Stories and interviews
128 posts
Spring Course III in 2023
Tamás GállI woke to a beautiful, sunny, although slightly chilly Sunday morning and set off excitedly to meet my ukulele students for another Course III. In a friendly, close-knit atmosphere, nine of us started playing a few minutes after 9:00. The morning focused mainly on music theory: we explored scales an…
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Summer ukulele courses 2023
Tamás GállDear (Future) Ukulele Players! Your interest in the ukulele courses remains strong, which genuinely makes me happy—thank you . After coordinating with the venue, the summer course dates are now set: Ukulele Course I – 4 June 2023 (Sunday), 9:00–16:00 APPLY If you are interested in the courses and wo…
Read moreVirtual participation in the 2023 Shanghai Ukulele Festival
Tamás GállAs last year David Chen contacted me again this year and invited the Hungaria ukulele community to take part virtually in the 2023 Shanghai Ukulele Festival. Of course anyone can attend in person as well, but most of us are more likely to send a greeting video. If you do not know David: he is one of…
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Summer Course I in 2023
Tamás GállI was delighted to meet 12 very kind and likeable ukulele players last Sunday. I felt that the day had a really good atmosphere, and by the end it seemed as though the few hours we spent together had passed in an instant. First we learned the basics: how to hold and tune the ukulele and how rhythm w…
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Summer Course II in 2023
Tamás GállYesterday's Course II, like the spring one, began with ten participants. We exercised the part of our brains responsible for rhythm and also learned muting techniques. We became acquainted with many, many chords, including barre shapes. For me, one of the highlights was the handful of songs we put t…
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Autumn ukulele courses 2023
Tamás GállDear (Future) Ukulele Players! Summer has only been under way for a few weeks, but the dates of the autumn courses are already set: Ukulele Course III – 1 October 2023 (Sunday), 9:00–16:00 APPLY If you are interested in the courses and would like to apply, click the "Courses" menu item to read all t…
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A visit to the Kamaka workshop
Tamás GállAfter a long time, here comes another guest post—and not just any guest post. A few months ago, in the Hungaria Ukulele Club Facebook group I saw a post by Gyuri, a fellow guitarist and ukulele player who was lucky enough to visit the workshop of Kamaka, one of the world's finest ukulele makers. I w…
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Report on Course I in autumn 2023
Tamás GállI arrived at today's ukulele course in central Budapest loaded with an outrageous amount of gear and found a perfect parking space—as if this were karmically programmed for me, because 99% of the time I am incredibly lucky when looking for parking . I brought almost all my ukuleles (I definitely lef…
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Report on Course II in autumn 2023
Tamás GállYesterday I woke to a cool morning and light drizzle, so I got a little wet by the time I had unloaded everything at the venue for Ukulele Course II. Once again, thanks to those who arrived early and helped; without you I could not have set up the room so quickly. We unusually began the course by pl…
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Report on Course III in autumn 2023
Tamás GállWe held the autumn Course III on a notable date: World Music Day. I set off excitedly and could hardly wait to meet my ukulele students, make music together, and also immerse ourselves a little in some questions of music theory . As on the previous Course III, nine of us began playing in a friendly,…
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Ukulele courses in winter 2024
Tamás GállDear (Future) Ukulele Players! First of all, I would like to say that everything is OK with me—not that anyone was worried . I started a new job on 1 November, so I have had to devote all my energy and time to that, which is why there have been no new posts recently. Hopefully I will have time to ma…
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Report on the January 2024 course
Tamás GállUnlike usual, I can only report on last Sunday's ukulele course a few days late. You will soon see why. We broke several records. First, this was the course with the highest number of loa ukuleles: I lent a total of six instruments to participants. The second record was that this was the best-docume…
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