for a bit of instruction, to tune and setup, and to socialize. I love the company. The After Dinner Ukulele Society creates many friendships. The group welcomed Bob who officially became a member this evening. We then warmed up by playing Mungo Jerry’s “In the Summertime”. It proved to be a great success. We also worked on Next week’s song “Something to Sing About”. The song is a bit challenging but with a bit of work it can be done. See the Homework page. Everyone loves this song. During the “Open Mike” part of the evening, I removed my wizard hat and robes because they are very warm. (Yes I was wearing clothes under the robes.) I played “Dracula’s Lament” and mysteriously grew fangs during the performance. Inés played U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”. Good job Inés! Freda played “Today” and “Getting To Know You”. Bob Played The Beach Boys’ “Sloop John B” and had everyone singing along with him. Len and Freda then played “Blowin’ in the Wind”, as a duet. What great harmony! Len’s Baritone uke and Freda’s voice must be heard. They are simply wonderful. I played “The Green Eyed Dragon”. Brigitte our resident English professor was a bit nervous because of the dragon’s diet. “For lunch he would try a policeman pie or a Phd. for dinner.” – A special thank you to Lorrie for being the evening’s recording secretary. Happy strumming everyone.
September 25, 2017 – Cheryl, Steve and Jo joined us for the very first time this evening. Cheryl and Steve had never played a ukulele before but after just a bit of instruction, both were able to play several two-chord songs during the “Open Mike” part of the evening. Steve borrowed one of our spare ukes, a beautiful Pono tenor. Cheryl came to the meeting with a gift she had been given. Would you believe it, a beautiful kamaka soprano. Until this evening, she had no idea of what she possessed. The group discussed themes for our meetings and upcoming events such as a flash mob (stay tuned). As usual, the evening proved to be highly entertaining. Freda began our “Open Mike” session, by performing “Try To Remember”. She played and sang beautifully. We’re going to have to start calling her “Twinkle Fingers”. Carol played “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and in mid performance, she produced and played the largest and most beautiful kazoo that I have ever seen. It was hysterically funny and we all really laughed. Her kazoo was manufactured by Doc Kazoo. Click here for his website. Jo and Dave performed “Qué Sera, Sera” and “Me and Bobby McGee”. Everyone sang along. Len played “Did She Mention My Name”, “Danny Boy” and “Snowbird” on his baritone ukulele. Great job Len. Lorrie played “Riptide”. The Girl is a pro. I played Antônio Carlos Jobim’s “Desafinado and was accompanied on a beautiful set of bongos which I had brought for the occasion. A big ADUS thank you to Steve for being our recording secretary.
September 11, 2017 – This evening we began the meeting by officially welcoming two new members Len and Inés. The group played one of our welcoming songs and both new members were presented with their songbooks and membership cards. I played a comedy version of “Willkommen” from Cabaret. Ines does not have a ukulele yet but she used one of our spare ukes, a beautiful Pono Tenor. She knows many many songs and sang along with the group throughout the entire evening. Len played his brand new Baritone ukulele purchased just last week. He is a pro and easily made the transition from guitar to ukulele. Dave brought a beautiful Fender amp to the meeting and people enjoyed plugging in. During the “Open Mike” part of the evening, Dave played a jazz version of Bart Howard’s “Fly Me To the Moon” and Bill Wither’s “Ain’t No Sunshine”. Claudio played Rodrigo Amarante’s “Tuyo”and “Mack the Knife”. He sounded great on his banjolele. Claudio is a strong player, a wonderful teacher and a great asset to our club. Freda played Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne” and Randy Spark’s “Today”. This girl is practicing. Her finger picking is getting really good. Maureen played “Sweet Georgia Brown” and “Waltzing Matilda”. She is our expert chunker and is sweeter than fairy floss. Len played Ray Charles’ Lucky Old Sun” and Gordon Lightfoot’s “Song For a Winter’s Night”. Wow! Len has great musicality and a huge musical repertoire. ADUS Meetings are really fun. Remember, no experience is necessary. Won’t you join us for our next session?
August 21, 2017 – ADUS meetings seem to be getting better and better. The meeting was well attended and everyone there really participated by playing and singing along. Music was projected on the wall so that visitors or those without songbooks could easily follow. Several people brought extra ukuleles so that everyone was able to play. Seasoned players shared their instruments and their musical knowledge with others as well. Thank you so much for that. Of special note was Freda’s rendition of Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender”, Ann’s playing of “I’m Yours”, Nicholas’ “Five Foot Two” and Dave’s performance of “Ain’t No Sunshine “. Lorraine had everyone singing with her performance of “Dona,Dona”. One of the many surprises of the evening was Bob. He’s been holding out on us, but now people know that he sings really well. He sang “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and was accompanied by Dave. People enjoyed the performance so much that they couldn’t help singing along with the twosome. Don’t forget to choose a song to record from our extensive songbook. When you are ready we will record it and post the recording on our website. See the “Homework” page for more information. Our meeting this evening was truly super and inspiring. See you all next time.
August 7, 2017 – Tonight’s meeting was the best ever! We began by officially welcoming Carol and Edward to the club as new members. They listened to the welcoming songs and were presented with their beautiful songbooks and membership cards. Welcome aboard! Nine visitors joined us this evening for the very first time. Most of them were beginners but some were accomplished ukulele players. The group was then split into several skill levels in order to receive personalized instruction. Newbies couldn’t believe that they were actually able to play a few songs before the evening ended. Freda is a great teacher and hopefully we will get Dave to teach us some of his jazzy chord combinations. Group songs included “I’m a Believer” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love”. The music for Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” was distributed and we worked on that for a while. This is the song, which we will prepare for the next ADUS meeting. Open Mike, my favourite part of the evening, began with young Rivky’s rendition of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”. What a great job! Many songs were played but my favourite was a Spanish number performed by Claudio and Inés, called “El Muerto Vivo”. One visitor came in with (dare I say it) a guitar. It was a very small one so it was allowed. This guitarist is a wonderful musician who sings with great emotion. He led the group in John Denver’s “Country Road”. Everyone sang and played along with him and it felt as if we were jamming in front of a campfire. Great Job Moshe! There was much fun, warmth and ambiance at The After Dinner Ukulele Society this evening. People felt that they had accomplished something while having a great time and everyone went home happily looking forward to our next ukulele meeting. We’d love to see you there too. Won’t you consider joining us?
July 17, 2017 – Our new meeting format was a great success and what a super evening it turned out to be! Ingrid and Edward joined us for the 2nd time. Throughout the evening, the two could be seen happily strumming away, developing muscle memory, and acquiring new chords. Well-done guys! Carol proudly played her beautiful new resonator ukulele. The group played “You Are My Sunshine” and “The Green Door” just to warm-up. Dave was incredibly helpful teaching our beginners at this time. Is it true that he’s going to change his name to George? Several songs were requested and played during the group part of the evening. Eliezer provided the group with printouts of “The Cotton Fields back Home” – a song just recently posted on the website. Lorrain aka Sunshine, appropriately played her bright yellow kazoo during this number. This lady is a great kazooer. (Kazooist?) I used my designer kazoo handmade at The Great Aswego Kazoo Factory by Doc Kazoo. Here is a link to his website: Doc Kazoo . We then worked on our new song “Today”. During the break, one of our members munched on some food she had secreted in her handbag. How about a bite for me next time Freda? We spoke about recording songs and about our upcoming Picnic in the Park to be held Sunday August 6th. See the “Future Events” under the “Next Meeting” header above, for more info. During the “Open Mike” part of the evening, Freda played “Hallelujah”. Great fingerpicking technique Freda! She also taught the group to play “Goodnight Irene”. Maureen played “Can’t Help Falling in Love With You”. She’s got a beautiful voice. She also mastered the vamp technique in “Canadian Sunset”. Yea Maureen! Ingrid and Edward played “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”, and I played “Five Hundred Miles and a jazz number entitled “When Sunny Gets Blue”. Hope to see you all at our 2nd annual picnic in the park.
