Rip It Up! Level 5 Ukulele Lessons - Central London
Monday Nights 7-9pm
Mon 20 Jan - Mon 24 Mar 2025
10 Week Intermediate Level Ukulele Course
Tutors: Jonny & Marçal
Location: The Green, 29 Clerkenwell Grn, London EC1R 0DU
Nearest Stations: Farringdon, Barbican, Chancery Lane
Suitable for: Adults Only 18+
15 - 20 Places Available
Course Dates
|
29 Jan - 24 Mar 2025 |
| Lesson 1: Mon 20 Jan |
| Lesson 2: Mon 27 Jan |
|
Lesson 3: Mon 3 Feb |
| Lesson 4: Mon 10 Feb |
| Lesson 5: Mon 17 Feb |
| Lesson 6: Mon 24 Feb |
| Lesson 7: Mon 3 Mar |
| Lesson 8: Mon 10 Mar |
| Lesson 9: Mon 17 Mar |
| Lesson 10: Mon 24 Mar |
Get inspired. Meet new people. Perform like a pro in 10 weeks.
Our 'Rip It Up' course develops your ukulele playing to inspire confident performances and improve your knowledge of the whole fretboard! Meet new people, make new friendships and continue your musical journey.
With 15-20 places in each class, they are a perfect size for everyone to get to know each other and enjoy playing together as a group. There are two experienced School of Uke tutors per class who will put you through your paces, while making sure everyone is comfortable and having a great time.
Using a wide range of musical genres, we look further into chord and melody playing, and playing arrangements together in a band like setup. By the end of the course you’ll have the opportunity to show off your new playing skills to family and friends at our very own ‘Grand Finale’ ukulele show at a London music venue.
Our Venues
All our venues are hand-picked for their special qualities, and just 5-10mins walk to central London TFL Stations. We work with a number of partner venues in London Central and City Central, including Soho, Covent Garden, Shoreditch, Clerkenwell, Tower Bridge, Aldgate, Bethnal Green and Bermondsey.
During the Summer months, weather permitting, we host our evenings at outdoor venues to make the most of the sunshine and summer nights.
Intermediate Ukulele
With a strong focus on developing your ukulele playing, our Level 3 Ukulele Lessons aim to get you playing like a pro.
We usually expect students to have completed a course with School of Uke but we welcome all players with previous knowledge of the Ukulele who want to try out new genres and performance techniques.
Rock, Pop, R&B, Disco, Funk, Folk, Bluegrass and Latin Jazz at Your Fingertips
All techniques will be taught by looking at popular standards for fresh interpretation on the Ukulele, to broaden your musical repertoire and focus on your confidence as a performer. Song requests are encouraged and will be explored whenever possible.
Over a 10 week course, as well as looking at classic Rock, Pop and Blues standards we also choose one other musical genre to focus on to broaden your musical repertoire. Focus genres covered in previous courses have included Folk, Bluegrass, Funk and Latin Jazz.
How to ‘rip it up’ on a ukulele
We aim to get you ‘Ripping It Up’ on the ukulele! With a hands-on practical approach and through a variety of standards and musical genres, we’ll look at chord theory, chord construction, inversions, scales and modes, playing in different keys, improvisation and performance tips n tricks!
The course places a strong emphasis on developing a confident playing technique. As well developing your technical ability, with a focus on timing, texture, rhythm and song, we aim to build your musical awareness as part of a group ensemble. We take into consideration the specific aspirations and needs of everyone in the group, and encourage individual style.
Group Ensemble & Performance Technique
- Play multi-part arrangements
- Learn about developing performance in songs with multiple parts
- Emphasis on musical awareness, group timing, texture, rhythm and song
- Develop playing technique and encourage individual style within a group
- Reinforcing playing effectively and confidently in a live gigging environment
Strumming and Picking
- Build confident strumming patterns and rhythms using emphasis, accent and syncopation
- Explore use of barre chords to achieve dampening effects useful for achieving a more percussive and syncopated sound
- Emphasis on timing and cross group syncopation with alternate strumming parts
- Introduction to advanced strumming and picking techniques including tremolo picking where song appropriate
Melody and Theory
- Develop awareness of the fretboard
- Introduction to scales including Minor and Major Pentatonic
- Melody improvisation within a song structure
- Playing both melody and harmony to a song over the chord structure
Chords and Chord Theory
- Focus on progressions outside the I/IV/V format related to chosen material
- Establish relational patterns between barre chords outside the key of C
- Expanding chord repertoire and using extended chords
- Explore ways to decorate simple chord progressions using inversions
- Understanding the circle of 5ths
- Developing understanding of chord construction in relative Major and Minor keys
Performance Technique
- Our Rip It Up! course culminates in a “Grand Finale” show where you’ll have the opportunity to show off your new playing skills at a London music venue.
