Workshops (Saturday)
A total of 10 workshops will be offered. Each workshop is 45 minutes in length. The Fundamentals Workshop (Workshop #1) will be offered for any players that are just starting to learn ukulele through a beginner level.
For the other 9 workshops (covering beginner, intermediate, and advanced players), attendees will be able to attend up to 3 of them – one in each block. Workshop attendance must be preselected, and based on limited seating, some workshops will be on a first come, first serve basis. A workshop registration link will be automatically emailed to each attendee after purchasing a ticket.
Buy your ticket early so you can reserve the workshops you want to attend!
Workshop #1 – Fundamentals Workshop by Paul Bakeman (Beginner)
Learn fundamental strum, chords, and ukulele techniques to be able to play ukulele by yourself, and with others. No experience necessary, yet Paul will gear the workshop to the experience of the attendees, and questions asked.
Workshop #2A – Easy Two-Finger Picking Pattern by Danielle Anderson (Beginner/Intermediate)
Learn an introductory picking pattern to improve your right hand technique. We'll learn how to apply the technique to popular songs, and give you ideas to spice up the songs you already know how to play in your jam circles and performance songs. This class is great for advanced beginners or intermediate players who know their chords, but want to learn a new right hand technique.
Danielle Ate the Sandwich (Danielle Anderson) – a songwriter, ukulele and guitar player, and performer – first found her place at open mic nights and coffee shops in Fort Collins, Colorado, and is now based in Kansas City, MO. She has released 7 albums of original music and over 200 YouTube videos. As a teacher, Danielle Ate the Sandwich has been able to share her creative and collaborative teaching style. Incorporating the same performance chops she uses to interact and engage with her audiences during shows, Danielle leads with humor and honesty to help students feel at ease, and leave with a fresh take on a new skill.
Workshop #2B – You Can Solo, Too! by Ray Cygrymus (Advanced)
In this workshop, we will break down some of the fears with improvisation by learning some simple solo patterns and riffs. We will put together what we’ve learned at the end of class to have a super fun jam session. Ray has taught elementary school music for over thirty years, most recently specializing in ukulele instruction in the classroom. He has lived in the Pittsburgh area his entire life, and attended Duquesne University where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education, with an emphasis on voice. Ray has performed in many musicals and plays with theaters throughout the Pittsburgh area and has fronted many rock bands where he was the lead singer and played various instruments.
Workshop #2C – Everything Old is New Again – Song Mashup and Arranging by Alden and Ryan Blevins (Beginner/Intermediate)
One challenge of repertoire selection for any community music-making ensembles, including uke groups, is finding songs that will have appeal for a diverse group of participants. One way to do that is to include music from a wide variety of time-periods and genres. Mash-Ups provide a way to combine musical interests across generations!
Alden and Ryan Blevins will teach a repertoire-building session full of multi-generational mashups – of timeless classics and songs of today. This workshop will focus on song selection and arranging. It will give both solo performers and ukulele groups examples of repertoire to use and a framework for selecting tunes that may work well together.
Alden and Ryan Blevins met long ago in the chorus room of Hickory High School, where their love of singing brought them together! Music has continued to unite them throughout the years. They both hold Bachelor’s Degrees in Music Education From Virginia Commonwealth University, where their primary instruments were both voice, respectively. Alden has also earned her Master’s in Music Education from New York University.
Alden and Ryan both have training in Kodaly and Orff methodologies of teaching music. Alden taught PK-5th Grade general music in a public school setting for seven years. Ryan has taught in a variety of choral and general music settings, with ages ranging from kindergarten through 12th grade! Ryan currently teaches chorus and general music to 5th-12th graders at Collegiate School in Richmond, Virginia. Alden is also a proud member of the Midnight Ukulele Society. Lovers of all music, old and new, Alden & Ryan strive to both honor students’ musical preferences by choosing current songs they enjoy and exposing them to other styles of music that may be outside of their comfort zones.
Workshop #3A – Uke Camp Songwriting by Caroline Scruggs (Beginner/Intermediate)
Rekindle your creativity, find your voice, and write an original song with Caroline Scruggs' guided method. Great for all experience levels!
Caroline Scruggs is a world traveling songbird, multi-instrumentalist and creative educator from Hampton Roads, Virginia. A lifelong musician, she began playing the violin at age 5, pursued a degree in classical Vocal Performance, and has been breaking all the rules of traditional music & pushing her creative boundaries ever since.
