1. I just bought a ukulele and play only a few chords. Can I join the Cutie Circle?
Yes, absolutely. Everyone who would like to play the ukulele with us is welcome.

2. Does the Cutie Circle have an age limit?
People of all ages are encouraged to join although our members are usually adults with a child at heart.

3. What do I need to participate at the Circle?
Feel free to bring your ukulele, digital tuner, music stand, songbooks and love for music! We usually have a few music stands on hand for use during the Circle by Cuties who need one. For beginners, a chord chart and a chord stamp can be helpful. Other accessories such as a nail clipper, a couple of clothespins, a capo, a pick, and a pen can come in handy, too.

4. Can I bring just ANY ukulele to the Circle?
Yes, most definitely. We welcome ukuleles of all stripes (e.g., Hawaiian, Tahitian, etc.), makes (e.g., commercial and home-made), sizes (e.g., soprano, concert, tenor, baritone and UBass) and tunings (e.g., C-tuning including low-G and high-G, and D-tuning) at the Circle as long as we are all playing in the same key. In fact, there is much we can learn from checking out each other’s ukuleles and discovering the many possibilities that result from the use of different materials (e.g., wood, plastic, tin and carbon fibre) to the many styles, designs and strings.

5. Can I play my drums (or guitar, keyboard, synthesizer, piccolo, bagpipe, saxophone, accordion, vuvuzela, recorder, theremin, harp, didgeridoo, etc.) at the Circle?
Our chief focus is to sing and make music with the soft-spoken ukulele as a group. As such, with all due respect, we ask that musicians refrain from bringing other instruments to our song circle and instead seek out more suitable venues for their musical expressions. That being said, the harmonica, kazoo, and egg shaker are known to make the occasional appearance in a supportive role to the uke.

6. Do you use any songbook at the Circle?
Yes, we have adopted the songbooks developed by our fellow ukulele enthusiasts at the White Rock Ukulele Circle. For Cuties who have D-tuning ukes, we suggest that they bring with them a D-tuning chord chart as the songbooks only include C-tuning chord diagrams.

7. Is it OK if I bring my own music to share with the Circle?
Yes, during our Performance Time, there are usually several spots for Cuties to share with the group a song they have rehearsed. We do ask performers to be mindful of the length of their songs and keep their ukulele performance to under three minutes so that we can maximize the group’s collective singing and strumming time at the Circle.

8. Does the Cutie Circle give ukulele lessons?
We do not provide ukulele instruction. However, we do try to nurture our members’ ukulele interest and development by inviting ukulele experts to give workshops and/or concerts from time to time. Also, some of our members would offer ukulele tutorials to help beginners get started on their musical journey.

9. Do you do any community service? How do I get involved?
We have provided free concerts at seniors’ organizations, such as the Parkwood Manor, the Women Helping Others (W.H.O.), and Tonari Gumi. We gave a lively performance together at the Coquitlam Multicultural Festival and have conducted ukulele singalongs and film screening for young adults at the BC Children’s Hospital. Our free movie premiere of a ukulele documentary film was well received and we have plans for more community screenings in the future. We are always grateful to serve the community as a group because it is fun and rewarding. To sign up for any of these activities, to share a suggestion, or to submit a request, feel free to email us using this form.