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Here’s everyone on page 13:
jinajupiter – Wonderful job! It’s hard to believe you’ve only been playing for a month! Your timing is great, and you play the song well! On Melody B, I see that the stretch on the Eb is a bit far, but you’ll get it more comfortably as you go. My only suggestion aside from working more on that stretch is to try not to stop the notes early on Melody B to play the melody as smoothly as possible. The secret here is to not let go of the notes too soon and shift faster with the left hand, and to make sure your plucking hand thumb isn’t stopping the string as you prepare for the next note. You are a very fast learner! Thank you for your entry.
richo_uke – Great work! You got every note with a great tone. I recommend playing the song just a bit slower to give yourself time to get your hand in position for each chord shift so that you don’t end up adding extra space just in front of each chord. Practicing the song with a metronome might help to force your hands to prepare for the chords just slightly quicker as well. You’re doing a great job, keep it up! Thank you for taking part in the challenge!
abaluyot – You are off to a great start! You’re doing a great job playing with the thumb and getting the notes. Some of the rhythms are a bit different than you are playing them…I would recommend going through Andrew’s reading course to learn how to play the rhythm in bar 4 and 5, and then practice that a bit with the metronome (maybe around 70 beats per minute). This will help those measures sound a bit closer to Matt’s version. Keep up the good work! Thank you for participating!
kumakuma – Your timing and feel are excellent! I think Melody B has a few tricky spots that you can isolate and practice repetitively, and then the whole song will flow smoothly. You do a wonderful job hitting all the notes in measure 4 accurately. Thank you for your entry!
lildevil – Great rendition of this! Very relaxing, which means your thumb is very consistent and you have a knack for not getting stuck on the strings! There were a couple of chords that didn’t ring out fully, but by the last Melody A, you had every note sounding clear! I think you know exactly what to do and are doing a great job, it just takes a lot of practice to be consistent on every attempt. Super job! Thank you for taking part in this challenge!
smudge – Way to challenge yourself…that’s the only way to make huge strides in your playing! You sound great! My main thing to add to where you are is to really work on the hammer-on/pull-offs slowly and build them up to speed. Right now you are rushing those sections just a bit. I would play along slowly with a metronome and work them up to speed. I can tell you’ve worked super hard on this one! Great work, and thanks for entering the challenge!
mheiden – Awesome job! You are playing the notes great, and have a great sound on your ukulele. Most of the song is in time as well! To make it even better, I would isolate measure 7-8 and practice until that part is super comfortable. Then if you want to slow it down to make it slightly dramatic, that’s a nice touch, but I’d recommend adding a little more space after the last note in measure 8 to let the song breathe a bit more. Little things like this and adding some slight dynamics will just add another level of texture to an already complete performance. Thank you for your submission!
casadot349 – Super job! Wow! You play this one wonderfully! When you fingerpick, you play everything smoothly and with a great sound…my only concern is the angle of your wrist: if you play for long periods of time with your plucking hand wrist bent at that much of an angle, it may start to hurt quicker than if you were able to hold the ukulele at more of an angle and straighten the wrist out a bit. Look at Andrew’s courses to find some suggestions on posture. You are an excellent player, so I want you to be able to continue to play without any aches in the wrist. Well done! Thank you for entering the challenge!
santai – I’m so glad you’re enjoying the site so much! The thing I liked most about your submission, is that you know how to practice at the pace you need to go to get the timing as well as all of the notes in. Your sense of timing is great…not everyone can play at slower tempos and keep the feel intact! Melody B sounds like it can use a bit more work, but it’s very close! The bridge of a song is always the least played section, so it makes sense: You play the other melody 3 times every time you play the song, while the bridge (Melody B) is only getting practiced once. For this reason, in most songs with this form, that middle part has to be isolated and practiced more than the rest. Once you do this, you’ll be ready to play it just a little bit faster. Great work, and great use of knowing what tempo to play at!
