September 2015 Fourth Thursday Meeting

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

Don, Virginia, Lisa, Lee, Elizabeth

September 2015 2nd Thursday Meeting

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

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

August 2015 2nd Thursday Meeting

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

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

Don, Lisa, Luis, Harriet, Virginia

Restoring A Baritone Ukulele

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

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

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

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

Young Folks

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

May 2015 Fourth Tuesday Meeting

Today at the Ukulele Club meeting, our friend Abby was very interested in borrowing my uke and showing it to her friends.  Since attendance was sparse, I let her have it for quite awhile.  She appears to be enchanted with it so perhaps she'll join the Club one of these days.  Since she's 5 years old (she said she used to be 4) I think she has plenty of time to learn.

I'm sure she's going to be a good singer.  While I was showing her how to tune, any note I plucked, she was able to sing it perfectly.  Her pitch is dead-on, it's very exciting!

March 2015 Fourth Thursday Meeting

Well, once again we had a fun and profitable (artistically speaking) meeting! We've added a couple of new songs, check them out in our Song Files!
Catch A Falling Star
Route 66
A couple (ahem) several song PDF need serious makeovers so I'll be working on them this upcoming 2 weeks. We feel so grateful to have good friends who love music to hang out with. Thanks so much for coming out!

Lisa, Luis, Amber, Don, Viriginia

Highland Lakes Weekly's Photo of the meeting, courtesy John Hallowell.