Introduce yourself

To Pat and Anthony

ditto,

very much ditto. Tyne Valley so could probably pay Matt a visit quite easily. A69 direct route.

Just subscribed to the Uke Mag and read my 2 years of back issues. Just recently bought my cedar top Snail Tenor from him and went back and bought a mahoganay topped low g Enya tenor. Always be sure to view his secret offers section.

Dave L

Hi Pat, been centrally located in the West Midlands, SUS is just under a three hour car journey away, around 170 to 180 miles. Likewise the other specialist shop over here, World of Ukes is situated in Carlisle in Cumbria on the edge of the Lake District. A straight run up the M6, Carlisle is again around just over three hours away clocking in at around 195 miles away. I have yet to pay a visit to World of Ukes but any excuse for a holiday a stay in Ambleside in the Lake District National Park puts you within touching distance. Could say I’m spoilt for choice in which direction to travel!

Matt Warnes who runs World Of Ukes is both Editor and Publisher of UKE, the UK’S Ukulele Magazine, an excellent publication overflowing with everything you could wish for Uke related. Loads of teaching and exercise articles, reviews and more. If you check out his website you won’t be disappointed. I have just subscribed to his magazine and now find myself ordering back copies. What with our own Matt Stead’s excellent teaching, SUS, and WOU the UK is a thriving scene for everything Uke related. I also subscribe to Ukulele Magazine which is published by String Letter Publishing, Inc in San Anselmo California. This is also another excellent magazine covering everything that happens in the States. Loads of information on Uke societies and stockists plus again reviews of Ukes and teaching articles.

Hope this helps

Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for 2025

Kind regards

Anthony

It sure is fun!

Hi Pat, welcome to the group. I’m also a Minnesotan and just moved back to St. Paul after decades away.

Arthritis in my hands is an issue for me, too. In fact, I had surgery to replace a joint at the base of my thumb on my fretting hand in early September. I’m just starting to play again in short sessions.

Hi Pat,

Anthony here from Birmingham West Midlands, UK. I have only been playing the Ukulele since the summer but like yourself I have over the years played some piano but mainly classical guitar. I found piano a tough nut to crack, I so wanted to learn but to be honest for some reason I just drifted away from daily practice and became frustrated with my progress. I had some lessons but found them too rigid, in fact I just stopped taking an interest in anything musical. Then a colleague I work with suggested the ukulele, he had a spare one I could borrow, within a day I was hooked! I just simply loved the sound, it was a Fender Venice Soprano and I ended up buying it. I then discovered The Southern Ukulele Store, SUS in Bournemouth and have travelled down twice now and have three Ukes, an ANueNue concert, Kala Tenor Salt & Pepper and Millar Acacia Tenor, well I will have the Millar on the 25th this month. What I love about the Ukulele and no disrespect to other people who play any instrument is the versatility of the Uke, so many styles, you can’t resist the temptation to pick it up. Matt’s enthusiasm just inspires me all the time, he makes learning and playing the ukulele just so enjoyable. Having taken his Theory Course I now understand theory better than I ever have before which in turn improves your technique. Moreover what comes across with Matt’s lessons is how this simple yet beautiful instrument brings people together in a community where the spirit of music and the soul of music shines through his teaching and the courses he has developed. In no time at all you begin to feel an affinity with this community through Matt’s playing. Best thing I ever did was to buy that first Uke and discover Matt’s website. Enjoy your Ukulele journey.

Greetings all!

My name is Pat, and I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the US. I’m a visual artist and I paint in the style of classical realism. But I actually love all of the arts, especially music. I played oboe in high school, but then stepped away from playing music for many years. But after retirement, I began to dabble with guitar and piano. I really enjoyed both guitar and piano, but I have small, very arthritic hands, and it just didn’t work for me. So, I decided to try ukulele. Initially, I bought an inexpensive Cordoba concert ukulele and began watching YouTube videos, but didn’t put in any consistent efforts to learn how to play it. When I did practice, it was often for long, but intermittent periods. I found that even this little instrument can aggravate my hands if I’m not careful. But I am not ready to give up. In my determination, I recently purchased a beautiful Koaloha concert ukulele, and signed up for Matt’s classes. I hope that if I don’t overdo it, I can eventually learn to make some lovely music! I just need to start at the beginning, and remember to take it slow and easy. I am enjoying watching many of the videos on the Facebook page, and also some of the live sessions which are such fun. At the moment, I am feeling motivated and excited to learn, and to be part of this lovely group.