June 19, 2017 – Wow! What a super evening we had tonight. Lorrie who officially became a member after our last meeting, received her song book and membership card. Her participation during the ADUS welcoming ceremony was very entertaining and appreciated by all. I think that what I enjoy most about our club is that during our meetings, everyone has an ear-to ear smile on their face. This evening, I brought a beautiful set of Bongo drums for people to play during some of the numbers. Shira visited us for the first time. After just a bit of instruction she was able to perform a medley of two chord songs during the “Open Mike” part of the evening. What musicality! She’s truly amazing. Later on, Shira told me that she thought the meeting was really fun. Everyone had a chance to perform during “Open Mike” . Of special note was the Freda’s rendition of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love”. Everyone sang along and the uBass accompaniment, added greatly to the song. Bob performed a song entitled “A Lonely Little Petunia in an Onion Patch”. He even printed out the music so that everyone could share. Well done Bob! Dave had the group in stitches as he played a comedy song called “Aches and Pains”. The group also learned a bit of musical theory to prepare us for some of the songs in the setlist of our upcoming concert in December. See you all next time.
June 5, 2017 – It seems that our ukulele club is being attended by more and more new visitors each time we meet. This evening, we were joined by Bev, Bob and Virginia. Bev, who had never played the ukulele before, received private instruction in another room of our beautiful location in Chalet No.1. Click here to see a photo of the venue. She was able to learn her first two chords easily. Now she must work on smoother chord changes between the two. It was not quite fair though because she is a southpaw and our spare ukuleles are setup for right-handed players. We will take care of this when she acquires her own ukulele. By the way, presenting a valid ADUS membership card will get you a considerable discount at Steve’s Music Store. See “Membership Benefits”. Bob and Virginia are no strangers to the ukulele and play quite well. Virginia played “Dream a Little Dream of Me” for us. Wow! What a great job! Freda introduced the group to her own arrangement of Guy Mitchell’s “There’s a Pawnshop On the Corner”. Great job Freda! Claudio a huge Johnny Cash fan, played “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Ring of Fire”. He also played “You’ve Got a Friend In Me” from Toy Story. I accompanied him on the Ubass. Everyone felt that the Ubass is a great addition but I need a lot more practice. Members and visitors got to choose group songs from our extensive songbooks. Our voices blended very well and the harmonies were just wonderful. ADUS meetings are always fun. If you haven’t attended our meetings in a while, we’d sure like to see you again soon. Happy strumming!
May 1, 2017 – Our ukulele family is growing. Tonight we were joined by David, who learns very quickly. This fellow is very talented. Debby and her 7 year old daughter Lucy also joined us for the first time. We went through several beginner songs for the newcommers. The group worked on “Downtown” and “Everybody”, two really wonderful songs. Deb played Gordon Lightfoot’s “Cotton Jenny”. Several other Lightfoot songs were also played during the course of the evening. Claudio emailed us regards from Buenos Aires. He has an Australian cousin there and will teach him to play “Waltzing Matilda” on the ukulele. Freda played a really memorable song but I can’t remember what it’s called. I do however, recall that she played it beautifully. They say that memory is the 2nd thing to go. Unfortunately, I can’t remember what the first thing is. We all had a wonderful time and can hardly wait ’till our next meeting. See you all then. P.S. Don’t forget to practice your Bb chord.
April 3, 2017 – Hooray! Maxine bought her first ukulele, a beautiful Kala soprano complete with a gig bag. She arrived at our new location a bit early and received some private instruction. Boy, does she ever catch on quickly! She was able to play several songs and was delighted with “Ob-La, Di, Ob-La-Da”, the 300th song on our website. Sunshine who updated her membership just last week, suggested the song. She received her new membership card and also said that she would buy everyone a beer. Sunshine is full of surprises. Earlier today she did a solo performance at Maimonides Hospital for some of their residents. Yea! Great job Sunshine. Freda said that the evening was terrific and that everyone learned something. Claudio will be visiting with family in Buenos Aires in May. He will increase his repertoire of Latin rhythms there and will play them for us upon his return. The After Dinner Ukulele Society wishes all of our friends and supporters, a very happy holiday. See you all next time and happy strumming.
March 20, 2017 – Welcome to Wayne who joined us for the first time this evening and what a fun, warm and intimate evening it turned out to be. Wayne is a guitarist and we were all amazed at how easily he made the transition to the ukulele. Maxine borrowed one of our spare ukuleles. This was her 2nd time visiting us and muscle memory has already begun to set in. She was strumming away during the group songs. Great job Maxine! Freda and I began to work towards a public performance of “Cabaret” in the key of B. The group then played “Where Have All the Flowers Gone”, “The Log Driver’s Waltz”, “Farewell to Nova Scotia” and “Tingalayo” in addition to several other songs. Brigitte asked who composed “Tingalayo”. I told her that it was written by my little donkey. The “Open Mike” part of the evening was also a great successs. Guy played “Just a Gigolo”, Freda played “It’s a Sin To Tell a Lie”, George played Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud”, and Brigitte played “Moon Shadow”. I played “If” in honour of my brother who is no longer winning and with us. Several other songs were played during “Open Mike” as well. Check out “Once Upon a Monday” in the photo gallery above. Also, don’t forget to check out the “Homework Page”. A big ADUS thank you to Brigitte for being our recording secretary.
March 6, 2017 – The After Dinner Ukulele Society is truly the place to be. Each time we meet, we are visited by more and more people. They all enjoy the experience. Today we were joined by Alyssa and Leontine; two young ladies who are no strangers to the ukulele. Thy both played beautifully during the “Open Mike” part of the evening. We began by forming small groups in order to teach and accommodate people at different levels of ukulele proficiency – from beginners to advanced players. The group then came together to play and sing many songs. “I’ve Been Working On the Railroad”, “Tingalyo”, “The Unicorn Song”, “I’m a Believer”, and “The Octopus’s Garden” were some of the group songs. Charlie, who first played the ukulele at our level I workshop only last week, played beautifully during the “Open Mike” part of the evening. “I’ve Been Working On the Railroad” was the song he chose. I guess it’s because he’s an engineer. (Pun intended) Guy and Claudio played The Beatles “When I’m 64” and a new arrangement of “Beyond the Sea”. Claudio also performed Al Jolson’s “April Showers”. Guy led the group in “The Lava Song”. Leontine played “Jimmy”. Alyssa played Fleetwood Mack’s “Dreams”. Freda played and sang the Judy Garland version of “Over the Rainbow”. Freda is an amazingly talented singer and teacher. Thank you Freda for working so hard with our beginners. George played “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas. Wow! I played “It’s Not Unusual” and “Friendly Persuasion” Everyone who attended the meeting was given challenging ukulele projects to work on. See you all next time.
February 20, 2017 – Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome strikes again. Well…. It was bound to happen sooner or later but this time I’m the victim. I blame Maureen though; G_d bless her. She couldn’t give me one good reason for not purchasing my new Kala spruce/maple tenor cutaway travel uke. It was great seeing her again after her lengthy visit to Australia where she visited with her family. Maureen also visited a ukulele club in Perth. She told us that they play at a farmer’s market each week and that they encourage children to play ukuleles along with them. Many of our members are also world travelers. Guy returned from Russia where he and the real Dr. Patch Adams continued their volunteer work by sharing an exchange of love, laughter, tears, hugs, and compassion with orphan children there. We truly miss Guy while he travels the world engaging in humanitarian projects. Welcome back Guy! I would also like to welcome Sunny, Mark, Maxine, and Cathy who joined us for the very first time this evening. We hope to see you guys at the club often. Now on to the meeting… I worked with the beginners while the gang played and sang many songs together. They had a wonderful time. Here is a listing of the “Open Mike” numbers.Freda did a wonderful job playing “The Green, Green Grass of Home”. People couldn’t help joining in to sing the last chorus with her. George Played “Crazy” and “Let’s Get Together” from The Parent Trap. Everyone loved his performance. We especially appreciate the joy he experiences in playing. Guy played “Someone to Lava” and “Smile”. It’s amazing how his presentation brings out so much emotion in his audience. I played “You Are So Beautiful To Me”, “Alone Again Naturally”, “Blackbird”, “Hey There Delilah”, “Brandy” and a comedy number entitled “Ghost Chickens in the Sky”. Some people find it difficult to concentrate on my playing because I am so good looking. Thank you Oz for being our recording secretary.