karenj – I like how you added some strums to fill up measure 8! It sounds very nice with that addition! You’re playing the whole piece very well, and the rhythm is swing, so that’s why you feel like adding it! There are a few spots that would sound even closer by just waiting a little bit longer before hitting the next note: In Melody B, the Eb chords are half notes, so just make sure to hold those chords for two full beats! This will make that section sound more relaxed and less rushed just by pacing those chords. Great work, and I hope you enjoy learning Jurassic Park!
erino7 – Great feel on this one! It’s nice and relaxed like it’s meant to sound! Two things I would add to make it even better: I noticed you slid into the last note of measure 7 (7th fret on the A string). I thought that was a nice touch, and I would practice that a little bit more so that it doesn’t stand out too much from the other notes: pluck that note a bit lighter, and keep the pressure even as you slide to prevent fret buzz. In Melody B, measure 12 has a slightly different rhythm, but you’re super close! Beat 2 (the first fret on the A string) in that measure is just a little bit longer, so wait an extra half of a beat before playing the open C string. If this is confusing, look through Andrew’s reading course on how to play rhythms for help. Excellent job! Thanks for taking part in the challenge!
sratica – I’m so glad you posted this! It’s tough to learn a whole song like this, and I’m glad you broke it down into 2 measure parts to get comfortable with the piece! Your tone sounds great, and you did a great job playing every note! The next step on this piece is to break each section down and really focus on the rhythm slowly. I would look through Andrew’s reading course at the rhythm section for guidance. Great job, and thanks for entering this challenge!
hotmilktea – Wow! That was fantastic! Your feel, notes, and timing were wonderful on this! I can tell you spent a lot of time on this! I only noticed one small thing to change: in measure 22, 24, and anywhere else that measure is the same, you are adding a tiny bit of space after the 10th fret on the A string, right before beat 3. It sounds fine like this, but to make it a little closer to the arrangement, all you have to do is get to beat 3 just a touch quicker. Everything else about the whole entire piece is wonderful! Superb job! Thanks for being part of this challenge!
wongbrown – You are doing great! Those sounds really aren’t very distracting to the listener, but I know what you mean! Sometimes you can mute the strings that are ringing out while you are changing chords with fingers that aren’t being used in the chord. As for when fingers stick to the strings…sometimes it’s a matter of making sure the strings are clean and that your hands are dry (when I try to record U-Bass I have a lot of this issue due to my hands sweating when I record). I hope this helps! Once you get past that, then it’s time to spend a little work with the rhythm, using Andrew’s reading course for guidance. You’re doing well, and I hope that gives you something to try. Thank you!
Here’s everyone on Page 12:
surfnrz – Great playing! I enjoy your slight variations on the rhythm from Matt’s arrangement. You’ve got the song down, so now I would experiment with different right hand techniques. You play with a lot of attack on the beginning of each note, which still works well, but have you tried plucking lighter with the right hand or playing with the thumb like Matt to get a warmer softer touch? Even if you still play it finger style, try relaxing the right hand a bit and experiment with the volume of each note. I hope this gives you some ideas to expand your right hand techniques! Thanks for entering the challenge!
speedyfish – Excellent work on learning a difficult arrangement! You do a really great job of getting every note to sound clearly on those pull-offs! Your tone is also very good! With a song based so strongly in a repeating pattern, it’s time to practice what you’ve learned with a metronome to get all of the melodic parts in time. I would recommend practicing it slowly for accuracy in timing, and then work it up to the full tempo. I’m very impressed with your playing! Thanks for submitting on this challenge!
kirpuff – Wonderful job! You’re doing well on the timing and the notes and keeping the backbeat going! I think slowing the song down and getting the melody a bit smoother by eliminating space between the notes (holding each note for it’s full value) would add a lot of musicality. It’s impressive that you can play it that fast, but it may be more effective as a ballad at a slower tempo. Awesome job on getting the arrangement down! Thank you for your entry!
