Hi DUGs,
Halloween 🎃🧛♂️🧟👻
Halloween is fast approaching—just two weeks away! In keeping with our tradition, we won’t be having a full-scale Halloween party this year. However, do mark your calendars for 2029, when Halloween falls on a Wednesday, as we plan to go all out for that one! For this year, we will have a Halloween-themed playlist to set the mood.
Dressing up in costume is entirely optional, but it is strongly encouraged. It’s always great fun to see everyone’s creativity, so do join in if you fancy!
I would also like to encourage some open mic performances - See below:
Open Mic 🎤
I would like to encourage everyone to participate in our open mic sessions. Whether you’re an individual performer or wish to form a small group, all are welcome to take part. There’s no pressure to perform something new; if you prefer, choose your favourite song from our Song Book. Selecting a well-known song is a great option, as we can display the song on the screen, allowing everyone to play along, sing, or just join in the chorus while you lead the group.
To get things started, I will be trying out this approach with one of the Halloween songs this week. Don’t be shy—give it a go!
Workshop - 22nd October
Next week, we are delighted to welcome Sarah (Ukulele Saz), who will be leading a workshop for us. She will be teaching her ukulele arrangement of "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol. Those who attended the Findhorn Festival may remember playing this song with Sarah, and we all agreed that it would be fantastic for the DUGs to learn together.
The song contains plenty of straightforward sections, giving everyone the chance to focus on their performance. At the same time, it includes some more challenging parts for our advanced players. All the elements blend together wonderfully, so you’re in for a real treat!
To make the most of the workshop, it would be very helpful if everyone familiarises themselves with the original song. Please listen to it as much as you can over the next couple of weeks:
Dunblane Dementia Group
On Sunday, 26th October, we are scheduled to perform for the Dunblane Dementia Group at the Braeport Centre in Dunblane, from 14:00 to 16:00. You can find all the details on our website:
Please note that this event is not the usual 'Play-along' session for the Dementia Groups. Instead, the group is hosting this event as a thank you to the community for their ongoing support, and our role will be to provide performance and background music. This gives us the opportunity to include some of our more recent repertoire that may not always be suitable for play-alongs.
When we accepted this booking, a good number of members indicated they would be able to attend. The set will not include anything overly complex or difficult, so if you are available, please come along and join in.
Playlist
In addition to a couple of songs we have been working on recently, we will be playing some of the tracks selected for the Dunblane Dementia Group gig. The current playlist includes:
Feelin' Groovy
Dedicated Follower of Fashion
Devil in Disguise
Mr Tambourine Man*
Monster Mash
I'm A Ukulele Player
I'll Tell Me Ma
I'm A Believer
I Wanna Be Like You
This Is The Life
Bad Romance
Rock ‘n’ Roll Medley
Rockin' All Over The World
*Mr Tambourine Man
Here is the tab for the intro I said I would share last week:
This is from a really good YouTube tutorial. Check it out:
DUG Song Sheets
Now that we are no longer using printed song sheets at our meetings, all new songs will be put on the website, rather than attached to these emails. If you want to practice any of our songs, you can view/download all our songs here: Our Songs