January 2023 Community Check-In & Newsletter (Patreon)

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

Aloha, Patrons!

Happy New Year!  2023 will mark our 8th year as a Patreon community.  Some of you are brand-new (welcome!!  look for the special New Patrons section below) and some have been Patrons since the beginning!  Thanks to all of you for being here.  I'm excited to make music with you all this year!

My 2023 Community Focus: Developing more confident and compassionate ukulele players, singers, and teachers through Mindful Practice, Open Mics, and Song-Leading Circles

This Patreon community started with me sharing my journey of the first 100 Days of Ukulele project back in 2015.  Since then, as you all have shared your journeys with me, we have grown and adapted this community from one monthly jam to 3 monthly live uke events and a weekly voice workshop, as well as hundreds of folks participating in the annual 100 Days Project. I see my role as gently guiding your many journeys, and also overseeing the organic growth and leadership within this community.

While I have primarily shared my journey as a singer and ukulele artist, I find myself opening up to share more of my journey as a teacher and community leader.  In reading all of the enthusiastic responses I received from those interested in teaching ukulele, I determined that the best way I could guide folks to become better teachers and leaders is to first help you become more confident and mindful players.  A confident and mindful player has more compassion and patience for the hard work it takes to truly learn and grow.  If I could start teaching again from the beginning, I would instill in newbies more mindfulness and self-compassion as a way to build confidence.

Confidence comes from experience, and the ability to try and fail and try again.  In many ways, this is what I teach. Start small, 5 minutes a day. Try again, for 100 days.  Compassion is giving yourself (or your student, or jam group) the opportunity to build confidence.  It may take weeks, months, years.  Honor the process, because confidence requires time and has no shortcuts.  I think beginners, intermediates, and aspiring teachers and jam leaders alike can absorb and share this wisdom, so I am incorporating this mindful practice into every level of our Patreon teachings.  

Mindful Ukulele for all levels

I've been sharing this concept for the past few months during our live lessons and jams.  As we all know, when you first get into ukulele, the inspiration and musical joy and newness of it all can carry you quite far.  Inevitably, we hit plateaus.  That's where mindfulness is key.  How do we slow down and pay attention to the exact thing that will unlock our understanding?  How do we embrace the journey and let go of expectation or the need to feel accomplished?

As a lifelong musician, I face this challenge all the time.  I've learned to break down my playing and singing to slowly, painstakingly overcome challenges, and employ help from more experienced players.  I've learned to step away, shake it off, start fresh, or even decide that I'm over my head and need to be more patient.

You'll hear me mentioning this more throughout all of our lessons.  I'm thrilled about the feedback from last week's Beginner Jam on Mindful Fingerpicking - I share this at a beginner level, but I'm sure that intermediate and advanced players will benefit from this kind of attention and awareness, and even be surprised to realize what shortcuts they've been taking in their playing.  This year in our Beginner Jam tier ($10+), I will apply this mindful approach to all of our basic techniques of chording, strumming, picking, and putting it all together.  If you might enjoy this kind of focus and deep dive, please join us!  

Open Mic/video sharing following each class 

In our Weekly Voice Workshop, the students have been recording videos for me to get personal feedback, and I've enjoyed seeing their individual journeys. I'd like to experiment with inviting you all to share a video following each class, like an open mic of sorts. For instance, following our Beginner Jam Mindful Fingerpicking lesson, Patrons can share a fingerpicking video incorporating the new technique. Following our Monthly Live Lesson this Thursday on "Songbird," I'll invite Patrons to record their version of "Songbird" and share their video link on the Patreon post.  I will find a way to highlight my favorite videos in the next month's lesson.

Through the daily 100 Days videos, I've gotten to know many Patrons.  Through these monthly Open Mics, I look forward to meeting more of the Patrons whom I haven't seen on video yet.  These videos can warm you up to the idea of doing the 100 Days Project, and get you in the practice of really working on a piece, and learning to record it (start with a simple phone recording).  Use these videos as an opportunity to document your process.  Let go of perfectionism, and be where you are.  Feel free to watch others post first (in the 100 Days group, we call it "lurking") while you build up the confidence to post.  We can create a safe space where we can share our process and grow together.

Song-Leading Circles for teacher/jam leader development

In considering how I would coach someone in teaching ukulele, I realized the skill of teaching is being able to confidently lead a group of people, both in giving instruction and in song.  If you've ever tried to do this, you know that it's harder than it seems.  

To lead a song, you first need to be confident in your own playing abilities for the song.  Second, you need to guide the group to play the song in rhythm together with a specific strum pattern.  This requires developing strong internal rhythm, and also vocal work, as a speaker and as a singer.  And finally, you need to listen to the group as a whole and carry them with your energy and positivity.  

