After a few days in Jerusalem I was excited to get back to Ukuleles For Peace...and today was definitely a marathon! Three morning classes in Hod Hasharon, and then three in Tira in the afternoon. The last group of the day were all brand new students, getting their hands on a ukulele for the first time ever. Very special. The older kids in the orchestra are getting excited and nervous about the recording as well: we have our first full-orchestra recording session on Friday. Below is an mp3 of the Tira kids practicing "Salaam".

This evening we had a rehearsal with the orchestra in Tira. We walked in and were greeted by a gang of kids working on a dance routine to one of the songs; everyone seems to be extra-enthusiastic now that they realize what's involved in making a recording - the kids have all put in a very impressive amount of effort

This morning Paul and i worked on setting up gear for tonight's practice at his house - we're going to try to have our first 'proper' recording session. With the help of a couple nice condenser mics and my trusty portable recorder I think we've got a good system worked out. This afternoon I've been sorting through the files from yesterday's session with the Arab kids in Tira. After meeting with Youssef, the headmaster of the school,

Today was a ukulele whirlwind! We started with three hour-long lessons at the school in Hod Hasharon. The last group was particularly wonderful - about 16 kids, mostly in 'Aleph', meaning that they're around 6 or 7 years old. It's quite something tuning 16 ukuleles with a room full of six-year-olds, but they made up in enthusiasm what they lacked in skill! Most of them were still working on mastering the 'C' chord, and you can hear their efforts here on 'Row Row Row Your Boat' (the ultimate one-chord song).

Today I've been talking to Paul and Daphna about our schedule for the next six weeks - we're going to try to squeeze in an extra weekly rehearsal for the orchestra so that they have more opportunity to practice for the final recording (they do practice very diligently, but they also spend a lot of time dancing - as in the photo above). On Monday we're heading to Tira to work with a big group of new Arab ukulele enthusiasts, and I'll post again after that. For now, here's a little clip from yesterday: four of the UFP kids practicing a fairly complex jazz medley...

Well, it's day one of my time in Israel and I already have content to post! After sleeping off what I hope was all of my jetlag, I went with Paul and Daphna (the brains and brawn behind Ukuleles For Peace, as well as my kind hosts) to the Democratic School here in Hod Hasharon.

Though there are usually no Ukuleles For Peace rehearsals on Fridays, today was an exception and around 20 children and a few parents gathered in the staff room at the school for a little bit of practice.

the quick brown fox has done things i can't even comprehend.

DIY