Perry Stauffer's Ukulele and Bass Workshops

(more available upon request)

Ukulele

folk Travis Picking for the ukulele

Level 2 *(or 1-2)

Refine your fingerpicking skills while learning Bob Dylan's timeless classic, "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright." This class focuses on the fundamentals of Travis Picking, combining rhythm and melody to elevate your playing.

What You’ll Learn:

The fundamentals of Travis Picking for ukulele
Applying Travis Picking techniques to a classic tune
Combining rhythm and melody for seamless fingerpicking
Using hammer-ons to add depth and expression to your picking

Prerequisites:
Basic fingerstyle experience and TAB reading are recommended. Familiarity with simple chord shapes will be helpful.

*Note: “Don't Think Twice…” can be swapped for "Let it Be" to make this a 1-2, or to facilitate a shorter class time.

Your first Blues jam

Baritone and Regular Uke (Low-G Preferred) | Level 2

Step into your first blues jam with confidence. This class is designed as a guided jam session, introducing a variety of common blues forms while helping you develop solid rhythm, chord, and soloing skills. You’ll learn how to navigate different progressions using closed chords and bring them to life with the minor pentatonic scale. By the end, you’ll be ready to join in and play along in real musical settings.

What You’ll Learn:

The basic 12-bar I–IV–V blues progression
The quick-change blues
Intro to jazz, bluegrass and Rockabilly blues variations
The 8-bar blues form
Using closed chords to move around the fretboard
Applying the minor pentatonic scale in a jam setting
Playing rhythm and simple solos in real time

Prerequisites:

No strict prerequisites. Basic chord knowledge and TAB reading are recommended. Familiarity with the minor pentatonic scale is helpful but not required.

Ten Classic Swing Endings

Baritone and Regular Uke (Low-G Preferred) | Level 2

Perfect your song endings with ten classic swing endings, plus a versatile trick to turn any ending into a dynamic turnaround. These techniques work beautifully for blues, jazz, vintage country, and western swing.

What You’ll Learn:

Classic swing endings
Converting endings into turnarounds
Ending set-up phrases
The Nashville Number System

vintage Finger-style Blues 101

Low-G Preferred | Level 2

Explore the infectious joy of finger-style blues on the ukulele. Learn essential chord structures, fingerpicking patterns, and, time permitting, vintage riffs to enhance your blues repertoire.

What You’ll Learn:

Enhanced blues chord structures
Reusable progressions
Fingerpicking patterns

the F–A–D System

Level 2

Unlock the fretboard using the F–A–D system, a practical approach to visualizing chords and scales across the tenor ukulele. Similar in concept to C–A–G–E–D on guitar, this system is built from movable F, A, and D triad shapes. You’ll learn how these shapes connect across the neck, helping you find chords, target tones, and navigate the fretboard with greater confidence.

What You'll Learn:

The F, A, and D triad shapes and how they map across the fretboard
Connecting chord shapes in multiple positions
Visualizing chord tones within each shape
Using triads for comping and melodic playing
Building a framework for scales and improvisation
Improving fretboard awareness and position playing

Prerequisites:
Basic ukulele skills are recommended. You should be comfortable with common chord shapes and basic TAB reading. A low-G ukulele is helpful but not required.

Closed Chords for Vocalists

Short Description
Learn three movable major chord shapes designed specifically for singers. By using only strings 4–3–2 and leaving the A string out, we’ll create clean, compact voicings that stay out of the way of your voice. You’ll practice I–IV–V chord groupings that sit close together on the fretboard, making it easier to change chords by feel instead of constantly looking down.

Long Description
Closed chords can be especially useful for vocalists—but you don’t need dozens of shapes all over the neck. In this class, we’ll focus on just three movable major triad shapes on strings 4–3–2 and learn how they work together to create I–IV–V progressions.

By intentionally leaving out the A string, these three-note voicings produce a smaller, cleaner sound with less upper-register competition for your singing voice. Even better, the three shapes can be grouped together within one small area of the fretboard.

We’ll practice finding I, IV, and V chords in several keys and moving between them while keeping the fretting hand in one—or at most two—positions. The goal is to develop enough physical familiarity with the shapes that you can eventually change chords without looking at the fretboard, allowing you to keep your head up, stay connected with your audience, and concentrate on singing.

What You'll Learn

Three movable major triad shapes on strings 4–3–2
How the three shapes connect to one another
How to build practical I–IV–V chord groupings
Why omitting the A string can create more space for the singing voice
How to minimize movement when changing closed chords
Strategies for developing muscle memory and playing without watching your fretting hand
How to move the same system into different keys

Prerequisites
Students should be comfortable playing basic open-position ukulele chords and changing between them at a moderate tempo. No previous closed-chord experience is required.

Bass

Bass 101.1 — Roots & Fifths

Level: Beginner Bass / Level 1
Series: Bass 101

Start building confident bass lines with the two most important notes in almost any chord: the root and the 5th.

In this beginner-friendly class, we’ll learn how to find roots on the bass, add high and low 5ths, and use a simple half-note formula to create solid bass lines from chord charts. You do not need to know scales or read standard notation. We’ll focus on practical patterns you can use right away in jams, classes, and simple songs.

