Hi, how our world feels so different from just a few months ago, never to be the same again. Time will tell whether it is change for good or not.
One thing is for certain we have all acquired IT skills we thought were the domain of younger people. Never doubt the drive determination and ingenuity of us boomers!
We have though realised that it is no substitute for face to face interaction but it does have its uses.
hugukuleletv123, it was good to share our Openmike contributions last Friday. It is good that others who had not previously contributed felt able to. This is an example of embracing technology as a consequence of not being able to meet up. Where there might have been reticence to get up in front of the group to perform, once you can make a basic recording you can have as many goes at rerecording as you want. Keep the contributions coming, it is good to give a platform for you to show your talent and record them rather than lose the performance in the moment.
HUG & LETTUCE Quiz Night. we have now used the new format of quizzing and playing twice and its good to keep things fresh. Thanks for supporting Tuesday nights! Our dip in to Karaoke was good fun. Thanks to Sharon and Chrissie for volunteering to give it a go singing I will survive to the backing track. I have the 2 recordings from them and they are very good. I will share them with you on Friday. I hope it might inspire others to give it a go. So thanks to Sharon and Chrissie for showing us it is possible. Remember, its about having a go and having fun not looking for perfection!
Songwriting, I launched asking you to get creative and write original songs or adapt a current song with new lyrics not knowing whether i would get a response. I have been bowled over by the contributions I have so far received so thank you for throwing yourselves into this. I am sure there are others busying themselves with their own songs and I look forward to receiving them. There is still time to have a go if you haven't already. i am sure those who have done so will confirm how satisfying it is to create your own song! I know we will all look forward to hearing the contributions.
Upgrade, at last I have been able to start the upgrades to the streaming that will open up so much for us. First things first I have an upgrade to my Broadband from the end of the month with tripling of speed. My AppleMac is not really designed for streaming but Kate was able to configure it to do the basics and get us up and running, it has served us well.
I am though having a new PC built with all the requirements for advanced streaming that I cannot currently do. Kate will build it for me in Germany and bring it over and set up. Only downside at moment is because of the pandemic there is a delay on getting hold of quality parts. The parts are coming from Japan as they are by far superior to Chinese parts, I prefer to wait and get the best. I won't bore you with the detail but we are experiencing at the moment a tiny portion of what will become available. It really will open things up for us.
The future continued:- even when back together there is value in us making use of streaming but putting the accent on learning songs and techniques in readiness for our meetings. It will also allow teaching of people who want to take up Ukulele or teach those who want to, learn advanced skills together. We will also be able to invite people to the studio to make contributions, once rules allow of course!
One other thing I am keen to implement is projecting songs for us to play along to. Whether this is via the stream or when we are together. This means we can display the song and scroll through so large print can be displayed. It helps in learning new songs and means we don't bury our heads looking down at music!
Well the garden awaits so between the rain I will be ruthlessly cutting down bushes and trees (Bill note, I am using a safety harness and a fixed platform!)
The garden looks like a bomb site at the moment and of course i am getting it in the neck for making a mess!
This is not our cat, we have been adopted by him. He just comes in and makes himself at home. He just doesn't go home anymore!
Stay safe Stay Alert and......... well you know the rest!
Dave
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