“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” – Bob Marley

Ukulele is a globally popular instrument and a great way to enjoy music together anywhere anytime. For its dainty size, the ukulele can make a powerfully cheerful sound, and it’s an instrument both beginners and expert players can learn and easily carry around.

A brief background on Ukulele Confidence, we provide ukulele lessons and we are confident that you will find our unique teaching style and vast experience perfect for taking your learning skills to the next level.  And, if you are located in the Greater East Bay Area, you have the option of having your lesson in the convenience of your own home! That is we will come to your home and provide private in-home ukulele lessons.

Although the ukulele is still associated with traditional Hawaiian music and culture, the development of different types of ukulele has led to the popularization of the instrument in many different musical settings. Over the past twenty years, the ukulele revival has maintained momentum, with a number of ukulele players becoming very popular well into the new millennium. The 1990’s ukulele revival has also led to the instrument being used increasingly in popular (pop) music performances and recordings, as well as being a common instrument for performing covers of popular music too.

The ukulele has also been widely celebrated for its increasingly social side. The ease of strumming along to sung melodies and playing together has made this little instrument a popular choice as a second instrument, and has also led to the formation of ukulele clubs, orchestras and social groups around the world. Ukulele performers often encourage concert goers to bring along their own ukulele and join in for a song or two, and group learning of the ukulele is increasingly popular. The ukulele has also been more widely used as a beginners’ instrument for children in recent years.

Our master trainer Rex has over 40 years of experience as a musician, music instructor, arranger and performing artist. He has been a musician in San Francisco Bay Area and New York City recording and performing with artists such as Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Sammy Davis Jr., Paul Simon, Michael Jackson, Wild Cherry, The Drifters, Tammy Wynette, Jackson Brown, The Pointer Sisters, Tower of Power and many others. His formal education was at Berklee College of Music, Boston MA where he majored in music arranging & composition. Mr. Bell studied classical guitar at New England Conservatory, Boston MA. He has studied under musical greats, e.g., Ron Parker, Harry Lahee, George Barrey, Warren Nunes, Don Haas and Judy Davis.

So what are you thinking about! Come along and book your free ukulele lessons. We guarantee you it will be great fun.

“In a 2012 study conducted in Berlin, researchers scanned the brains of 12 pairs of guitarists, all of whom were asked to play the same piece of music. The researchers discovered that the guitarists’ neural networks could synchronize not only while playing the piece — but even slightly before playing” – Guitar World

Have you ever imagined how life would be without music? It would be catastrophic, isn’t it? Music has been wired into the very existence of our life for centuries. Life without music would be the last on earth we would want. Music keeps us going actually. We all enjoy listening to music, but not all of us are musicians. At some point in our life at least for once, we wished if we could play our favourite musical instrument. There are many instruments of music but one of the coolest is guitar and there is no age to learn guitar. Guitar is something that is never too late to learn.
So you ask why you should play guitar! Well, there are many reasons to learn how to play guitar, apart from the apparent fact that you want to be heard and admired along with your own interest of playing the instrument.

If you are not a vocal person among your friends, then perhaps you should think about learning guitar it would be your megaphone. With guitar you can express hundreds and thousands of words with the six strings of guitar. People are drawn toward guitarists in social gatherings. It will be then your responsibility, the responsibility of the guitarist to lead the campfire songs, make night club audiences gasp at ripping-good riffs and solos.

Playing guitar can also sharpen the mind based on a Scottish study which says that if you play guitar you apparently will have sharper brain function which can help guard against mental decline in the future. Music and memory go hand in hand, learning guitar makes you use both parts of your brain which in turn boosts memory power. Intuitive thinking runs all the way to how guitarists learn. According to researchers at Vanderbilt University, guitarists get a better grasp of a song by looking at someone playing it unlike other musicians who learn through sheet music.

It will free yourself from stress, whether it’s your boss or neighbours that give you anguish, grabbing your guitar can help relieve stress. According to a study at Mind-Body Wellness Center and Loma Linda University School of Medicine and Applied Biosystems stress can be reduced on a genomic level by playing a musical instrument. Rocking out actually reverses your body’s response system to pressure. Playing guitar is a form of relaxation as it acts as a form of natural medicine. Playing guitar improves your focus, all your energy and focus gets concentrated on one and one thing only The Guitar and The Music it produces, relieving you from your everyday pressure. So, if you are looking to escape from your day to day pressures then you should learn guitar today.

