PLAY-ALONGS
2019 PLAY-ALONGS
No Experience Necessary:
SAMBA DRUM CIRCLE
Explore samba drumming with the Evanston Escola de Samba and students from Lane Tech High School! No experience needed! All are invited! The Confluence is the section of the Chicago Riverwalk west of Franklin St. at the bend in the river.
June 21, 5:30-7:30pm
Chicago Riverwalk, The Confluence (between Franklin & Lake)
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HARMONICA WORKSHOPS
Join us along the Chicago Riverwalk or at Chicago State University to learn how to play the harmonica in a group workshop! No experience necessary. Free harmonicas will be provided by our friends at Hohner!
Harmonica Workshop with Fernando Jones
June 21, 3:30-4:30pm
Chicago State University, 9501 S. King Dr.
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Harmonica Workshop with David Kachalon
June 21, 5:00-6:00pm
Chicago Riverwalk, River Theater (between Clark & LaSalle)
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Harmonica Workshop with Skip Landt
June 21, 7:00-7:30pm
Chicago Riverwalk – Water Plaza (between LaSalle & Wells)
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GUITAR LESSONS
Come to the Jetty on the Chicago Riverwalk for free guitar lessons! Three students from Columbia College’s music department will be there to get you started if you’ve never played before or will give you some valuable pointers if you’re more advanced!
June 21, 5:00-7:30pm
Chicago Riverwalk, The Jetty (between Franklin & Wells)
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PIANO LESSONS
You can play piano! At Make Music Chicago we believe everyone has a musician inside themselves. Find yours by dropping in at one of our Pianos in the Parks for a free introductory lesson. If you’ve never played before but want to try it out you can stop by during one of the scheduled times. Both kids and adults are welcome!
Various Times
Various Locations
Learn More
DIGITAL MUSIC PRODUCTION WORKSHOP
Join Hip Hop artist and producer Rob Smooth for an introduction to basic digital music production. Our goal is to give the younger generation a learning experience that can inspire creativity through music in today’s digital age of music production.
June 21, 12:00-4:00pm
Midway Plaisance Ice Rink, 1130 Midway Plaisance N
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PBUZZ WORKSHOP
Join us at the Water Plaza on the Chicago Riverwalk and learn how to play a pBuzz! Kelly Dennis from the People’s School of Music will be leading the workshop. No experience needed. Instruments will be provided by Warwick Music, makers of the pBuzz.
June 21, 5:00-6:00pm
Chicago Riverwalk, Water Plaza (between Wells & LaSalle)
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STEEL PAN WORKSHOP
Come to the Breakey Theater at Chicago State University to join CSU Music Department Chair Mark Smith as he leads a class on Steel Pan technique. No experience necessary. Drums will be provided!
June 21, 2:45-3:30pm
Chicago State University, Breakey Theater, 9501 S. King Dr.
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UKELELE JAM SESSION
Take a quick ukelele lesson before hopping into a jam session led by Ukelele master Lanialoha Lee. Big kids & lil` kids welcome!
June 21, 6:00-7:00pm
Chicago Riverwalk, River Theater (between Clark & LaSalle)
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KAZOO WORKSHOP
Join us for a kazoo workshop led by Old Town School of Folk Music teacher Skip Landt. No experience necessary! The Old Town School is donating 100 free kazoos for this event, so swing by, grab a kazoo, and make some music!
June 21, 6:00-6:45pm
Chicago Riverwalk, Water Plaza (between Wells & LaSalle)
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DRUMMING IN MCKINLEY PARK
Join beyond this point and Grammy-winning percussionist Matthew Duvall for an interactive concert and sound installation! This family-friendly, free event is presented in collaboration with the Chicago Park District’s Night out in the Parks series and Make Music Chicago’s Pianos in the Parks. Everyone is welcome to explore and play along! No musical experience is necessary.
First, hear Steve Reich’s “Drumming,” a work inspired by the master drummers of Ghana. Next, listen as the musicians activate pianos with ambient, meditative music, and join in, using percussion instruments provided by Beyond This Point. Meanwhile, all are welcome to explore several sound stations placed throughout the park during all portions of the program.
June 21, 5:30-7:30pm
McKinley Park, 2210 W. Pershing Rd.
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UPBEAT ARTS WORKSHOP
With support from music gear marketplace reverb.com, UpBeats Arts and Music will be offering free lessons for all levels of budding musicians. Explore beginner piano, beginner guitar, rock ensemble, and more lessons at this free event. Teachers will focus on rock and blues songs, as well as simple classical arrangements for beginners. Bringing your own guitar is encouraged, but not required. We will provide all the instruments and PA. Students will also have the chance to try new instruments, including drums, bass, guitar based on the number of students attending/waiting.
June 21, 11:00am-2:00pm
UpBeat Arts and Music, 4318 W. Irving Park Rd.
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SCHOOL'S OUT JAM
Celebrate Make Music Chicago and the end of the school year by making some music with a group of youth musicians. Bring an instrument or bring your self to play or sing along, or listen and tap your feet (or dance!). Learn some tunes or teach us one you love! We hope you can be there!
June 21, 6:30-8:30pm
Clarendon Park, 4501 N. Clarendon Ave.
