Week 7 - Lots Going On

11 May 2010 - Class Seven

This past week had been spent trying to get the triplet to sound right and be able to integrate it into a strumming pattern. I’ve got it to where it sounds fair to me, and isn’t too uncomfortable/awkward to do. Now here is something funny, since I learned what it is and how it sounds, I’ve actually been noticing triplets in the music on commercials, and have been trying to duplicate the strumming patterns.

As for the triplet strum, for the most part I’ve been using the index finger for the first part followed by the thumb for the rest. I do practice the 4-finger strum, but the index finger variant seems more economical and comfortable to me (maybe because I became aware of it first, on one of Ralph Shaw’s videos).

I’ve got to run after class. My friend Dave Koenig is in town for a convention. Dave plays the Jake character from the Blue’s Brothers at Universal Studios (as well as for the House of Blues clubs) and is the official trainer for this. He’s in town doing personal appearances and photos for the trade show. Tonight is our only mutually available night to meet up. On a side note, Dave’s son Matt is the bass player for the band Broadway Calls.

I just hope that I can make it through the night; something hit me about 1:00 PM. Bad ear ache, the whole right side of my head is hurting and I can barely see out of my right eye, and the neck is stiffening up, not good…

I’ll try to catch up and fill in what happens later on.

4 May - Week 6 of Class

4 May 2010

Ok, today I downloaded a recording that Betsy from our class made of the one class that I missed. I’ve listened to it twice so far. This is neat, and I wish all of the classes had been recorded. Being able to step through the classes again and rewind and re-listen to parts you may not have gotten are fantastic as a learning tool.

Class tonight was almost empty, there were about 6 of us, and as has been the standard for Tuesday nights this past month, it was pouring out. Danno made mention of the instruments sounding off because of the humidity.

Tonight we reviewed material from the previous couple of classes, especially the material from the week that I had missed. But thanks to listening to Betsy’s recording, I was not as far behind as I thought I was going to be. After that, we started working of 4 chord, chord progressions from the 50’s rock era. G, Em, C, D7 (1,6,4,5 progression). We also worked on minimizing finger movement when changing chords with proper planning, like adding the little finger to convert a G into an Em, and using the ring finger for the C so the index finger can be added to convert to a D7 when needed.

Ah, we spent a few minutes on the triplet tonight. Danno uses the 4 fingers for the first part of the strum, followed by the thumb, where I had been working on it just using the index finger for the first part. This is going to take some work, Danno is amazing.

I also made up a practicing tool for my chords. I took a box that used to hold staples, taped it shut, and drew in the frets (it is long enough to have the first 5), and I drew in the strings in the correct positions. So I have a small item that fits in my pocket, but can mimic the top 3rd of the fret board. This allows me to practice moving my fingers in and out of chord positions (a weakness I still have as I am very slow at changing chords). It seems to me that the back of a cell phone could be used the same way (just draw the fret marks and strings on a label and stick it on the back of the phone), but as I don’t use a cell phone this is not an option for me.

- I realized that a business card, although a little wider than the fret board makes an excellent tool and the first 5 frets will fit upon it.

Week 5 LOST

27 April 2010

So here I am, Ukulele class is right at the mid point (week 5).

I was prepared for the class when it began. My ukulele had arrived in early March and I spent a little bit of time getting ready for the April class. I learned what I assumed to be the first group of chords we would learn, and practiced them. C, C7, G, G7, F, D, D7, and A became familiar to me and almost comfortable. I was able to get into the hand positions and make a good clean sounding chord for each of these, and this held me in good stead for the first 3 weeks of class.

Week 3 introduced a few new chords, Am, and E7 to me, and the transitions between chords started to get quicker in the songs that were assigned.