February 6, 2017 – We met in the Legion Room. The chairs there were comfortable but not suitable for playing the ukulele because of the armrests. Don’t worry though; we will be back in the Activity Room for the next ukulele jam. Speaking of not worrying, we played “Don’t Worry Be Happy” as one of our warm-up songs. The evening began with the group playing and singing a welcoming song for George who was also presented with a songbook and a beautiful membership card complete with photo id. We were delighted to see Claudio again. He had missed several meetings due to his exams. He played a Spanish song and also introduced us to the song “Just a Gigolo”. Claudio has become a great ukulele player. Each time he performs I become jealous of his talent. He is a wonderful asset to the club. Freda is also improving by leaps and bounds. She is now playing eleven chord songs and has her eye on a banjo uke. New member Brigitte is catching on quickly. She has come down with UAS and has recently purchased her 2nd instrument, a beautiful Kala solid mahogany concert ukulele. George moved us during his “Open Mike” performance. This young CEGEP student really knows how to sing a song with feeling. Very impressive George! Maureen is back in town from her lengthy visit with her family in Australia. Jet lag prevented her from attending but we will see her at the next meeting. We hope to see you there too.
January 23, 2017 – Welcome to new members Brigitte and George who joined us for the first time this evening and what a productive evening it turned out to be. Freda took Brigitte who had never played the ukulele before, under her wing so to speak, and in another room, taught her to play several songs. Wow! What a great teacher Freda is! Brigitte caught on quickly and was able to perform during the “Open Mike” part of the evening. Brigitte plays a pink soprano Mahalo ukulele. George who is no stranger to the instrument, received several pointers on both left and right-handed technique. His playing improved considerably over the course of the evening. George plays a beautiful Kala cutaway concert uke which he acquired in Hawaii. Both newcomers are excited about the club and can hardly wait until our next meeting in February.
November 7, 2016 – This evening I announced a challenging ukulele contest for our members. You’ll have to check out the “Homework Page” though for all the details. Welcome back Irene. In addition to our special welcoming ceremony, Irene received her new songbook and membership card. We were joined by Anna and her 11 year-old son Jerry. Both learned their first song on ukulele after a bit of personalized instruction. This was their first time visiting us and we hope to see them at the club often. Yes, kids are welcome at the After Dinner Ukulele Society. As usual, Claudio and Sunshine entertained us with several wonderful songs during the “Open Mike” part of the evening. I played “Recuerdos de la Alhambra”. No, not on my ukulele but on my iPad. Hint: This relates to our contest. See you all next time and happy strumming.
August 15, 2016 – Tonight was another great evening of fun and learning at ADUS and what a great turnout we had. In addition to many of our regulars, we were joined Cathy and Irene. Cathy had never played a ukulele before. She received instruction on one of our spare ukuleles and was able to play a song before the evening ended. Irene has been playing for about a year and plays extremely well. Welcome aboard ladies. We began by playing “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” as a warmup. This was followed by several other songs chosen from our extensive song book by our members and guests. Freda’s harmonies were beautiful. After the group song part of the evening, we continued working on our chunking technique in “Drop Baby Drop”. The “Open Mike” part of the evening was really entertaining. The musicality and skill of our performers really made me happy. I am amazed at how far members of the club have come in such a short period of time. Of course our teachers and everyone’s willingness to share technique, play no small part in our rapid advancement. Here is a partial listing of the evening’s solo performances. Giulia played “All Out Of Love” by Air Supply, “Tu” an Italian song by Umberto Pozzi, and “Coal Miner’s Daughter” by Loretta Lynn. Talk about talent! Freda played “Hallelujah” (not the one by Leonard Cohen) and “Man Piaba”. Karen played a solo version of John Lennon’s “Imagine”. Eliezer played “The Shadow of Your Smile” accompanied by Claudio who provided a percussive Latin rhythm on the body of his Uke. Eliezer also played “Mama Look a Boo Boo” by Harry Belafonte, and a funny version of ” The Tennessee Waltz”. Lorraine played “Dona, Dona” by Aaron Zeitlin and Shalom Secunda. Great job everyone! Our next meeting will be dedicated to the music of Gordon Lightfoot so get out your ukuleles and practice one of his songs. ADUS meetings are really fun but don’t take my word for it. Come join us for a meeting and I’m sure you’ll agree. A big thank you to Oz, our recording secretary. See you all next time.
July 18, 2016 – Hooray! We received our new ukulele baseball hats today and are they ever beautiful. The hats were delivered by Sarah, Eliezer’s beautiful daughter. She is a real sweetheart and we hope that she will visit us again soon. Individuals ordered a variety of hat colours including red, purple, teal and blue. Two more hats were ordered at the end of the meeting. Well it turns out that Karen is an excellent teacher. She taught the group how to read ukulele tabs and everyone caught on. Way-to-go Karen! After our lesson, we sang many songs together from our ukulele book. Later on, Maureen tutored Ben our latest newcomer. The group then proceeded to the “Open Mike” part of the evening. I sang “Drift Away” by Dobie Gray and everyone joined me during the chorus. It was fantastic! Karen sang “Part of the Family”, one of her favourites and Freda did a very entertaining number. Freda we learned, is quite an actress and has many different voices in her repertoire . She is a very talented young lady. Barry took photos of us all with our new hats on and Eliezer will post them on our website as soon as he receives them. Speaking of Eliezer, he was unable to attend this evening because he was feeling a bit under the weather. The group really missed him though and hopes to see him at our next ukulele jam. Until then, happy strumming – Giulia.
July 4, 2016 – We all worked very hard. The evening began with some music theory about half steps, bar chords and how they relate to the fretboard. The group then applied their new knowledge to the song “Drop Baby, Drop”. (See the homework page for more detail.) We warmed-up with the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine”. Eight year old Marshall and his father still in their bathing suits, dropped by on their way back from the outdoor pool. They sang along with us for a while. Members received coloured printouts of both songs and everyone got the chance to choose a song for the group to play. During the “Open Mike” part of the evening, Giulia played “Sea of Love, Karen played our national anthem, Claudio played a multy-lingual song enjoining the mosquitos to go home and let him eat his burritos. Freda played “Mr. Sandman” and I played “Have Some Madeira M’dear” and “Arthur’s Theme”. Barry didn’t play but we did catch him singing along with the group. Everyone then returned home determined to improve their technique and to learn many of the new songs posted on our website.
June 20, 2016 – The group warmed up with “Tingalayo” a wonderful children’s song. The song is not too difficult and is really fun to play. Everyone sang and harmonized to this great calypso number. We played many other songs as a group and also worked on various techniques and on how to approach practicing. Guy gave us a strumming and chunking lesson to the tune of “Oloha’Oe”. Maureen with the help of Guy and Karen, taught us how to play “Clementine”. Freda gave us her rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne”. Anna , Karen’s mother, (we all called her “Mom”), played “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” and Karen played Kenny Rogers’s “Mary Did You Know”. In keeping with the evening’s theme, I played Two jazz numbers: “Blusette” and “When Sunny Gets Blue”. A great time was had by all.
