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Search Results
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All right guys, here it is my advice for everyone who submitted on the last 2 days 🙂 please let me know if you have any questions.
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mkpruss – great job! I can definitely tell you put some work into it 🙂 I would only suggest to continue working on the transitions.
lisathoyt – no worries I’m being nervous, everyone gets that way. Great playing by the way! I agree with what you said, I’d continue to work on the timing, but break it into sections. So nail the first four bars with perfect timing before working on the next part of the song.
carrie – I love the ending! Your playing is great, keep up the good work!
hyzenthlay – wonderfully played! You have a great feel and tone in your playing.
cait23 – good job Caitlin! This is a tricky tune. You’ve got a great base established in that you know the entire piece. I’d break it down and work on section-by-section if I were you. Try and play along with the on screen tab viewer, it will help keep you in time and help you get the feel down a little bit better. Give that a shot and let me know how it goes.
ukulelesam04 – great job Sam! I can hear you improving with every challenge 🙂
awiealissa – wonderful playing Alissa! I too can hear you improving, that’s awesome! You put some work into this, didn’t you? The feel and the tone in your playing is great. I’d only suggest to work on the transitions to tighten them up a bit. Keep up the good work!
rillke – great job! This is what it’s all about, getting the feel and the timing down and doing it at a pace that’s within your current ability. You’re doing great, keep it up!
yiling – excellent playing! My only suggestion is to watch the timing when you transition to the chorus and the outro.
th1234 – good job! A few of the bars were a little off in the verse, so do go back and double check those sections. A great way to practice is to work on a few bars at a time, and when you think you have it down, turn the sheet music around so that you can’t look at it and try to play it from memory.
niru95 – that was excellent! You are doing great, keep it up!
antony945 – great job figuring that out with only basic membership, very impressive! You playing is great on the first part of the song, I would suggest to work on the higher voice chords and cleaning them up a bit.
A great way to practice that section, is to only play the chord changes by themselves. So there are four chords in that section, you could play the first chord and hold it out for a whole measure, then play the second chord, and again, hold it out for a whole measure. Then the same with the 3rd and 4th chord, and loop it.
jacobturner127 – great job! I do have some advice for you. While you have a great speed, what I think you need to work on is finesse. And this is the hardest part of playing, the challenge is to make every note count.
So I would suggest to slow it down a little bit and tighten up some of the transitions and the timing. But really focus on the tone that you’re producing. Some of the chord strums you can hit a little bit lighter and it will produce a softer and sweeter sound. You can also incorporate more of the hammer-ons and pull-offs into the piece. This will help to add dynamics and will break up the monotony of plucked notes. Overall you are doing great, keep it up!
krasimirka55 – Excellent! I’d recommend same advice as I gave for rillke.
yoavlan – that’s some speed you got there! But it’s always important to note that speed isn’t everything. When we think of music, we have to remember that it’s formed from three basic elements: Melody, harmony, rhythm.
What you want to work on is connecting these three elements. So I would suggest to slow it down and work on playing everything cleanly and in time. Once you can do that perfectly at a slower tempo, then you can start to increase the speed. So keep up the good work, you’re on the right path!
klapaucjusz – excellent job, I’m not sure I believe you are a beginner only 🙂 where I would go next in your playing is to focus on the performance as a whole. You’ve got a great speed and technique established, but I would focus on cleaning up the transitions and clarity of some of the sections. But man you’re kicking butt keep it up!
bjblue2 – great job! As I’ve advice to other members in this challenge, a great way to approach practicing is to break sections into pieces. Try and take two or four bars at a time and focus on playing every note with clarity, while watching your timing. Then do the same with the next 2 or 4 bars and then try to put those two sections together. This will cut down on the practice time required to learn the song and will help you get it down easier.
ukuleleloo – Wonderful playing Lucinda! I’d recommend same advice as I gave for rillke.
lisamcc – it’s crazy how good you are for 6 months! Your tone is great! The speed is also very good. What you want to work on is ironing out everything. So what that means is that your goal moving forward is to make sure that your performance flows evenly.
I talked about the three elements of music in the feedback for yoavlan. This advice can be applied to you too. When we listen to this song, we notice that the first half builds up to a climax heard in the last half, or when the piece goes to those higher voice chords. So listening to how you add dynamics to the piece is something that you want to focus on.
This could be accomplished by playing the first part of the song lighter and accenting the second half of the song to help create that climax.
Also, go back and review some of the sections that were tricky, most notably at the end of the performance. But truly great job!
owllady – great job Naomi! I have a feeling you know what I’m going to tell you 🙂 first off, try to memorize the piece. Focus on getting the transitions down smoothly and brush up a little bit on your timing. It’s great to hear you play again, keep up the good work!
annemarie – great playing Anne! I would only suggest to review the chorus section. Slow down a little bit, loop it, and you’ll have it down in no time 🙂
tommyn – great job Tommy! I’d recommend the same advice as I gave for bjblue2, but with four bar sections. So what you working on is cleaning up the sections and smoothing out the transitions. Keep up the good work!