Finally, playing guitar will give you a sense of achievement, it can bring true satisfaction when you play a difficult song. You will be hit by an understanding that you possess a skill to jam with people not through words but with music, you will have the power to bring people together through the language of music. And then there is always the fun element, playing guitar will bring back the fun character inside you. Guitar has the special ability to bring happiness, harmony and fulfilment that helps lift the spirit and make life pleasurable for everyone.

So you want to learn how to play the ukulele? Well you’ve come to the right place! UkuleleConfidence.com provides private in-home ukulele lessons throughout the East Bay including: Benicia, Berkeley, Clayton, Concord, Crocket, Danville, Dublin, Fairfield, Hercules, Lafayette, Livermore, Martinez, Moraga, Orinda, Pleasant Hill, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Vallejo, & Walnut Creek, CA.

Our master trainer Mr. Rex has over 40 years of experience as a musician, music instructor, arranger and performing artist. He has been a musician in San Francisco Bay Area and New York City recording and performing with artists such as Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Sammy Davis Jr., Paul Simon, Michael Jackson, Wild Cherry, The Drifters, Tammy Wynette, Jackson Brown, The Pointer Sisters, Tower of Power and many others.

His formal education was at Berklee College of Music, Boston MA where he majored in music arranging & composition. Mr. Bell studied classical guitar at New England Conservatory, Boston MA. He has studied under musical greats, e.g., Ron Parker, Harry Lahee, George Barrey, Warren Nunes, Don Haas and Judy Davis.

Ukulele is a globally popular instrument and a great way to enjoy music together anywhere anytime. For its dainty size, the ukulele can make a powerfully cheerful sound, and it’s an instrument both beginners and expert players can learn and easily carry around.

And if you are planning to learn ukulele but do not have the time to visit ukulele classes then don’t worry. Because you don’t have to come to us as we will come to you to give you private ukulele classes at your home. So, if you reside in East Bay, you can get your ukulele classes at the comfort of your home. And guess what you will get your first ukulele lesson absolutely free! Isn’t that cool?

According to Rex playing ukulele will give you a sense of achievement; it can bring true satisfaction when you play a difficult song. You will be hit by an understanding that you possess a skill to jam with people not through words but with music, you will have the power to bring people together through the language of music. And then there is always the fun element, playing ukulele will bring back the fun character inside you. Ukulele has the special ability to bring happiness; harmony and fulfilment that helps lift the spirit and make life pleasurable for everyone. He also believes that music is everywhere, and it can set the ambiance in any room by only changing the style and sound of it.

Rex’s ukulele teaching system is great for beginners and accomplished ukulele players. We are confident that you will find our unique teaching style and vast experience perfect for taking your ukulele skills to the next level. And, if you are located in the Greater East Bay Area, you have the option of having your lesson in the convenience of your own home.

There are not many ukulele instructors around East Bay, so if you are looking for ukulele lessons then contact Ukulele Confidence @ (925) 695-7060.

Call us today and book your FREE ukulele lessons!

Today there are more than 2,000 guitar shows and festivals staged around the world. Guitar festivals around the world have presented several hundred of world class guitarists from different parts of the world. Some of the guitar festivals around the world which are my personal favourite are:

New York Guitar Festival

Since 1999, the New York Guitar Festival has explored virtually every aspect of the guitar’s musical personality, presenting many of the world’s most distinctive and influential guitarists at venues including Carnegie Hall, The 92nd Street Y, Merkin Concert Hall, Joe’s Pub, Barbes, (le) Poisson Rouge, and The World Financial Center Winter Garden. In addition to producing eclectic, multi-genre concerts and radio broadcasts, commissioning new works, and supporting innovative collaborations among outstanding artists, its Guitar Harvest series of recordings supports innovative outreach programs in public schools.