Leading a song is a skill that takes practice.  My confidence comes from years of teaching voice, leading groups, playing in bands, performing for audiences.  Many teachers and jam leaders can only practice leading when they're on the job.  I'd like to create a space where aspiring teachers and jam leaders get an opportunity to put in the reps and practice this skill.  

To kick off this initiative, I'll share an Intro to Song-Leading Workshop this month for our Intermediate Jam lesson ($20+) on Thurs Jan 26. We'll cover the basic leading skills of rhythm work (setting the strum pattern, metronome practice, concept of internal rhythm), vocal work (instructing, counting-in, vocal rhythm), and group work (learning to hear the players, keeping everyone together).  This workshop will be recorded and available for replay.  We'll follow up with small group Song-Leading Practice Circles on Zoom where Patrons can meet live online and take turns integrating these skills.  I aim to have 2 or 3 groups to cover different time zones.  In the Practice Circles, we'll support each other and learn from watching each other, and we'll have time for discussion as well.

I believe the skills for leading a song will help all intermediate players become more confident.  These same skills apply to becoming a better performer as well.  Learning how to lead will give you confidence in all aspects of your life.  You never know when you'll be asked to lead a song at a friend's event or family gathering, or you just might be inspired to start your own ukulele group!

By sharing and leading here in our nurturing online community, you can develop the leadership skills to bring into your own real-world communities.  That's how we manifest and share aloha. 🌈🌺

This community keeps growing because of you.  I often quote the saying that "If you want to go far, go together."  I'm proud to see how far we've come, and I'm excited to see how we will grow this year.  

I welcome your feedback and questions about these new ideas.  I'm always willing to experiment to see what's most effective and impactful for our community.

Community Check-In: What song / technique / skill do you want to work on this year?

I'd love to hear from you.  Please comment and say hello from your location.  If you'd like, add a few words about what you want to work on this year.  A particular song?  Fingerpicking?  Chord melody?  Voice?  Teaching?  Taking better videos?  Joining 100 Days?  Just want to get a pulse on how we're feeling in 2023!

Hope to see you in one of our live events - join the pre-lesson Zoom Social on Thursday if you can!

xo cynthia 🌺

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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.  Please be patient, and I promise it will get easier!

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.

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) or post your question on the Community tab here on Patreon.

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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January '23 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

• Tuesdays in January (10, 17, 24, 31) @ 10AM Hawaii Time - Weekly Voice Workshop ($30+ Patrons). We will focus on "Moon River" this month. 
• Thurs 1/12 @ 2:30PM Hawaii Time / 4:30PM Pacific Time - Beginner Live Jam on "Mindful Fingerpicking" ($10+ Patrons).  Pre-lesson Zoom Social at 2PM HT / 4PM PT.
• Thurs 1/19 @ 2:30PM Hawaii Time / 4:30PM Pacific Time - Patron Monthly All-Levels Live Lesson ($5+ Patrons) on "Songbird." Pre-lesson Zoom Social at 2PM HT / 4PM PT.
• Thurs 1/26 @ 2:30PM Hawaii Time / 4:30PM Pacific Time- Intermediate Live Jam ($20+ Patrons) - Intro to Song-Leading Workshop.
• plus tune in 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.

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).

For Patrons who are looking for more live jam opportunities, NYC Squad leader Jenny is hosting 4 monthly free play-alongs at both USA- and UK/Europe-friendly times via her Patreon.  Support her and find dates and more information here.

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December 2022 Recap - News, Patron Events and new Videos:

• With Kalei Gamiao + Corey Fujimoto, I released a cover of "Songbird" as a tribute in memory of Christine McVie.
• I announced that my limited edition solid koa Signature Ukuleles were finally available for purchase.
• There were 4 live voice lessons in December ($30+ Patrons).  Voice students are encouraged to submit a video for feedback!
• In our Beginner Live Jam ($10+ Patrons), we jammed using my Beginner Holiday Songbook.
• For our Live Lesson, we reviewed all of the previous 2022 Live Lesson songs. This Year-In-Review lesson is now available to All Patrons ($1+). 
• I shared a Holiday Livestream online and Live in Waikiki! You can watch the replay on YouTube.
• For the Intermediate Live Jam ($20+ Patrons), we welcomed guest teacher Katie DeNure. Katie and I created an ukulele duet for "Winter Song" by Ingrid Michaelson and Sara Bareilles. 
• I shared a post with a special merch discount and put up the last of our 100 Days of Ukulele 2022 t-shirts for sale.
• I teamed up with Ohana Ukuleles for our 3rd annual Gratitude Giveaway of my signature ukuleles.
• I released a video of my Ukulele Friends Holiday Jam with Aldrine Guerrero from Ukulele Underground, Craig Chee and Sarah Maisel, and my U3 brethren Ukulenny + Abe Lagrimas, Jr.

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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