June 6, 2016 – This evening we had a great turnout. Aileen and Louella visited us from out of town. They both have great voices and we are sorry that they cannot remain in Montreal. In addition to these two talented young ladies, we had the pleasure of meeting Anna, Bruce and Ben. The group split into two groups and I worked with the newbies. Everyone was amazed at how quickly these three beginners mastered their first song. I have the feeling that we will see a lot more of them in the future. During the group playing, everyone sang along to the many tunes. The “Open Mike” part of the evening was as usual, quite wonderful. Karen played ‘Edelweiss” and was asked to play it again because everyone wanted to sing along with her. Aileen played “The Way I Am” by Ingrid Michelson, Louella played Edith Piaf’s “La Vie En Rose”. This was a big hit with everyone especially with Freda, who is a huge Piaf fan. Freda played “Dream a Little Dream Of Me”. Great job Freda. Claudio played a Latin version of “Mac The Knife” and I played “Hello Young Lovers”. Everyone loved the new room. It is large, cozy and has a piano on which Giulia played “Right Here Waiting” for us. She also played an Alice Cooper number. This talented young lady then entertained us with a beautiful ukulele version of “Ti Amo” and a bit of Raspberry Berct. The theme of our next meeting is “Who is that girl?” Prepare a song using a girl’s name. (Windy, Hey There Delilah, Hey Jude etc). All in all, tonight was truly an amazing evening.
May 16, 2016 – Another great evening at the After Dinner Ukulele Society! New member Giulia brought her friend Barry to the meeting. We taught him his very first ukulele song and caught him singing away with the rest of the group. – Well done Barry. The members also worked on a new song “Mr. Sandman”. Check out the homework page for the details. Uh oh! Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome has struck again. Claudio showed up with a beautiful new travel ukulele. He said that he bought it for his daughter. (Yeah right). The open mike part of the evening was varied and as usual, highly entertaining. Giulia’s rendition of “Wagon Wheel” was wonderful. She has a beautiful voice as well. Guy had the group in hysterics with a comedic preparation for his performance. He is a master of timing and making people feel good. Duets were played in addition to many other songs too numerous to list here. The group also discussed the idea of designing a baseball cap containing the ADUS logo. There will be no theme for our next meeting. Anything goes! – ’till next time.
May 2, 2016 – Wow! Was this ever a fun meeting! This evening we were joined by three new people. A warm ADUS welcome to Karen, Giulia, and Sid. We all enjoyed playing and singing group songs during the first part of the evening. Guy brought a small pig who joined us in the singing of several songs. Don’t worry. The pig was made out of rubber. The “Open Mike” part of the evening was extremely interesting and entertaining. In keeping with our theme, Guy played “What a Day For a Daydream. This was followed by Claudio’s rendition of “April Showers”. Al Jolson would have been proud. Freda played “Dream a Little Dream Of Me”. The group could not help joining her for the 2nd verse of the song. Freda has a really great voice. Julie played “Stand By Me” and Karen played a solo version of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”. The rubber pig became jealous when I hammed it up (pun intended) by playing “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White” and “It Might As Well Be Spring”. ADUS meetings just seem to be getting better and better. The theme for our next jam will be faces and various other body parts such as eyes, lips, noses, beards etc. It should be a lot of fun. See you all then.
April 18, 2016 – Hooray! Guy has returned from his trip to Guatemala. Guy as you may know, has been volunteering on Humanitarian Clown Missions in hospitals and orphanages with the real Doctor Patch Adams. It was a pleasure to have him back again. He will be in Montreal until his next humanitarian excursion. The group played several of the most recent songs on our site (Songbook 4) . We also worked on some advanced finger-picking technique. The theme of our next meeting will be spring. During the open mike part of the evening members will be able to show off their skills by playing a song related to spring. The song could mention spring, or a bird or sunny skies or anything relating to the topic. Friendship, learning, laughter and sharing, that’s what ADUS is all about.
March 21, 2016 – The group rehearsed Folsom Prison Blues for our next concert. Self praise is no recommendation but I must say we’re sounding pretty good. Johnny Cash would be pleased. We discussed recording the song. Several of our latest songs were played during the open mike part of the evening. We now have 261 songs posted on our site. The group also worked on an exercise which will guarantee mastery of bar chords. Check out the homework page for details. Happy strumming and happy spring.
March 7, 2016 – This evening’s Ukulele Jam was both fun and informative. We continued with our mastery of bar chords using the song “Blue Velvet”(See song book-3) and discussed alternate fingerings. Here at ADUS we really teach our members to become better ukulele players. The results are remarkable. Maureen asked me to show her the vamp for Canadian Sunset. It requires a bit of coordination and muscle memory. I have every confidence that she will master this challenging technique. I played my U-bass for several of the numbers. Everyone thought it sounded great and Claudio feels that we are ready to busk in the Metro. Three teenagers stopped by to listen to us play John Legend’s “All Of Me”. We received an ovation for our efforts. One of the teens asked if he could bring a keyboard to one of our meetings. Do they make ukuleles with keyboards? Don’t forget to check out the Homework page. Our next meeting is on the first day of spring. Till then, happy strumming.
February 15, 2016 – It was a busy night for the After Dinner Ukulele Society. The group rehearsed for our upcoming concert this Saturday evening. (See Future Events for the concert details.) We practiced singing into a microphone and some of us plugged our ukuleles into an amp. Our new location in the Aquatic Centre is really great. Many people stopped by to listen to us play. They enjoyed what they heard. We even found a bit of time to work on our bar chords. I will post a song containing many of these chords as soon as I can. Happy strumming and we’ll see you at the concert.
February 1, 2016 – We were joined by the lovely Yonga for the first time this evening. She is no stranger to the ukulele and plays quite well. Yonga has great musicality and is able to quickly catch on to songs which are new to her. I brought my U-bass to the meeting. I was a bit worried because I haven’t played the instrument for at least 7 months. My technique has diminished but everyone still agreed that the U-bass gave a certain depth to the music. Pun intended. We are looking forward to our concert next Monday and have chosen many well known songs . We hope that our audience will sing along with us. Hopefully we will post a review of the concert on our “Concert Reviews” page. Stay tuned.
January 18, 2016 – What a wonderful meeting! In addition to a good turnout, everyone was split in to two groups – one for beginners and the other for more advanced players. The advanced group all agreed that the adjoining room had great acoustics. (Our classroom has two rooms.) Our two new beginners are almost ready for our next concert which will be held on Monday February 8th at Forward House. This is an organization designed to help special needs adults attain an autonomous lifestyle and relative independence within the community. We are all looking forward to performing there. Back to the evening… Claudio brought his banjo ukulele. It’s amazing how certain songs are enhanced by this instrument and by his skillful playing. As usual, open mike was varied and entertaining. It included Lorraine’s rendition of “Dona, Dona”, Claudio’s rendition of “Ring of Fire” and Freda’s “My Wild Irish Rose”. I serenaded Maureen with Gershwin’s “Ive Got a Crush On You”. We all had a great time and we laughed as much as we played. We can hardly wait for our next ukulele jam, See you all on the 1st of February.
January 4, 2016 – Hooray! In spite of the cold weather, we had our first meeting of the new year and two new people showed up – Allan who originally comes from England and Dyane who hails from Montreal. Both came equipped with Kala soprano ukuleles. Dyane informed me that she loves the ukulele but can’t play it yet. I assured her that she would be able to play at least one song before the evening was over and I was right. Allan easily made the transition from guitar. Claudio demonstrated and taught his famous Rhumba strum. He also played the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black” during the open mike part of the evening. Two young boys aged 8 and 6, joined us half-an-hour before the meeting began. I accompanied them as they sang “The Candyman”. Hope that you can join us next time.
December 7, 2015 – Well another year has gone by and the ukulele skills of our regulars have increased by leaps and bounds. It’s remarkable that even new people are able to master songs after just a bit of instruction. During tonight’s meeting, members were given personalized instruction on both technique and how to approach a song. The evening was both challenging and fun. People at ADUS are highly motivated. They realize that more advanced technique is doable and obtainable. Everyone is looking forward to a fun and exciting new year. We have lots of great projects planned for 2016 including school and hospital concerts. I hope that you can join us. Remember no experience is necessary. I wish all of our members and supporters a happy holiday season and a healthy and successful New Year.