Adelaide Guitar Festival

The inaugural festival in 2007 was modelled on the New York Guitar Festival and saw 100 musicians from around the world perform across 40 events, and attracted an audience of over 30,000 people. The Adelaide Guitar Festival (AGF) is a four-day biennial festival, curated by internationally renowned Australian guitarist, Slava Grigoryan. Unbound by genre and acclaimed for its outstanding quality, its concerts span rock, jazz, folk, classical, experimental, blues and roots music.

Dallas International Guitar Festival

From its humble beginnings in a small meeting room of a Dallas hotel in 1978, to 140,000 square feet of display space at Dallas Market Hall today, the Dallas International Guitar Festival celebrates 38 years of bringing guitar dealers, manufacturers, collectors, celebrities and music enthusiasts together. Each year, the Show attracted more exhibitors and attendees, changing venues to accommodate the growing crowds.

International Guitar Foundation (IGF)

Founded in 1993, International Guitar Foundation (IGF) is an arts agency dedicated to the promotion, understanding and enjoyment of the guitar, its music and artists. IGF stages a range of events nationwide from festivals in London, Bath and the North East to large-scale summer schools in Bath, Cheltenham and London.

Boston Guitar Fest

Boston GuitarFest is a music festival with a stellar array of exciting concerts; a series of seminars and master classes taught by an incomparable faculty; and a meeting place for all those seeking a deeper message, more enduring values and a more genuine human interchange than can often be found in the world of today’s “music business”.

Ullapool Guitar Festival

It started in 2000 – oddly enough, to bring business and tourism into the local community in the wake of the foot and mouth epidemic. October was chosen as a way of extending the tourist season, and, as sponsors came and went, and audiences increased in size, the Festival evolved through performances in local pubs and the village hall to its current home in the MacPhail Centre. This has all the comfort and facilities associated with a first-class performance venue, including superb acoustics, but also the space to put on workshops, to expand trade show and to provide excellent catering.

These guitar festivals are an absolute must for all the devotees of guitar and anyone who loves music in general. So, if your fingers are itching to learn and play guitar then just give Guitar Confidence a call. Our mobile guitar instructors will come to your home to give you personal one-on-one lessons. I’m Rex Founder of Guitar Confidence and I have been now doing mobile guitar lessons for many years. Guitar Confidence travels to over 30 cities in the East Bay and South Bay areas; including Danville, San Ramon, Dublin & Pleasanton.

“That’s all I wanted to do as a kid. Play a guitar properly and jump around. But too many people got in the way.” – Syd Barrett

There had been many guitar moments throughout the world ever since the guitar came into existence. With its rising popularity among fans a number of events, concerts, festivals, and guitar tours have been organised throughout the globe. In this blog, I, Rex a guitarist and guitar instructor try to point out some of the important guitar moments in the last two decades. I will try to pick some of the coolest, greatest, and most important musical moments. This list by no means is complete and it is quite impossible to publish such a list as there are hundreds and thousands of such great moments. You are free to leave your comment if you feel that some others should have been included.

October 25, 1996: During 1990’s a great number of musical events had just one name – “Lollapalooza”. But it all changed in 1996 when Ozzy Osbourne launched his own music event, called Ozzfest, it was an alternative to the grunge-laden ‘palooza. Ozzfest’s has run for more than a decade and has toured every heavy-hitter in metal, including Slayer, Sabbath, Metallica and Judas Priest. And as a bonus, fans are assured a little bit of the Ozzman himself each summer.

  

1996: By mid-to-late nineties, it seemed that all everybody in the field of guitar knew all the parts and gears of a guitar until Line 6 launched their first digital modeling guitar amplifier. Line 6 launched during 1996, with their first digital modeling guitar amplifier, the original Flextone—a single 12, 60 watt, combo amp. In the next six months, the AxSys 212 was released. The company underwent a rapid expansion in the early 2000s due to the success of their Pod product line, which isolated modeling circuitry from the AxSys amplifier. Within a short span of time Amp modeling became the best way to approximate a massive array of tones with whatever gears the players had. And the best part was that players had the ability to create completely new tones by combing their favorites features into digital hybrids.

