September 2024 Community Check-In & Calendar (Patreon)

{Patron-only post: please click through and heart this post so I know you've seen it, thank you!}

Aloha Patrons!

Welcome to September, and a warm welcome to all the new Patrons! If you're a new Patron, please introduce yourself in the comments, and check out the New Patrons section below. Take some time to look around, check out the WelcomeGuide/FAQ, and post any additional questions below.

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This Bird Has Flown: Songbird at Blue Note Hawaii

I'm happy to report that the debut of my new solo show "Songbird" at Blue Note Hawaii went well (for me as the performer!) and was surprisingly well-received! Creating something new means not knowing what the result will be. I was just relieved to get through it! The audience response was beyond my expectations, and I was adorned with so many lei that my neck actually hurt. 😂🌺Hawaii fans are the best.

Thank you all for your spiritual support. Artistically, this show was a milestone in my creative journey. I needed to create it, in order to know what I wanted to create next. I enjoyed sharing original songs on ukulele, guitar, and piano, and I honestly expected the guitar and piano sections to be more difficult, but they as familiar as putting on an old coat. Turns out the 10,000 hours you put in doesn't go away, even when you've taken an 8-year hiatus from guitar like I have.

I've been very slowly recovering from the show. I haven't even posted pictures and videos to my social media yet, but here are a few to bring us back to the show.  I played ukulele center stage, guitar, stage left, and piano stage right. My friends made fresh flower ornaments for my hair, and the sound and production at the Blue Note were just stellar. I can't wait to return.

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Join the Vocal Workshop!

This month is a great month to start the Vocal Workshop. Last week's lesson focused on the basics of breathing and creating sound. We move slowly so we can build awareness and practice relaxation. Hope to see you for the Zoom sessions on Tuesdays 10am Hawaii Time, or watch later!

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The Tour Continues: this Saturday 9/14 in Brighton, Colorado

On September 14th I will be playing a concert and leading a jam in Brighton, Colorado! If you are in Colorado or know folks in the area, please take a minute to get tickets and/or share this show with your friends. I look forward to seeing some Patrons at The Armory on September 14th! Practice this song, and I'll invite the Patrons and local squad to come up and join me for the last song. Comment below if you're planning to attend.

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PARIS Save the Date! Oct 2nd at Peniche Anako

My Paris friends, hope to see you for a concert on Oct 2nd. I'll send a separate notice when tickets are available. After the concert, the local Parisian ukulele club Rendezv'uke (isn't that adorable?) will lead a jam. There's also talk of a Master Class where we'll get together and rehearse for a group performance. Stay tuned!

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Pre-LA Uke Fest Patron Hangout Thurs 9/19

I won't be at the festival, but lots of Patrons will be, and Patron Will Peralta is organizing a group social and ukulele jam pre-LA International Ukulele Festival. It will be on Thursday evening Sept 19. If you're interested in attending, reach out to Will via Facebook Messenger, or reply to his post in the Cynthia Lin Patrons Facebook group. You could also email me at Dr.WPeralta@gmail.com. Please put “LA Uke Fest jam” in the subject line.

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Patron 10-year Anniversary Party: Saturday March 15, 2025

Folks have been asking for more details. Here's what I have so far:

Sat 3/15 9am Jam at Windward Mall (Kaneohe): Ukulele Club of Hawaii will have their monthly jam. Free and open to the public. Kaneohe is a 30 minute drive from Waikiki. We'll connect folks to organize carpools. I suggest you drive the long way around the east side of the island and enjoy the coastal views!

Sat 3/15 late afternoon/evening Patron party: I'll organize a casual gathering where Patrons can meet each other, jam, perform at open mics. It will be in Honolulu, in or near Waikiki.

Sun 3/16 evening: there will be a kickoff dinner/event for Craig and Sarah's retreat at the Kahala resort (15 minute drive from Waikiki). I will let you know when tickets for non-retreat attendees go on sale.

Other than that, there are no set plans. Fill out the Hawaii 2025 Interest Form and I'll poll folks to see if we can organize activities like a sunset sail. If we have some folks who want to take the lead and help arrange group activities, please let me know. I also always suggest coming to Hawaii to relax, enjoy the beach, and soak up the aloha vibes. It's lovely to sit at a beach bar and have a maitai or pineapple iced tea and watch surfers with Diamond Head as your backdrop.

Here are some other activity ideas. Interested folks have been sharing ideas over in our dedicated 10th Anniversary Hawaii Celebration Community Chat and in or our private Patron-only Facebook group.

Ukulele Factory Tours - perhaps someone can take the lead on organizing group tours for the Patrons?

Monday - Friday 1pm: Free tour at KoAloha

Tues - Friday 10:30am: Free tour at Kamaka

Ukulele stores to visit: Kanile'a store at Windward Mall and Ala Moana Mall, Ukulele Site in Haleiwa, Ukulele Puapua at the Sheraton Waikiki (carries CL Signature Ukes), Best Hawaiian Ukulele in Waikiki (carries CL Signature Ukes). Also, I can pre-order any CL Signature Uke for you to pick up in Hawaii. :)

Getting around - Parking in Waikiki can be expensive, and a lot of hotels offer daily car rental. It's easy but not cheap to Uber/Lyft. It's also easy to take the local bus, called Da Bus. :)

More to come. I'll put together a "Cynthia's favorites" list for restaurants and local spots.

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September 2024 Community Reminders

🌈 Monthly Live Lesson: The August 2024 Patreon Live Lesson for "Respect" is now available to all Patrons ($1+).