November 16, 2015 – This evening we were joined for the first time by the lovely Jessica, a young CGEP student who is no stranger to the ukulele. Jessica has a beautiful voice and we look forward to seeing her often at the club. People in attendance had a great time. We sang all kinds of songs and all hammed it up during “Open Mike”. Freda was a bit shy about performing at the front of the room during the open mike part of the evening. She did a wonderful job form her seat among the other members and what a great voice she has too! Claudio played and sang a funny Spanish song about a chicken. I have to learn this one. If I could just get a handle on the language, I would be very happy.
November 2, 2015 – Another great evening! We have decided to add a new feature to our meetings. Each week we will work on a new song together. The After Dinner Ukulele Society began preparing for our next public performance which will take place at the Cote Saint-Luc City Hall in December. It should be a lot of fun. Members should check the homework page to learn what to work on for our concert. Remember that we will be in the activity room until January. Enjoy our beautiful new membership cards and happy strumming.
September 7, 2015 – Wow! We had a great time this evening. Lots of variety and good energy. The group warmed-up with: “You Are My Sunshine”, “Blown’ in the Wind”, “Pretty Women”, “Don’t Worry Be Happy” and “Stand By Me”. Quite a warm-up! Eliezer taught a bit of musical theory and how to use movable chords. Claudio then taught the group a wonderful Rhumba strum. It’s not an easy technique but it’s well worth learning. Thank you Claudio. Several high school students joined us for the open mike part of the evening where many Beatle songs were played. Freda entertained us with an exciting rendition of Édith Piaf’s “Allez Venez Milord”. – Well done! Claudio and Guy played “All My loving”and “El Meurto Vivo”. It was so much fun watching them play. Maureen played “Love Me Do”. Guy played “An Octopus’ Garden” and “La Bamba”. Eliezer played “Golden Slumbers”, ” Blackbird” and “A Whale of a Tale”. Wendy joined Eliezer in a duet. Together they played “Windy”. I think Eliezer kept singing Wendy instead. The entire group then played “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” and “Those Were the Days”. We wish to extend a special thank you to Maureen for writing this report. See you all next time.
August 17, 2015 – A warm ADUS welcome to Freda who joined us for the first time this evening. She catches on quickly and boy does she ever like to sing! Though it takes time to acquire muscle memory, half the fun is getting there. It was good to see Peter again. He is a jazz affectianato who was delighted with our version of “Blue Moon”. The first meeting of next month will be a theme night. I’ll give you a hint about the theme. We’ll “Come Together” for a really great evening. I can hardly wait. Check out the “Homework” page for more details.
August 3, 2015 – Hooray! We had our first meeting in our new location. The ambiance was perfect. The room was air-conditioned, intimate and cozy. We left the door opened for a while and several people stopped by to listen to us play, talk and sing. Everyone there had a great time. Oz drew a chord diagram on the room’s white board just to see if she got it right. What a ham! I’m just kidding. Everyone loves her. Lorraine however, was the big surprise of the evening. The girl has been practising and it sure shows. She sounded really good. Way to go Sunshine! Claudio had us all play “When I’m sixty-four”. It’s amazing how far he has come in such a short time. In addition to all the songs we played, we talked a bit about Fats Waller, about new songs and about how to approach a song in terms of strumming and finger picking. The After Dinner Ukulele Society is where it’s at. Why not consider joining us. No experience necessary. Our next meeting will be held on August 17, 2015. See you there.
July 20, 2015 – Our Concert at the Farmer’s Market in Côte Saint-Luc on Sunday the 12th was a great success. There was plenty of positive feedback from the people visiting the market. It was almost to hot to play though and I would have liked to gone swimming in the beautiful out-door pool at the CSL Aquatic Centre. (Check out the “Feedback” page under the Members heading above.) Speaking about the Aquatic Centre, we are changing our location and will be moving there for our next meeting. The facility is wonderful and we wish to express our gratitude to the city for their generosity and support. Check out the “Next Meeting” page for the address. This evening’s meeting was great fun. A big ADUS welcome to Tieda and Peter who joined us for the first time. A big welcome also to Priscilla who joined us for the 2nd time. Pricilla played beautifully at the Sunday concert. Rebecca came back from her travels. It was great to see her again. She plays so well and what a great voice. Wow! We look forward to seeing everyone at the next meeting. Till then, happy strumming.
June 15, 2015 – It was a pleasure seeing Harry again after his long absence. He’s back in form and is happily strumming away. Welcome back Harry. Oz entertained us with “Folsom Prison Blues”. She’s the best “chunker” in town and though it was the “Open Mike” part of the evening, we couldn’t help joining in. Oz has that wonderful affect on people. Move over Johnny Cash! The group also worked hard on our fancy finger-picking. Hooray! We finally understand how to approach this tricky technique.
June 4, 2015 – Another great evening at the After Dinner Ukulele Society. Tonight we were joined by the charming young Wendy who told us that learning the ukulele was on her “bucket list”. This was her first experience with the uke and we taught her 4 chords. She caught on quickly and was able to play along with the group on one of our spare ukuleles. Yea Wendy! We look forward to seeing her at the club often. Oz keeps writing down the titles of the songs she likes. No need though because they are all on our website. She was particularly impressed with the Japanese song “Ue O Muite” commonly called “Sukiyaki” and suggested that we all learn to sing it in Japanese. I’m ok with that. Sore wa you aideadesu!
May 19, 2015 – We worked on “You’ve Got a Friend In Me” from The Movie Toy Story. The song is a bit challenging but is it ever fun to play! I had the pleasure of listening to two beautiful Spanish songs and during “Open Mike” the group was treated to Guy’s wonderful interpretation of Don McLean’s Vincent. Check out the ADUS Video Gallery under “Gallery” above to see a happy trio hamming it up with The Beatles’ “When I’m Sixty-Four”. Why not join us for the next meeting? You’ll be glad you did!
May 4, 2015 – This evening Guy officially became a member of the After Dinner Ukulele Society. He was presented with a newly designed membership card and a personalized song book. Guy was also serenaded with our new member welcoming song. See the “ADUS Photo Gallery” page above. We devoted tonight’s meeting to learning more advanced strumming and finger-picking. Everyone worked very hard and came away with challenging new techniques. Our members are highly motivated and are looking forward to demonstrating their ukulele skills – after a bit of practice of course. The evening was most productive and a great success. We all had a blast!
April 27, 2015 – Fun! Fun! Fun! Tonight’s meeting was absolutely fantastic. This week we met in the arena’s conference room. (Once in a while we allow other people to use the studio.) It was fortunate too because Rob the father of a 10 year old hockey player, joined us and played on one of our spare ukuleles. Rob applied guitar shapes to the uke and after a short while was able play quite well. He loved the instrument and I hope that we see him often. Each person in attendance received a complimentary issue of “Ukulele”, a quality magazine. ADUS members will receive a discounted rate on a yearly subscription. The group played and sang many songs together. The company, the harmonies, and the songs were all wonderful. In fact the evening felt like one big party. Everyone had a really happy time. Guy returned from a successful trip to Guatemala. What a caring, amazing and likeable person he is too. He played “Little Brown Jug” and Félix Leclerc’s “Le P’tit Bonheur” during the solo part of the evening. Sunshine played “Feeling Groovy”, Claudio played a Spanish song and was later joined by Guy for a wonderful rendition of Duke Ellington’s “Mood Indigo” . Rebecca who earlier in the day handed in her thesis, wowed us with her rendition of “Before I Knew”. She will be taking a well deserved vacation in the UK and we look forward to listening to her extraordinary musical talents upon her return. Maureen who thoroughly enjoyed playing throughout the evening, felt that my rendition of “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” was exceptionally romantic. Sorry Oz but I’m already spoken for – LOL. See you all next time and happy strumming.
