“What are your hobbies?” asked one of my new classmates on a warm, sunny afternoon as we sat on the college green.
Um.
Hobbies?
I quickly wracked my brain. Some people might count this blog as a hobby, I guess. I do like photography. Is travel a hobby? What about eating? Drinking beer?
As my classmates went on about instruments they played, sports teams they wanted to join, and other remarkable talents, it hit me. I have no traditional hobbies.
So went I got home that night I ordered a cheap ukulele off Amazon. I’d had an interested in learning to play for a few years and I figured the ukulele could be my hobby. I would teach myself.
Four the past four months, the ukulele sat in the corner of my room, next to my wardrobe, gathering dust. West Wing reruns were far more interesting than learning chords and trying to remember how to read music.
Then Lorraine emailed a couple of weeks ago asking if I’d like to come a Learn To Uke taster course. These are informal, one night classes for adults with no ukulele experience at all. You turn up at a pub, they supply the ukes, and in an hour or so you will be playing your first song.
I, of course, said yes and on a Wednesday night two weeks ago my friend Alicia and I made our way to the Phoenix Artist Club for a night of music. And beer. Music and beer.
Lorraine introduced herself and Learn to Uke and promised that even if we had no idea what we were doing, we would be fine. Her confidence and enthusiasm were really engaging and made me feel like I had a slim chance at being able to be successful.
We started off by learning three chords. Lorraine has come up with a creative way to quickly and easily teach finger placement, especially for those of us new to stringed instruments. After practicing the chords and transitions for a while, we started to play our first song- “In the Jungle”. It started off easily enough, but I soon realized that singing while playing an instrument is harder than it might seem. At least for me.
After a short break (for more beer), we continued on, learning a few more chords and then tackling one of my favorite songs, “Hey Jude”. Even though everyone wasn’t super confident with their playing ability, everyone was very involved in the singing and seemed to be having a lot of fun.
When the class was over I actually found myself a little sad. Lorraine did a wonderful encouraging everyone and made learning the ukulele fun. I’m not very musically inclined (to put it gently) and I’m also fairly uncoordinated, but she was right there helping me and making sure I didn’t feel too frustrated. I hope that when my uni coursework slows done I’ll be able to really learn to uke.
And maybe someday I can call it a hobby.
If you’d like to learn to play the ukulele in London, check out Learn to Uke’s website or Twitter.
Disclaimer: Learn to Uke provided me with a free taster class. They did not ask that I write a review of any sort.
What are your hobbies? Have you ever learned to play an instrument as an adult?
Haha love the fact it was kind of an impulse decision after feeling insecurities among your classmates. You talk like buying a ukulele this is all very normal and nonchalant!
That class sounds fun though. I had no idea people did things like this! hehe PLEASE bring it with you and play us a song
Btw….I’ve just now realized, I don’t think I have any real hobbies either…. Oh crap.
Jessica Wray recently posted..This is the In Between
I tend to make impulsive decisions about things like this. And it only cost 10 pounds so it wasn’t too big of a commitment
Don’t become one of those people who whips out a ukelele in a hostel common area/at parties and forces others to listen, I beg you. PLEASE.
Anyway, I feel you on the hobbies thing! I wrote a post about a bad date a few months ago, and one of the things the guy asked me about was my hobbies. I was stumped. Listening to music, watching movies, pretending to work out…my blog?…taking photos? Reading…sometimes (rarely). Eating all the food. Not playing any sports. He actually made me feel quite bad about not having any hobbies, although I don’t think that a lot of people have anything that would qualify as a ‘hobby’ now. It was always a question that would be asked in language classes where I was the student (French, German, Korean) or the teacher (English).
Anyway, good look with learning how to play the ukelele, but DON’T BECOME THE UKELELE JERK.
Tom @ Waegook Tom recently posted..The Best Things I Ate In January
hahaha you don’t have to worry- I will NEVER become one of those people. I was in Jamaica once and this girl busted out her ukulele on a 2 hour bus ride. Everyone may have been under the influence of the local specialty but…still.
And I agree, hobbies in that sense are a little outdated. The last time I think I talked about them was Italian 101 my first year of uni. And with all my students in Korea who, like me, have no hobbies!
Haha I love how impulsive your decision was – I’m the same!
I feel the same whenever I’m asked that question. I think about maybe… taking pictures (in automatic mode?), working out (sometimes – when it’s not too late after work?), sketching (only when it’s sunny and I have time), watching movies and… walking? is walking a hobby? It’s like an old-people hobby! I def need to work on these…
Katharina @ 100 Miles Highway recently posted..London’s Wild Side – A Walk through Richmond Park
haha taking photos in automatic mode. That is totally me. And I think sketching is an awesome hobby, even if you only do it occasionally!
What a cool way to learn an instrument!
And what a fantastic instrument to want to learn.
I’ve always wanted to learn how to play guitar but have been putting it off since the dawn of time.
Ceri recently posted..9 Ways You Can Afford to Travel
Yeah, learning to play or teaching yourself to play an instrument is such a daunting task that it is easy to put off…
That’s the beauty of the ukulele, it’s so portable that it becomes a really social thing too, they’re so much fun to play too!