✈️ CL Tour Notes: Get your tickets for October 13 in Berlin.

💯 100 Days of Ukulele 2024 Showcase Premiere TBD: You haven't missed it! This year's Showcase video is in the final stages of editing, to be premiered as soon as we can arrange a date. Stay tuned for the announcement, and join us for a live chat and celebration/reunion. Thank you so much to Owen, who volunteered to put this video together -- it takes a lot of work!

📌📣 Community Bulletin Board via comments: Feel free to use the comments section in this monthly check-in as a Bulletin Board for all things uke or Patreon.  Events, announcements, invitations, questions, requests, suggestions -- all are fair game.  We can also use the Chats in the Patreon App, and I'm open to using them for discussion in any way that benefits Patrons.

Thanks for reading, for being here, for supporting my journey and for sharing yours.

xo cynthia 🌺

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September 2024 PATRON EVENTS CALENDAR

See all Patron events on our Patron Google calendar (set on Pacific Time, click the bottom right corner to add to your Google calendar). Please double-check all times. Hawaii Time does not participate in Daylight Saving clock changes. Lesson dates shift to accommodate my travel/gigs.

• Tues 9/3, 9/10, 9/17, 9/24 @ 10AM Hawaii Time - Weekly Voice Workshop ($30+ Patrons)

• Thurs 9/5 @ 2:30PM Hawaii Time / 5:30PM Pacific Time - Mindful Beginner Live Jam ($10+ Patrons).  

• Thurs 9/19 @ 2:30PM Hawaii Time / 5:30PM Pacific Time - Patron Monthly All-Levels Live Lesson ($5+ Patrons). Pre-lesson Zoom Social at 2PM HT / 5PM PT

• Thurs 9/26 @ 2:30PM Hawaii Time / 5:30PM Pacific Time - Intermediate Level-Up Jam  ($20+ Patrons)

• plus tune in many Wednesdays at 5pm Pacific Time for my weekly 5@5 LIVE show, streaming on my LIVE YouTube channel.  I often share new arrangements for upcoming lessons. (on YT, on IG). Please note that there will be NO 5@5 ON SEPTEMBER 11.

Details for all Patron events will be posted separately.  To edit your pledge level, visit https://www.patreon.com/join/cynthialin and select your desired reward tier.  (Patreon will only charge you for the difference in the upgrade).

Access the Patron Google calendar and get notifications for events on the Cynthia Lin Patron App, created by our Patron Community Manager, Rich!  Download: Android app | iOS app

Our Patron Community Manager and NYC Squad leader Jenny hosts 4 free monthly play-alongs at both USA- and UK/Europe-friendly times. Find this month's dates and more information here.

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August 2024 Recap - News, Patron Events and New Videos

• I premiered my new show "Songbird" at the Hawaii outpost of the Blue Note, a legendary jazz venue. Check out the show trailer on YouTube

• In our Mindful Beginner Songbook Jam  ($10+ Patrons), we reviewed my arrangement of "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman.

• For the Live Lesson ($5+ Patrons, now available to all levels), we worked on Aretha Franklin's "Respect," by Otis Redding (even Otis said it's Aretha's song).

• For the Intermediate Level-Up Jam ($20+ Patrons), we worked on "funky muting" techniques in "Respect" and other songs.

• Voice students ($30+ Patrons) met on four Tuesdays in August.

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Special note for new Patrons

If you're new, I invite you to take some time to get to know the platform - there's a lot here, and it may take a while to navigate the many lessons and posts.  The community WelcomeGuide/FAQ post is a good place to start.

To find a specific song or lesson, learn to use the Cynthia Lin Song Index spreadsheet.  Thank you to the Community Managers for creating and maintaining this helpful resource.

Please introduce yourself in the comments: I'd love to hear how long you've been playing, what kind of uke you play, if you have a group to play with, what songs you've been working on, or anything else you'd like to share.

If you have questions about Patreon, I encourage you to post your questions in the comments below or to one of our Community groups. Our community has tons of friendly folks who love sharing their uke experience. Join our Patron-only Facebook group (be sure to answer BOTH membership questions).

Seasoned Patrons, I always appreciate it when you help me answer any newbie questions in the comments of this or any post.  Thank you! Feel free to post your questions in the comments as well.

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COMMUNITY NOTES:

1. Join our private Facebook group: In the Facebook group, Patrons can share videos, advice, support, and encouragement! Be sure to answer both membership questions so that Community Managers can verify your Patron status. If you wish to connect and are not on Facebook, you can share a post on the Community chats in the Patreon app. If you have questions about Patreon or ukulele or otherwise, posting the question to our very helpful and active Community will generate the fastest answer.

2. Facebook public groups - we're using Facebook as our community gathering place because it has the best community features. Find all the CL groups using the link below, including the CL Uke Newbies group, an all-levels group, and several active regional groups (NYC / LA / the Pacific Northwest / Hawaii and more).  https://www.facebook.com/cynthialinmusic/groups

3. Learn to use the Cynthia Lin Song Index, a spreadsheet created and maintained (and updated recently!) by the amazing CL Community Managers! The super helpful CL Song Index organizes all CL songs, Patreon posts, YouTube videos, and tutorials.

4. Download the Cynthia Lin Patron App, created by our Patron Community Manager, Rich! Android app | iOS app

5. Find all Patron events on our Patron Google Calendar

6. Find answers to many Frequently Asked Questions in our New Patron Guide/FAQ post.

7. To edit your pledge, visit https://www.patreon.com/join/cynthialin