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Live Events!!!
LearningUkulele.com / Learning Ukulele with Curt and Funky Frets Music Store, in addition to their annual Funky Frets Uke Fest are presenting a series of concerts, workshops, and events throughout the year — Both virtual and in-person.
Keep and eye and bookmark this page for announcements
2025 Workshop Schedule
Workshop schedule will resume January 2nd 2025.
Theses workshops are virtual via ZOOM , so you can attend from anywhere.
If you're a LearningUkulele.com Premium GOLD or FOREVER Member these workshops are FREE .
After your register, we'll send you ZOOM invite/link and password to get access to the workshop the week before the workshop starts.
January
Learning the Ukulele Fingerboard
It is Not As Hard As One Would Think
Thursday, January 2, 2025 @ 8PM EST (2000 -5UTC)This is a FREE workshop to kick off the NEW year, 2025 and Curt's birthday LearningUkulele.com & Funky Frets LIVE.
Memorizing "The Notes of the Ukulele Fingerboard" Is Not As Hard As One Would Think.
Learning the Ukulele Fingerboard — It is astonishing that on any other instrument it would be silly and not accepted to not know the names of the notes and where they are on your own instrument. But — on the ukulele, guitar and most fretted instruments their players do not know the names intuitively — they can figure them out but that takes way too long. Granted it's not as easy as the piano where higher and lower notes move in one direction only, are color coded and even at different heights. Anyone after the first or second lesson can instantly name any key on the piano.
This is one area that gives you the biggest ROI, return on investment. Actually allows to not rely on sooo... many shapes.
Finally, really learning and knowing the notes of the Ukulele Fingerboard is a liberating movement in ones musical development and opens the ukulele up for. It also allows you the flexibility of not having to remember so many shapes. There are simply way too many chords, scale and notes patterns, and shapes to remember. It all comes down the notes.
In this workshop your get proven, time-test methods to actually get a handle on this daunting task. And, it really, really pays off.
January
Bass for Ukulele Players
All Musicians Should Be Able to Play a Bit of Bass
Thursday, January 9 & 16 @ 8PM EST (2000 -5UTC)Bass, the bottom, the low end. In music, this is one essential musician, always in demand and in short supply. All musicians should be able to play a bit of bass.
This workshop gets you started with being a bass player and the minimum requirement musically to start and fulfill the bass player role. It's a lot easier than you think and the workshop is intended to get you to sound like a bass player and not a ukulele play playing the bass.
- What Is the Role of the Bass?
- Tuning
- Outlining the Chords
- Rhythmic Styles
- Chord Types & Chords Tones
- Right Hand / Left Hand Technique
- and a lot more...
February
Triads - You Already Know More Than You Think
Three notes, how hard can that be?
Thursday, February 6, 13, 20, 27 @ 8PM EST (2000 -5UTC)At the heart of just about every chord is a triad. This workshop explores these powerful harmonic and melodic music gems.
We'll explore the traditional major, minor, diminished, and augmented triads and contemporary triads, starting with the triads you already know but don't know you already know. Finally learning the contemporary triads, just what a sus2, sus4, add2, add9 chord is. And, how to use them.
Triads can be used for everything from creating melodies and improvisation with single notes and chords all the way to creating contemporary songs.
February
Alternating Thumb Style for Ukulele
Travis, Scruggs Fingerpicking Style for Ukulele
Tuesday, February 10, 17, 24 @ 8PM EST (2000 -5UTC)Exploring Basic Fingerstyle on Ukulele. Classical and Alternating Thumb style fingerstyle technique applied to ukulele.
Fingerpicking for Ukulele - Alternating Thumb Style, focuses on the alternating thumb fingerpicking style through a series of graduated lessons-chapters incorporating your index and middle fingers with the alternating thumb.
For this workshop we'll walk through and explore the Alternating Thumb Style on Ukulele.
March
Rhythm, Avoid at Your Own Peril
The Often Neglected and Taken For Granted Subject of Rhythm
Thursday, March 6, 13, 20 @ 8PM EST (2000 -5UTC)The often neglected and taken for granted subject of Rhythm. Music is Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm. We are drawn, initially to music by melody at a very early age, with the instrument of our voice. With ukulele you typically learn chords - the harmony and never really dive into learning rhythm. Unless you're a drummer we take rhythm for granted.
Rhythm has traditionally been taught as a function of math, particularly fractions. Though accurate, this approach has missed one of the most fundamental facts of rhythm. Rhythm is a language and is, as such, phonetic not mathematical. The average student exposed to the math orientation of rhythm has rarely absorbed the essence of rhythm and rarely even becomes proficient at reading rhythm. This often becomes a lifetime barrier to the developing musician.
In this s workshop we'll learn rhythm, just as we learned how to talk. No more counting beats.
There is a strong correlation between the ability to spell and strong fundamentals in phonics. Phonetic skills allow us to “sound out” words, even words that we’ve never seen before! We understand the principle of sound as it applies to phonetic combinations. The "sight" of the letter combination triggers a reflexive "sound"; reaction. If rhythm could be broken down into phonetic units, then rhythm would become an easily recognized aural language.
This workshop covers:
- The core four levels of how any give beat can be subdivided. And the Rhythmic Syllables that are created.