I’ve been battling with the Bb chord, and have about a 40% to 60% success rate in getting it. It seems that I have either an issue with my ring finger making contact with the third string while pressing down on the fourth, or the index finger does not apply enough pressure to A string (number 1) while pressing both the first 2 string, creating a dead string. This chord came up in week 3, but I was and still am ready for it. Eek…

Health issues kept me from attending class number 4, and I knew I was in trouble. Class 5 was on April 27th. I was bright and early and to help me out a bit, I brought my tenor Uke instead of the smaller “Watermelon”, my thinking is that it would help me out a bit as it has more room on the fret board and allows for looser/less-exact finger positioning. My thinking was that I needed every advantage I could get.

This week’s class started out great; I picked up the handouts from the previous week, and then I looked at them... There were a few new chords, F7, A7, one of the songs transitioned from strumming (which is what we had been doing since the first meeting) to strumming and picking notes. I’ve been working on this at home on my own.

At this point though, I’m feeling a little lost. We have a handful of strumming patterns, 1 finger picking pattern, 20+ chords, and 18 songs.

Did I say “a little lost”?

Not a Good Day

26 April 2010

Not a Good Day.

I rushed home from work a little early today so I could head out to class. I’m really not feeling well, the whole body hurts, it’s been like this since Sunday, intense pain at the slightest touch. I tried to warm up and tune the uke before heading out, and could not hold the strings down. Added to this, I have to make pit stops every 20 minutes… It must be some kind of virus; I hope it runs its course quickly. So it looks like I’m going to have to miss class tonight, I don’t think I can get there, and if I did, I would accomplish anything. It’s 4:30 PM and I’m going to lie down.

As for the strumming dilemma I’ve been having, that resolved itself. Once I relaxed a little bit and stopped trying, it came. I was over doing everything in the process.

Week 3 Ukulele Blues

13 April 2010

Week 3 Ukulele Blues

Last weekend I watched the movie “Walk the Line” the Johnny Cash story. Having grown up in the 60’s and 70’s, I was very familiar with his songs and several were childhood favorites. The movie inspired me to attempt one of his songs. The strumming pattern seemed within my reach, in fact, they commented on this pattern in the movie (calling it a simple sound as they were not that good on the instruments). So I picked Folsom Prison Blues as the piece to work on.

Truth be told, I never realized this song had the word “Blues” in the title. When I realized that it was there, and the reason why, I became excited. This was actually a “blues” song, not something we associate with the late Mr. Cash. But it does make a lot of sense as, well according to the movie, he wrote this on his own as a beginner guitar player while in the Air Force.

A little back ground:
There is a pattern called the “12 Bar Blues” and this pattern comprises the rhythm/chord progression for thousands of songs. This pattern in it’s simplest form is 4 bars of the I chord, 2 bars of the IV chord, 2 bars of the I chord, 2 bars of the V chord, then 2 bars of the I chord. For example, in the key of “G”, G is the I chord (first note in the scale) C is the IV (4th note, G(1), A(2), B(3), C(4) ), and the V chord is D (5th note in the scale). So, in the key of G, your would strum 4 bars of G, 2 bars of C, 2 bars of G, 2 bars of D, and then 2 bars of G.

Folsom Prison Blues essentially fell into this pattern. In the written lyric/chord form it shows only one bar of “G” instead of 2 after playing the “C” and the “D”, but when Cash played the song, he played the 2 bars as in the standard 12 bar blues format.

Even the lyrics followed the standard blues pattern:

Folsom Prison Blues:
I hear the train a comin', it's rolling round the bend
And I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when,
I'm stuck in Folsom prison, and time keeps draggin' on
But that train keeps a rollin' on down to San Antone


I’m Movin’ On:
That big eight-wheeler rollin' down the track
Means your true lovin' daddy ain't comin' back.
I'm movin' on, I'll soon be gone
You were flyin' too high for my little old sky
So I'm movin' on.


Mary Had a Little Lamb: (JC Style)
Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow
Every where that Mary went, that lamb was sure to go
He followed her to school, which was against the rules
It made the children laugh, to see a lamb at school


My thinking was, learn this progression, and know more songs than you can possibly name. So I began working on it in the key of “G” as I could make all the chords already.