andracass – You are well on your way on this one! The notes are there, and your right hand feel is very relaxed. It sounds like you are still getting used to some of the transitions to certain chord shapes, and I think just going over the parts you hesitate on will clear the rest up! I noticed a wobbly sound as you were playing…is this from your camera, or is something loose on your ukulele? You might want to look into that if it’s the ukulele. It may just be a loose tuning peg or screw (if it’s not just the microphone you’re recording through). Thanks for taking part in this challenge!
johanna2509 – You have a very nice tone and feel on this one! There are a couple of spots where I think you’re still getting familiar with the chord shapes, but over all, it’s sounding great! I notice that on Melody B you are reaching your pinky out at an angle, almost flattening it sideways…I would recommend trying not to have it at quite as much of an angle, as that can create tension in the wrist over time. Also, at 0:19 in, the way your left hand is bent outward might be too much of a strain on the wrist. Try not to let the wrist be that bent if you can help it to prevent injuries over time. Wonderful playing! Thanks for entering this challenge!
alex086962 – Great work on this one! There were only a few spots you hesitated on, so practicing those an extra time or two might make those spots a little smoother. As far as the thumb strumming, I would try strumming lighter and relaxing that hand as much as possible. I think stretching both hands after playing will help keep them nimble, and warming up slowly before trying the harder chord shapes each day is a good way to go. I hope this helps with the finger stiffness a bit. Thanks for your entry, and good luck!
brettboy – That was a fun take on the arrangement! I enjoyed all the variations on strums and additions! My only suggestion is to try playing your variations in time with either the original recording or to a metronome with beat one marked differently than the others. Every now and then, your changes also changed where beat one was, and practicing this way would help you to know how to squeeze in those melodies and additions while keeping the groove throughout. On another note, I love how relaxed you stay throughout the performance, it was very fluid! Thank you for sharing your version, it was very cool!
edward – There’s something about that little red button that always makes my heart race! Recording puts a lot of pressure on many of us, so I totally understand! You are still playing well in spite of this, which is not an easy task! I recommend playing Melody B with a metronome a bit more to make sure you have the timing correct: the Eb chord is held out for 2 full beats before the next melody note. Also, on the last chord, try not to strum through the A string, just play the G, C, and E strings to help it sound more final. You are doing a great job!
tiff27 – You sound great! I think that how low you are holding the ukulele might be making it a bit harder to stabilize the instrument, notice how Matt places his. This may not work for everyone, but I would recommend trying it. I feel like the next step with where you are is to add a metronome to your playing. I would recommend starting at 70 bpm or a little bit below to start out, and then gradually speed it up to full speed. Keep up the great work! Thank you for entering the challenge!
juwong – Great job on this! Your playing is sounding good! Your Ukulele might be slightly out of tune, but you are playing well! I think adding a metronome to get some of the changes in time might be the next step, and then just trying to leave as little space between notes to make the song even smoother. Also, it looks like you are holding the ukulele up while you are playing, which might be adding a little tension to both hands. try to make it a goal to stay as relaxed as possible as you play. You’re doing great! Thank you for your entry.
justin – I like that you are doing this on a low G ukulele, it sounds pretty cool! It changes the vibe in a cool way, although some of the melody notes are an octave too low. The rhythm in some spots is a bit different than you’re playing it, although what you’re doing sounds fine. At the very beginning of the piece, the first chord is two full beats long before the 2nd note is played. I would look at Andrew’s reading course to work on reading note rhythms if you aren’t very familiar with this. Great playing! Thanks for taking part in the challenge!
So I posted Dream a Little Dream on Sunday and have been working on A Thousand Years these past two days with the goal of posting it before the deadline whatever my progress, because the incentive doesn’t work unless you actually post it, right. But it needs a lot of work, and I chickened out.
The good news: I’ve got it memorized.
