Regina School of Rock's sold-out ukulele camp plucking all the right notes
School's 1st ukulele camp quickly sold out, and is teaching kids classic rock tunes in a different way
Matt Cudmore is the first to admit that the ukulele may not be the first instrument that comes to mind when you think of rock 'n' roll.
"Rock ukulele. It's not the rockinest instrument," said Cudmore, the ukulele camp director at School of Rock Regina. "But any instrument, you can play anything on it."
That's the thinking behind the music school's first-ever rock ukulele camp, which kicked off Wednesday and wraps up Friday with a public concert at 2:30 p.m. at School of Rock Regina, at 515 McDonald St.
And the $149 camp, which involves three day-long sessions, appears to have struck a chord — it sold out, hitting its cap of 12 students between the ages of nine and 16.
"I don't really know how the idea of 'let's do the rock ukulele' came up, but it's been a hit," said Cudmore, who has been playing several instruments for many years — including the ukulele.
"Everyone signed up really quick," he said. "I guess Regina's been waiting for a ukulele camp."
The students have learned ukulele versions of rock tunes like Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day, Ho Hey by the Lumineers, Lynyrd Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama and Journey's Don't Stop Believin'.
Not all of the students are new to rocking out on the ukulele. Makayla Fleming took a free lesson two years ago while in Hawaii and said she really liked the instrument. She's been learning more about how to play from online videos since.
"My dad also made me listen to '80s rock a lot as a kid. So I thought it would be really cool to learn on ukulele," she said.
"In the future I'd like to learn Welcome to the Jungle," Fleming said. "A while back I wanted to learn Sweet Child O' Mine, because I'm a huge Guns N' Roses fan, and I did for my dad."
Fleming said she gets her musical talent from her grandfather.
"My poppa was very musical as well, and he passed away, so I thought as tribute to him I could play the ukulele," she said.
Cudmore said he wanted to be involved in the camp because he enjoys seeing the children on their musical journeys.
"They all really enjoy music. It's nice to be with not just kids, but people who like music," he said. "But kids especially, because they are new to it so they are really passionate about it."
Fleming agrees.
"It was nice to like see a bunch of other people who were passionate about the ukulele, and especially rock."
With Files from CBC Saskatchewan's Morning Edition