Hello, I’m John, from south Cumbria. I bought a cheap Mahalo day of the dead uke for my grandson last Xmas that I saw on Amazon, had a go, and now I have six, better sounding ukes of my own. I’m 61 and just watched various teachers on fb and reddit for a couple of months,and although I was learning to make chords and strum a little, it wasn’t enough, so researched teachers and Matt was the one I thought would help best. And I was right, in the couple of months on the beginner course I’ve improved noticeably and now have more fun than exasperation, still at a very early stage though. When I realised how much fun the uke can be (it can even hold off depressive episodes sometimes!) I decided I didn’t want to get annoyed at a possible stop-go progress and to take it as it comes. I like how if I need to take a break from life and the course, I could just go back a lesson or two and jump straight back to where I’d left off.

I’ve got to the point on the course where things are coming together and Matt said to look online for music to play to sharpen the new skills. I’ve come across music I’d never hear otherwise from Sha Na Na’s Those Magic Changes, to recently Sia, with Snowman, both much fun with my new Matt given skills!

And the one year old other grandson can’t keep away from the Flight travel I have, his strumming technique is already impressive, and he’ll be signed up in due course.

I usually practice on a Risa solid body uke so that I don’t bother the semi detached neighbours too much, while I really like my Flight Diana soundwave concert and Enya Feather which sounds cool with an unwound low g.

That’s about all really, other than to say that everyone I’ve encountered in the ukulele community so far are really nice supportive folk and I’m really glad I stumbled across that day of the dead uke.

Cheers, John.

I live in Cheltenham have done so for the past 7yrs. Have been in a dark place, now fine. Put together a bucket list of which one was to play some music. Picked ukulele because I met a group playing at an event and I got locked. I attend a club but it is a sort of club that you have to find your own way. I want help I know about, 30 notes and can keep up with the best of them but I still need help

I'm 80yrs young.

Hi Beach

I’m Anthony from Birmingham West Midlands, originally hailing from Bingley in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

I have only recently started playing the Ukulele this year, got hooked on a basic Fender Venice Model purchased from a guy I work with at the local Library where I volunteer. I have worked my way through classical guitar, keyboard and piano over the years never really mastering them but enjoyed learning to play and learning how to play from a score and understanding music theory. Theory has helped a lot, the nuts and bolts of music, best instrument to learn from is the piano keyboard. I was reluctant at first until a tutor whipped away my note chart which I layed before on the keyboard. Did me a favour as I soon got to grips with working out the notes from middle C in bass and treble clef.

Anyway hooked on the Fender…..although sounded terrible really…I discovered SUS…the Southern Ukulele Store in Bournemouth and sold my piano and classical guitar before making the journey down this summer. I came away with a Kala Doghair Salt & Pepper Tenor and aNueNue UC 1K. Then I discovered Matt’s website and have learning ever since. I thought two Ukes would be enough but then went for the hat trick! I heard Alex at SUS demo a Millar TA 260 all solid acacia tenor….so back down I went a couple of weeks ago….alas the Miller has been sent to that guy with the white beard in the North Pole……Kurt Russell I think….too much Christmas Chronicles….sorry..anyway come December 25 Christmas dinner will have to wait.

Just wanted to say hello and hope to keep in touch. Matt’s lessons are just so, so good. He is an ace teacher and I have already learnt so much over the last few months. Best thing I did to take up Ukulele , the Fender has been given to a friend I jam with for his grandson… another Uke that has been despatched northwards. Hope he gets as inspired as I did and he go’s on to discover what a beautiful instrument the Ukulele is.

Best wishes

Anthony

Hi

I'm Beach, Originally from UK but now living in S W Portugal.

I love all sorts of music from Classical to Indian Ragas to Techno and all points in between.

I'm no stranger to stringed instruments and music having played the Bass for many years, though only by ear and with very little music theory knowledge.