Bad news/questions: Is there a more detailed lesson on the muting for effect/ease of transitioning between notes/chords? Would like to learn it for the effect, but so far, it’s easier to just play the notes. Maybe I’m trying too hard? Or just need more practice, but I’m not sure what or how to do it. Also, after watching “How to Hold Your Ukulele” I put my strap away. It works fine for first position and Dream a Little Dream, but going up and down the fretboard for A Thousand Years, I just couldn’t move efficiently and keep the uke anchored. Got the strap back out, which made all the difference. Is this a bad habit/crutch I need to get over?
There’s so much to work on beyond these two things. Hard to know how to prioritize. Thoughts?In reply to: Hello from Amsterdam
Welcome jina! Congrats on your new ukulele too!
My personal thoughts: If you decide to swap to low G there are some songs that just don’t work. (It goes both ways) Some songs even if they are written for high g are not too difficult to make work though! It kind of depends how familiar you are with where the high g notes actually are on the fretboard and what’s going on in the song. (For me at least… I’m getting better at knowing where stuff is, but it’s slow for me, and I can only make simple changes right now.)
If you plan on playing a lot of both high g and low G songs i’d say string your main uke with whatever you plan to play more (or the one you like the sound of more) and make your soprano the opposite, or buy another uke if you really dislike your buzzy soprano to have both like you said.
If you were planning on swapping soon, hold off until next month’s challenge songs are announced so you don’t go insane making changes to play them. (The one you may want to try could be one of those songs that is either really hard to change or just doesn’t work.) There aren’t very many songs on here yet that are arranged specific for low G, so for songs, just keep that in mind.
Anyway those are just my personal feelings on it. Hope that helps. 🙂
So here’s my challenge entry…a year into playing the ukulele.
Even though this song only took an hour to learn and memorize, I was plagued with a lot of buzzing and muting in all the bar chords. I tried to minimize the string noise I normally get (sticky fingers) based on Andrew’s feedback for someone else, but I couldn’t get rid of it all.
A week of practice and it’s still not as clean as I’d like (not nearly), but here it is…There’s even a part where I couldn’t hold in my own incredulity and you might hear me laughing (whoops). As many times as I’ve recorded this, I hate all the takes. 😒
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER.
Maria – I agree with the “Get a strap!” Crowd.
I couldn’t hold my ukulele properly without pain because it takes too much out of my shoulders.
I just use a button on the bottom. I tie the strap to the neck behind the nut. I wouldn’t be able to put it on or take it off otherwise.
Until I put the button on, a member here showed me I could tie a string around the body where it’s peanut shaped and then behind the nut.
A string isn’t super comfortable or fancy but it saved me in a pinch and let me play right away.
Jake S uses one of those neck straps that hook in the sound hole. I don’t think those hold your uke if you let it go though?
I used an egg beater style old school powerless hand drill so I had complete control of the drill. I used miztaken’s advice and it was super simple. You might need to buy a separate felt washer to go between the uke and the button. The buttons sold at guitar center didn’t come with the washers.
I’m having a physical challenge!
Ok, so, I’m not slim…..😜😜
With this left hand fingering I’m having an awful time holding my ukuele. Awful.
The worst is for A, where there are no fingers on the fretboard.
And! I really don’t want to just hold the ukulele with my right hand and thumb the whole thing. I’m trying to use my finger picking fingers…
Maybe a strap? My ukuele sounds decent, but was only $100 so I’m no too afraid to put strap buttons on it, though my husband was horrified that I’d do such a thing.
I’m doing the Beethoven piece.
Help!
