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Search Results
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Morning Dew
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
Loved this piece when I heard it but broke my first low G string attempt for Sleep Walk and then went travelling sans ukulele…but in my travels picked up a second hand cheapie strung with low G to my happy surprise. Can now learn a whole bunch of arrangements on here I’ve been putting on hold! For now…
Here’s everyone on page 7.
joelnal – You’re doing great so far, it seems like it’s mostly a matter of connecting segments at this point. Try playing at a much slower tempo to train your brain and hands to shift to the following parts in tempo rather than pausing between each phrase. Once you can get through the whole song this way, slowly build the tempo to one you like. Then it’s just a bit of extra work on that tricky triple strum, and you’ve got it! Keep it up!
themccoys – So far you’re doing an awesome job! This song is a bit hard, and I like that you are already practicing with a slower tempo. At this point, I would add a metronome and practice isolating the spots where you are hesitating. First play through just the measure before and after the shift that’s causing the pause, then try playing 2 measures before and after each tricky shift. Once you can play through these spots comfortably, keeping the flow through the whole song will become easier. Keep up the great work!
joe150 – You’re getting a hang of the notes! At this point, I would take 4 measure pieces of the song and practice playing through these small pieces with a slow and steady tempo (possibly with the metronome). The chords and notes are sounding good, keep it up and work on the rhythm a bit. You’ve got this!
riley_ukulele – You had a nice fast tempo and a solid groove all of the way through the first 3/4 of the song. Great job on this! It seems like you have a bit more work on the ending, but you are very close! I suggest playing the song at about 75% of that speed until you have the ending solid. For a performance, keeping that flow all of the way through is more important than speed in almost every scenario. Keep it up, you are super close on this one!
bibilele – Wonderful job on this! The hardest part of such a fast and repetitive line is playing it consistently all the way through. Your technique is looking good, so it’s really just a matter of practicing even more (no one likes to hear that, but it’s the only way to get that consistency!). Keep it up, you’re doing an excellent job!
sarahd – You are playing the notes very well with a nice tone on this one! It seems like half of the shifts to different chords are taking you just a tiny bit longer to get to than the tempo allows for. I suggest playing this one with a metronome just a touch slower to encourage your brain and fingers to move in time with the song. It can be nerve-racking at first, but it really helps you to meausure your improvement if you know what tempo you can currently play through the song without hesitations.
seoulkim – Great job on this one! You are playing with a strong sound and a steady tempo over all! There are a few chords that cause you to hesitate slightly, so I would work through those transitions a bit more. After that, just add in the triplet strums. You’re doing great!
brithor – That ukulele has such a beautiful tone! You are doing an awesome job inspite of the injury/healing time. The notes sound great, now it’s time to play just a touch slower and work on playing with a steady tempo. A metronome can help a bit with this, as well as swaying slightly or bobbing your head…just some way to feel the tempo as you play. You’re doing a wonderful job so far, keep it up!
concan – You’re doing a great job! Now it’s time to work on keeping a steady tempo. To do this, pick the hardest part of the song and figure out how slowly you have to play that part to play it correctly. Then play the entire song at that speed. A metronome can help hold you accountable. Sometimes it’s a matter of training the brain to read/remember ahead of the next part of the song to be able to play it at the right time. Keep going, you’re doing great!
cheun133 – Very nicely played! You kept a very steady and consistent tempo, which is very important in this song! Now it’s time to go back to the intro and add the triplet strums in. Excellent job on this one!
acornjasper – Very nicely done! I like that you sway with the rhythm as you play. It definitely feels natural and your tempo was very steady. You seem to have this one down, with just a tiny bit of smoothing out at the very end of the song. Awesome job on this one!
In reply to: Fingerpicking Etude #3 C2 to F1 transition
It might be due to how you’re holding the uke. Here’s a video I made to help another member out. I’ll also paste additional lessons that touch on this topic. Here is the first and second lesson I recommend reviewing.