October 1998: Have you ever noticed the cluster of pedal’s onstage at any rock band performance? The probability is that the first stomp box in the chain is the Boss TU-2 chromatic tuner. After the debut of the TU-2, it has become best-selling pedal by Boss and music industry’s standard for onstage tuning devices.

2005: The world’s most expensive guitar was auctioned in Doha in 2005 for $2.7million. The guitar was signed by 19 performers – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Brian May, Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, Jeff Beck, Pete Townsend, Mark Knopfler, Ray Davis, Liam Gallagher, Ronnie Wood, Tony Iommi, Angus and Malcolm Young, Paul McCartney, Sting, Ritchie Blackmore, Def Leppard and Bryan Adams. “Reach Out To Asia”, what this project came to be known as was an idea to raise funds to help the victims of the 2004 Tsunami Disaster. The music world came together to help aid the massive disaster that affected millions.

Are you curious to know more interesting guitar facts or try your hands on a guitar? Why don’t you contact me at GuitarConfidence.com? I am Rex and I am the founder of Guitar Confidence which provides mobile guitar lessons. I have over 40 years of experience as a musician, music instructor, arranger and performing artist. I normally go to my client’s home to give personal one-on-one lessons in the privacy of their own home. Guitar Confidence covers Dublin, San Ramon, Pleasanton, Livermore and all cities in east and south bay.

“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.“ – Jim Valvano

Father’s Day is celebrated worldwide to recognize the role of fathers and father figures in the lives of their children. This day celebrates fatherhood and male parenting. Although it is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide, many countries observe this day on the third Sunday in June. Many people send or give cards or gifts to their fathers. Common Father’s Day gifts include sports items or clothing, electronic gadgets, outdoor cooking supplies, tools for household maintenance and the list goes on. You may have considered other expensive gift options as well but have you ever thought out of the box and considered gifting your father something which he will cherish throughout his life?
Well, why not make this Father’s Day a bit different with a different kind of a gift altogether. How about gifting him ukulele lesson as his Father’s Day present? Ukulele is a popular instrument throughout the world and a great way to enjoy music together anywhere anytime. So, whenever he is alone or has free time he can play this wonderful instrument as this will not only lifts his mood but will also have a positive effect on his health. That’s the power of music!
Here is what Ukulele Confidence is offering on this Father’s Day. We are giving a discount of 60% on Father’s Day Package. You can gift your father our Father’s Day Special package for $110. This special package includes: Six 30 min private Ukulele lessons, Gift envelope with 6 gift certificates, and Two free Ukulele method books valued at $50 retail.
Ukulel Confidence provides ukulele lessons at the comfort of your home. We are confident that you or your father will find our unique teaching style and vast experience perfect for taking your learning skills to the next level. And, if you are located in the Greater East Bay Area, you have the option of having your lesson in the convenience of your own home! That is we will come to your home and provide private in-home ukulele lessons.
There are not many ukulele instructors around East Bay, so if you are looking for ukulele lessons then contact Ukulele Confidence @ (925) 695-7060. We provide private in-home ukulele lessons throughout the East Bay including: Benicia, Berkeley, Clayton, Concord, Crocket, Danville, Dublin, Fairfield, Hercules, Lafayette, Livermore, Martinez, Moraga, Orinda, Pleasant Hill, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Vallejo, & Walnut Creek, CA. Ukulele Confidence’s instructor Rex Lee Bell has over 40 years of experience as a musician, music instructor, arranger and performing artist. He has been a guitar and ukulele player in San Francisco Bay Area and New York City recording and performing with artists such as Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Sammy Davis Jr., Paul Simon, Michael Jackson, Wild Cherry, The Drifters, Tammy Wynette, Jackson Brown, The Pointer Sisters, Tower of Power and many others.
Both listening and playing music has great benefits, music can reduce stress, blood pressure; and improve the quality of sleep, mood of people, mental alertness and memory. So, why not gift your father and yourself the gift of Ukulele on this Father’s Day. Learn and play music, and at the same time enjoy the healthy benefits of music.
It will be a great experience for both you and your father we can guarantee that. So buy our Father’s Day package and enjoy a life of music with your father.