Acoustic Blues Jam at McCabe's.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 11:28PM
m.

Just got back from attending Fred Sokolow's Acoustic Blues Jam at McCabe's, and I'm so excited - I had a great time!

I was the only uke there tonight - there were 2 harmonicas, a banjo, and several guitars. We played a number of blues tunes in mostly uke-friendly keys - C, D, and A mostly, with a couple songs in E. No chord charts or sheet music was involved; for each song, Fred would walk us through the progression once or twice and after that, it was a matter of relying on memory, playing by ear, or - in my case - a little of both :)

It was really fun and not intimidating at all, and a real change from the more intricate ensemble pieces that we usually play. I had been worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up, but I did just fine. I might even be brave enough to solo the next time... that is, as long as the song isn't in E :)

This group meets Wednesdays, 8-9:30pm, and you can pay on a per-sesson basis ($25) - no need to sign up for the whole series. The next meeting is not until 6/5 (and I think there are 3 more meetings after that). I'm planning to go, and I'd encourage any ensemble players who want to break away from their stack of sheet music to attend.

Article originally appeared on Westside Ukulele Ensemble (http://www.westsideukes.com/).
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