Retreat Update
We have filled all of our rooms at Asilomar! However, we are still accepting registrations for the retreat and Asilomar still has historical rooms available for retreat attendees. However, they are starting to release these rooms to the general public, and if you don’t act quickly, you may miss out or have to register as a walk-in. The only way to qualify for the special negotiated rate we have with Asilomar, is to register for the retreat first. You can do that by clicking here.
And we are sad to report that Kathy and Marv will not be able to join us this year. (We’ll still try to sing in perfect harmony.) However, that has given us an opportunity to move Fred Sokolow’s “Got Tab?” and “Slide Ukulele” workshops to Session 5time slot. Click here to see the revised workshop schedules.
Here’s a little info on Fred and his workshops, to whet your appetite.
There’s really not enough room here to sing all of Fred Sokolow’s praises and list all of his qualifications, let alone the 100+ instructional books he’s written for guitar, dobro, banjo, mandolin, and ukulele. As a performer in the 1970s he played with the likes of John Herald, Frank Wakefield, and Jerry Garcia and opened for the Grateful Dead, the Doors, B.B. King, and Country Joe and the Fish. Today Fred lives in Santa Monica where he performs retro jazz guitar, often with the former British rock star, Ian Whitcomb (now known as America’s Foremost Tin Pan Alley Man), and the legendary folk singer Tom Paxton. He also continues to produce instructional books, including three for the ‘ukulele (“Fretboard Roadmaps,” “ Blues Ukulele,” and “Bluegrass Ukulele”), and to teach. He comes to us very highly recommended by both former students and fellow instructors. It’ll be great to see what this new ingredient adds to the stew we’re cooking up at this year’s retreat.
Got Tab?
Perhaps you’ve just heard a song you can’t forget and you want to play it on your ukulele. Or maybe there’s a song from your youth, but you can’t seem to find the tab or chords on the internet. If you know the title, you can, at least, find it on iTunes, but that’s not much help if you really want to play it. Fortunately, relief is in sight. In this workshop, you will work with Fred Sokolow on a song or two and, just by listening to it or singing what you remember, figure it out, from beginning to end—key, chords, melody, strums, picking, intros, outros, flourishes, and all. The whole shebang. And, as God is your witness, you’ll never go hungry (or songless) again.
Slide Ukulele
If you’re ready to up the ante on your playing, you might want to consider learning how to play a little slide ukulele, a technique that will enhance any and all blues, Hawaiian, and country music. In this workshop you’ll learn to play slide ukulele in standard tuning and one or two open tunings, as well. If you’re interested in this class, you will need to bring your own glass or metal slide or bottleneck! And we’ll help you set up your ukulele to make it work.
Fretboard Roadmaps & the Blues
If you’re an intermediate or advanced player itching to work your fingers all around the fretboard, you won’t want to miss this 3-part workshop by Fred Sokolow, the guy who wrote. . . . .both books. Over the course of three days, Fred will guide you on a journey that will take you up and down the ukulele fretboard, expanding your chord vocabulary and teaching you some new strategies for soloing, a la Solokow. As an added bonus you’ll get a movable blues scale and tips on playing single-note solos up the neck, in any key, and much more.
Here you can see Fred in action:
Please visit instructors and workshops to learn more about other instructors and workshops for this year’s retreat.
West Coast 'Ukulele Retreat 