May 31: How Songs Work & Cycle the Circle! with Jim D'Ville

Saturday, May 31

11am – 1pm

Dusty Strings 3406 Fremont Ave N

Maximum Enrollment: 16

Registration & Refund Deadline: Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Internationally known ukulele instructor Jim D'Ville will lead this 2-part ukulele workshop for all levels!

How Songs Work - There is a chord associated with each of the seven notes of a major scale. When played in context, each chord evokes a certain emotional response from the listener. Learning these chordal relationships will open your ears to the chord progressions to millions of songs. This is the first step to learning to play by ear and could change the way you listen to and play music!

Cycle The Circle! Chord Progressions & The Circle of 5ths - The chord progressions heard in popular music follow well-worn paths around the Circle of 5ths. It is the roadmap to the musical universe. You’ll learn to read the map and discover the logical nature of popular music!

Skills Needed: Knowledge of finger positions for C Dm Em F G Am, and knowledge of chords C F G7 A7 D7 E7 Am Dm Em is helpful.

What to Bring: Your ukulele

Teacher: Jim D'Ville is a music educator and facilitator who is on a mission to get ukulele players off the paper and playing music by ear. For nearly two decades Jim has taught his Play Ukulele By Ear workshops to tens of thousands of players in the United States, Canada, Australia, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Jim has taught and performed at major ukulele events including the Ukulele Festival of Scotland, Kerrville Folk Festival, The NAMM Show, Melbourne (Australia) Ukulele Festival, West Coast Ukulele Retreat and many others. Jim is the author of the Play Ukulele By Ear DVD series and hosts the popular Play Ukulele By Ear website, and his Patreon site Pop Up Uke . Jim is a Contributing Editor to Ukulele (magazine) and is sponsored in-part by Ukulele, and Aquila Strings of Italy.

Bob Tigert—TN: “I have recommended How Songs Work to both new and seasoned players, because of the way Jim D’Ville explains how and why, instead of just what to do, when learning, playing and understanding music. This is time well spent learning about the heart of music… and enjoying the process!”

Alicia Smith—OH: "Jim’s insights changed the way I listen to and play music. He has a wonderful teaching style and his workshop helped demystify useful music theory concepts & focuses on immediate practical application."

*Most classes and workshops are geared towards late-teens and adults. Younger learners will benefit most starting with private lessons.

If you have any questions about group classes, or the school in general, don’t hesitate to contact us at (206) 634-1662 or [email protected].