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The Day I Took My Ukulele to Central Park

by Brett McQueen

If you follow Ukulele Tricks on Twitter, or if you are friends with us on Facebook, you probably saw a video I posted earlier this week of me playing my ukulele in Central Park.

A couple weeks ago, I went to New York City for the Do Something Awards kickoff party hosted by Kevin Jonas. The Do Something Awards recognizes young people who are making a difference in the world we live in. I was their representing my friend Morgan’s awesome organization Bands That Jam For Africa.

While I was there, I took my ukulele to Central Park to record some videos just for fun. Out of the blue, an older gentlemen came up to me and told me he wanted to sing the song “Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue” while I played it. I figured, “Why not?!”

The funny thing was that I didn’t even know Julian’s name until AFTER we were done playing the song. He literally asked to sing with me 10 seconds before we recorded this video.

I was really taken aback by the whole experience. It showed me how powerful of a bond music can be. I didn’t know anything about Julian and he didn’t know anything about me, but here we are sharing in the pure joy of music together. It was a priceless experience.

The cool thing is that you and I don’t have to go far to have these sorts of experiences. We just have to be willing to step out a little bit. Don’t be afraid to step into those unknown places. In my case, it was playing music with someone I just met. I’m glad I did it.

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