If you walk into the Senior Action Center on East North Street on a Friday morning, you might just hear music in the air. Ukulele music, to be precise. That’s because the center boasts not one, but two different ukulele groups that practice on Friday mornings: The Happy Strummers and the Ukulators.
The two groups are separated into intermediate (The Happy Strummers) and advanced (the Ukulators), but the main focus is to have fun and enjoy each other’s company all while playing some classic tunes.
The Happy Strummers are led by volunteer Laurie Gentry, a retired music teacher.
“The people are super nice,” Gentry says, “and they’re there because they enjoy it. So they’re enthusiastic and willing to work at it, and it’s always fun in the music room; the camaraderie, and the feeling that you are part of something bigger than you.”
When Gentry came on board to take over for Linda McMakin (who now leads the Ukulators), her first goal was to hone the ensemble’s performance repertoire; they occasionally play live at nursing homes and other locations.
“They had a big notebook when I first got involved,” she says. “It was a lot of songs from the 40s, 50s 60s, and they had some Hawaiian music as well. And so I tried to add a little bit of music with more current songs. I love musical theater and so I introduced “Cabaret,” which is a little bit challenging, but I think we’re going to do alright with it.”
At least one of the players, Patsy Torchia, is a novice at the instrument but immediately felt welcome.
“I bought an inexpensive ukulele from the internet,” Torchia says, “and I didn’t really know anything about it other than I wanted to learn to play it, so I tried. Then one day I went over to Senior Action to see what it was all about, and saw that they had a ukulele ensemble. I asked if I could go and observe and they very nicely said yes.”
Patsy says that Laurie and the rest of the group couldn’t have been more welcoming.
Getting in tune
“Laurie, the director, was so kind,” she says, “and told me that my very inexpensive ukulele had good tone but the problem was that it was out of tune, so she helped me with that. I put it back in the case and sat there and watched everybody. The next week I took it out of the case and started strumming along and trying very hard, and just saw the fun of being in the group and the kindness of all the people there.”
Paul Fitzgerald actually plays in both the Happy Strummers and the Ukulators, and he says he likes being able to stretch his legs a little, musically speaking.
“I’m a frustrated singer,” he says with a laugh. “I can’t sing that well, and they let me sing. So I get a chance to sing even though no one tells me I can. That’s one of the things I enjoy about it. Plus, everybody’s nice and friendly; it’s just a happy group. We do ‘Love Potion #9,’ we do ‘You’re Sixteen,’ we do ‘Blue Skies,’ and ‘Spooky.’ I play the saxophone on those. We do a little bit of everything!”
Craft says you don’t need to be intimidated by the instrument — just come by, sit in and have a good time.
“It’s a fun little instrument,” she says. “It’s not hard. A beginner could sit in with my group and catch on if they’re willing to work hard at it and get the chords underneath their fingers.”