This is the foundation for the full Bass 101 series.

What You’ll Learn:

How to find roots on the bass
How to use high and low 5ths
How to read simple chord charts
How to create half-note bass lines
What to play when there is one chord per measure
What to play when there are two chords per measure
How to keep your bass line simple, steady, and musical

Prerequisites:
No previous bass experience required. Students should be able to count a steady 1, 2, 3, 4 and be willing to work from simple chord charts. This class is designed as the starting point for the Bass 101 series.

Bass 101.2 — Approach Notes from Below

Level: Beginner Bass / Level 1–2
Series: Bass 101

Once you can find roots and 5ths, the next step is learning how to walk smoothly from one chord to the next.

In this class, we’ll add simple approach-note patterns that lead into the next root from below. These patterns make your bass lines sound more connected, more confident, and more like real walking bass — without requiring scales or complicated theory.

We’ll focus on three practical tools: the 1-Below Pattern, 2-Below Pattern, and 3-Below Pattern, then apply them to chord charts and blues-style progressions.

What You’ll Learn:

How approach notes help connect chords
How to play the 1-Below Pattern
How to play the 2-Below Pattern
How to play the 3-Below Pattern
How to combine roots, 5ths, and approach notes
How to handle one chord per measure
How to handle two chords per measure
How to create smoother walking bass lines from simple chord charts

Prerequisites:
Students should be comfortable finding basic roots on the bass and playing simple root-and-5th bass lines. Completion of Bass 101.1 — Roots & Fifths is recommended, or equivalent experience reading simple chord charts and playing steady half-note bass lines.

Bass 101.3 — Thirds & Chord Color

Level: Beginner Bass / Level 1–2
Series: Bass 101

The root tells us what chord we are on. The 3rd tells us what kind of chord it is.

In this class, we’ll slow things down and focus on one of the most important chord tones for bass players: the 3rd. You’ll learn the difference between major and minor 3rds, how they change the sound of a chord, and how to add them to simple bass lines without getting overwhelmed.

This class bridges the gap between basic root-and-5th playing and more melodic walking bass lines.

What You’ll Learn:

What a 3rd is
The difference between major and minor 3rds
How 3rds help define chord quality
Which 3rd to use for major, minor, and dominant chords
How to find nearby 3rds from familiar roots
How to choose between Root → 5th and Root → 3rd
How to add chord color while keeping the bass line simple
How to use 3rds in half-note bass lines

Prerequisites:
Students should be comfortable finding roots and 5ths, reading simple chord charts, and playing steady bass lines in time. Completion of Bass 101.1 is strongly recommended. Bass 101.2 is helpful but not required.

Bass 101.4 — Triads & 1–3–5–X

Level: Beginner / Advancing Beginner Bass
Series: Bass 101

Now that you know roots, 5ths, approach notes, and 3rds, it’s time to organize them into stronger walking bass lines.

In this class, we’ll use simple triads — root, 3rd, and 5th — as a map for building bass lines. Then we’ll introduce the 1–3–5–X Formula, a flexible walking-bass pattern that helps you create full-measure bass lines while still landing confidently on the next root.

The “X” is the choice point. It might repeat a chord tone, set up the next chord, or keep the line moving smoothly.

What You’ll Learn:

How triads are built from roots, 3rds, and 5ths
How major and minor triads work
How to use triads as bass-line maps
How to play the 1–3–5–X Formula
How to choose a simple X note
How to create full-measure walking bass lines
How to simplify when there are two chords per measure
How to keep the line smooth without missing the next root

Prerequisites:
Students should already understand roots, 5ths, and major/minor 3rds. Completion of Bass 101.1 and Bass 101.3 is strongly recommended. Bass 101.2 is also helpful, especially for students who want to use the “X” note to lead smoothly into the next chord.

Bass 102.1 — Latin Syncopation

Level: Beginner / Advancing Beginner Bass
Series: Bass 102

In Bass 101, we focused on which notes to play. In Bass 102, we focus on when those notes happen.

This class introduces syncopated bass grooves using Latin-influenced rhythms that also show up throughout pop, rock, R&B, folk-pop, and singer-songwriter music. We’ll start with eighth notes and the Charleston rhythm, then use that foundation to understand Tresillo, Son Clave, and a simple Bossa Nova-style bass pattern.

You do not need a lot of notes to create a strong groove. In this class, we’ll keep the note choices simple — mostly roots and 5ths — and let the rhythm do the work.

What You’ll Learn:

How to count eighth notes
How to feel the “ands” between the beats
How syncopation creates groove
How to play the Charleston rhythm
How to apply Charleston to bass using roots and 5ths
How to play Tresillo
How to understand Son Clave and the Bo Diddley connection
How to play a simple Bossa Nova-style bass pattern
How Latin rhythmic ideas appear in pop grooves
How to change the rhythm before adding more notes

Prerequisites:
Students should be able to count a steady beat and play simple roots and 5ths from a chord chart. Completion of Bass 101.1 is recommended, but students do not need to know approach notes, 3rds, or triads. This class focuses on rhythm, groove, and syncopation rather than advanced note choices.