MariaHere’s everyone on page 10:
gahanby – Excellent job! Your timing was wonderful, rhythm and tone were great! I like that you never let anything deter you from playing in time. I only heard one chord that didn’t come out correctly, but that was it for the entire song! You sound like you have this one performance ready! I want to challenge you to add your own dynamics, making each phrase start soft and crescendo in the middle and slowly decrescendo towards the end of the phrase. Certain sections might call for a longer build in volume, but I think this would be a nice touch for an already great rendition! Thank you for joining the challenge!
ultramom – I’m very impressed that so many people are playing this song so well! You are doing an excellent job, too! Just as a test, try playing along to a metronome just to tighten up the timing a tiny bit, but I can tell you know the rhythms and all of the notes. I would also experiment with dynamics like I mentioned to gahanby above. Thank you for entering, and Merry Christmas/Happy New Year!
shortman – Your playing sounds great! I’m not hearing the mistakes you are mentioning, and you are staying in time well. The issue that sounds rough might be the ukulele: It seems like the G (3rd fret on E string) is out of tune, but the rest of the notes sound in tune. Either that string is a little out of tune (the E string), or your Ukulele might have an intonation problem causing that note only to be out of tune. Have you tried playing it on a different ukulele? Thanks for entering the challenge! Happy New Year!
ukuleleloo – The pull-offs sound awesome, and so does the main melody (Melody A). Melody B sounds good as well, it just requires a bit more practice before you can play it up to speed. Great work, and keep it up! Happy New Year!
tiff27 – You have a wonderful voice! I enjoyed your version of Noel, and the slight change you did to the chord at the end! Your playing is great, and I feel like the one chord in the whole song that you left out was on purpose to not detract from the singing. Great job on the notes and chords! My only concern is just that your wrist on your left hand might be bending in a bit much. Try to keep it straighter as you play. One thing that can help to achieve this is to have the thumb lower on the neck as you play. It may not be bending that much, but from the angle of the video, it appeared to be in some sections. Great job, and thanks for sharing your voice with us! Happy New Year!
ellisille – Great work in spite of the performance fright! My biggest suggestion is to play with a metronome at a slightly slower tempo (60-70 bpm) several times before recording, as it might give you more confidence in the timing, and a stronger sense of rhythm. A lot of people struggle with this, and the main way to get around it is to practice twice as much as you think you have to so that nothing can phase you! Happy New Year!
coffeemug – You’ve got the idea, it’s just quite a challenging piece! I like that you went for the challenge, and I would recommend playing with a metronome at a slower speed. The hammer-ons and pull-offs should be evenly spaced: making the sound at the same time as if they were plucked. This just requires a lot of slow practice, preferably with a metronome. I hope this helps! Happy New year, and thank you for taking part in this challenge!
jacoob_slezak – Your playing sounds great! On your fretting hand I notice that your fretting hand wrist is bent inwards more than half of the time. I highly recommend straightening your wrist out more, and if it has to bend a little bit, bend outward rather than inward. Look at the video I made for Malachai below. I hope this helps. In spite of this, your version of the song sounds wonderful! Thank you and Happy (belated) Holidays!
kcharles15 – You are off to a great start! You’ve got the notes and chords right, and with a little more practice, they will become more fluid! My main advice for you is to hold notes down a little bit longer and try not to stop the sound by plucking with your thumb too early. This will help the melody sound more legato (smooth), rather than choppy in parts. Happy New Year, and thank you for joining the challenge!
malachi – Happy New Year!
Here is everyone on page 14, 15, and any submissions beyond that. Stephen will post page 10 soon and that should complete feedback for the month! 🙂
ellbo99 – Excellent playing, Dave! Great tone on… is that a sopranissimo? Since we had a lot of entries this month, I’m starting to see a pattern in things that folks should work on. I’m going to copy and paste it below:
1) it looks like you were reading the music. Try to memorize the piece, this way you can focus on how you are playing it – which was the topic of this lesson.
