A-Chording to Cynthia | March 2021 Patron Newsletter (Patreon)

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

Aloha, Patrons!

Welcome to our March newsletter, and an extra warm welcome to the new Patrons who joined after our Beatles Jam last Saturday.  Patron support makes the monthly Community Jams free and available to all, so I thank you for your help in creating these online gatherings!  New Patrons, please see the special note below for help getting started in our community.

Speaking of the monthly Community Jam, I'm thinking about Disney Jam as our March theme.  Any requests?  Comment below if there's a Disney song that you (or your kids!) want to play, or if you already play some Disney songs that work well on the uke!  Save the date: March 27 (last Saturday of the month, at 12pm Hawaii time)

All Patrons can now access the recorded Live Lesson for "Can't Take My Eyes Off You."
Practice with the play-along video here - thanks for all your support for this song!

Interested in learning to transpose?  I am very excited to teach an Intro to Transposing lesson for the Beginner Live Jam tomorrow.  If you need some basics on how transposing works and how you move a song into a different key, join us for a beginner-friendly introduction to the piano keyboard, counting half steps and whole steps, and we'll apply this basic theory using the song Happy Birthday.  To edit your pledge level for this lesson ($10+), visit https://www.patreon.com/join/cynthialin and select your desired reward tier.  (Patreon will only charge you for the difference in the upgrade.)

Congrats to the many (dozens! maybe over100?!) Patrons participating in our 100 Days of Ukulele Project for 2021.  We just passed the 30 day mark, and this year's project community is stronger than ever - I am so proud of all the aloha and encouragement shared, as well as the level of growth and progress, from our newbies to our professionals.  Reminder that we have a Live Check-in this Friday in our facebook group.  All are welcome to join the Facebook group to cheer on the participants, and if you're inspired, it's not too late to start the project.  Check out this link for more info, read the FAQ, and follow #100DaysUke2021 on Instagram to connect with the community there.

Be sure to check out the list of Zoom Open Mics and Jams hosted by our Patron Community Managers and Regional Squad leaders, including events specifically for GMT/UK/Europe and Asia/Australia time zones.  Thanks to the organizers for opening up these events to Patrons!  If you are hosting a Zoom event and would like to invite Patrons to join, feel free to post the info in the comments.  You can also message me at the end of the month to be included in the monthly newsletter.

See you online soon!  (getting ready to go live right now for my weekly 5@5 Live show on Instagram!)

xo cynthia 🌺

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Special note for new Patrons

If you are a new Patron, welcome!  Please introduce yourself in the comments below. I'd love to hear how long you've been playing, what kind of uke you play, if you have an uke club to play with, what songs you've been working on, or anything else you'd like to share.

If you have questions: Be sure to check out the WelcomeGuide/FAQ post.  Please be patient as you get familiar with the Patreon platform.  I promise it will get easier to use if you take time to look around.

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

If you have more questions about Patreon, I encourage you to post your questions to one of our Community groups (our private Facebook group is particularly active -- email patronhelp@cynthialin.com with your Facebook email address to be added). Our community has tons of friendly folks who love sharing their uke experience. Scroll to the Community Notes section at bottom of this post for ways to join and post to our Community. If you have a question that the FAQ doesn't answer, please comment there to help us continue to update the FAQ.

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

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March 2021 PATRON EVENTS CALENDAR

See all Patron events on our Patron Google calendar (also accessible through our Patron App).

• Thurs 3/4 @ 5:30PM Pacific Time - Beginner Live Jam ($10+ Patrons) -  Intro to Transposing lesson
• Thurs 3/18 @ 5:30PM Pacific Time - Patron Monthly Live Lesson ($5+ Patrons) 
• Thurs 3/25 @ 5:30PM Pacific Time - Intermediate Live Jam ($20+ Patrons) 
• Sat 3/27 @ 12PM Hawaii Time - CL x Ukulenny Monthly Community Jam (public on YouTube) 

Details for all Patrons events will be posted separately.  To edit your pledge level, visit https://www.patreon.com/join/cynthialin and select your desired reward tier.

I also invite you to join me most Wednesdays at 5PM Pacific Time for my 5@5InstagramLiveShow. Follow me @cynthialinmusic to get notified when I go live.

Remember, you can now get notifications for events on the Cynthia Lin Patron App, created by our Patron Community Manager, Rich! Android app | iOS app

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*New* - Regional Squad Zoom-based events that are open to Patrons

For those who may not have a local uke club gathering, you can join these friendly folks!  If you have a local event that you'd like to invite Patrons to, post below or in our Facebook group.

• Tues 3/9 @ 6-7PM Eastern Time -- 2nd Tuesdays Zoom Play-Along Jam with NYC Squad leader Jenny - more info via FB Event.
• Sat 3/13 @ 2pm Sydney Time -- Open Mic at an AUS/Asia-frendly time with Connie of the Pacific Northwest Squad - more info via FB event.
• Sat 3/13 @ 7pm GMT -- Open Mic at a UK/Europe-frendly time with Connie of the Pacfic Northwest Squad - more info via FB event. 
• Mon 3/15 @ 6-7:30PM Pacific Time -- 3rd Monday Open Mic hosted by Ukulenny. RSVP and more information on Facebook.
• Tues 3/23 @ 6-7PM GMT -- "GMT Jam" at a UK/Europe-friendly time with NYC Squad leader Jenny - more info via FB Event.

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February 2021 Recap - News, Patron Events and new Videos:

• For our Beginner Live Jam ($10+ Patrons), I used Harry Styles' Watermelon Sugar to teach a fun "funk strum."
• As a followup, Lenny and I created a play-along for "Watermelon Sugar." 
• In honor of Valentine's Day, we learned a cross-generational classic love song for the Patron Monthly Live Lesson ($5+ Patrons, now available to all), with "Can't Take My Eyes Off You." 
• I then shared a new play-along video for "Can't Take My Eyes Off You." 
• For the Intermediate Live Jam ($20+ Patrons), we welcomed back Abe Lagrimas, Jr. Abe and I co-taught a lesson on Bossa Nova strumming and picking rhythms. 
• Lenny and I took two chords and whipped up a play-along for Katy Perry's "Roar." 
• The monthly CL x Ukulenny Community Jam was our popular Beatles Jam (public post).
• I shared a new video featuring my process for learning a riff, featuring the tab riff from "Ticket to Ride."

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COMMUNITY NOTES:

1. Join our private Facebook group (email patronhelp@cynthialin.com with your Facebook email address) for lots of activity -- share videos, advice, support, and encouragement!  If you're not on Facebook, you can post on the Community tab here on Patreon. 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. More Facebook public groups - we're using Facebook as our community gathering place because it has the best community features. Find all the CL groups here, including the CL Uke Newbies group and several active regional groups (NYC / LA / the Pacific Northwest / Hawaii and more).  https://www.facebook.com/pg/cynthialinmusic/groups

3. Learn to use the Cynthia Lin Song Index, 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