Ukulele course to start in Port

RETIRED teacher Robyn Jenes has a passion for people, music and teaching and has found the
perfect activity to combines all three – facilitating Portarlington Ukulele Kollective (PUK) courses.

With courses beginning again on February 6 at the Portarlington Senior Citizens Club, Ms Jenes said it was a fantastic opportunity for people within the community to try a new hobby.

“I’ve been playing for about four years. I’ve playedn instruments on and off and when I retired I was looking for something to do.

I took up Ukulele with PUK and at one stage we had no leader for the group; everyone stood back,” she said.

“I was left standing at the front and I’ve kept going ever since.

It’s a lovely thing to do and we have a lovely group of people within the courses.”

Ms Jenes said members of the group have either dabbled with an instrument in the past or were using the courses to pursue a life-long desire to learn, for the first time.

“Some of our group have never played before and others have. This is a course that builds from one week to the next, it’s an actual course not just a couple of one-off sessions.

“Most people really enjoy it and once they’ve completed the beginners course (if they’ve never played before) they often join our Community Ukulele and Singing course.”

The Community Ukulele and Singing course resumes on Wednesday, February 6 from 4pm until
5.30pm, it’s $5 per session and patrons are encouraged to bring their own Ukulele and music stand if they have one.

The Newbies Ukulele Course is also on a Wednesday and runs from 6pm until 7pm, it’s also $5 a session and Ms Jensen said it’s a good idea to borrow a ukulele for the first session.

“The best way is to borrow and give it a try first; it might not be for them.

We talk about the instrument and what to look for when you’re buying your own. “We usually get about 10 per class and it’s learning about music, timing, tempo, rhythm and beat.

Ukulele sounds best when you play in a group, it’s nice to hear and it’s a lot of fun.”

The group is open to all ages and experience levels, at the Portarlington Senior Citizens Centre, Newcomb Street – for more information phone Robyn on 0402 319 124 or via [email protected].