Here is everyone on page 7 that has not gotten feedback earlier:
marianne – You are doing a great job on this one with all of the different techniques and melodies! On the chorus, you are changing the rhythm slightly by adding an extra beat. In measures 19 and 23, listen to the rhythm to get the Am7 strums to be on the upbeat rather than on the down beat. Once you get this rhythm down, the song will flow smoother. You’re doing great, keep it up!
mademoiselleannette – I like that you made the metal sign near the beginning, that was perfect! You’ve got the notes down and are doing a good job with the rhythm, now it’s time to develop your strumming technique a bit more. This arrangement has some fast strums that really requires the ability to strum 16th notes at this speed in order to reset your hand for all of the down strums. One way you can develop this is just by strumming 8th notes up and down (dudududu)starting at 120 beats per minute and working gradually up to a faster speed (240 bpm) so that your hand is used to moving this fast with control. You’re off to a great start! This takes time to develop, but it’s worth it!
lhamilton – You are playing this one well over all. You understand the rhythms and you know the notes. My main suggestion is to focus on how you’re strumming the part at measure 18. In order to play this part faster, use small controlled wrist motions. You can also use the “triplet strum” technique if that is easier. If you watch how Andrew does it, the way he is holding the ukulele with his wrist more straightened allows him to use a bit more of the arm to aid him in the strum rather than relying on the wrist joint. Once you figure out a way to get that part up to speed, you’ve got it! You’re doing great!
timolnz – You’ve got the notes down, and every note sounds clear! Now it’s time to tighten up the rhythm a bit in the intro and in measure 12. In measure 12, you are adding a slight hesitation from the first strum to the 2nd. Then at the very beginning, try playing this part to a metronome to keep each note in time. Once you get the timing here, the song will flow smoother. You’re doing great, keep it up!
richard_siegert – The strumming is sounding good, you have a nice relaxed feel with the right hand that helps that section flow smoothly. The main thing to work on now is the transition from the fingerpicking part to the strumming section and back without hesitating. I would practice playing one repeat of the intro and going right to the strumming with a metronome at a slightly slower speed to work on getting the transition in time. Then you can bring the song back up to the speed you are currently playing at. Keep up the great work!
johanna2509 – Awesome job on this one! I think you’re doing a great job with the barre chord, and you have a great feel in spite of that chord. The main thing to work on is not hesitating when moving from the fingerpicking to the strummed section. Try playing along with a metronome to get that transition smoother, and then you’re all set!
henri0 – That was great, and you played it very fast! My only suggestion is to work a bit more on the fast lick at 0:57. I would rather play the whole song a touch slower and really nail those hard spots with a clear sound. Excellent job getting this one down!
gstriph – You have the notes down and did a great job working through the piece! Now you are ready to add a metronome or play along to Matt using the Tab Play Along at 70% speed. Once you have an aid to help you with the rhythm, I think you’ll start to internalize the groove. Keep up the great work!
bemarlie – You are off to a great start on this tough piece! One small tweak to make on the intro is to make sure you are only moving from the 7th fret to the 8th fret halfway through the measure. It sounds like you might be moving up to the 9th fret each time. Aside from this, I think now’s a good time to add a metronome at a slower tempo than you are currently playing this at to get a feel for the timing in certain sections. You could also try the Tab Play Along at 50% speed instead. You’re doing a great job, keep it up!
Hi,
I tried Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love this month. I really enjoyed the arrangement though I’m sure my playing of it needs work. The video angle makes my wrist look more bent than it was. I find the flat ukulele rather hard to hold onto….
Linda
I am a premium memberHere is everyone on page 8 that we haven’t gotten to yet.
lakeside339 – Performance sounds great! The only thing I can suggest is to work on boosting the tempo. Keep up the good work 🙂
john316 – Well done! So there’s a few parts where you hesitate or slow down, I’d target my practice on those areas. Use the tab player to loop the phrase, slow it down to a speed you’re comfortable with, and rinse and repeat 😉
seoulkim – Great job on the lead! I’d work on lightening up your picking attack. I talked about that concept in the video below. While it covers a different song, the same principles apply for this tune.
ealtman – Glad to hear you’re getting back into playing, Elizabeth! Sounds great overall! I’d memorize it, so you can focus more so on keeping it steady.
jeng18 – Here is my feedback for you and here is the lesson and course I referenced.
brithor – Sounds great, Bri! I think the way that you’re holding the uke is limiting your ability to play. I’d use a strap or adjust the way you’re holding it as follows:
Here’s a video I made earlier this year to help another member out. Here is the first and second lesson I recommend reviewing.
bemarlie – Sounds great! I’d slow the tempo down to focus on cleaning up your playing and getting some of the rhythms a little bit more accurate, like the triplet strum.
lisa-k – Sounds great! I’d work a little bit on getting a playful vibe – I made this video earlier this month for another member which demos and talks about getting that feel.
In reply to: Ain’t talkin’ ’bout love left hand form problem
Hey Andrew
Here are 2 videos in which i TRY explaining my issues haha.
