Monday Night Ukulele Jam
The Monday Night Ukulele Jam has been the mainstay of the Lamorinda Ukulele Club since its inception. We love to get together to jam and can't wait for the Monday ukulele jams to roll around!
When and where are the jams?
We meet every other Monday from 7 pm until 9 pm at a church in Walnut Creek, CA. See the Jam Schedule page for upcoming dates. The exact location is announced through our mailing list.
How do I join the mailing list?
Visit the Mailing List page to found out how to get on our mailing list.
How do I get the music?
An email announcement is sent out through our mailing list four or five days before each jam. The jam announcement includes a song list and a link to all individual chord sheets we will be using. Any mention of the "Yellow Book" or "Blue Book" refers to The Daily Ukulele: 365 Songs for Better Living or The Daily Ukulele: 366 More Songs for Better Living, respectively, which can be purchased from Lamorinda Music.
What should I bring to the jam?
Bring your ukulele, music, a music stand, and a $5 contribution for our host venue. No food or drink, except water, is allowed in our jam space. If it's your first time attending and you don't yet have the Yellow Book or Blue Book, don't worry. You can look on with someone else if songs from one of those sources is on the song list!
What about other instruments?
The Lamorinda Ukulele Club provides a space for ukulele players to come together. Beginners are welcome! Our bass player is the only "non-ukulele" member of our group. From time to time, other members may provide a bit of percussion, whip out a harmonica for a solo on a song or two, or add kazoo to a song that screams out for it, but they play ukulele most of the time.
Who leads the jam?
Members Laura and Jen are our volunteer jam leaders. Our group loves collaborations and sharing the mic. Sometimes other members might help lead a song or two or even step up to guest lead an entire jam. All members who are interested in leading are invited to volunteer!
What is the format of the jam?
The club has a tradition of starting each jam with "There's a Meetin' Here Tonight" and ending with "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone." We typically play about 10 songs in the first half of the evening, take a break, have open mic time, and play another 10 songs in the second half.
Songs in each half of the evening usually come from a single source. In a typical jam, we might play all of our songs from individual chord sheets, but we like to mix it up. Sometimes we might take songs from the Yellow Book for the first half and individual chord sheets for the second half. Sometimes we have a theme night for holidays or musical genres or artists. Sometimes we have "Hat Tricks" for the second half. Everything is announced in advance, and it's all fun!
What the heck are "Hat Tricks"?
"Hat Tricks" is a name we have given to a way we like to do round robin. We announce in advance what source we will be using, for example the Yellow Book. You identify a song from that source ahead of time that you feel comfortable strumming and singing. When you come to the jam, you write down the title of your song and put it in a hat. During the Hat Tricks portion of the night, songs are drawn out of the hat. If yours is chosen, you introduce your song and get us started. Don't feel confident leading? No worries! We will make sure everyone is comfortable, including providing song buddies if requested! It is a great, low-risk way for everyone to experience leading a song.