Beginners' Ukulele with Gene Nichols

Eastport Arts Center will host a day celebrating the ukulele with musical aficionado and beloved Washington County teacher Gene Nichols on Saturday, September 21. Ukulele workshops for beginners and for intermediate students will be offered in the afternoon, followed by a special ‘Gene Nichols and Co. Ukulele Show,’ to benefit EAC programs at 7 pm.

The Beginners' Workshop, from 10 am-12 pm, will acquaint students with the ukulele: its various sizes, tunings and layouts, and the role of each hand in playing. Individual notes and chords in first position will be introduced, along with fingering and strumming techniques.Melodies and songs will be taught, using string/fret notation and lyric lead sheets; standard musical notation will be provided as well.

Instruments will be available for students to borrow during the sessions, though in limited quantity. The beginners’ session is designed for students 12 and up. Space is limited and reservations are required, via our site or by email to workshops@eastportartscenter.org. Workshop fee is $20/person. Please indicate whether you will need a loaner instrument to use.

Nichols has been playing the ukulele for more than 45 years, and has played it in medicine shows, uke clubs, rock bands, parades, festivals, and untold concerts. As a teen he found a ukulele—stringless—and an instruction book in the attic, and by the time the strings showed up, he'd hit the ground running.

He revived a 20’s era University of Maine Ukulele Group in 2006, teaching countless students and community members to play, and bringing the entourage through a wild range of gigs for 14 years. Last fall, an independent group of alumni from that era emerged as a new band. The current lineup were featured at the 2023 International Ukulele Ceilidh in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, and were the feisty show-closers of EAC’s summer hit Moose Island Follies.

Eastport Arts Center is at 36 Washington Street, Eastport, and at www.eastportartscenter.org, and is handicapped-accessible.