Find Your Blues Voice: Singing and playing the blues with confidence​

The blues is the bedrock for many genres of American music, from folk to rock and country to jazz. It’s a perfect format for learning vocal techniques that will help you build confidence in your ability to pour your voice into any song. We'll also learn how to accompany ourselves with our ukuleles.

This lighthearted, 3-part online class is geared for anyone who loves to sing and play the ukulele. Don’t  play the ukulele? You can just as easily use the singing techniques and many of the playing tips with other instruments.* Don’t play an instrument but love to sing? C’mon in! You might even be inspired to pick up an instrument.

 

We’ll start with the traditional 12-bar blues and then delve into songs that follow a more traditional song format with a bridge or “B” section, using songs like W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues,"Don't Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down," Deborah Coleman's "I'm a Woman," and "I Need Your Love So Bad."

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Classes will be recorded and available to participants for at least a year, so if you can’t make a class, you can stream it at your convenience.

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In this course, we’ll cover:

• The 12-bar blues form, which is the basis for thousands of familiar songs

• The traditional song form that includes a bridge or B section

• Vocal warmups and techniques that will help you build confidence in your voice

• Adding emotion and volume to your voice ... and how to really belt it out

• Basic ukulele blues accompaniment techniques

• Improv basics with your voice and your uke

• ... and more!

You will get the most out of this class if you can maintain a steady strum and can change with relative ease among basic chords and have an eagerness to learn more!
 

 *  NOTE: We don't cover baritone ukulele chords or those of other instruments -- just the standard g-C-E-A (high or low G) ukulele tuning in this class. If you’re playing another instrument, there are many principles that you can use (definitely great for accompanying yourself during the class) but please keep in mind that this is a ukulele class and that’s where the focus will lie.

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Geared for adults age 18+.

 

Led by Jody Albright, a vocalist who enjoys singing many styles of music and especially loves to improvise. She is also a voice instructor and circle-singing leader. She has been performing and teaching since the 1980s. She has always been especially interested in helping people 'find their voice' and discover the joy of singing. She holds a Master’s degree in music from the New England Conservatory in Boston.

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Hosted by "Ukulele Clare" Innes, who has taught hundreds of students to play the ukulele; singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rebecca Padula, who performs throughout New England.

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• WHEN: Three-part class: 4:00-5:30 p.m. EST, Sunday Jan. 8, 15 & 22 (Power outage make-up day 1/28; this IS Vermont...)

• WHERE: Online via Zoom

• COST: $45

• REGISTRATION: Click here to register