Many ukulele players have offered their thoughts on why they like Twin Cities Ukulele Club jams. Here are a few.
Please add your thoughts to this list, click here and send your first name, where you live, and one or two sentences on "why you like Twin Cities Ukulele Club jams and events."
Here they are -
2025
❤️ I started going to the Uke jams initially for hand therapy. After experiencing a serious saw accident on my left hand, it was difficult to play guitar for least a year. I chose the baritone Uke because really like the deeper tone, and the chord shapes are the same as the top 4 strings on a guitar. That transition worked very well for me, and now my bari Uke and my customized bari slide Uke are my go to instruments when I want to play. The jams have also helped me to expand my repertoire and to build new friendships. Great fun! - Tim H.
❤️ I enjoy the Plymouth Twin Cities Ukulele Club Jam, even though I had no prior music experience. Everyone is so friendly, and willing to help beginners learn the uke! - Skip S.
❤️ The songs we sing and play with our ukes are refreshing and upbeat. Our fellow uke players are kind and forgiving! I like the occasional Harp [harmonica] playing, the bass players and once in a while a Banjo. - Mary R.
❤️ All are friendly and just plain fun. And I learn something new at every Jam. - Larry S.
❤️ I have a real affinity for your group. I was able to attend several of your jams during covid, through Zoom, and I really admire your leadership and the spirit and the goals of the group. I still read the posts you send out. I especially enjoy the ongoing list of guest ukulele celebrities who have come for seminars, etc. - Linda T, Morgan Hill, California
❤️ I like the Cadenza jam because it’s a small group, and we chat and work together on songs that need extra attention. I like the Roseville jam cuz it’s a bigger group, and we play all kinds of songs that are new to me. - Myra
❤️ The best thing about TCUC jams is how friendly everyone is. If you don't know how to play a chord, or tune your uke - everyone is willing to help. The jams are also the best way to learn how to play. I didn't know anything about ukes when I joined the club, but I learned a half dozen chords and started going to jams, and that was all it took. - Steve C.
❤️ I have been to about 4 jams in Roseville on Thursday mornings, and I have really enjoyed it. Don does a great job leading the jams and making folks feel welcome & included. Again, I am having a great time at the jam, and the more music the better!! Thank you!! - Anne H.
❤️ The jams are friendly and welcoming to everyone. The ones that use projectors makes it easy to just grab your uke and attend without carrying heavy books! - Susan K.
❤️ Because it’s for FUN, not necessarily for performance or recognition. There is usually an atmosphere of welcome and encouragement to keep playing and continue attending! - Linda L.
❤️ Playing the ukulele with a group keeps you young. You are always playing songs you knew or had forgotten about. Other players will request music that triggers your memory, and then, you remember them. Playing the ukulele with a group is fun. - Lee J.
❤️ I enjoy the players, the music, learning a new instrument - Chris M.
❤️ I look forward to ukulele jam every week! I always feel welcomed and supported by everyone hosting the group, but also from all the participants.
Great from beginner to more advanced. I love playing ukulele with the group, learning new songs and getting ukulele playing tips. Also, I am meeting so many nice people. Such a great community! Thank you!!! - Michelle S.
❤️ After attending TCUC jams since Tony started them, I've enjoyed meeting and playing music with so many wonderful people. I've continued to pick up new tips and grow my confidence in my playing, leading and singing capabilities. Jamming with others is a lot of fun, and the TCUC Jam Leaders are the best. - Mickie
❤️ I like the TCUC jams, because we have an eclectic group of musicians. I am always learning new songs. - Don
2024 and Earlier
❤️ I enjoy coming to [the Twin Cities Ukulele Club] sessions because there is no criticism, no pressure, and nothing but fun. Everyone is made to feel welcome no matter how little experience they have. All participants are willing to help. I feel like I am walking on sunshine by the time I leave. - Roseann
❤️ I like the Uke jams because [they are] laid back and casual, welcoming to both beginners and seasoned players. I always learn something new and it's an incentive to play the uke! - Susan
❤️ Nice people; fun to play with others; chance to work on chords and get better; always makes me smile to play! - Linda
❤️ Our leader, is so welcoming!! I felt comfortable from my first jam. He is patient and gives me space to goof up and learn in a fun and receptive space. He lays out basic things, like tuning, strumming and new strings in a plain, uncomplicated way, and encourages us all to sing. I am also learning how to teach from him, maybe I could lead ukulele in another setting. I am so thankful!! - Collette
❤️ I like the Twin Cities Uke Club jams because they are a friendly, helpful, non-judgmental way to both learn and practice the ukulele. - Steve