Hi Andrew,
I have a problem keeping the ukulele from slipping or moving when I playing and need to change my left hand up or down the neck. What is the best way to hold the ukulele when playing so the ukulele doesn’t slip or fall when moving your left hand up and down the neck? Thanks.
Do slotted head ukuleles hold there tune better because they are a lot more expensive then non-slotted head ukuleles I was wondering if it was worth it or what the benefit is?
Thanks, DaneHello!
I’ve had this fingerpicking problem for a while…
When I’m fingerpicking, and I have to move my hand in a short amount of time to another spot (usually far from the spot my hand was in first), the string makes a sound that isn’t completely ¨bad¨, but it also isn’t what I want. It’s like I didn’t hold the string long enough.
Can that be the problem? ’cause if it is, I don’t know how other people do that!
Or can it be that my ukulele is too cheep (or old, maybe?) or just the strings are bad or something? I have a Diamond Head DU-250 Satin Mahogany Soprano Ukulele.
I’m struggeling with this a lot, because I just makes your song sounds weird and… well, like I’m bad at playing ukulele. Which I guess is not true.
Or do you think it can be that I have pretty small hands?Anyways, thanks!
Greetz from Emma!
Wow guys! We had 56 submissions for the challenge this month, that’s amazing! Great job to all. I really enjoyed watching everyone’s performances. Below I will be giving some feedback on the final submissions. If anyone has questions, please feel free to ask!
Check back tomorrow to see who won the ukulele for the May challenge! The YouTube video will be posted in the afternoon 🙂
Don’t forget to check out our June Challenge! It’s TV Show themed and a $400 Pono is up for grabs for this months giveaway ukulele 🙂
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petrichor265 – Great playing and timing 🙂
ukuleleloo – Great job! You’re almost there, Melody C is the tricky one. Check out this recent lesson for some tips I offered fellow site member Marisa on “ode To Joy”, particularly the “feel” and looping hard bars.
bjblue2 – Nice playing!
hyzenthlay – Great job! I would suggest what they told us in college when we played this song: to play at a slower tempo. Although, as your comment says, nerves might have sped you up 🙂
jacobturner127 – Very well done! I would suggest the same as I did for ukuleleloo, but only in the feel. Try to play with a little lighter touch which should make the tone “sweeter” sounding.
ukulelesam04 – Love it Sam! We featured your performance on our Facebook page the other day 🙂 My only tip for you is to slow down and loop the second section, the chords that walk down, and work on the transitions of the chord shapes. They can be tricky, but your fingering is great!
rillke – Wonderful! I would suggest same as ukuleloo and jacobturner127. Great job, I enjoyed it 🙂
relaxinguke – Brilliant! Great job on getting it down on your own, keep up the good work!
timthecuber314 – Nice playing! Only suggestion is to watch timing on certain phrases as sometimes they seemed to have a sudden burst of speed.
sifkek – Loved it! I agree, just a little more polishing, but truly you are doing very very well! I would suggest to lighten up on the pressure on some chords, as I noticed sometimes the strings would bend, which will cause it to be slightly sharp.
owllady – Lisa, I loved it 🙂 Miss you guys! Naomi was drilled enough with what I would say lol, so I’ll give her a break here haha.
walter – lovely playing! Interesting sounding with that low G!
freeclmr – Excellent playing Brian! Job well done.
florian – I love that you are attentive to the fact that slow and steady wins the race. This is truly the way to get better and you are doing great! I would suggest to review our tips on the proper way to hold the ukulele, it should make playing more comfortable for you.
sebastian – Good job! I would suggest same advice as hyzenthlay.
ed_sanderson – Awesome! I would suggest same advice as florian (in speed) and check out the tips I left for jacobturner127 (lighter touch). Some chords were hit with quite some vigor, which clipped the audio recording. A lighter touch will produce a more even volume and sweeter tone. Keep up the good work!
theandersons – Nicely played! I would suggest same advice as florian.
skyoly – Great job! I would suggest to loop the harder walkdown section and to use a barre chord for the G7. This will make the transition to the next chord much easier. But, truly lovely playing!
cindy_le – Great job Cindy! I would only suggest to watch your timing, but very well played!
freeclmr – Round 2 lol – Ode To Joy. Great playing again! I would suggest to sub out that pull off of the D to C (string 3) for a plucked note as the pull seems to produce a harsher tone. But, that’s all I would change!
Compass Rose – Very well done! Keep up the good work!
ukukelley1 – Great playing Sheryl! I would suggest to correct the curve of your right hand wrist and try to align it srtaight, as seen in pictures in our proper right hand form article. But, your playing sounds lovely! I enjoyed it 🙂
tpoppen – Nice job! I would suggest to watch the timing from when one section ends and the other begins, in other words: the transitions.
Great playing guys! Carrie, no worries on anchoring, I know a lot of great players that prefer that way 🙂
Couple tips for Joey: I would highly recommend to sit up and adjust how you hold the ukulele, it will make playing much easier 🙂 Here is a great write up with some tips and pics from our beginner’s course. Also, I would suggest to slow down a little bit and watch your timing. Again, great job to all!
In reply to: How to keep the Ukulele steady when changing chords?
