What is it like to attend an online meeting?

Since you found your way here, you already know that the name of our group is the “Des Moines Ukulele Strummers.” The club is divided into DMUS Live which meets in person in Des Moines, Iowa. This part of the club is DMUS International, and we meet online. The two parts of the club meet on alternating Wednesdays so folks can participate in all meetings.

Also, you already know our web site is www.dmus.club.  From that site you can read about the club, get to our library of songs, and access or download music for the next Zoom meeting.  Please note that there is no cost to you to be a member.

The Zoom meetings are held every other Wednesday at 7 pm, central time zone.  Our leader is Frank de Lathouder.  He will be sending out emails including a message about a week or so before each meeting asking for song requests to include at that meeting.  He will also send out another message, usually the Monday before the meeting, with the final list of music and a link to a PDF of the finalized music that you can download.  You can print it, use it online, or download it to a computer or tablet (like an iPad) to use for the Zoom meeting and to use to prepare for the meeting.  He does like it when members request songs.  We usually end up with 12-15 different songs.  You can suggest songs that are in the library on our web site or request others.  Three different sets of music are available for each Zoom meeting – a standard ukulele set, a baritone ukulele set, and one for guitar.  Standard tuning, is for Soprano, Concert, and Tenor ukuleles; it works for both high-G and low-G tuning options. In addition to the chords used in each piece, most music includes a link to a sample of the piece on YouTube that you can listen to.

For the meeting you will need Zoom installed on a computer, a tablet, or a phone, depending on what you are planning to use for the meeting. If you haven’t used Zoom before, the software is free and can be downloaded from the www.zoom.com web site.  There is a version that is not free – you don’t need that.  Just download and install the free version.

You will also need a microphone and usually a connection for earbuds or a headphone to be able to hear the meeting.  It is best not to use a computer speaker as doing that can cause feedback. Laptops, tablets, and phones probably have both already and desktop computers may or may not have them. 

During the meeting we can’t all play together at the same time because of the Internet lag time.  So, one person leads each song or a part of the song and everyone else can play along but muted.  You can lead songs if you like, but that is not necessary.  Play and sing along (muted) as much as you want.   If you just want to listen, that is fine, also.

Again, our leader (Frank de Lathouder) will be sending information to you. You can contact him with questions.  His email is frank@delathouder.com and you can send him a text to +1 (901) 300-0347.

For those of you who enjoy geek, click here for more information than you probably want about using Zoom for music.