I have worked as a roadie and live sound engineer in both rock n roll and theatre and I was the chief tech and head of sound at the largest receiving house in the UK back in the 90's early 2000's and had the pleasure of working with some of the greats in music and entertainment industry. I could name drop and bore for hours lol

I sold my basses a few years ago and miss them so looking for a fix I bought my first Ukulele about 6 months ago, a Baton Rouge UTM-T with a solid flamed maple back and sides and solid spruce top. I've tried a few string sets and now very happy with Uke Logic pink ST with a Thomastik low G.  A little too loud and bright for strumming which I can live with because I'm more interested in learning and playing Finger style, Chord harmony and soloing, keeping the strumming to a minimum. Same goes for singing. no problem with a few harmonic BV's but definitely not lead.

 I have worked my way through a great value finger style course from a fab Uke personality named Alex and gained lots, though not finessed the final piece yet.

I feel that I'm a case of scattered knowledge though and need/like structure to my learning so I've decided to to follow Matt from the very beginning and follow each course in turn.

 I have just finished the beginners course and managed to gain from it and now started the intermediate and theory courses.

 I watched videos from a lot of teachers and looked at many courses and then I found Matt, I watched some of the free stuff and a couple of lives and for me Matt is in a different league. Love the way he teaches and his personality. Signing up to Gold was an easy choice for me.

 'Make me a muso Matt'.

 Not a great one for forums and social media, though I have joined the FB group but thought it a good idea to introduce myself and if I help anyone as well as receive help that would be cool.

Matt and forum followers

70yr old from a small village up the Tyne Valley in beautiful Northumberland.

Probably a typical bedroom player with a severe case of GAS and prone to investigate every rabbit hole in existence. Now own a number of guitars, electric , concert,parlour and classical acoustic. Bought an Alvarez concert uke supposedly to improve my strumming , it didn’t particularly. Local guitar lessons probably just as my strumming was coming together a little. YouTube led to Matt. SUS and World of Ukes. WoU had a Snail tenor at a great price just as Matt’s app and online was appearing on my Facebook algorithm. So here I am. Gone from Silver to Gold in one day. Now that’s progress. A multi instrumentalist who can play equally badly on all of them. I care not a bit as I try something new, follow a song lesson, theory or sight reading, If I look back I have to be better than I was and the amount of fun and enjoyment are immeasurable. Who knows where it may lead, nowhere or everywhere.

Thanks for the app and I look forward to following in the forum and further improvements in my uke playing.

Believe it or not, this is the edited, brief version. Was easily heading towards a novelette.

Dave L

Dear Matt, dear community, I'm really happy to be here! I really like the wide range of courses, the choice of music, the many tips and tricks and how Matt conveys the content. And Matt's humor😃 I'm from Hamburg and have been playing the ukulele for 2 years. I'm particularly interested in learning fingerstyle/chord melody. But strumming and singing is great too! I'm looking forward to my musical journey here!

Welcome, new here myself, great teaching by Matt, wonderful community spirit.

Hi everyone,I'm new to the uke and have a concert. 🤠

Does anyone play a Flight Ukulele?

Heard mixed reports but like the Nighthawk in particular

Hi everyone!

So many comments, thanks for all the feedback, what a fantastic and positive community Matt has created! There is so much great stuff to learn I am having to be very disciplined with myself and focus for the moment on the Intermediate course. Keep telling myself stay focused. However….just trying to play the classical guitar well known piece Romance on my concert Uke…good fingerstyle practice and great for attempting to master barre chords. Sound muffled still…need to iron out the creases in my fingers so to speak. I just keep plugging away, stumming, chords and theory and attemping different pieces. Makes my head spin but hey I’m having a ball!….stay happy and enjoy your playing! Music makes the world go round!

Hey All,

Loving the content on this App, Now the summer is over (did it actually begin) I'm hoping to get more practice time.

Currently on the fingerpicking programme and learning the Sigh Waltz.

Interested to hear how many of you are also doing this course.

UKE - UMA MOON - TENOR

Strumming sometimes feels to me like balancing on a tightrope which is a negative approach my mind falls into. When I watch other players I marvel at their control. I know it is all about practice but I’m always thinking ‘how do they do that’? Having said that on a positive note Matt’s tution has finally set me on the right path.