Hi Antonio,
This is a great question. Here is a short video with some tips to help you. Feel free to post a video of yourself playing, and I can offer more help if this video doesn’t answer all your questions. Which, by the way, let me know if you do have questions 🙂
P.S. Here is a great article on properly holding the ukulele from our Beginner’s Course.
So I’m behind on feedback – as we had 10+ submission on the last day – waiting till the last minute, come on guys, lol joking! 😉
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jobyer – great job, keep up the good work!
kala_uke – Always amazing to see someone tackle #2 – it’s a toughie! You did very well! I would recommend to slow the tempo down a bit to focus on the timing and transitioning from one section to another.
argonite – very nice! My only suggestion is to watch the timing on that open G string – as it is a half note.
sebastian – fantastic, keep it up!
sifkek – very well played! Great job!
yukalele – Awesome job for your first time! I don’t believe you lol 🙂 It looked like the uke slipped once – this lesson may help to better stabilize it if you’ve noticed that’s an issue.
kktisk – Great playing!
4753173 – lovely! Similar to kala_uke, I would recommend to slow the tempo down a bit to focus on the timing and transitioning from one section to another.
hyzenthlay – Awesome! I would recommend to work on the B melody transitions. Try 1 or 2 bars at a time, work on getting the muscle memory down for the chord shapes and then practice putting it together 🙂
vissttoor – Very nice! Couple suggestions, watch your timing as some sections “speed up”. Also, I would try to fingerpick with a lighter attack. Give that a shot and see if it makes the uke sound “sweeter”.
mrfrimm – love the intro! You did awesome! I would suggest to correct the right hand wrist, as it looks like you pick/pluck from an awkward/bent angle. Check out this lesson for some tips on right hand form.
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Thanks again to all who participated! You guys rock!
In reply to: Your Favorite Strings
Different strings complement different Ukes. I have fluorocarbon on my mahogany Ohana SK-30M.
I LOVE this uke with these strings, but when I first got the Ohana, I was really shocked by the sound which wasn’t what I had imagined. The Aquila strings gave it a twang that was so unsettlingly, comically banjo-ish and WAAAY to bright for me. It was very different from my other super mellow mahogany ukuleles – like drinking a glass of milk and then deciding to drink the most tart lemonade different. I was worried to say the least…
But as time went on and I kept playing it, I came to kind of crave that crispy, twangy sound. I also changed the Aquila strings to Fluorocarbon strings, which made a HUGE difference in sound quality and mellowed it out. Yes, Aquila are awesome, but it’s amazing how different strings make the instrument sound, plus fluorocarbon are a little thinner then Aquila.
Drawback: they don’t last as long or hold their tune as well (IN MY OPINION), but I love them on my LN soprano. Funny thing is, I don’t like them on my mellow concert. They just sound flat and dull compared to the Aquila on that uke. However, I do love the big G fluorocarbon on my tenor, since its a little thinner and nicer on the fingers. It also isn’t wound and doesn’t make that SKREH noise as you drag your fingers over the strings.
In reply to: My gear
These are my Ukuleles!
From left to right in the picture-
Makala soprano MK-S: about $50 for uke, gig bag, starter DVD, and tuner on Amazon. No setup. I think it has a cheap mahogany laminate top. Great uke for a beginner that wants something portable. Bad uke for someone that plays A LOT. Very durable, light, and holds tune once you break strings in (as long as they are good Strings).Kala tenor KA-T: around $170 (+taxes) for uke from Dusty Strings in Seattle. Setup. Mahogany laminate body and back, rosewood fretboard. Very loud. Great upgrade from the soprano (it’s a step up). Warm sound and frets are bigger so it’s easier to practice on. Low G.
Kala concert KA-SMHC: around $270 (+taxes) for uke from Dusty Strings. Setup. Solid mahogany body with tortoiseshell trim and satin finish. Rosewood fretboard. Next step up brand-wise from the other Kala’s. This is my favorite size to play. Very warm sounding and soothing. Opens with time.
Ohana long-neck soprano SK-30M: around $170 for uke from Mim’s Ukes (online). Setup. All solid body mahogany with matte finish and white trim. Rosewood fretboard. Extended concert length fretboard with soprano body. Different brand with a different sound. Very punchy and loud for a soprano made of mahogany. The perfect marriage of a banjo and a soprano uke. SUPER LIGHT. It’s very portable. I use a really big soprano case from Dusty Strings to carry it. Opens with time.
I’m hoping to eventually get an amp and pick ups so I can get more volume. Any recommendations?
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Topic: String theory!
Hello All,
I have a concert Kala ukulele with Aquila strings at the moment. I love the sound and have really come on a bit playing chord melody and finger picking pieces in the last few months. My query is though that I struggle to get clean sounds sometimes from notes and chords which are more difficult to ‘hold’ I.e. barre chords and feel like I need a ‘grip of death’ to make these happen. A more experienced player said you could get strings with different tensions which may mean I can relax that hand a bit and hopefully make my chord changes and playing a little more relaxed and fluid. I wondered if anyone else had had this problem and tried different string types. If so, did it help? Any suggestions much appreciated.
Thanks.
Donna