- Apply this the strumming and fingerpicking on the ukulele.
- Learn just what the famous jazz trumpeter meant when he said he
Thinks in rhythm.
Triads can be used for everything from creating melodies and improvisation with single notes and chords all the way to creating contemporary songs.
March
Essential Strums for Ukulele - A Guide to Ukulele Strums
Don't know what to play or tired of playing the same old down-up-down-up strums?
Thursday, March 11, 18, 25 @ 8PM DST (2000 -4UTC)Don't know what to play or tired of playing the same old down-up-down-up strums? One of the first skills a ukulele player learns is the art and craft of strumming, playing rhythm. This refers to an accompaniment technique suitable for the singer-songwriter or someone who plays a support role for another instrument.
Strumming requires a specific set of skills. They are: 1) Memorization of chords. 2). The ability to switch chords smoothly and 3) The ability to choose and execute a suitable rhythmic strum. It is this 3rd skill that is our focus in A Guide to Ukulele Strums.
Though strumming looks natural to the casual observer, it is anything but natural to the beginning ukulele player. Even experienced players have difficulty in identifying and executing certain strums. Though this is one of those topics that is typically taken for granted, there is much to learn about rhythmic feels, accents, dynamics, strum direction, feel, percussive accents, idiomatic styles and tempo variation.
Learn These Essential Strums and a lot more:
- Quarter Note Strum
- Sustain Strum
- Rock Strum
- Light Rock Strum 1
- 12/8 Strum
- Shuffle Strum
- Power Shuffle Strum
- Double Time Strum
- Gallop Strum
- Flowing 3/4 Strum
- Ska Strum
- Bass Note Strum Patterns
- 3/4 Strum
- Reggae Strum
- Broken Patterns
April
Exploring Jazz Chords on Ukulele
Using the Big 6, Core 4-part Chords
Wednesday, April 2, 9, 16, 23 @ 8PM DST (2000 -4UTC)If you know these basic open-position chords you have what is needed to start your adventure into jazz
chords.
Exploring contemporary 4-part, a.k.a. "Jazz" chord on ukulele all start with the Big Six, Core Chords. You most likely know the open position chords they're based on.
From the Six core chords that are the Big Six and the principles of chord construction along with learning the notes of the ukulele fingerboard, you WILL be able to create ANY chord you come across just from the name.
These jazz chords are simply 4-part contemporary chords that find their way in a lot of music - not just jazz.
The Big Six Core Chords are: Seventh, Minor Seventh, Major Seventh, Diminished Seventh, Half-Diminished Seventh, Augmented Seventh
From these six core
chords you'll never be at a loss looking for that individual chord you need.
Available Workshops
Here area few more workshops that we have planned in 2025.
Exploring Songs
From simple to complex, it's all about the song — Learning Songs
- NEW — I'm a Believer — Learn the Intro, Organ Fills, and Instrumental Break (Wipe Out).
- Saint James Infirmary — Learn the Accompaniment, Melody, Improv, and Melody and Chord to this classic blues.
- Red River Valley — Learn how we can create a simple melody and chord arrangement to the classic folk song.
- I'll Remember April — With this song we'll really challenge yourself with a very sophisticated melody and chord arrangement. This is one of the songs I recorded on my 2026/17 How About More Uke? jazz ukulele. trio CD.
- Giant Steps — The John Coltrane classic. With this melody and chord arrangement we explore a bit of Quartal chords in the arrangement.
How-to Workshops
- Music Basics — Create a solid foundation for future development on your Ukulele journey.
- Chord Melody — Introduction to Crafting Solo Ukulele Melody and Chord Arrangements
- Intro, Endings, and Turnarounds — Turning a song into an arrangement to add to your repertoire.
- Playing by Ear — The Ultimate goal, Playing by Ear. Learn the Common Chord Progressions and How to Remembering Songs
- Building Left Hand Technique — If you hands can't pull it off, what's the point of knowing so much.
- Building Right Hand Technique — If you hands can't pull it off, what's the point of knowing so much.
- The Principles of Music — A bit of music knowledge goes a long, long way.
- Essential Strums for Ukulele — A Guide to Ukulele Strums
- Introduction to Scales and Soloing on Ukulele — Take It! You won;t have to blow if off anymore after this workshop.
- Exploring the Blues for Ukulele — The heart of all American music.
- Reading Music on the Ukulele - Primer — You know you always wanted to be able to do this. This workshop will give a solid foundation for increasing your ability read music.
- Ukulele for Guitar Players — Learn just what musician and guitar knowledge you can transfer to the ukulele. Another one of the topics where
You Already Know More Than You Think.
Ho`olohe Hou Radio
Ho`olohe Hou Radio — 24 hour-a-day Internet radio station featuring the 100-year history of Hawaiian music and the entertainment industry in Hawai`i.
At the heart of the station is innovation. Bill Wynne didn’t invent radio, and he surely didn’t invent Hawaiian music. But he saw Ho`olohe Hou Radio
as an opportunity to put the two together in a manner that has never been attempted before. He calls it Hawaiian Music Edutainment
. Instead of spending so much airtime on commercials, a few minutes each hour on Ho`olohe Hou Radio
will be dedicated to educational programming which will help the listener understand the historic and cultural importance of the songs and artists they hear on this unique station.