Passionate about using music as a bridge to connect ideas, concepts & people that may not connect otherwise, Caroline’s musical work has included teaching hundreds of humans around the world how to write original songs on the ukulele in her virtual songwriting course Uke Camp, co-leading groups to write albums while riding Amtrak trains across the USA (American Train Collective), and creating a mystical world of soundscape & sensory shimmers with her debut album, Space, releasing in 2024.
She is also 1/3 of the Truetone Honeys, playing a Gold Tone banjolele to capture the early jazz tones of vocal trio groups like the Boswell Sisters of New Orleans.
Caroline has been featured playing theremin in a TikTok commercial with LL Cool J, is a sponsored artist of Sweetwater Sound, & has collaborated with Moog Music inc. with her original song Altitude Sickness. Her musical videos have been viewed over 10 million times across platforms.
Follow Caroline on TiKTok, and her Instagram handle is @caroline_scruggs_
Workshop #3B – Advanced Chord Melodies by Stu Kindle (Advanced)
In this mind flexing course, Stu Kindle will show you his systematic approach to crafting your own chord melodies. Upon completion of this course, you will be empowered with all the tools to play chord inversions up the neck and grab melodies out of those chord shapes! This clinic is geared towards advanced players but all skill levels are welcome.
Stu Kindle is a local Richmond musician and owner at Fan Guitar and Ukulele. His unique and intricate take on the ukulele is shocking and potentially offensive to some, and he's sure to blow your socks off should you get the chance to see him perform or better yet attend one of his mind flexing clinics.
Workshop #3C – Psychedelic Rock: 1969 by Sue Agee (Beginner/Intermediate)
A far out year in music that brought the world classics from artists like Hendrix & Bowie. Highlighting some hits from the Woodstock era, we will go deep into some new outta sight chords while getting high on our fretboard. Have a groovy experience and blow your mind with tips and tricks to elevate your playing to the stars. You dig?
Sue Agee is passionate about helping others have breakthroughs in their playing and in their lives. The healing quality of music is infused into her online ukulele classes and also in her yoga and meditation workshops. In addition to the beloved uke, you can find her playing harmonium, keyboards, Tibetan singing bowls and Native American flute. She enjoys participating in the ukulele performance groups “The Midnight Ukulele Society” and “RVAloha.” Recently, she contributed ukulele and background vocals on James Hill’s album, UkeHeads, a collaborative worldwide project. As Founder and Musical Director of The Barn Owls, a multi-instrument band, she illustrates how ukulele can effortlessly be joined with other more traditional band sounds. Find and follow on Facebook or Instagram @barn_owls_va
Workshop #4A – Ditch the Nerves and Get on Stage – Performance Skills Workshop by Danielle Anderson (Beginner/Intermediate)
Learn techniques to help improve your performance, whether practicing at home, in front of your ukulele group or at a sold out show at Madison Square Garden. Danielle will teach ways to perform thoughtfully, develop a stage persona, and practice stepping in front of an audience during a mini open mic. This is a great chance for shy players to gain some experience in a fun and friendly environment. (You will not be forced to perform, but will be given an opportunity to try.)
Workshop #4B – Getting Spicy with Embellishments by Ray Cygrymus (Advanced)
In this workshop, we will explore some great techniques to make our playing more dynamic – chord suspensions, double stops, palm muting, and some different strum patterns.
Workshop #4C – Bass in a Uke Group by Ron Knobler (Intermediate)
This workshop is all about that bass, no treble! It will start with a quick tutorial on both right and left hand playing techniques for a bass uke. The bulk of the class will focus on the mindset of the bass player, must know music theory knowledge, improvisation ideas, and repertoire of how to construct bass lines to play bass parts along with a uke group. This class isn’t just for bass players – all attendees are sure to learn about the role of the bass in a group situation, music theory, and improvisation ideas – that can be applied to other instruments too.
Ron has been an avid bass player and enthusiast for over 30 years. He was both classically trained on upright bass, and learned by ear playing electric bass in dozens of bands in all musical styles in Northern Virginia and Richmond. Ron is the uke bass player in The Midnight Ukulele Society. In addition to also playing electric bass in various Richmond area bands, he arranges and records solo bass compositions (@RonKnoblerMusic on Facebook and Youtube), and teaches bass lessons (@RVASoundDoctor on Facebook and Instagram).
