We're a Ukulele enthusiast club based in the Altoona-State College, PA region. The Allegheny Ukes have existed in various incarnations since 2010 where we jammed on college campuses, the local YMCA, and in cafes. The Allegheny Ukulele Kollective is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
As of 2014, we have re-established ourselves to have a set schedule of events! We have a Jam nearly every Sunday of every month. Check our events calendar for the locations and times!
We plan to branch out into community outreach, bringing the uke to the local schools, nursing homes, and service groups. Uke Evangelism!
Membership
To join the Kollective, just come to one of our jams! If you want to volunteer for a leadership role or take on some aspect of running the club, let us know! We'd be happy to delegate some of our uke-club-running-duties to you!
About our Jams
Our ukulele jams are open to players of all ages and abilities. We play in C6 tuning (GCEA). Generally, one or two people will 'lead' the session, often delegating particular songs to other members of the group to lead. If you want to lead a particular song, or introduce a new song, let us know about a week beforehand so we can get music printed or emailed to the rest of the club!
The beginning of any jam is geared to help beginners with any chords or chord transitions they may be having trouble with. We will go over 'new' chords being introduced in the music that day, if any. It also gives us a chance to work with each other closely and to get to know one another. If you're not a beginner and/or you want to just show up for the regular jam, then come a bit later.
Much of the music we play is from one of our club songbooks which are available for download from our website. New songs aregenerally handed out at the jam session in photocopied packets. We recommend taking them home and putting them into an alphabetized binder for easy referal. We will ocassionally use music from The Daily Ukulele and The Daily Ukulele Leap Year Edition. Both of these song books are available online and in music stores for around $30.
The jams are free, but we always put out a donation jar. We suggest a donation of $5 per jam. All donations go towards covering our costs such as printing, website hosting, advertising, etc.
Performances
We typically have 2-3 performances throughout the year with a varied set list. Participation is totally voluntary, but we like to have as many players on stage with us as possible.Think of it as a big group recital!
Getting Started with the Ukulele
If you're just starting out in the world of ukulele, the array of options can be maddening! We recommend picking a ukulele in the $50-$100 range. Ukuleles in this range are almost all quality instruments and you don't have to usually worry about tone or manufacturing issues. We highly recommend purchasing your first ukulele from a local music store, rather than buying online. Supporting small businesses is awesome and you should do that!
We also recommend picking up a clip-on tuner to help keep your uke in tune. They run about $15 in stores (and less online). The clip-on tuner picks up the vibrations of the instrument and will display how sharp or flat a particular string is.
Contact Us
By Phone - (814) 826-GCEA
By Email - AlleghenyUkes@gmail.com
Facebook - http://facebook.com/AlleghenyUkes
Twitter - @AlleghenyUkes
Allegheny Ukulele Kollective
2212 6th Avenue
Altoona, PA 16602