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SING-ALONG WITH REVERB
Join team members from the world’s most popular music gear website for a massive sing-a-long of rock classics at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Reverb employees will bring their instruments and their A-game—all you have to bring is yourself! Reverb is the leading destination online for buying, selling, and learning about music gear—headquartered right here in Chicago!
June 21, 3:00-4:00pm
Lincoln Park Zoo, Park Place Cafe, 2001 N. Clark St.
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SING-ALONG WITH OAK PARK CONCERT CHORALE
Come to the River Theater, where the Oak Park Concert Chorale, a community choral ensemble, will lead a singalong of a short, easy 4-part round for anyone who wants to join us. We will be singing Hine ma tov, written by Mark A. Boyle in memory of the 11 people killed in October at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. No experience required! We will distribute song sheets, teach the piece, sing it together and then divide into 4 points to sing it as a round.
June 21, 3:00-4:00pm
Chicago Riverwalk, River Theater (between Clark & LaSalle)
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STONES/WATER/TIME/BREATH
Join Rogers Park residents Eric Leonardson and Deirdre Harrison for a sunrise performance of Dean Rosenthal’s Stones/Water/Time/Breath, an experimental music-theater piece in which participants choose any body of water and perform a set of actions designed to create a musical performance.
June 21, 5:15-6:30am
Sherwin Avenue Beach (one block East of Sherwin & Sheridan)
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HEART CHANT
Come to the River Theater and join Forte Chicago in a performance of Pauline Oliveros’s Heart Chant. Written in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, Heart Chant‘s simple instructions invite any and all to participate in creating community through sound. No musical training is required. This Chicago performance joins over a dozen Heart Chants planned for Make Music Day on June 21 around the world.
June 21, 7:15-7:45pm
Chicago Riverwalk, River Theater (between Clark & LaSalle)
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PERCUSSION WORKSHOP
Come to the Breakey Theater at Chicago State University and join master percussionist “Turk” as he explores African and South American rhythm. No experience necessary! Instruments will be provided.
June 21, 2:00-2:45pm
Chicago State University, Breakey Theater, 9501 S. King Dr.
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Some Experience Required:
SOUSAPALOOZA
Play some marches alongside the US Navy Band Great Lakes just outside the iconic Wrigley Field! Whether you last played 20 minutes ago or 20 years ago, we invite you to relive the good ol’ days of concert band! Join us this June 21st for Sousapalooza—the annual band instrument play-along event, led by the Navy Band Great Lakes. Chairs will be provided, but you will need to bring your own stand or flip folder.
June 21, 6:30-7:30pm
Gallagher Way, 3635 N. Clark St.
Register Here
FLUTE CHOIR PLAY-ALONG
The Chicago Flute Club invites flutists of all ages and skill levels to joins CFC members for a Flute Choir Reading Session. The Flute Club activities are designed to promote, encourage, and nurture an appreciation of flute music and technique, as well as provide an opportunity for social interaction among flutists. Participants should bring a flute (piccolo, C flute, alto, or bass) and a music stand. Sheet music will be provided.
June 21, 8:00-9:00pm
Gallagher Way, 3635 N. Clark St.
Register Here
SIDE-BY-SIDE WITH THE CHICAGO PHILHARMONIC
Side by Side with the Chicago Philharmonic, presented through the Chicago Park District’s “Night Out in the Parks” initiative, brings side-by-side symphonic concerts to Chicago parks in local communities. Students and community members are invited to bring their instruments and collaborate with Chicago Philharmonic musicians in rehearsing and performing free concerts for members of the community and the general public.
June 21, 3:00-7:00pm
Humboldt Park Boathouse, 1301 N. Sacramento Blvd.
Register Here
SOUTH SIDE JAZZ COALITION PLAY-ALONG
Come to the Breakey Theater at Chicago State University and join the South Side Jazz Coalition in an all-inclusive jam session. Whether you play or sing Jazz, Blues, Neo-Soul, Hip Hop or Spoken Word, we want you to join us!
June 21, 5:00-6:00pm
Chicago State University, Breakey Theater, 9501 S. King Dr.
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FIDDLE TUNES JAM
Come join a jam session at the Welles Park Gazebo led by the Fiddle Club of the World Chicago Chapter. Fiddle along or just come to enjoy the tunes. Players of all instruments are welcome!
June 21, 6:00-7:30pm
Welles Park, 2333 W. Sunnyside Ave.
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URSA MAJORS AND MINORS PLAY- AND SING-ALONG
A loose collection of mostly string players and singers invite you to join in for a folk-country jam and rejoice in the rich tradition of Americana. Bring an instrument and share in singing folk songs, country songs, and some Tin Pan Alley music. Come out and enjoy our music, play, sing, or even just tap your feet.
June 21, 11:15am-12:15pm
Lincoln Park Zoo, Cafe Brauer, 2001 N. Clark St.
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SUZUKI VIOLIN PLAY-DOWN
Play Suzuki rep with fellow young string players at Millennium Park’s spectacular Jay Pritzker Pavilion! Attendance at one rehearsal is mandatory in order to participate in the performance. More details are available at the link below.
June 21, 5:30-6:00pm
Millennium Park, Jay Pritzker Pavilion, 201 E. Randolph St.
Learn more and RSVP on Facebook