I look forward to working and playing with you at Swing Week this summer.  My hope is that this class will open your ears to new sounds and possibilities, your musical mind to new ideas and concepts, and your fingers to new techniques.

The ukulele is not a toy!  You can get a lot of music out of that little box!  Let’s have a good time together while we become better musicians.

In terms of your proficiency level for this class; you should be able to play basic open string ukulele chords and be able to play a chord progression up to tempo.   A sense of humor and the willingness to have some fun go a long way, too.

We will take a familiar swing tune and convert the basic open-string chords to more interesting closed-string voicing to achieve a more appropriate “jazzy” or swing feel. 

1. Explore chord substitutions for basic chord progressions.
2. Basic ukulele finger picking patterns.
3. Lead soloing – It’s all in the chords (or pretty close by).
4. Getting the swing feeling in your rhythm and lead notes.
5. Backup ukulele techniques for swing music.
6. Chord melody.
7. Movable chord shapes.

Of course you will need a ukulele (any size will do, but a larger size such as concert or tenor is a little easier to work with for advance “up-the-neck” chording). I use the standard re-entrant “C” tuning. Bring a tuner, paper, pencil, extra strings and some type of recording device. An audio or better yet, a video recorder will serve you well in your studies after you return home. We are going to cover a lot of material in a short period of time and since it is impossible to remember it all, tape it!

Visit my website for examples of my style:  www.geraldross.com

Feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions:

Gerald Ross
P.O. Box 3245
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106
gbross@umich.edu