CANADA DAY IS COMING and we're celebrating ukulele in Canada! We invited a uke group leader representative from each province and territory to lead us in song! A nationwide jam from our homes to your homes - using Zoom. It's FREE and you don't need to be any good!

Don your festive Canada Day garb, grab a snack, a drink, your spouse, kids, and/or pets, and sign in on Zoom.

Here are the wonderful leaders who responded to the call: Gary Johnston (Newfoundland/Labrador), Joyce Trask & Heather (Nova Scotia), Christy Reinsborough Arsenau (New Brunswick), Kelly Galloway (Prince Edward Island), Pierre Gibeau (Quebec), Linus Onalik & Sarah Russell (Nunavik, Quebec), Alan Ash (Ontario), Kate Ferris (Manitoba), David Calam (Saskatchewan), Jeff Part (Alberta), Earla Dawn (British Columbia), and Jan Tulloch (Yukon). And of course, as we are every Canada Day, Mark and I (BUG) and Sharon Baird (Vernon Ukulele Players, ON) will be with you as well!

WHEN:    Wednesday, July 1

TIME:  check-in anytime after 1:30 pm, singing starts at 2:00 pm (eastern time, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)

WHERE:   right in your own home

THE PDF SONGBOOK, CHORD CHART, AND YOUTUBE PLAYLIST FOR THE NIGHT ARE POSTED BELOW  - the #1 ENTRY ON THE SONG LIST (scroll WAY down). The songs in the PDF songbook are in the order of play. We'll be screen-sharing the songs and our Zoom host, Ellen, will be scrolling for everyone, so you don't need to download the songbook or print it out unless you prefer to.

IF YOU CAN'T JOIN US LIVE for whatever reason, no worries! We'll be recording the jam, so that you can play along with us anytime! Be sure to plug an external speaker into your computer to listen so that you'll hear the uBass and get the full effect! In the recording, no one's names appear on the screens! We'll upload the jam video and songbook we use on our JAM VIDEOS & SONGBOOKS page.

HOW DO I JOIN IN?

First, all you have to do is download ZOOM - it's free. If you've already downloaded Zoom, make sure you upgrade to the latest version. Here's the link to Zoom: https://zoom.us

• Turn off all other programs, apps, emails, games, that use the internet. That will maximize your bandwidth to help improve delay and choppiness. Some people have had much better success with Zoom when they plug their device directly into their router/modem with an ethernet cable (depending on your device, you may need to get a USB ethernet dongle to do this).
• The Zoom host will mute everyone just before the song is to start. Then only the song leader will unmute themselves and start the song. Everyone else needs to stay muted - otherwise it's a mess! So if you notice that for some reason your mic is unmuted during the song, i.e., there is not a slash through the microphone symbol, please STOP singing and mute yourself by clicking on the microphone symbol. At the end of each song, if you'd like to clap, hoot, and holler - which is highly encouraged and very welcome - then you need to unmute yourself.
• For optimal audio quality and volume, plug an external speaker into your device or wear headphones. If you don't do that, the sound may be choppy, tinny, and you won't hear the uBass. If you're using an older Apple product there may be a headphone out jack that you can plug an external speaker into. For newer Apple devices, you may need a USB-C connector to a 3.5 mm audio adapter to connect an external speaker or headphones.
• SONG LEADERS:  Please raise your "virtual hand" when you log in to the Zoom session. That will help the host find you in the participant list when it's time for your song as it places all your names at the top of the list. You will also have to remember to unmute yourself before you start to lead the song. Also - VERY IMPORTANT - please adjust your Zoom audio settings to "enable original sound" and to uncheck "automatically adjust volume". Also ideally use an external usb microphone and camera, if you have one available. And turn off as much as possible that might create background noise like fans, furnaces, telephones, air conditioning, etc. Here's a great YouTube video that tells you how to adjust your audio in Zoom for all devices: https://youtu.be/WoXM5wcpVNU
• ZOOM link: https://zoom.us/j/848168915?pwd=dzk2OFBBdmFreitMVVp5RjY5YnlwZz09
• ZOOM password:  uke15 (if needed)
• Meeting ID: 848 168 915 (that's if the link above doesn't work for you, you can type the ID in once you click on JOIN MEETING)
• Due to the noise/feedback that occurs when someone connects to Zoom mid-song, the "waiting room" feature will be enabled. So people will only be admitted to the jam from the waiting room in between songs. If you're arriving after 2 pm, please be patient as it might take a few minutes.
• If you're not familiar with Zoom, please take some time to read these help pages ahead of time - they tell you how to test your audio and video:
  https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362283-How-Do-I-Join-or-Test-My-Computer-Audio-
  https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362313-How-Do-I-Test-My-Video-