Pic: pixabay.com
Want to learn the ukulele in a day?
This weekend will see beginners and improvers getting the opportunity to pick up this massively popular little instrument in the United Arts Centre.
Ukulele playing has come a long way since the nudge-and-a-wink innuendo of George Formby’s When I’m Cleaning Windows, with acts such as Garfunkel and Oates giving the ukulele’s comedy potential a much-needed update. The uke has reached new echelons of cool in recent years, featuring heavily as it did in 2014 hit Riptide by Vance Joy, and with artists such as Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder releasing whole albums dedicated to the instrument.
Surprising covers can be found online, from classics like Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean, to dancefloor fillers like Outkast’s Hey Ya! and 2014’s biggest single, Pharrell Williams’ Happy.
This cover of 50 Cent’s In Da Club toes the line between cover and comedy, with more than just a tip of the flat cap to George Formby. Even Radiohead received the uke treatment when Amanda Palmer released an album of covers.
One of the great appeals of the ukulele is that it is universally viewed as an easy instrument to pick up and learn. Couple this with its diminutive size and light-hearted sound, and it is clear to see why it has been used in projects such as this music therapy programme in Miami’s Jackson Paediatric Centre.
So take your chance to pick up this wonderful instrument on Saturday and Sunday, as Finlay Allison teaches beginners and improvers ukulele in the United Arts Club at 3 Upper Fitzwilliam Street. The beginners’ class takes place from 1-5pm on Sunday (April 12), and will teach chords, strumming technique, and a basic music lesson. You can even pre-book ukulele on loan if you do not have one of your own. Saturday (April 11) will see the improvers’ course taking place from 1-6pm, with more advanced strumming techniques and easy chord cheats covered, as well as tips on how to overcome stage fright.
Tickets cost €35.00 and can be booked online. For more information, and to pre-book a ukulele, call the United Arts Centre on (01) 66 11 4 11.
By Aimée Mac Leod