Class that night was interesting; more chords, including the Bb (B-flat), a chord that has been giving me problems for a month now. We are starting to move along pretty quick in class. The chord changes are coming quicker and the strumming patterns more complex, plus there seems to be a never-ending supply of chords. The advantage I had from my advance self-study and practice is gone, I’m starting to fall behind.

On a side note, I spoke to Danno (the teacher) after class about 12-bar blues, asking if we would be covering it. He said yes, and that we already had. He then mentioned on of the songs we started that night. He asked me to name a blues song, I named CC Rider, and he played the song we had done that night and replaced the words with those of CC Rider, they fit. I had been so worried about making the chord and keeping p with the class that I had missed the pattern of the song.

I’ve got a lot to work on this week!

Week 2

6 April 2010

Week 2

Been working on “It A’nt Gonna Rain No Mo’”, but it isn’t helping. It is pouring out! Seem’s like Tuesday is rain-day. I spent the weekend working on the songs from last night, and even found recordings of some to listen too. I tried to play along, but could not keep up. Just 2 chords (C, which uses only 1 finger, and the G7), both chords that I have been working on for a while and I know fairly well, but I am slow. I’m concentrating on the strumming, trying to get it to sound right, but I’m just not getting something. Something is just no clicking. Going back and forward between using the thumb as Danno does in class, and with the index finger as Ralph Shaw and Jim Beloff use in their instruction videos.

Class was full, even though the weather is miserable, everyone made it. New chords today, the D7 to go along with Sloop John B. Another song I remember from my youth, as is Blue Bayou. The other song we got is called Apeman by the Kinks. I’ve never heard it before. My musical knowledge ends at 1982.

Class is picking up speed and a lot of fun.

Reminder to self, “Don’t wear a Hawaiian shirt to class again!”




On a side note:
The tenor ukulele I ordered came in this week and it is a thing of beauty. The strings are a lot stiffer than the watermelon; hopefully as it breaks in they will loosen up. I do love the sound; it has a richer and deeper tone.

It Begins…

30 March 2010

It Begins…

Back in February I signed up for a class at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, Ukulele for the Almost Musical. It seemed like a fun class, and “Almost Musical” sounds about right for me.

Danno Sullivan is the teacher, and we had the first class. He is fantastic, a fun teacher and really talented. We learned a few chord (C and G7) and worked on strumming our way through a handful of songs. This is going to be a blast!

Sax and Violins

Flash forward 30 years.

My children showed interests in musical instruments; for my daughter it was the piano when she was very young, then later the sax, my son wanted to learn the drums. I did all I could to give them the opportunity to learn and experience what had interested them. I wanted to ensure that they had the opportunities that I did not as a child.

I’ve been listening to violin music for many years, I still have the bug. One day I decided to buy a violin and start learning to play. I was approaching 40 and felt that it was about time. A few months after I bought the violin, one of the community colleges offered an introductory violin class. I immediately signed up.

The class was fun, hard work, but fun! I signed up for private lessons after the class had ended. Unfortunately I had several conflicts with available lesson times and my work, but I continued on. I learned to play in first and in third position. And what I was doing was actually beginning to sound like music; my dog would actually come and lay down next to me while I played. Then a series of medical issues put a stop to my violin playing. RA and spinal issues made it impossible to play.

Music in School

Music has always been important to me. When I was in grade school, 3rd grade, I became entranced by the viola. It all happened during a school assembly. The school was offering music lessons to interested students, the assembly was to introduce the students to the instruments that would be taught, and the viola caught my ear.

I’d always loved the violin, possibly due to my love of Sherlock Holmes. I’d seen every movie and read every book and story (at least all those written by Doyle). Holmes played the violin. The viola was like the violin, except it played a bit lower and to me had a wonderful sound.

After school that day, I rushed home to let my parents know about the music lessons, and the viola. I was assured that they would look into this for me, and actually attended the meeting for the parents on the music lessons. I was so excited, my mind was aflame with visions of me playing the viola, it was the most excited I’d ever been.

