Sun Lakes Ukulele Group kicks off October 23

Nancy Harrison

If you’ve visited the Cottonwood Clubhouse on a Sunday afternoon and heard some happy music and laughter coming from the Ceramics Room, you’ve heard our Sun Lakes Ukulele Group. The group, led by Cottonwood Palo Verde resident Nancy Harrison, will kick off its third season on October 23. We meet on the first and third Sundays of the month to learn songs, chords, strums, fun licks and tricks on the ukulele. One day we hope to be good enough to perform shows together throughout the year, but many members of the group are just getting started on the ukulele.

The fee for each session is $3 and the group is open to everyone. The beginner session runs from 1:00-1:45 p.m. and the Intermediate/Advanced Jam session is from 2:00-3:30 p.m. Beginners (with standard tuning ukuleles) will need to purchase the beginner book for $11 (available at the first session). Intermediates (standard tuning and baritones are welcome in this group) will use a combination of handouts, the Sun Lakes Ukulele Songbook ($7) and The Daily Ukulele, 365 Songs for Better Living compiled by Liz and Jim Beloff, available at many local music stores or through Amazon.com for around $25.

If you have a ukulele in playable condition (which means that the tuning pegs work, don’t slip and the strings are relatively new) please come and join us. If you’re just curious, we’d love to have you drop in, share the fun, and see if the ukulele is for you.

Upcoming sessions are:

October 23

November 6

November 20

December 4

December 18

January 8

January 22

February 5

February 19

March 5

March 19

April 2

April 16

Go to the Sun Lakes Ukulele Group website at www.sunlakesukes.com for more information or call 503-702-7021 and leave a message and call back number.

Nancy Harrison moved to Cottonwood from Portland, Oregon as a full-time resident in October 2013. She studied music education at the University of Iowa and recently completed a Ukulele Teacher Certification program with James Hill in Vancouver BC. She taught public school music for several years in Iowa and is a recent retiree from Intel Corporation.