❤️ I am so thankful for the outstanding leadership of TCUC! Grateful to Tony for his encouraging words, helpful musical knowledge and joyful spirit. Grateful to Tom E. for his faithful organization of Sunday ZOOM jams, his gentle and witty personality. Grateful to all jam leaders who joyfully volunteer to lead songs of various styles and levels of musical ability. TCUC is a musical treasure chest! I am so blessed to be a part of this fun group! - Tim
❤️ I have been intending to send you an email to let you know why I haven't attended any of your jams for the last couple of months. We got a puppy in March (another mini-Schnauzer), and she is requiring lots of supervision. I've had to cut down to just the 2 Zooms a week that the Gilroy Ukulele Support group has. I'm one of the facilitators so that's kept me involved in it. I hope to keep getting your emails and news of your very excellent ukulele club. I have gotten some very good ideas and some great music from your on-line resources. Our Gilroy group has been doing songs from Tin Pan Alley for the last few weeks and that has been great for me since I guess, overall, those are the ones I know best and I have so many favorites. Take care and stay safe. Best regards. - Linda T, Morgan Hill, CA
❤️ I love participating in the club jams for a bunch of reasons. First of all, the people are great. In person or over Zoom, they bring an enthusiasm to their music and their instruments that's infectious. They also bring a very wide variety of music to the group, some of which may be new to me, and some of which stir memories of events from the long past. Along the way, I learn more and more about how music is constructed: the elegant ways melodies and lyrics interact with chord structures to make something meaningful and enduring. - Steve H.
❤️ They give me an opportunity to share music with others (even the Zoom Jams). They give me an opportunity to learn new songs and experiment with old ones. They are a place where, over weeks, months, and years, I can marvel at how people grow into their music, find their own unique musical voice, and begin to share it with everyone. - Tom E.
❤️ I really enjoy getting together with the Twin Cities Ukulele Club for jams because each jam helps me learn old songs I’ve never heard before and also to play popular songs, both new and old. Everyone in the club is very welcoming and eager to help answer any questions that arise. There is a sense of comradery with fellow ukulele players regardless of their varied backgrounds. Everyone at these jams is having fun! - Barb
❤️ Playing music with wonderful people brings me great joy. At the jams, I am completely present and I enjoy each moment. I’m not thinking about anything else but the music. - Ellen
❤️ To start with I mostly enjoyed the jams because the folks are so friendly and supportive. But after a while I’ve come to appreciate just how much I’ve learned about music. Much of the music we play in the Twin Cities Uke Club is written out in Nashville Notation, meaning that the chords aren’t given as a C, F, or G7, but rather 1, 4, and 57. It can take a bit of time to get used to this notation, but once you do it is fantastic, because it allows you to easily change the key of the song to get it into a friendly register for your own voice. There are LOTS of songs I can’t sing in C, but if I drop it to A or G I’m good to go. - Steve C.
❤️ I enjoy the "Jams" because they reintroduce me to songs long forgotten as well as songs I've never heard before. It also helps keep my fingers calloused by the continued weekly playing. - Brent
❤️ It’s been great during the pandemic to still be able to get together [via Zoom] playing music with a group of nice, fun people! I like all the variety of music too. - Linda B.
❤️ I like TCUC because - I like "British Invasion" and a variety of songs (Bluegrass, rock'n roll, country, folk, etc.). And, I like the Zoom jam because I get to see people from outside the Twin Cities area. Thanks. - Shig
❤️ The jam sessions are a remarkably fun way to sustain interest in the uke. They are a uke strummin’, song singing, toe-tappin’ good time. – Joe
❤️ I love the Friday jams and learn something every single time! - Karen
❤️ I just want to say thank you to our jam leader and this entire group, for giving me a place to play with others. There are music teachers, music majors, and professional singers that welcome all at these jams. I played guitar and performed in college, a long, long time ago. I play by ear, don’t read music, and you all make me feel welcome and teach me along the way. Cheers to a great group! - Coco
❤️ There's nothing much better than getting together with a bunch of people solely to make music and having a good time doing it. - Tom
❤️ I love the ukulele club because it's helping me get better, and I'm having so much fun at the jams. - Kim
❤️ They are where can you go to meet really nice people who help you make such joyful sounds. 😊 Katie
❤️ I love playing with friendly ukers. We play songs that I might not play on my own. I almost always try something new. There’s never any criticism only friendly encouragement. It’s loads of fun. - Myra