That night my mother told me that they had signed me up for music lessons, and that I have to really practice every day for at least 1 hour, and that I should do it quietly. From what I can remember of this, I was nodding so quickly that my chin was bouncing off my chest. This was one of my happiest childhood memories. That night in my dreams, I was Sherlock Holmes, solving mysteries, and playing the viola.

On Saturday I was taken to the music shop, we were going to pick up my instrument. As we walked, I could swear I was bouncing, I was that excited. My mother went to the counter and asked for some strange looking thing. It was shaped like a wedge and had a flat surface about 6” X 6” angled at 45 degrees. This surface had a dull red rubber circle glued to it. My mother got this and a pair of drum sticks.

It turns out economics had reared its ugly head. When my parents went to the meeting at the school, they learned what it would cost to rent a viola; then they learned that drum lessons used what was called a “drum pad”, an angled piece of wood with a red-rubber circle glued to it, and a pair of drum sticks, a total investment of less than $5. To my parents, music lessons was music lessons, so they signed me up for drum lessons.

I held back the tears, I was 8 years old, almost a man, and men don’t cry. For the rest of the year I practiced my drum rolls, when the meeting came up for music lessons for the following year, I did not tell my parents.

Natural Lessons

This past week has been a tough one for me. My mind was going over several situations that had occurred, misunderstandings between friends, issues at work, personal issues, things I could not clear from my mind. My mind kept going over these issues, beating itself up looking for solutions, things that could have been done differently, handles better, solutions and possible solutions for other issues, I was is worriers hell. My mind was so preoccupied on these things I could not get adequate sleep, and meditation became impossible as I could not reach a calm spot.

This is a situation I think we all find ourselves in. We become trapped in a spiral, problems occur, we concern ourselves them, seeking solutions, worrying about some real, and some expected issues. As we obsess over these, we make matters worse. Our bodies become deprived, we lose sight of other things, then these create other issues, we worry about them as well, then more is added to the mix. The black vortex of the mind…

I recognized what was going on, but nothing seemed to work to break me out of the cycle. Meditation, self hypnosis, creative visualization, all were out of reach, my mind and essence were locked in a battle with each other and the demon of doubt and fear. Even the dog noticed something was wrong, and tried to break me out of this with puppy love, but I was too entrenched to get the message.

My first reaction was to withdraw and cut myself off from the world, how could I be a friend or help others when I could not help myself. This too is a situation that many of us in our line of work find ourselves in. Negativity spreads like a virus, spreading from host to host in a chain reaction of despair, and I did not want to be Patient Zero.

Trying to clear my head after yet another bout of bad news, I decided to go for a walk. We had a snow storm just a day before, but it was warm and I had not been to the beach in a while. Neither had the dog.

We began walking, the only two as far as the eye could see, just us in this vast sea of water and sand. Even though the dog was with me, I felt alone and that the scene matched how I felt on the inside, alone in a vast wasteland, overwhelmed by everything around him.

I gazed out at the water; choppy waves were breaking at the shore smashing against the huge field of ice and snow carving away at it and carrying bits and pieces away, just as my own mind was doing to me.

Then I noticed the dog was looking at the scene as well but her eyes were not watching the destruction as the waves hit, but what happened as the waves receded. Yes, there was the breaking of the ice and snow, what appeared to be destruction with the mighty ocean attacking the snow and ice that had invaded its home.

It was then that it hit me; the ocean was doing as it always has, moving in its never ending cycle, waves hitting the shore, yes some times bigger and more fierce, driven by the winds, but continuing its purpose. The ice and snow that appeared at its shore was not being attacked, it too was part of the ocean, water that had been separated and taken a different form, but the ocean doing its own thing, its simple purpose was reclaiming what had been taken from it by the outside forces of sun and wind.

Like the ocean, I should stay focused and keep true to myself and my purpose; my troubles were like the ice and snow, parts of my life and my mind and would eventually be reabsorbed. I should not be concerned at how large they appear or that they appear to be taking over my landscape, my home, my life. Like the ice and snow, wind and rain, thoughts and concerns will manifests, but they should not be all consuming, my staying true to myself I will be able to whittle away them, make them smaller, even carve them into funny shapes along the way. Eventually they would be cleared away, but then new storms would form. It is the cycle of life.