April 13, 2015 – Spring is here at last and the warm weather is bringing more visitors to the club. We extend a warm ADUS welcome to Judy, Bev, Lili, Sarita and Harry. We hope to see you guys often. The evening began with a discussion about the format of our meetings and the direction of our club. We have some really interesting projects planned. The group played several easy songs together to warm up. After a bit of instruction, the newbies caught on rather quickly. The uke is easy to learn but difficult to master. We then moved to the open mike part of the evening after a few terrible jokes by yours truly. (Well they weren’t all that bad.) Judy did a great job with Hank William’s “Jambalaya on the Bayou”. (See the photo gallery.) Oz was ambitious and played “You belong to Me” at double its normal speed. How does she change chords so quickly? Claudio who really likes Johnny Cash, Played “Folsom Prison Blues”. I played “It Might as Well Be Spring” and Cabaret. Everyone played well and had a really great time. By the way, don’t forget to checkout the “Homework Page” for our new songs.
February 16, 2015 – I can’t remember it ever being this cold in Montreal before but boy was it ever hot inside! Maureen was on fire! Her chunking in “Sweet Georgia Brown” was both tasteful and amazing. Claudio’s technique takes a tremendous leap forward each week. This hombre practices. ADUS was fortunate to be visited by Mr. Guy Giard who has a passion for laughter and the arts. Guy bought his very first ukulele only 4 days ago but he plays like a pro. What an amazing talent! Guy is a professional clown who will be leaving for Guatemala this month to entertain children in hospitals. He is a true humanitarian and we hope to see a lot of him upon his return. Why not visit us at our next meeting? We’d love to meet you and remember, no musical experience is necessary.
February 9, 2015 – This evening we had a special treat: Hot coffee, David’s Tea, blackberry jam imported from France, chive cream-cheese and fresh bagels in assorted flavours including blueberry, onion, and cinnamon- raisin. The bagels compliments of Eliezer, were purchased from Cote Saint-Luc Bagel, one of our sponsors. These people really make great bagels! Aside from all the yummy food, we played many songs both in group and during “Open Mike”. Several of our members had the chance to play a Kanilea Super Tenor ukulele, strung with Living Water strings (low “G” tuning). Eliezer and Sunshine strolled down memory lane so to speak by singing several old camp-fire songs which they had sung as children long ago. At the end of the evening, Rebecca danced her way to the door to the tune of Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend. A great time was had by all.
January 19, 2015 – Another cold winter night and another great ADUS Meeting. The evening began with the group all playing together. Everyone got to suggest songs for us to play. Some of them were old familiar tunes such as “Blowing in the Wind” and ‘Que Sera Sera”. The Open mike part of the evening was really fun. Rebecca fee fi fiddle-di-i oed on her new banjolele. What a great sound. Oooh, I wan’t one of those but don’t tell my wife. Later on Rebecca wowed us on one of our spare tenor ukes, with Stevie Wonder’s “Stay Gold”. Oz played “Waltzing Matilda” and “The Green Door”. Claudio has been working on his technique and it shows. The man is getting good! He played Johnny Cash’s “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town”. Sunshine played “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” and I played Cole Porter’s “Begin the Beguine”. Everyone sang, laughed and had a really great time. Why not join us for the next meeting? No experience necessary. Click on “Next Meeting” above for the date, time and location. Till then, happy strumming!
December 13, 2014 – Our concert at the Cote Saint-Luc city hall was a great success largely due to Maureen. This fabulous lady had the entire audience singing along with her, during her performance of “Bye, Bye Love”. She has an amazing personality and a great stage presence. – Not bad for someone who’s 80 years old! People of all ages congratulated us and asked for our card. My rendition of “Chanukah in Santa Monica” was also enjoyed by the crowd and in addition to the singers, dancers and musicians, Wally and I performed some ventriloquism. A great time was had by all. The After Dinner Ukulele Society wishes all our friends and supporters a very happy and healthy holiday season. See you next year!
December 1, 2014 – Yea! Barbara officially became a member today. I knew that she plays the ukulele well, but this evening was the first time that I ever heard her singing voice. Wow! What a great voice she has too. The talent at ADUS just keeps growing. Claudio worked on the tricky chords and key changes in “La Mer”. He sang the song en Français no less. (See Songbook-3) Exam time is upon us but Rebecca, Julie and Emma took a break from their studies to be with us this evening and are we glad they did. These three are stars and are a great asset to our club. Julie told me that Emma gets paid to sing. That’s funny because I get paid to stop. Good luck on your exams everyone. Sunshine brought some new music to play. We especially enjoyed playing “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz. Sunshine is an awesome lady . She’s a bit shy when it comes to performing though. Sunshine has performed with the group during all of our concerts. Talking about concerts, part of the evening was used to rehearse for our next concert which will take place December 13 at 8:30 P.M. in the auditorium of the Côte Saint-Luc City Hall. If we get encored, I won’t join the performers on stage because I’ll be in the audience keeping up the applause. Hope to see you all there.
November 17, 2014 – We had two new visitors this evening; Adan and Liam her 11 year old brother. Liam didn’t play the uke though. He listened and played his iPad. It was good to see Sherry again. She received her songbook and her new membership card. Claudio practiced a cowboy song called “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town”and did a great job with “Swinging on a Star”. We all wish him luck in his upcoming exams. (Statistics is a killer). During the open mike part of the evening, I played Gordon Lightfoot’s “Steel Rail Blues”. Beck played “The Waitress Song” and Julie played Bright Eyes’ “First Day of My Life”. – Great voices, great songs and a great job playing. These two young ladies really make me jealous of their talent. Thanks to all who attended in spite of our our first snowfall. You all made it a truly enjoyable and entertaining evening.
November 3, 2014 – This evening’s meeting was held in the Conference Room. It was cozy and we all enjoyed the acoustics, the huge table and the comfy chairs. Claudio arrived early and together we worked on a bit of technique. He also brought us a beautiful song which will soon be posted on our website. Nick tried my Ubass. He couldn’t stop smiling and after accompanying us on many of the songs, told the group that he wanted to buy one. I told everyone about how I was attacked by a bear and then played “The Bare Necessities”. Donna could see this coming. She told us that her Dogs love the sound of the kazoo. Beck played several solo pieces and corrected some errors in “Riptide”. The updated version has been posted. (Songbook 2) Barbara played wonderfully on her Kala spruce top uke. It was great to see her up and about again. Our next concert will be held on December 13th and I can hardly wait. The show will be held in the Cote Saint-Luc city hall auditorium and will consist of many entertaining performers demonstrating their talents in acting, ventriloquism, music and comedy. The After Dinner Ukulele Society will of course play an important part of the evening. See you all next time!
October 20, 2014 – Our concert at Maimonides Hospital yesterday was a huge success and was greatly appreciated by both the performers and the audience alike. Our playing really sounded good and the solos were impressive. Audience members enjoyed singing along with us for several of the songs. We could have generated even more audience participation by choosing more familliar songs. Check out the gallery. If you were not there then you missed something special. Oh well, there’s always next time! This evening’s meeting was a lot of fun too. We were joined by the lovely Emma. The group worked on two new songs and rapid chord changes. (See the “Homework Page”) Everyone participated during the open mike part of the evening by playing solos and duets. The big surprise however, was Oz who just about had everyone dancing during her wonderful rendition of “Bye, Bye Love”. – Great job! See you all at the next meeting.
October 6, 2014 – New people are visiting The After Dinner Ukulele Society all the time. This evening we were joined by Nick, Julie, and Mat – all great performers. A warm ADUS welcome to all our visitors. Claudio received his songbook and membership card. He also participated in the new member welcoming ceremony. Sherry officially became a member today and will shortly experience the ceremony as well. We extend them both a heart felt “welcome aboard”. All of us were busy rehearsing for our upcoming concert October 19th at Maimonides Geriatric Centre, located at 5795 Caldwell Avenue in Cote Saint-Luc. The concert will begin at 2:30 P.M. and should last for about an hour. The “Open Mike” part of the evening was really fun too! Nick performed a laid-backed blues improvisation on a resonator uke. He referred to it as a little thing he does. This is real talent. Mat and Rebecca played and sang “Graceland” – Great playing and great singing. What a duet! Rebecca then played the Eagles “Desperado” as a solo. Yea Becc! Sunshine played her rendition of “You Belong to Me” and I played James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” and “Alexander Beatle. The beautiful and talented Julie then played Jason Mranz’s Live High” (complete with dim lighting). Wow! How cool was that? Check out the gallery page. ‘Till next time, happy strumming .