An Awesome Experience
Overall it's about a group of like-minded people discovering music and having a great time together. Here's what some of our students had to say...
"Great teaching and so much fun! Everyone should learn to play an instrument!" - Edina
"Amazing fun, brilliant teaching, awesome people!" - Avital
"I couldn't play anything when I first started, now I'm playing Slash solos!" - Cat
What if I've never played a musical instrument before?
We absolutely welcome complete beginners, and people who have never touched a musical instrument in their lives. Come along with an open mind and we'll do the rest!
When do your group lessons take place?
All our group lessons take place on weekday evenings from 7pm. And occasionally we will host workshops and jam sessions on weekend afternoons.
Where do the group lessons take place?
We love to run our lessons in pubs, which we feel adds to the social and relaxed vibe.
All our pubs are hand-picked for their special qualities, and just 5-10mins walk to central London TFL Stations. We work with a number of partner venues in London Central and City Central, including Soho, Covent Garden, Shoreditch, Clerkenwell, Tower Bridge, Aldgate, Bethnal Green and Bermondsey.
And during the Summer months, weather permitting, we host our evenings at pubs with outdoor facilities to make the most of the sunshine and summer nights.
Is the ukulele a children's instrument?
The ukulele is a very versatile instrument that comes in many different sizes. While it is taught as an elementary instrument in some schools, it most definitely is not a kids instrument. It's the native instrument of Hawaii and is hugely popular with adults due its portable size and playability.
Are these sessions for adults or for kids?
All our evening classes are for adults 18+.
What if I don't have a ukulele?
All instruments are provided at our Discover sessions so all you need to bring is your best self!
For our beginner sessions, you can borrow a ukulele for the first lesson, but we recommend that you purchase an instrument as soon as possible to make the most out of your learning experience.
How many people are in each class?
There are 20 places available in each of our group classes and Discover sessions. Sometimes they sell out completely, but we usually run with about 15-20 people.
Are the sessions wheelchair accessible?
Unless otherwise stated in the venue description, sadly our sessions are not wheelchair accessible. They usually take place in pub function rooms, which are often only accessible by staircases.
Is it ok to drink alcohol in the session?
Absolutely. We encourage people to grab a drink at the bar before the session and during the mid-lesson break.
It's a fun and lighthearted vibe, and a bit of dutch courage never goes amiss. Our partner pubs & venues all offer a good range of beers, wine, spirits and simple cocktails like Negroni, Aperol Spritz etc.
What time should I arrive?
It's great if you can arrive 10-15mins early to grab a drink, meet your tutor/s and get settled in.
Is it ok to hang out after the session?
Absolutely, we want to create a community of friends so we encourage people to hang out for drinks after our weekday evening classes. Our lessons are about social connection, music appreciation and learning to play as part of a group so they are as much social events as anything else.
What kind of music can you play on the ukulele?
Absolutely anything! Anything you can play on a piano or guitar, you can also play on a ukulele. It's just half the size and easier to play.
The ukulele is a great instrument to get started on and also a stepping stone to all other stringed instruments. And it's nice and compact so you can take it anywhere. Rock, Pop and R&B bangers at your fingertips!
What are the health benefits of learning to play the ukulele?
Learning to play music, especially socially, has many health and well-being benefits. As well as brain development, when you make music, your brain releases endorphins that induce feelings of joy and pleasure and block the nerve cells that cause us to feel stress and pain. There is evidence to suggest that it even boosts your immunity!
What other events and services does School of Uke offer?
We offer a range of ukulele lessons & events for complete beginners to advanced players, both online and in-person. As well as group based lessons, we offer one-to-one ukulele lessons, our 5wk Ukulele Challenge For Beginners,10wk Evening Courses, plus package events for private & corporate clients.
How long has the School of Uke been established?
School of Uke is a sister brand of Duke of Uke, London's World Famous Ukulele Store. The School of Uke name and company was formed in 2012, but we've been teaching ukulele for 18 years, since we first opened our doors back in 2006, as the UK's first ever dedicated Ukulele store.
For all enquiries about ukulele lessons or courses at School of Uke please email or use our Online Live Chat service.
Email: info@schoolofuke.co.uk