Welcome 👍😊

Hello everyone! Just found my way to this page after a few weeks now of studying the Beginners course. I am totally new to the ukulele, played some classical guitar and piano but nothing advanced, just enjoy music and the vibes of learning to play an instrument. By chance I bought a basic Fender California Venice model earlier this year from a colleague who persuaded me I was missing out on a good thing. How right he was! Hooked from my first basic strumming session and looking to purchase a concert model I soon discovered the Southern Ukulele Store and made the trip down from the Midlands. Spoilt for choice was an understatement but I came away with an aNueNue concert and a Kala Salt & Pepper, with the help and advice of Romeo and Adam, sincere thanks lads! And then I discovered Matt’s website. I am having a really good time here, so many courses to choose from but best I think to learn how to walk before I sprint so getting the basics right first but so looking forward to getting to grips and developing my playing with Matt’s guidance and tution. Many thanks Matt!

Hi friends! I am Lisa and I have been playing Baritone for a while but haven't had a lot of time to put into learning. I am semi retired now with more time, yay, and came upon Matt's videos on YouTube. They are wonderful! So, I became a member. I live in the lovely mountains of VA, USA and just got a banjolele too. Oolala! Looking forward to connecting with you!

Hi Stephen, this is great to hear! Matt is a brilliant teacher & a wonderful person too 😊👌

I'm not too far from you, Neath area 😊 Maybe we'll meet at a festival somewhere next year 👍

Good afternoon one and all, my name is Stephen I live in Newport south east Wales I am 74 years young and enjoying retirement I have tried the self taught route which is hard and you don't really learn correctly I tried you tube but far to many people wanting to teach you sent my head dizzy I then had my own face to face ukulele teacher who is good as gold and I learnt a far bit and now I have found Matt Stead first on you tube now his website I think I have come on in leaps and bounds in my short time here with Matt so much so I feel might be able to attend a ukulele festival next you I have blabbed long enough thank you.

Hi I’m Steve from West Yorkshire UK Recently signed up with Matt and greatly enjoying the tutorials etc. I’m new to the Ukulele though tried the guitar and saxophone in the past. I think the Ukulele is such a beautiful instrument so versatile and aesthetically pleasing. Playing with a number of ukulele groups and greatly enjoy playing with others. Think Matt’s teaching is excellent. So thanks Matt and hope you all are enjoying your learning and playing as much as I am 😊

Hi,

I've just signed up for Matt's course / tuition / app after going to the UFOGB (my first festival) and hearing so many people enthuse about Matt's teaching. I have had (group) lessons in the past and I know that I learn better when I've got a bit of guidance.

I'm David, though most of the time I go by DSP, I live in North London with my lovely wife and I've dabbled with the Uke for a few years, but I've only been taking it (kind of) seriously for about 18 months.

After thirty-five years of playing the drums (with a slight, and not-entirely-successful, detour into the world of the Bass guitar) my sister bought me a cheap 'n' cheerful soprano for Christmas a few years ago When someone started Uke lessons at work I went along and quickly decided that while I was enjoying myself, my fat fingers and that seemingly tiny fretboard weren't going to get along.

Off to the (sadly now closed) Duke of Uke and back I came with a Kala Tenor (solid Spruce top, Annabel), which is my everyday Uke. Then a quick 'I'm just going to look, honest dear' trip to the Southern Ukulele Store last year saw me come back with a solid Acacia Kala Baritone (Verity) and that was it for a while.

Then I went to the UFOGB...

I came back with an as yet unnamed (do other people name their instruments?) 8 string Baton Rouge Tenor and, thanks to the Festival raffle, an Uma Tenor in a beautiful blue colour, which has been named Hester. I'd like to get a Soprano one day, but having played one at the festival, I reckon a Soprano with a Concert neck might be just the ticket.

But I need to improve my playing first...

Nice to meet you all, and very glad to be here!

DSP

Like

Hello,

I'm Fiona from the Midlands in the UK. My other half got himself a ukulele but never picked it up. I had a go one day and have now been tinkering with it for about a year. I feel like I need some direction and probably to unlearn some bad habits.

Welcome guys!

