In his second book, ‘ukulele teacher and arranger Michael Preston brings lessons, suggestions, and a rich range of music to play in ensembles. Included are:

Warm-ups and First Ensemble Pieces
• Advice on choosing and stringing a ‘ukulele suited to group playing.
• Review chords and sight-reading skills, chord finger picking, and tremolo.
• New sight-reading skills on the low G (4th) string and playing notes in higher positions.
• Review of the roll strum and additional strum patterns to accompany particular pieces

36 Music Arrangements
• Four rounds and canons – two classical and two folk.
• Eight Pacific arrangements from Hawai‘i, New Zealand, Fiji, and Tahiti.
• Seventeen international arrangements from the U.S., South America, Ireland, England, Portugal, Africa, and Japan.
• Seven classical arrangements from the Medieval, Elizabethan, Baroque, and Classical eras.
• 33 of the 36 performance pieces are accompanied by bass and guitar.

All exercises and arrangements are recorded in 53 tracks of the accompanying CD.

Michael Preston has an international background. Born in Uganda to an Irish father and English mother, he was educated in Kenya and New Zealand. He was a teacher volunteer in Vanuatu for a year, then moved to England where he trained and taught for twenty years. Later moving to Hawai‘i, he enthusiastically took up the ‘ukulele and developed a learning approach that appealed to students, especially to those playing in a group setting. He recently moved to Seattle, where he continues to teach and develop his passion for ensemble ‘ukulele music.