Liz DeBarros is holding another session of Absolute Beginner Group Lessons at the McMillan Arts Centre in Parksville starting on Wednesday January 25th 4pm – 5pm. Six, one hour lessons $150 – for full details go www.ukelessonsliz.com or to register email ukelessonsliz@shaw.ca Also on offer are two essential skills workshops – Saturday January 21st 2023 2.00pm – 3.30pm MYSTERY OF CHORDS Learn how and when to use a capo and how to change the key of a song to suit your singing voice – $30 plus $18 if you need a capo Saturday February 25th 2023 2.00pm to 3.30pm FINGERPICKING TECHNIQUES Learn basic ..read more

Save the date Sunday March 20th at 2pm, we will be hosting an online workshop to be given by Avery Hill on an introduction to the Blues   More details when tickets go on sale on March 1st 2022 ..read more

Great News!   Doug Pickard and Liz DeBarros are restarting the Ukulele Sing and Strum in Parksville, formerly hosted by Doug and Ron Usher. From Monday October 25th, we’ll be holding a bi-weekly Sing and Strum 6.30pm – 7.30pm at Shelly Road Hall,186 Shelly Road, Parksville. With spaces limited, we will be requiring pre-registration and pre-payment, so we don’t have to turn anyone away at the door. We have a block of five dates for our initial sessions, alternate Mondays: October 25th, November 8th, 22nd, December 6th, 20th. We are asking for a pre-payment of $50 for the five dates. COVID ..read more

UKULELE CLINIC AT ARBUTUS MUSIC STORE 6324, METRAL DRIVE, NANAIMO SATURDAY AUGUST 21ST    11.00AM – NOON REGISTRATION REQUIRED Are you an adult who would like to play but don’t know how to go about choosing and buying a uke or how to learn? This clinic will be led by Liz DeBarros, a JHUI certified ukulele teacher, and will demonstrate the versatility of the ukulele, the different sizes of uke available and how to choose the correct one for you. You will also have a chance to learn some basic skills. Spaces are limited for these clinics, so pre-registration is necessary, and there is ..read more

Our own Liz DeBarros will be starting “in person” Group Beginner Ukulele Lessons at the McMillan Arts Centre in Parksville. If you’ve never played, have only recently started playing or have played for a while but need a “tune up” (pardon the pun) of your skills by going back to basics; this is the course for you. There are six, one hour sessions, starting on Thursday September 16th, 2-3pm, and going to the end of October (No class on September 30th). For full details and to register go to Liz’s website https://www.ukelessonsliz.com/schedule-of-events   ..read more

What better way to brush away those winter blues than to dust off your Uke and join us for our Winter Workshop and Sing & Strum on Sunday, February 21st at 2PM. We will kick off our Winter event with a workshop called: “Quick Tips: Learn a finger picking pattern for Hallelujah“. Using Leonard Cohen’s iconic song “Hallelujah”, you will learn a finger picking pattern.  The chords in the song are easy, even for beginner players, and the chord pattern repeats throughout the whole song. The Workshop will be led by Carol Johns, Level 3 JHUI instructor.  The lea ..read more

Why stop at Christmas? We had so much fun connecting with all of you before Christmas that we are itching to get back together with all of you again in February, 2021. The Nanaimo Ukulele Festival team are back at it again planning another Zoom get together for February 21. This time, we are offering a workshop of about 15-20 minutes on a finger picking pattern that you are all going to love. I will reveal the song a little later as we get closer to the date. You will also receive the music and a sound file to learn along with. There will also be a sing and strum with hopefully some of your fa ..read more

Hello Everyone! The Nanaimo Ukulele Festival is happy to announce a virtual Christmas Sing & Strum on Sunday, December 13th beginning at 2:00PM. Since we were unable to put on our Spring Sing & Strum, as well as our Fall Festival due to Covid, we thought we would try our hands at a ‘virtual festival” like so many out there are doing. With that in mind, what better way to kick off the Holiday Season than with a short Christmas Sing & Strum? We will be posting the Zoom registration link shortly, so please “Save the Date” and start tuning your ukes, stretching your fingers and warmin ..read more

Why learn music theory? I know, I know, I often hear this from my ukulele students and I know when I see their eyes glaze over that they’ve had enough. But, that is a good question. Why learn music theory? First of all, what the heck is music theory. Well, that’s a big question with a really, really big answer. Essentially, it’s the language and the rules of music. The theory explains what we hear: the why, how, where, when of playing an instrument, singing or listening to music. Let’s say you are on holidays in a big, strange city. You pull out your map (we are all old enough to remember a ma ..read more

Check out the new James Hill Uketropolis podcast. James answers questions from the Ukulele Way students. Real ukulele questions, real ukulele answers. https://www.uketropolis.com/podcast     ..read more