I feel that since the beginning of my ukulele journey i’ve been struggling with going up and down the neck in form 1 without having to hold the body with my right hand so the neck doesn’t drop..Thanks a lot!
Sam
Here’s everyone on page 8 and page 9
mademoiselleannette – Wonderful job on this one! You are playing all of the notes and rhythms very well with good technique over all. My only suggestion is to work on having less space before the thumb downstrums. Right now it seems like there is a noticeable pause before each one, which you might be doing for effect, but having slightly less space there will help the song flow a bit smoother. Keep up the great work!
dividedsky – That was a very impressive performance! Your dynamics in addition to the gentle feel throughout were perfect for this song. I like how you started the phrases quietly and swelled into each phrase gradually. Very well done!
myukemylife – You are playing the notes very well. Now it’s time to work out the hesitations when shifting chord shapes. The best way to do this is to play the song slightly slower with a metronome, choosing a section like measure 6-9. The goal is to get the strums in time with as little empty space before them as possible. You’re doing great, keep it up!
lhamilton – Very cool rendition! I liked the artificial harmonic section you added. Where did you get that idea? Very nice relaxed tempo and great feel. My only suggestion is to make sure not to cut any of the sustained notes shorter than their half note duration. If you are playing freely, you can make them slightly longer, but shorter can interrupt the flow. You only did this a couple of times, so it didn’t detract from anything, it’s just a suggestion to help the relaxed feel of the song. Wonderful job on this!
wongbrown – You are doing a great job! If the tempo feels too fast, I always recommend playing it at a more comfortable tempo and keeping the rhythm and tempo steady. Maybe 75% of the speed you played it at would be easier. If you had done that, I’m sure you would have kept the tempo constant and the groove strong. Great job on this, keep it up!
ramiro – Great work on keeping the tempo steady. That’s definitely the trick to this one, and if you have to make a choice, sacrificing notes for keeping the rhythm is the one to make! One thing within the rhythm to work on is at about 6 seconds, making sure to get the muted strums cleanly in time. It’s easy to rush through those, but keeping them at a steady pace makes the groove stronger. Keep it up, you’re doing a great job!
concan – This one is tricky, and you are doing a good job! The hardest part of this is to play the hammer on/pull offs with the correct timing: each note within beat 4 of measure 6 is a 16th note, which means the open note is as long as the note that is hammered on. I recommend playing this figure slowly and working on giving each note the same duration. It takes having a lot of control with the hammer on, but you can do it! Keep up the great work!
johanna2509 – Very nicely played! It’s very hard to have every single note ring out on such a long piece, and there were very few notes with any buzz. You did a great job on sustaining the notes and maintaining the right feel for the song (legato and mellow). At this point, try experimenting with volume swells in the middle of phrases to help the song “come alive.” You are doing an excellent job!
gstriph – You’re doing a great job so far. You have the notes down, and the overall feel of the song. Try playing it a bit slower with a metronome to see if you can keep the timing consistent all the way through the song. There are a few places where you are hesitating, and doing this should fix that. Keep going, you’re doing great!
lbilkie – I’m glad you posted this one anyway, you’re doing great! With a little more time, you will memorize the different parts and work through all of the hesitations. The notes are there, the strums are there, it’s just a matter of getting the muscle memory up to par. Keep going, you’re almost there!
kittycatlin – You’re doing a great job so far. I think your cat may have distracted you when they got up, but if not, spend just a bit more time getting the last part of measure B under your fingers. Everything else is sounding great, keep up the good work!
misskika – Awesome job on this one! Your tempo was super steady, the notes were clear, and you managed to get all of the percussive parts! My only suggestion is to put a little more weight into your hand on the muted strums to accent the percussive quality, and drum a bit harder on the slaps as well. This way it will sound more like imitating the drums while playing the ukulele. You’re doing an excellent job, keep it up!
robinboyd – I love the duet! Tiffany’s rhythm was solid, holding the groove steady the entire time, and you played the melody very smoothly over all! I think the B section is tough to play even at that tempo. In order to play that at full speed as a duet, it may be a good idea for you to work the melody up with a metronome (make sure it is set to 5/4 or doesn’t have a different sound for beat one)until you can play it slightly faster than full tempo so that it’s comfortable at full speed. You are both playing wonderfully!
lildevil – Great job on this! The tempo is very solid on this take, and it grooves nicely! If you want to, now is the time to work it up to speed. Awesome job on this one!
