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Kids Club, Crashendo, Grades or Community? Happy music helps
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A good case for BYO mug
I have a habit of leaving Christmas shopping until well into December, but for online shopping, that’s not always practical.
With 17 pages of the unique, original, handmade, quirky and cute, Etsy is obviously the place to go for uke-related gifts.
The chord chart mug is a slightly brilliant idea.
Back in 2012, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson played uke and sang in a movie, but in this interview in Japan, he doesn’t have the benefit of multiple takes or editing and after a few errors, takes the time-honoured path of blaming his instrument. Love it!

Note: from now on any man that tries to tell me the ukulele is too small for him to play will be shown this clip.
Kids Club going strong
A few resonates ago I wrote about Ukulele Kids Club, a US-based programme begun by Corey Bergman, a musician who’s young son died of a viral illness and who then wanted to provide music for seriously ill, hospitalised children. The programme has now been established in the UK and Canada, has been highly successful and gifts ukuleles to the children. To quote:

“If a soprano ukulele is placed in the hands of a hospitalized child, a miracle begins to occur. Pain will subside. A smile will appear on a child’s face. The fingers will touch a beautiful instrument of smooth and polished wood. They will feel and hear the soft vibrations of 4 nylon strings. A Board Certified Music Therapist will teach them how to play a song. They will anxiously look forward to another lesson. While watching, the parents will momentarily be transformed to a joyful place. And when each child leaves the hospital, they will be given their ukulele to take home as a gift of music for life.”

They are always looking for donations so they can continue to gift the ukes, and you may be interested to know that Aquila Strings is a major sponsor – so don’t put off getting that new set any longer!!
Crashendo
Established by a Senior Constable in the Victorian Police Force, this new, free, music programme has been a resounding success in Laverton, a south-western suburb of Melbourne. Inspired by El Sistema, Venezuela’s programme of free musical and orchestral instruction for socially and economically disadvantaged children, Crashendo has brought positive results to not only the children and their parents, many of whom are refugees, but the wider community as well. Read here
To be graded … or not

A student recently lent me the Grade 1 book of the new AMEB (Australian Music Examination Board) ukulele music exams, via the ‘Rockschool’ brand. Rockschool is characterised by popular contemporary pieces (hello Brother Iz!) and students have the choice of gaining either a Grade Exam or a Performance Certificate.
The Grade Exam is three performance pieces (two can be free choice pieces), technical work, sight reading or improvisation, ear tests and general musicianship questions. A Performance Certificate is five performance pieces – three of which can be free choice pieces. Admittedly I only saw Grade 1, but was a little uninspired by the playing requirements of the pieces. I suppose too, that although proficiency via grading is a tried and true path, it is not necessarily an inclusive path or a socially beneficial activity, two of the most obvious benefits of ukulele playing compared to many other instruments.
 
On that note (!) this week I attended part of a presentation and associated performances resulting from a project on the history, current state and benefits of community music in Newcastle and surrounding areas, undertaken by Newcastle University.

Since the late 1800’s, community music has been a feature of the Hunter, initially as a way that immigrants (often from Wales or European countries) who had come out to work in the coal mines formed social connections and built their communities. Current community music groups include (naturally) a massive ukulele presence via The Sum of the Parts (music) and satellite offshoots, choirs and brass bands.

As the researchers summarised the incredibly valuable benefits that participants gained from these groups – things like acceptance, belonging, friendships, confidence – it occurred to me that indigenous cultures the world-over have known this forever, and music-making is part of everyday life as well as special occasions. What is it about western culture that causes us to regularly forget, or lose, or reject our intrinsically human musicality and have to repeatedly rediscover it, even undertaking detailed academic studies to confirm that it’s good for us?!
 
And then to answer what I’d been wondering…

 
“… when music is relegated to the sidelines of entertainment, relaxation and diversion — or even when we limit its definition to ‘an art’ to be practiced to a perceived standard of excellence — we miss both the essence of its potential in building community and we miss the mirror, challenging us to look critically and carefully at our lives.”   
 
This quote is from Laura Hassle, the Director of Musicians Without Borders, who was in Australia last month for a series of lectures and workshops. This article gives a detailed overview of what Laura spoke about and the peace building that Musicians Without Borders works on achieving around the world.
Happy music helps the ideas stream flow

Recently published research from a project by Simone Ritter from Radboud University in Nijmegen (the Netherlands) and Sam Ferguson from the University of Technology in Sydney, has found that listening to happy music helps people think imaginatively and solve problems creatively, using what is called divergent thinking.
Silence or sad/anxious music doesn’t do it, and if you have a problem that needs convergent, or more logical, structured thinking, the happy music won’t make a difference. But if you’re stuck for ideas, crank up Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, namely, Spring
Our friend Ben from Ukulele Road Trips has been playing uke with his gloves on in some snowy places around Quebec, Canada. Comical lyrics and many layers of clothing suggest he is making the most of difficult climatic conditions.
Things must have warmed up slightly in Toronto and By the Banks of Lake Ontario (clip below) deals with office work, suits, CRM and KPIs. The skipedy stones chorus is my favourite part. 
 
Ben has also launched a Patreon page, so if you like his songs and the entertaining commentary he includes with his blog posts and podcasts from unusual places around the world, you might consider becoming one of his patrons. The patronage includes ukulele tutorials and is available for as little as $2/month.
"By the Banks of Lake Ontario" Toronto, Canada - original song, Ukulele Road Trips
It's Movember
Danielle
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