Ukulele Workshops

Schedule | 2024 

POP UP UKE Sessons via Zoom
NOTE NEW DAY AND TIME
Tuesdays 5-6 pm Pacific Time

Major Scale & Solfege Zoom Lesson
Saturday, March 16 3-4 pm PT

UkeWest Festival Zoom Workshop 
April 13, 2024

UkeWest Festival Concert via Zoom
May 25, 2024

Kamloops Summer Festival
Sorrento Retreat, British Columbia
June 19-23, 2024

Placer Ukulele Festival
Roseville, California
September 28, 2024

Reno Ukulele Festival
Sparks, Nevada
October 9-12, 2024

NOW OFFERING PRIVATE LESSONS IN THE SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA AREA AND ON ZOOM!

BECOME A POP UP UKE PATRON FOR ONLY $12 PER MONTH!

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Jim D’Ville Bio

Posted on: March 19th, 2012 by Jim D'Ville

Jim D’Ville Bio:

I took up the 5-string banjo exactly 33 years after this photo was taken.

Little did I know that my dreams of being the next Earl Scruggs were to be
dashed by the humble ukulele.

At age 43 after ten years of trying to memorize banjo tab and then play it back, my wife’s grandmother gave me a 70-year-old Columbia Hawaiian soprano ukulele that had been in her closet for more than 50 years. To please grandma, I took the uke and bought an instruction book. But I was tired of memorizing music out of books!

That approach did not turn me into a musician on the banjo and I doubted that I would have a different outcome on the ukulele. So I just practiced chord progressions and inversions and listening to the sounds I was making. I found I was developing an emotional relationship with the chords I was playing and realized why songwriters choose specific chords to garner a certain emotional response from the listener. My mission then was to teach other adult beginners the fundamentals of music from an ear-based approach, Play Ukulele By Ear.

In addition to hundreds of workshops presented in music stores and for ukulele clubs worldwide I’ve also appeared at the  festivals, retreats, and conventions listed below. I’m also a Contributing Editor to Ukulele. I currently reside in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, where I teach ukulele lessons at the Pimentel Guitars.

Featured Workshop Presenter: Domestic
Albuquerque Ukulele Festival
Allegheny Ukulele Soiree, Altoona, Pennsylvania
Caspar Ukulele Festival, Caspar, California
Cape Cod Ukulele Festival, Orleans, Massachusetts
Dallas Ukulele Headquarters, Dallas, Texas (2)
Dusty Strings Ukulele Festival, Seattle, Washington (2)
Great Minnesota Ukulele Gathering, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Kerrville Folk Festival, Kerrville, Texas (3)
Las Cruces Ukulele Festival, Las Cruces, New Mexico
Los Angeles International Uke Fest, Los Angeles, California
Lone Star Ukulele Festival, Dallas, Texas
Hood River Ukulele Festival, Hood River, Oregon
Mya Moe Picnic, White Salmon, Washington
New Hampshire Ukulele Picnic, Nashua, New Hampshire
Oakridge Ukulele Festival, Oakridge, Oregon
Palm Strings Ukulele Festival, Palm Springs, California
Pineapple Jam Ukulele Fest, Yucaipa, California
Pittsburgh Ukulele Day, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Portland Ukulele Festival, Portland, Oregon
Port Townsend Ukulele Festival, Port Townsend, Washington
Reno-Tahoe Uke Fest Sparks, Nevada (5)
San Diego Ukulele Festival, San Diego, California
Tampa Bay Ukulele Getaway, Tampa, Florida
Uke Fest West, Santa Cruz, California
Ukes In Yachats, Yachats, Oregon
Uketoberfest Eugene, Oregon
Ukulele University, Bend, Oregon (2)
Ventura Ukulele Day, Ventura, California (2)
Wine Country Ukulele Festival, St. Helena, California (3)

Featured Workshop Presenter: International
Ajijic Ukulele Retreat, Ajijic, Mexico
Blue Mountains Ukulele Festival Australia
Caribbean Ukulele Cruise, US Virgin Islands
Corktown Ukulele Group, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Dundas, Ontario, Canada (2)
Illawarra Folk Festival, Australia
Kamloops Ukulele Festival, British Columbia, Canada (4)
Langley Ukulele Workshops, British Columbia, Canada (2)
Melbourne Ukulele Festival, Australia (3)
Southern Ontario Ukulele Players, London, Ontario, Canada
Sunshine Coast Ukulele Festival, Australia
Ukulele Ceilidh, Nova Scotia, Canada
Ukulele Club de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Ukulele Cuties, Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada (2)
Ukulele Festival of Scotland (2)
Vancouver Ukulele Festival, British Columbia, Canada (2)

Camp Instructor:
Ashokan Ukulele Festival, Olive Bridge, New York (2)
Booher Music Camp, Sisters, Oregon
Britt Ukulele Camp, Jacksonville, Oregon (2)
California Ukulele Academy, Angelus Oaks, California (2)
Camp Oo Koo Lay Lay, Pinecrest, California
Midwest Ukulele & Harmonica, Camp, Olivet, Michigan
Ohio Ukulele Camp-out, Loudonville, Ohio
Puget Sound Guitar Workshop
River Of The West Mandolin Camp, Corbett, Oregon (3)
Tahoe Ukulele Retreat, South Lake Tahoe, Nevada
Tunes In The Dunes, Otis, Oregon (3)
West Coast Ukulele Retreat, Pacific Grove, California) (4)

Music Facilitator:
Leader Santa Fe Ukulele & Social Club, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2012/14 Winter NAMM Show Kala Endorser/Booth Presenter (National Association of Music Merchants)
NAMM Idea Center Moderator/Panel Discussion/In-Store Uke Circles
Kala/NAMM Ukulele Circle Leader
Founder Baywood Ukulele Social Club, Los Osos, California
Founder Newport Ukulele Tune Strummers, Newport, Oregon
Founder Columbia River Gorge Ukulele Association, Troutdale, Oregon

Ukulele Tutorials

Playing By Ear


Play Ukulele By Ear 1
Vol. 1 DVD or Download
more info


Play Ukulele By Ear 1.5
Playing By The Numbers
Download Only
more info


Play Ukulele By Ear 2
Vol. 2 DVD or Download
more info


Play Ukulele By Ear 3 Download Only
more info

 


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