In reply to: Fullerton Fender concert uke?
Hi, @dangar.
I can see the appeal of the Fender guitar-style packaged into a uke, but I don’t think the sound quality is quite up to par to justify getting one. I agree with Robin. I don’t have any personal experience myself either, but the reviews I’ve seen/read have mentioned Fender making ukuleles for looks over function.
Have you seen this video review? It’s for the Telecaster version of the Fender Fullerton line, but it’s mostly the same build other than the slight design difference (I think). Here’s the written review that goes more in-depth.
If you can hold one and sample it in-person, that would probably help. I’m not sure if that’s possible right now with COVID restrictions pretty much everywhere, so you might have to wait. You might love it or be completely disappointed.
Keep us posted when you find your next uke! Better yet, show and sample it for us in a video if you can. 😉
-Kanni
Happy new year, guys! There were a ton of great suggestions from folks for lesson ideas for next year in this forum post.
Your feedback helps steer the direction of our content creation. So if you haven’t left feedback yet, please do so 🙂
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ADVANCED SEARCH ADDED TO FORUM
For the start of the new year, I want to shift my focus towards improving the user interface of the site. A couple months ago, Andy ( @sir_anzalot ) suggested adding an advanced search function to the forum. His suggestion was further requested a few times over in the aforementioned forum post.
First of all, thank you for the suggestion. It’s a fantastic idea and I’m happy to say that it has been added to the forum 🙂
This feature is located underneath the search box:
Here’s what the input form looks like:
As you can see, I have filled out the search fields to look for replies from me (Andrew) specifically on “how to hold the ukulele” in the RC101 Ukulele Lessons Forum only. This is the end result and here’s the link if you want to see it.
The advanced search function will help you find valuable information much easier than ever before.
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REVAMPING THE NAVIGATION OF LESSONS
The next project that I will be tackling is a revamp to the way you sort through lessons. Currently, if you navigate to the Ukulele Songs Page, it will load a single page that displays every single song that’s available. The problem with this, is that there are now hundreds of lessons… Making this page a bit like “information overload”.
Furthermore, there’s a standalone page for blues songs, classical songs, Hawaiian songs, etc… You get the idea. The problem is there are too many pages, with too many lessons on them, and no easy way to sort through difficulty levels.
But, I have a solution! We’re going to simplify everything and put it ALL onto 1 page. The new search feature will filter and display lessons using AJAX. This is a magical technology that refreshes a page dependent on your input data. Here’s an example of how it will work:
Here’s the input data that I’ve thought of including so far. Please let me know if you’d like to see other search criteria included.
The output data should be similar to what you currently see (Image, Title, Description and Audio Preview):
But the results will be 10 lessons per page. Furthermore, I’d like to add breadcrumbs to the top of every page. This feature is built into the forum already:
But, it would be very helpful for standalone lessons as you can track where you’ve come from. For ex:
All Songs > Beginner Series > Blues > 12 Bar Blues Strumming
So that’s the big change in a nutshell. There’s a lot of backend work that I need to complete to make this happen, plus I will have to hire a developer to help with the coding requirements for making everything work. So I don’t want to set a deadline on when to expect this, but hopefully in the next couple months. I’m always open to suggestions, so please let me know your thoughts 🙂
In reply to: How to hold the Ukulele
Here’s a video I made earlier this year to help another member out. Looks like you’ve seen one of the lessons covering this topic, but I’ll paste both here for others browsing this topic. Here is the first and second lesson I recommend reviewing.
Topic: How to hold the Ukulele
After watching the lesson for La Gitanita I had to go way back to the beginner lesson on how to hold the ukulele and double check to see if the ukulele is actually supposed to be Velcro’ed to the chest. In the La Gitanita video you don’t seem to be holding the uke AT ALL. Do you have a secret – or is it just experience. Myself, I have trouble holding the uke while fingerpicking and strumming (Rasgueado). Secrets???
