Jazz on ukulele workshop
10th November 2025
On Sunday 9 November, Cathy and Angie (The Wild Women of Anywhere Beach), gave us a fascinating three hours of exposure to the joys of playing jazz on ukulele. For many of us, it was plain that there is a difference between understanding jazz on the ukulele and getting our fingers (both left and right) to follow. But they had tips on what we must do after the workshop.
We worked on four songs:
- Exactly Like You – The Diane Kraal version
- I Can’t Give You Anything but Love – Billie Holliday,
- On the Sunny Side of the Street
- September Song
For each song there were four versions for basic chords, jazz chords and chords for baritone and tabs for the bass. For each song, we played the basic version first to get the feel of the song and ‘comping’.
Comping means to accompany and complement a performance by creating a rhythmic and harmonic background, often through improvised chords. It is the key role of a rhythm section, and it involves playing chords and rhythms that support a soloist while leaving space for their performance.
Cathy stressed that jazz on ukulele usually means ‘less rather than more’ using the soft part the thumb and up flicks with the fingers to add variety. This was the first challenge - to create a strum with a solid beat without being too loud.
Then we tried alternative chords to enhance the jazzy feel of the song – C6 instead of C, G9 rather than G7 and so on.
Cathy showed us alternative ways to play chords up the neck. There was nothing really difficult about these chords, just that they were in unfamiliar places. This time it was the left hand that was challenged.
Cathy’s tip was to identify small challenges – like the first 2 lines of a verse or a run down – and practice it for a short time. Take a break and then practice again for a short time. Then repeat often. The break gives the brain time to learn.
There was more – for example, using diminished chords, finding chord shapes that are together on the fret board and so on. Cathy recommends learning various ways to play C, F and G7 and try them out at a jam.
A fascinating three hours. Thanks to Cathy and Angie for the music, the instruction and morning tea, and thanks to Julie and Geoff for arranging the event and setting up the sound system.