September 15, 2014 – Barbara proudly played her new Kala ukulele. What a beautiful sound she has, and her rendition of “White Sandy Beach” – Wow! Rebecca dazzled us with her arrangement of Nina Simone’s I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl – Sweet! We were joined by two newcomers Sherry and Claudio. Check them out on the gallery page. Tyler added a real jazzy improv. during the group’s playing of “The Green Door”. He also played a recorder and a small recorder-like instrument which sounded like a saxophone. Dr. Groove accompanied the group on the U-bass. He likes to play while standing. I don’t know how he does it. We reviewed our Travis Picking and worked on a new 6/8 technique. See the Homework Page. Yours truly played two Spanish songs. Thank goodness Claudio was there to help me with my pronunciation. ADUS is really where it’s at. Why not join us?
August 18 , 2014 – We had really good turnout tonight. It was good to see Rema out and about, strumming her uke, and singing away. Barbara joined us for the first time this evening and was easily able to apply her guitar technique to the ukulele. Steve aka “Doctor Groove” played the U-Bass all evening. I was in awe of his wonderful playing. He is a professional bassist. His sight reading , tasteful improvisation and technique … Wow! His friend Tyler is no slouch either. He soloed on one of our spare ukes. The group played and sang many songs and yours truly played “The Streets of Laredo” complete with a cowboy hat. The group leaned a Travis picking technique. This will require a bit of practice. We will not meet on September 1st because of Labour Day. Keep a lookout for our next meeting and be sure to check out the Gallery and Video pages. Till the next time.
August 6 , 2014 – If you were unable to attend this evening’s meeting, then you missed something special. Judy who plays the ukulele left handed à la Paul McCartney, brought her brother Joe a seasoned guitarist. He was able to demonstrate his considerable talents on two tenor ukulele’s which he borrowed for the evening. For the most part, the group spent the evening jamming. What a lot of fun it was too! Joe showed us his wonderful Travis picking technique. We also managed to practice several songs for our next concert. Yours truly, gave the group a valuable tip. (See the “Homework” page.) The U-Bass is coming along fine and is in my humble opinion, a great asset to the club. At first, I didn’t think that I would be able to adapt to the bass clef but I’m glad I decided to lower myself. Why not come to the next meeting and join the fun? Don’t forget to bring a friend. See you all next time!
July 7 ,2014 – This evening we selected several songs to perform in our upcoming September concert. Aside from the solos, here is a listing of some of the songs we’ve decided to play: You Are My Sunshine, The Green Door, Scarborough Fair, Born Free and Gordon Lightfoot’s In the Early Morning Rain. We also worked on some challenging techniques. See the “Homework” page. The group is making great progress but we all miss Rema. She broke several ribs in a mud wrestling match. (I shouldn’t make her laugh because that hurts.) We all wish her a very speedy recovery. Have a great summer everyone and keep strumming. See you all at the next meeting.
June 16,2014 – Yea! We were joined by two new people this evening. The lovely Rebecca and the handsome young Matthew. Both are university students and both play the ukulele. Rebecca plays a beautiful maple-wood Kala soprano ukulele and Matthew is looking forward to acquiring his first uke. We were also joined for the first time by my daughter Sarah. She does not play the ukulele but at the end of the evening, I loaded her up like a camel and she helped me carry my equipment back to the car. The group began selecting songs for our upcoming concert in September. We also spoke about designing a hat for our club members. A beautiful prize will be awarded for the best design. Good luck to all. Rema heard the U-Bass for the very first time. She felt that the instrument complimented the group’s playing. Donna referred to it as my new toy. Everyone thought that it was a really cool instrument . Now if I can only learn to play it… As usual, a great time was had by all.
June 2, 2014 – We had a small turnout tonight but what a great meeting it was! Each person picked out a song for the group to play. We worked on our strumming pattern and chord changing technique. It’s amazing how far our ukulele skills have progressed. The group is really making beautiful music. We were joined by a ball-hockey player. He came in to fill a water bottle and ended up trying a soprano and a tenor uke. This young adult quickly learned several chords from a chord chart and then played and sang with us. He sounded quite good too. Beginners are of course always welcome here. Mrs. Zarnicky is truly a ukulele virtuoso. Her playing is not to be believed. She played one of her favourites for us – a Russian tune called “Vulgar Boatmen”. Mrs. Zarnicky is planning on giving a master ukulele class in the near future. You might catch her for a live chat. Click on our contact page above and see if the great woman is on line….
May 5, 2014 – What an interesting meeting! Two new people came to the club this evening. Judy , who finally worked up the courage to join us. There was no need to worry though. She found the group to be both fun and welcoming. Judy is a southpaw and plays a very unusual Gretch soprano ukelele. Judy will be a great asset to our club. We wish her a big ADUS welcome. Our next visitor was 8 year old Eric who was able to play “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” after just a bit of instruction. Eric will not be able to attend the meeting for the full 2 hours. Bed time you know. The adults had a great time teaching him. He has great potential and we hope to see him again. Today we continued working on our plucking and strumming technique. We also worked on the syncopated rhythms of “Everybody’s Talking at Me”. Yours truly played the U-bass with the group for the very first time. It was great fun! See you all next time.
April 28, 2014 – This evening we worked on a new fingerpicking technique and applied it to “Oom Pah Pah” and “Today”. Joan finally cut her nails. Yea! it was great to see her again. Sunshine dazzled us with her rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man”. She will perform this number during her upcoming recital. Rema requested that I play “Everybody’s Talking” and when the song ended she screamed, “That was terrible. You ruined the song!” Oh well. You can’t win them all. LOL! Danny worked late this evening and couldn’t make it to the meeting. As I was leaving, I bumped into him and his mother. What a sweet lady she is! Mabye we can interest her in learning the ukulele.
March 31, 2014 – We wish to extend a warm ADUS welcome to Connie who joined us this evening for the very first time. Donna kindly allowed her to borrow a soprano ukulele for several weeks. Way to go Donna! It’s amazing how fast Connie is learning chords. After no time she was able to play several songs with the group. The group worked on a right hand technique in 3/4 time. Shana brought a few percussive instruments with her and accompanied us on many songs. – Cool! Danny is looking forward to owning his first uke. For a young guy he sure plays like an old pro. Sunshine who came in fashionably late, is getting ready for her guitar and ukulele recital coming up next month. I hope she’s prepared to be encored. This evening, the group played Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’in the Wind” accompanied by Eliezer on the recorder. His considerable talents are only exceeded by his good looks. Donna suggested that the group be given homework after each meeting. What a great idea! Check out our homework page under the “Members” heading above. Failure to do your homework will result in detention. (Just kidding.) See you all next time.
March 3, 2014 – It was really cold out but people braved the Montreal weather to attend tonight’s meeting. It was nice and cozy in our meeting studio though. Warm temperature, warm hearts and warm friendships. We laughed almost as much as we played. What a great bunch of people! We played a lot of Bob Dylan’s music. During the open mike part of the evening, Nosey played “Mr. Tambourine Man” and then requested that I play “The House at Pooh Corner” .Looking for a ukulele club in Montreal? This is the place. A good time was had by all.