Here’s everyone on page 9:
willymac – Very nicely played. Your rhythm, harmonics, and dynamics were great on this one! The only thing left to do is get it up to Matt’s speed. You have everything else down very nicely.
gstriph – You are doing a great job with the notes and techniques. Now you are ready to play along to a metronome or the tab player at a slower speed to work out any rhythms and hesitations. Having something to keep track of the timing helps you to know where you hesitate for certain chord shapes and passages you aren’t as comfortable with. You’re doing a wonderful job, keep it up!
morrieuke1 – Great job, and this sounds wonderful with the low G! It adds a nice balance to the melody, as it had when I wrote it on piano. You really did a great job on the ending as well. I’m glad you enjoyed learning my song, you played it very well. Cheers!
aksiomatic – Excellent job! Your timing, feel, tone, and speed were great! There’s not really much to add to it unless you want to experiment with adding dynamic swells for different sections to bring the listener in and give the song some extra emotion. Very well played!
karenj – I love the light up ukulele in a dark room, that was a very cool effect! That ukulele does have a bit of an intonation issue on the higher notes, but your playing sounded great! It’s hard to be as expressive on a plastic ukulele, so I would love to hear it on a wooden one, but all things considered, you played very well…and the visual effect was worth it!
kanae926 – Great job on this one, it can be extrordinarily difficult not to jump the gun, but you successfully stayed with it. One thing that helps for me and makes it a little easier to not overthink it is to sway a bit with the rhythm while I’m playing so that my body is helping me keep time and connect with the track more directly. Sometimes this can help dynamics be correct as well, as if you are moving with the song, you are less likely to hit a note harder than intended. You’re playing was great on this, and I love the tone you have on that ukulele!
hibiscus – You’re doing very well, especially for your first challenge! As far as holding the ukulele, it’s a bit tricky to stabilize the soprano ukuleles…one thing that helps is to use a strap. I prefer the tenor size so that I can partially rest the body of the ukulele on my leg in the case of not having a strap. Try reviewing some of the beginner course lessons on form to see if they help you with this. As far as stage fright, there’s something about recording that is even more anxiety provoking than playing in front of a crowd. One thing that helps is recording until you get a take you’re ok with, and recording a few after knowing that you already have one you’re ok with…then there’s less pressure and it’s usually easier to play at that point. Your playing is great, keep it up and you’ll work out all of the hesitations. Great job!
andrewvh – You are off to a great start! It seems like you have most of the notes and shapes down, there’s just the occasional string getting muted by either not pushing down hard enough or an extra finger touching the string in the first half. The upstrums with the thumb are a bit difficult, and I recommend using your right hand pointer finger to get less of the thumbnail sound, or working on getting a very consistent use of the right pressure and speed with the thumb. Matt is excellent at it, but it really takes a lot of work to have that finesse with the thumb. Keep up the good work!
akukes73 – Very nicely done! You had a great feel throughout most of the piece, and did a wonderful job on the first half! From 1:10 to the end of the piece, just spend a bit more time with the hammer ons and pull offs, and getting into the strummed B7 in measure 29. As far as the harmonics at the end, touch very lightly over the fret itself, making sure your finger isn’t slanted and accidentally muting any of the strings. If you were performing in front of an audience, don’t repeatedly attempt the harmonics, just let it go, and if you want to play a normal chord at the end instead of harmonics, that works too. Keep up the great work, you’re 90% there!
patparr – You are doing well on the notes and harmonics, and if you revisit this song later, it’s time to work on the rhythm. I recommend slowing the tab player to 50% speed and playing along with it to help feel the pulse of the song. You’re off to a great start, keep it up!
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
Hello everybody. This is my first time participating in these challenges and it was much fun. I started playing and learning through this site a month ago, before I tried a couple of songs through youtube videos, so this song has been a challenge – especially up strumming (I just couldn’t manage to do it with my thumb, just with my index finger) and it was quite hard holding the ukulele without the help of my right hand (it kept falling when I changed the left hand) so I appreciate any input on this. 🙂
Haha and I discovered I had stage fright through this recording process 😀
Looking forward to the next month!
krolik – Here’s my feedback for you and the live lesson that I referenced.
shmu88 – Fantastic playing! Watch the timing when you transition to the chorus. I was tapping along and grooving to how steady your rhythmic feel was, but then you jumped quite a bit in that section. Instead, try to gradually speed up. It’ll feel more natural that way.
qiuyan – Lovely playing and great job with the right hand work! Those up-strums really at a nice timbre 🙂
rebeca – Well done, that was a great performance!
simonalexander – Performance was great, but I’d recommend reviewing this lesson and this one for tips on how to properly hold the ukulele. The way that you’re holding it now makes you reliant on the use of a strap.
nthibode – Bravo! Well played and I loved that you sang the last half 🙂
cauer2 – I like it on low G! One change, at 53 seconds, do the G note on E string instead of open 4. That’s the only one that sounded off to me.
As for the performance, I think you knocked it outta the park! The hard thing w/ this 1 is the rhythm. And you aced it. Well done!
