July 9, 2021

We will not be simulcasting via Zoom; other groups that have attempted to do so from the Huntsville Senior Center have found that it's nearly impossible to control the volume. There are also equipment issues as well as time constraints.

Our playlist will be the Ukefest 2021 song sheets. We want to hear how the group is doing with the top six, and also to briefly review some of the other songs.

We may also play Deep in the Heart of Bama (C F G)_2021-06-23_DA.pdf.

May 23

A couple of items for you this morning.

I've posted two public domain Hawaiian-English dictionaries that may be helpful to you. Links are posted on both The Hawaii Theme web page and the Hawaiian Songs - Version 2.1.6. web page.

For those interested in transposing song sheets from one key to another, I've posted several documents on the Ukulele Websites and Resources web page; under the "Contents" heading, look for the line that has links to "Chord Charts - Transposition Helps - Barre Chords."

May 5 Message to Members

Dear UkeQuestors.

As we all know, Keith has retired from Redstone Arsenal and returned to the family home in Virginia. For several months before his retirement he asked that a member volunteer to become the new leader of the group. On Feb. 13, I emailed my offer to lead the UkeQuestors to Keith. When he accepted, I asked Theresa Miller to act as co-leader of the group; thankfully, she agreed.

The Huntsville-Madison County Library will be reopening to groups on June 7 but will not be opening on Sundays until July while they transition out from COVID restrictions. The Library will not be open on Sunday, July 4, so the first Sunday that we will meet in-person will be Sunday, July 11. We will continue to meet in Room 2Fl (the second floor meeting room). I will be meeting with Darryl Palm, LearningQUEST Operations Manager, to get training on AV equipment, and to determine the ability to continue Zoom sessions for our remote members and friends.

The Fall LearningQUEST Catalog is being prepared and a new description for the UkeQuestors SIG has been prepared by Keith:

"The LearningQUEST UkeQuestors are a special interest group (SIG) that provides an opportunity for ukulele players of all levels to meet in an open, unintimidating and accepting environment to refine and expand their skills, and to “jam” and sing. To wit, JUST HAVE FUN! One goal of the sessions will be for participants to gain confidence in their playing ability so they will be willing to perform in ensemble at events such as the Alabama Uke Fest. For more information, contact Doug Anderson (douganderson1950@yahoo.com) or Theresa Miller (art.tree.hsv@gmail.com). LearningQUEST members can also join the SIG by requesting membership to the UkeQuestor SIG Facebook page. Once a member, the schedule, music resource webpage and Zoom Links will be available."

Beginning this Sunday, we'll go over three songs from the proposed Alabama Uke Fest 2021 play list each week. I'd like to conduct voting the first Sunday in June to select our five songs for Ukefest 2021; those who are not meeting via Zoom can vote by Facebook Messenger or email (doug@musicandmore.info). I'll announce the results as soon as possible and we can begin to hone our performance of those songs each week via Zoom and, beginning July 11, in-person at the Huntsville-Madison County Library.

The songs that we'll go over this Sunday are:

• A Summer Song

• The Dock of the Bay

• Mr. Tambourine Man

The full list is available on the Uke Fest 2021 page at www.musicandmore.info.

I went through the full list yesterday and could play (more or less) all of the songs except one (although only about half the songs are in my range). I'd suggest that members try to find at least 15 minutes each day to play their ukes (notice that I don't use the word "practice" . . . it brings back unpleasant memories of grade school band requirements ;).

Please let me or Theresa know if you have any questions or have any suggestions.

Doug