February 17, 2014 – Maureen returned from her vacation in Australia. Rumour has it that she spent most of her time there, playing the ukulele on sunny beaches and frightening away the kangaroos. We are all delighted to have her back again! This evening we were visited by Mark Kotler, program director of the Côte Saint-Luc Men’s Club . He was a bit reticent about trying one of our spare ukuleles. No need to be shy here though! The ukulele is easy to learn (though difficult to master). Mark would like us to perform for his group in the near future. We’ll keep you posted. A special thank you to Nosey for her great captioned photos. Click on “Gallery” above.
February 3, 2014 – Our next concert will be held in the auditorium of the Côte Saint-Luc City Hall. There will be many talented performers including a wonderful ventriloquist. We are busy rehearsing several songs. This is a show that should not be missed. We’ll keep you posted as to the date.
January 20, 2014 – The evening began with a PowerPoint presentation containing all kinds of interesting, informative and entertaining information about the ukulele. We were all very happy to welcome two newcomers, Shana and Minyi to our group. Shana had never played a uke before. She is a quick study and was able to join us in playing many songs during the first part of the evening. Minyi is an accomplished player who dazzled us with an original improvisation during the “Open Mike” part of the evening. She plays a beautiful Lanikai concert uke. Everyone in the group is actively participating in choosing the songs we play. Our song book is growing and we now have about 95 songs listed on our website! (See “Song Book” on our members page.) People are losing their shyness and are beginning to sing louder and in harmony no less! A great time was had by all.
January 6, 2014 – Happy new year to all our friends and supporters. Great meeting this evening. Eliezer is determined that 2014 is the year we conquer the mighty B flat. We know; practice, practice, practice. Playing together and singing is so good for the soul. It makes me feel happy. During the open mike part of the meeting, Eliezer serenaded us with his Burt Bacharach medley. I am hoping that we can add MAGIC MOMENTS to the repertoire. OK members. Let’s practice. Eliezer is doing his part. We have to do our bit too. See y’all in two weeks.
December 14, 2013 – Wow! What a great concert! The After Dinner Ukulele Society gave it’s first public performance today. It was a a lot of fun and a great success. The show was vaudevillian in nature and consisted of many entertaining performers demonstrating their talents in acting, music and comedy. The show was held in the auditorium of the Côte Saint-Luc City Hall and was worth every penny of the $5 general admission. The next show is scheduled for February 2014. We’ll keep you posted as to the details.
December 9, 2013 – What a wonderful rehearsal! We are ready for our first public performance at the Greenspon Auditorium in the basement of Côte Saint-Luc City Hall (5801 Cavendish Blvd.)! Chock full of talent from Côte Saint-Luc and beyond, this will be a night full of comedy, music and the occasional oddity! The show starts at 8:30 P.M.
December 2, 2013 – We were all happy to receive a visit from a special guest Steve Rachel aka Dr. Groove. Steve is a talented bass player and is also proficient on the ukulele. He enjoyed playing with us and jamming during the open mike part of the evening. We hope to see him again soon! We would also like to welcome our new member, the beautiful and talented Maureen who just recently purchased a concert ukulele. Maureen has had much experience with the guitar and was able to adapt to the uke very quickly. Our concert is coming up soon. Happy Strumming!
November 18, 2013 – We have great plans for the near future. Tonight’s meeting was devoted to rehearsing songs for several upcoming performances . We’ll keep you posted as to the dates. We had a special visitor, Isaac Olson of The Free Press . One of his photos will appear in his paper next week. Isaac was unable to stay for long but hopefully he will take up the ukulele and join us for meetings. The Zamboni Machine is right next to our studio. Do you think that we can interest the driver to play? (The uke, not hockey.)
November 4, 2013 – This humble violist attended as a guest, with a view to enlightening the fretted types into the merits of tuning their instruments without an electronic tuner. Not much time for that, though, as the enthusiastic ukuleleists were busy gearing up for their Christmas/Hanukah concert. After rehearsing some seasonal stalwarts, such as You are my Sunshine (yours truly managed a few C chords at the appropriate time), the players moved on to more sophisticated fare, capped by Eliezer showing off his virtuosity during the open mike part of the evening.
Suggestions for tuning:
1) All members of the ensemble should tune one of their strings to the same string of the leader; I suggest either the G string (lowest) or the A string (highest).
2) Following this, learn to work down from the top string by placing a finger on a suitable spot of the next string down, then tuning this string until it has exactly the same pitch as the upper string. This way players can tune their instruments properly at home. If they have a good A from the meeting, the instrument should hold its pitch reasonably well until the next meeting. – Rhino
We extend a special welcome to Rema , a very sharp and capable young lady who at the age of 80, is just beginning to learn to play the uke.
October 21, 2013 – Love, love, love the ADUS meetings. Eliezer has provided members with a relaxed, positive atmosphere for uke enthusiasts of all abilities. We not only get to play but pick up invaluable tips. (How to be more efficient when changing chords, how to master the D7 chord.) He even introduced us to a simple picking pattern. (Yes, we do have homework to do before our next meeting…YEAH!) During the open mike segment of the evening we are encouraged to perform a tune we feel comfortable playing. Eliezer came up with a Hallowe’en ditty, complete with a deep macabre laugh which revealed his fabulous fangs. (We would like to thank Mrs. Zarnicky for her dental expertise!) Already looking forward to our next meeting. – Nosey
October 7, 2013 – Another Fun Meeting! Joan played her beautiful new Kala concert ukulele for the first time. She is mastering chord changes. Sunshine will meet with her this week to practice playing “You Are My Sunshine”. Nosey had some really great suggestions about the direction ADUS should take. Her patience and experience as an educator is a great asset. Danny worked hard on his rhythm while playing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. He has been practicing on a beautiful mahogany tenor ukulele and will buy his very own ukulele just as soon as he stops biting his nails – at least on his right hand. Hope to see you soon!
September 16, 2013 – What a great meeting! Danny our photographer is catching on to the ukulele very quickly. He took photos and videos of the event. Some of which might be posted on our website. Daniel E had never held a ukulele before but after only a few moments of instruction, was almost able to to play “The Banana Boat Song” in its entirety. Way to go Daniel! Sunshine was a bit shy. She nevertheless played and sang “Oh Susanna” during the open mic part of the evening. Joan practised her chords and is looking forward to buying her first ukulele. Donna had a great time and couldn’t stop smiling the entire evening. Mrs Zarnicky was a bit upset though when Donna refused to allow her to examine Eliezer’s teeth. (See the Profile page.) Eliezer demonstrated some finger-picking technique while playing Gordon Lightfoot’s “The Pony Man”. This was truly a fun evening. Why not join us next time?
August 19, 2013 – We did not have a very large turnout but the meeting was really fun. Saul brought a book of songs from the ’90s. – Great tunes! The group then played two new songs. Everyone was amazed at how quickly Jane and Emma caught on to playing the uke. Emma was the recipient of a beautiful soprano banjo ukulele donated by Saul. Joan learnt two chords and sang along with the group. We all agreed that the music of Gordon Lightfoot is wonderful. See you next time at our new location.
August 5, 2013 – Our first meeting had a good turnout and was a great success. The evening began with a PowerPoint presentation, which gave attendees information about what to look for when buying a ukulele, about ukulele sizes, accessories, types of tuning and the benefits of becoming a member. Those who did not yet have a ukulele were given the opportunity to try one of two tenors. The Group was taught the four chords of Harry Belafonte’s “The Banana Boat Song”. During the open mike part of the evening, Lorraine played and sang “Amazing Grace”- Sweet! Saul treated everyone to a rendition of “What the World Needs Now” on a mandolin and Eliezer played “The Summer Wind” and “A Whale of a Tale” on his tenor uke. A good time was had by all.
Suggestions for tuning:
1) All members of the ensemble should tune one of their strings to the same string of the leader; I suggest either the G string (lowest) or the A string (highest).
2) Following this, learn to work down from the top string by placing a finger on a suitable spot of the next string down, then tuning this string until it has exactly the same pitch as the upper string. This way players can tune their instruments properly at home. If they have a good A from the meeting, the instrument should hold its pitch reasonably well until the next meeting. – Rhino