Hello, I am Kamil from Poland. I am a beginner, with 7 years of experience, and I thought it is time to level up. This is my first attempt to complete a structured course, and seeing how Matt teaches, I have really high hopes.

Hey! I'm Ric from Maine, USA. I retired recently and was looking for things to do and I've always wanted to play an instrument and I love the ukulele. I just started and really want to make 2024 the year I really make some progress. I've also found the instrument itself to be rather addictive and I now understand why people own multiple ukes!

I'm The Cow! Or La Vache if you prefer, as I'm now living in France with my lovely Frog.

I started playing the ukulele on October 18th 2021, and became hooked immediately. Finding Matt at the start of 2022 was amazing, and I love learning with him.

Part of the admin team with Karen and Indrani, we try to lighten Matt's load a little.

I also try to introduce a little *ahem* humour into the Kanikapila sheets...

Hi! I'm Lynne Jackson, from western Connecticut, USA. I picked up the ukulele about 10 years ago and have noodled around somewhat aimlessly, with some breaks for injury (I fell and broke both arms at the elbows just before Covid hit), surgery (see left arm break that refused to heal), and dealing with/caring for elderly parents. I've posted a couple of videos on the Facebook page, but my ukes have been collecting dust for the better part of the summer. I'm ready to get back in the saddle, and I'm starting by reviewing the Intermediate course. I really like chord melody & fingerstyle; as much as strumming is fun, I really cannot carry a tune in a bucket, singing-wise. 😳 Hope to get back with the program and make some real progress.

Hello all, I live in England (Midlands area) and have been playing for around 4 years. Like many others, I tried many different uke teachers on YouTube and often found myself going down a 'rabbit hole' and never really learning anything. I can honestly say, since finding Matt around 12 months ago, I rarely look at other teachers, having found Matt's teaching so inclusive, right from basic strumming to adding all sorts of embellishments! I'm an enthusiastic amateur and have joined 3 different uke classes in my area, with the largest having over 60 members - it's great fun and I have made many new friends in taking up this fascinating instrument. I look forward to learning a lot more from Matt and all of you! 🤗

Hello, I'm Anuschka and I live in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. Actually, I stumbled across the ukulele by chance a half year ago. I have been playing the hook harp for a long time, but it always takes a long time to play pieces well. The first thing that excited me about the ukulele was that you can accompany a lot with just a few chords and that it is so portable. However, since I can't sing well, I quickly became interested in playing melodies and it took me longer to learn a piece on the ukulele. Through the German Facebook group (and there actually through Indrani) I came across Matt Stead and his beautiful and instructive videos. Since then, I also like to join Kanikapilas. I also found a great teacher here in Germany with whom I currently have online lessons. In the meantime, the ukulele has become a much bigger part of my life than I first thought and is a lot of fun.

Hi Matt. Congratulations on the new website and thanks for ALL you do for the ukulele community. I've been on the ukulele journey for a number of years. I practice and play daily. Tallahassee, Florida is where I hang my hat.

Blessings,

Rich

My name is Rebecca. I live in Colorado, USA. I've been playing for about 5 years. I bought a Luna soprano while visiting Kona as a souvenir. I used ukes in my kinder and 1st grade classroom in southern California, the last few years before retiring. I used open tuning for my student ukes where we played and sang sight word songs and number concept songs. In California I had lots of uke connections. A wood working shop where I live now had a ukulele making class, and I made my own. It was very interesting to see and do the whole process. I love the way Matt pushes my abilities and weaves music therory into his lessons and kanikapila. He also knows the best songs, well-known and unknown(to me)

Hi all ,I'm Amanda from Monmouth south wales.I have been learning for about 10 months.I started as friends play when I am on holiday in France,so have played along with them.I can find no groups near home at all,so maybe there is someone on here .

Aloha ukulele people. I'm Heiko from Frankfurt/Germany. I got infected by the ukulele virus about 3 1/2 years ago and played it almost daily. I taught myself by watching YouTube tutorials of the well-known and brilliant teachers like Bernadette, Kevin, Cynthia, Cathy, Stu, Phil, Iso and of course Matt. Always looking forward to learning something new.

