A Shared Ukulele Performance — Let's Play Together!

Encouraged by the success of our shared Christmas ukulele project at the end of last year, I am inviting all of you to another big group strum — unfortunately once again only in virtual form.

Just like the "Ó, Gyönyörű Szép" project, I am asking you to send me videos of yourselves playing. I will combine them, creating another video in which everyone can be seen and heard and a ukulele choir comes to life. There is one small twist this time: I am not going to tell you what the song is, although I am 99% sure everyone knows it. I will record the melody afterwards; what I need from you is the accompaniment described below.

If you would like to take part, you need to know the following chords:

And you need to play the following cycle THREE times (each chord symbol represents one measure in 3/4):

| [C] [C] [C] [G] | [G] [G] [G] [C] |

| [F] [C] [F] [C] | [F] [C] [G] [C] |

Round 1: quarter-quarter-quarter

Round 2: quarter-rest-rest

Round 3: quarter-quarter-quarter

In the video below I show exactly how I would like you to play the chords. I call out the next chord in advance, so the easiest method may be to listen to the video while making your own recording.

If you skip to 4:44, that is where the "play together" section begins.

Finally, let me summarize the most important points about making and submitting the video. The "official" part is that by sending me your video, you agree that I may edit and publish it without any time limit. Here are the practical details:

• You need to play three rounds, meaning 3 × 16 measures. In the first round, strum quarter notes throughout. In the second, strum only the first beat of each measure. In the third, repeat the first pattern and strum quarter notes throughout. There is no pause between the rounds.
• Please record from the front, with both your face and your ukulele visible while you play. This matters for editing: it would not look good if one participant showed only their face, another only the instrument, and so on.
• If possible, eliminate outside noise and record in a well-lit place.
• My video — or the metronome — must not be audible in your recording. It is almost impossible to remove that sound cleanly from the background during editing.
• Please record horizontally, preferably in HD. I cannot guarantee that I will be able to include video with an unsuitable aspect ratio, because positioning and resizing it is extremely time-consuming.
• Do not stop the recording immediately at the end of the third round. Please wait about five seconds before stopping it (or before beginning your introduction — see below).

Please do not send the recording through Facebook because it significantly reduces video quality. I would like the original file, shared for example through Google Drive, WeTransfer, Mammutmail, Toldacuccot or a similar service, with info@ukulele.hu as the recipient. If a Gmail address is required for sharing, you can send material to ukuleleblog@gmail.com. If you have any questions before recording or about sending the file, contact me at the same address or leave a comment below the post.

Deadline: Saturday, January 30, 2021, 10:00 p.m. That is the deadline for your recordings. After that comes several hours — perhaps days — of editing, with the actual amount of work naturally depending on how many videos arrive. I hope there will be as many as possible. World Ukulele Day is on February 2, and I hope I can have the video assembled by then.

Finally, I have one personal request: either by email or in a few words at the end of your video, please introduce yourself and tell me how long you have been playing. I would be happy to get to know at least this much about those of you who will appear in the finished video. Naturally, the introductions themselves will not be included in the edited production. Happy practicing and good luck! I look forward to your videos. Thank you .

A still from the Christmas video: