A-Chording to Cynthia | October 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!

New Patrons, please see the resources later in this post for help getting started in our community.  We're so happy to have you here!

Well, friends, it's October already, which means the holidays are around the corner 😮, and then comes The 100 Day Project in January 2022!! 😮😮  Before I get too caught up in future-planning, I'm reminding myself to take it slow, day by day, and breath by breath.  Still enjoying the creative space that I wrote about last month, and I've been steadily reacquainting myself with my guitar.  Tune in for tomorrow's 5@5 LIVE on instagram for a Joni Mitchell guitar arrangement that I've revived (after a decade-long hiatus, I think!).

Speaking of, I've heard quite a bit of feedback from folks interested in guitar lessons - I'm not sure how I want to approach it yet, but I'm letting the ideas brew, and I'm excited to see what will happen when I attempt to teach guitar from an ukulele perspective... I will keep you posted, and you can continue to voice your interest. :)

Prep for 100 Days - interested in a voice class?

I'd like to help folks prepare for this year's 100 Days of Ukulele Project, which is a free community creative project where participants post ukulele performance or practice videos for 100 days.  I was thinking that a foundational singing class might help folks feel more comfortable and confident in sharing videos.  Thoughts?  Voice is something that takes times to build, so I'd want to set up a longer class (maybe 6 weeks) before the end of the year.  Still developing the structure, so I'd love to hear your feedback.  Are there specific voice questions, struggles, or fears that might be limiting your ukulele/musical progress?  Feel free to comment below.

Stairway to Heaven review for Beginners

In last month's Beginner Live Jam, we reviewed Part 1 of Stairway to Heaven - there's a publicly accessible YouTube tutorial, but the live session can be a more motivating way to practice.  Folks were interested in continuing the review, so this Thursday at 5:30pm Pacific, we'll be covering Stairway to Heaven Part 2 in our Beginner Live Jam.  Please join us if you're interested!  This live session is available to $10+ Patrons, and you'll also get access to our Beginner Jam Songbook featuring 40+ songs.  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).  You can always edit your pledge back later.

For those who are curious, I am prepping for a special recording event of the whole Stairway to Heaven piece with a couple of amazing players here in Hawai'i.  Will share more when it's ready!

Hope to see many of you at our live Patron events this month!

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 a group to play with, what songs you've been working on, or anything else you'd like to share.

I recommend all new Patrons check out our community 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. If you have a question that the WelcomeGuide/FAQ post doesn't answer, please comment there to help us continue to update the FAQ.

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 community has tons of friendly folks who love sharing their uke experience. Our private Facebook group is particularly active, and we've streamlined the steps to join. Request to join right on the Facebook group page, and be sure to answer BOTH membership questions so Community Managers can verify your Patron status. Scroll to the Community Notes section at bottom of this post for more ways to join and post to our Community.

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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OCTOBER 2021 PATRON EVENTS CALENDAR

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

• Thurs 10/7 @ 5:30PM Pacific Time - Beginner Live Jam ($10+ Patrons) - reviewing Stairway to Heaven Part 2
• Thurs 10/21 @ 5:30PM Pacific Time - Patron Monthly Live Lesson ($5+ Patrons)
• Thurs 10/28 @ 5:30PM Pacific Time - Intermediate Live Jam ($20+ Patrons)

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.  (Patreon will only charge you for the difference in the upgrade).

Interested in jamming with folks on Zoom?  NYC Squad leader Jenny is hosting these events, and they're free and open to all Patrons.

• Tues 10/12 @ 6-7PM EST -- 2nd Tuesday Zoom Play-Along Jam - more info via FB Event
• Tues 10/19 @ 6-7PM London Time -- 3rd Tuesday Zoom Play-Along Jam at a UK/Europe-friendly time - FB Event

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

• For our Beginner Live Jam ($10+ Patrons), we reviewed Part One of "Stairway to Heaven." 
• In the Patron Monthly Live Lesson ($5+ Patrons, now available to all), we worked on "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper. 
• For the Intermediate Live Jam ($20+ Patrons), we learned a chord melody arrangement of "Hallelujah" from guest teacher Brian Liu. 
• I returned to Instagram for my weekly 5@5 livestreams. If you are on IG, follow me @cynthialinmusic, and tune in live on Wednesdays at 5pm Pacific time.

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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 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, 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, 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