After about an hour of walking the beach and marveling at the beauty of nature I returned home and finally got some rest. Nature is a great teach, if one can just open himself or herself up to what is being taught.

Another Change And a New Year's Wish

I've made a change to the blog and restricted comments to registered users as I've been receiving spam and do not wish to promote those products here.

As for the anonymous poster who placed the 3 comments to my last posting, God Bless you.

If you wish to discuss your comments with me, feel free to contact me in person. I prefer putting a face and name to people when I discuss issues with them.

Happy New year to all and may the new year bring you all happiness, fulfillment, and a closer relationship with God.

Change is Good

“Change is good.”

This is a phrase that can be quite contrary.

Change is neither good nor bad; it depends on the direction of the change, in my humble opinion.

It has been observed by many in the ministry that the role and actions of the Church must change in order to survive. Given today’s culture this is more than just a theory. Gone are the days when the All Mighty Church leaders would sit back, preach, and expect the laity to nod in agreement and follow the party line. Gone are the days when evangelizing and proselytizing by quoting scripture and preaching AT the masses would spread the WORD.

In today’s world, the Church must take an active role in the community; it must be community centric, not centralized on its internal hierarchy. What is being forgotten, or ignored is that the Church is not a building, not the ministers, priests, and Bishops, but the people, the community. And YES, the WORD is important, but it is only half of what the mission should be, the ACTIONS and DEEDS are of equal importance. (and in the public eye, of more importance).

The role of minister and Bishop should be that of “brother’ of “friend”, of “compassionate advisor” not as the voice from on high. The vocation is one of, yes, leading the group in prayer, but also of being there for support. The ministers should be there to support their community, their family. The Bishops should be there to support the ministers, support, not oppress. The mister should be in touch with his/her community and assist with those matters in which he can assist, and refer on those which he/she cannot, and realize the difference. The ministers must also be active in the communities, even in matters of daily life, actively assisting in those activities that affect his community, supporting it as a big brother would support his family.

The Bishops should give guidance to the minister, but leave the ultimate decisions to the Minster (in most cases). Thoughtful discussion are what is required, not commandments from on high. Additionally, proper training should be provided and be encouraged through both secular and non-secular sources. The job of the Bishop is to provide the tools to the Ministers to allow them to do their vocation, refer issues they cannot properly address, and the knowledge to know the difference.

These are some of the key points of my discussion at our last Bishop’s conclave. The discussion appeared to have been well received, but as we all know, appearance’s can be deceptive.

There has been a shift in direction from an advisory role to a more authoritarian role, and change from the change if you will. What I had proposed (and may others have pointed out before me) requires more independence of the local churches, more spending of funds on education for ministerial training and education, and more referral to qualified outside agencies. Perhaps the increase of expenditure and lessening of control were too much of a change to accept at one time, or it was perceived as financially irresponsible for the “organization” and irresponsible for the leadership to step back and let those in the front lines take responsibility and true leadership. And it may have been a combination of these and other reasons. My philosophy is that a good leader makes himself/herself dispensable by empowering and educating others to make the right decisions.

Several months ago I was asked to retire as an active Bishop as my ideas and actions did not fit with the direction that the “organization” wished to go. After much considered thought and prayer, I saw the light in the situation and came to terms with it. My first response was confusion, then a bit of anger. It took a little while to realize that it was personal pride and ego that was affecting my acceptance of the other Bishops’ decision. In my eagerness to push towards a 21st Century Church, I was guilty of many of the situations I was arguing against, pushing my ideas and concepts on those who were not receptive, much like preaching at the crowd instead of talking with them.

“Change is good.” In this case, it is. I’ve seen something of myself that I was blind to, and in revealing this I can move forward more enlightened. My hopes are that the “organization” is correct in their direction and that it fulfills its purpose of serving God by serving the people.

Little Bit of Heaven

Tristan

8 pounds, 7 ounces and 22 inches long

Born Mother's Day