Hi all. I started playing ukulele a year ago with a couple of months off after falling off my horse and breaking my arm. I'm all healed now and just love playing my ukulele. I belong to a ukulele club as well which is great fun and has improved my playing no end. I loved my first experience of The Retreat and am really excited to meet you all again next year.

Hi

I was head of a brass department for a music service in the West Midlands UK for 30 years. After taking voluntary redundancy I built up my teaching for another music service in Worcestershire. Since then Ukulele in schools taught as a whole class had become very popular so I began teaching myself the Ukulele. I am now into my third year of teaching the instrument. Whilst I teach mainly chords I wish to venture into teaching children melodies and reading notation. Being a brass player I personally cannot understand why TAB is so popular as in the long term stave notation is better. My main objective is to know the name of the notes on the frets rather than simply knowing chords but also knowing the names of which notes of the chord I am strumming.

Welcome everyone! Thanks so much for introducing yourself. This is fab!

Hi everyone! I'm Indrani from the westernmost part of Germany!

I have been playing for a bit more than 2.5 years. Like many others I started learning the uke as a distraction from the pandemic and "something fun, but not too challenging" to do while being put on short-time at work.

I have since surprised myself with the amount of ambition I have developed to become better at playing our little "jumping flea".

I started learning from Bernadette Plazola, which put me onto her Facebook group, where I then met "The Cow and Frog", who in turn introduced me to Matt and his Kanikapila Mondays. One thing led to another and I now play a (miniscule) part in his Facebook group's admin team. 😊

You have only played 2 years? Wow, you must be a natural musician. Thank you for helping being an admin for Matt.

Aloha ....I live in Oahu and have been following Matt since I started my journey less the 2 years ago. Very excited to be attending UFGB and his retreat next summer! Currently playing a concert NueNue and a tenor Kanile'a. Grown so much over past few years but lots of learning yet to do. Really enjoy the spots on Matt's hangout as well as Kanikapila every Monday!

Hello Matt Followers!

I've been playing for about 3 years now and love every minute of it. Especially all the great resources online and jamming with local groups. I have found several groups to play with in my travels to California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts but NOTHING, ZERO in Rhode Island where I live. It's really bumming me out. Fortunately, I can attend ukulele camps and festivals a few times a year to enjoy the social aspect of the ukulele world as well as learning from some great teachers. I was hoping to get over to Matt's retreat next year, but the tickets sold out before I could commit. Oh well, maybe Matt will come to the States some time so I can meet him here.

Cheers,

Leslie

Hello everyone. I'm Barbara Gabriel, a transplanted Texan who grew up in the north-central USA. I bought a ukulele a bit over a year ago after thinking about it for years. I got the basics from youtube videos (Bernadette P.) and then discovered Matt's vids, so I'm working my way through the beginners program. I live in a town that considers itself the "Music capital of the world." I've discovered that it's a great place to learn the ukulele, since it's the home of the Austin Ukulele Society which is a fantastic club, and I also am part of two smaller uke ensembles. I'm here to learn and so appreciate the help from members of the FB Hangout group.

Hello/Shwmae from Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿😊🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

I'm Jude Randall & I've been a music tutor for 30 years, teaching both children & adults piano 🎹 & music theory to the advanced levels.

Ten years ago my bestie & some of my muso friends persuaded me to buy an ukulele! Shortly afterwards, I founded my own community group, Kool Hand Ukes, & the rest, as they say, is history!

My ukulele journey so far, has been amazing. This wonderful instrument has given purpose to so many of my students. It kept us together through the pandemic via Zoom. It has saved my sanity through some tough times in recent years for which I will be forever thankful 🙏

First met Matt Stead, a truly wonderful guy & teacher, just over two years ago, when my uke bestie, Rachel Webley, & I visited The Uke Room. I love the Hangout page, big thanks to Karen Morrow & the other fabulous admins who keep it running smoothly ❤️ Catch you all soon.

Thank you Matt for setting all of this up 🎵❤️🎵

Hi everyone. If you are already a member of Matt's Ukulele Hangout Facebook page, then you already know that I'm one of the 3 admins who help Matt out with the page and Kanikapila stuff. Nov 6, 2023 will mark my second year of playing the uke. I intend to keep playing until the day I die.😜