2) in a previous feedback post (page 17), I left a video titled “thumb attack”. Check that video out, it talks about subtle and strong ways to strum. Changing the attack creates dynamics, which simply means changes in volume. This helps to create more emotion in our playing.As your comment alluded that you ran short on time, #1 makes sense to do. But #2 is the big one here, think of ways that you can mix dynamics in to bring out more emotion. Because like I said, you’ve got a great tone, so think of how you want to express it.
suzums – Wow, really really fantastic! And dang, great tone plugged in! This was really really good (I said it twice now, lol) – so there’s not anything major to work on, so I’m going to nit-pick:
1) 13 seconds – work on cleaning up the hammer on, pull off
2) 34 seconds – don’t rush the slide
3) 55 seconds – this is the last chord of the song, try a slower strum. It will sound more drawn out and feel more like an ending.
carmen-s – Great job, Carmen! I’d recommend the same advice I left above (#1) for ellbo99, as well as: For your right hand, I’d recommend to scoot your hand back a bit. Check out this lesson for our placement recommendations. And I think I touched in a previous video left for a member, showing to hold the body more-so underneath the sound hole for thumb approach.
jlbross – Great job! I’d recommend the same advice I left above (#1) for ellbo99. In addition to that, take a look at where you place the music. Where it is, requires you to look down and sit in a less-than-ideal playing posture. I’d recommend investing in a music stand, which will allow you to sit properly and not strain your neck 🙂
sudave – Great job! I’d recommend the same advice I left in the post about for, trentmellington.
kanae926 – Another awesome performance from you! You are knocking these out of the park! I thought the sustain was great, and I’m glad to read you were focusing on timing and dynamics. What I’d work most on is the latter; I want to hear more emphasis in your performance – louder louds, and softer lows. But overall, I’m proud of you, keep up the good work!
joannetala – Well done! I can definitely tell that you focused on dynamics, but do be careful not to go too strong; i.e. where notes pop, which we can hear at 1:06. What I suggest to continue working on is timing. Take 8 bars at a time and focus on getting it nice and smooth. Keep up the great work and thanks for donating!
uku_on – Dude, congrats! I hope your wedding was awesome 🙂 and you did Super well on this! It’s clear to me that you know how to practice, because everything looks and sounds great. So what I would do is focus on some of the tricky areas, like the phrase that begins around 40 seconds to 48. And of course the ending, as you stated that was the part that you didn’t get a chance to get to. But really great, this was a toughie!
jenaenlaxson – Great playing, Jenae! And I’m sorry to hear about the flare up, I know how taxing LD can be on the body. I thought you did really well, great tone and nice work on sustaining the notes. So my recommendation for you is the same advice I left in the post above for, trentmellington. But, I want you to tackle bigger sections at a time: 4 or 8 bars. Keep up the great work!
mycb3tm3n – Way to go, Myc, that was awesome! I want you to check out the advice I left in the post above for, “hondamom”. Specifically, #2. One thing that stood out to me is that you have a strong strum attack with your thumb. Try to mix it up a little bit by using a lighter attack; this will produce a sweeter and softer tone. Other than that, go back and target your practice to focus on some of the tricky phrases, such as 33 seconds to 41. You can use the advice I left above for, trentmellington, to get the most out of your practice time. Keep up the great work!
yukalele – Well done! I left some advice yesterday (on page 18) for another member, “gstriph”. Check out the first point, that advice will be really helpful for you. And also, the advice I left above for, jlbross, about using a music stand 🙂
The other thing I want to point out, is to scoot your left hand thumb down a little bit, so it is slightly above the middle of the neck. Check out form 2 for a better look at this.
Here is everyone on Page 9.
casadot349 – great job, you’ve got some speed! Here’s the thing with playing quickly, we want to make sure that even though we have the dexterity to play fast; that we try to keep the tempo steady. Try and play along with a metronome or the on-screen tab viewer. Take a section at a time and follow the advice in our practice guide.
The big thing that I want to point out in your video is your form. First, the way that you are holding the ukulele is incorrect. Check out our guide for proper holding posture in these two lessons:
1) proper left hand form
2) how to hold the Uke (from our Beginners Course)For your right hand, I’d recommend to scoot your hand back a bit. Check out this lesson for our placement recommendations.
marni11 – very beautiful playing! Great timing and excellent form. The only suggestion I have is to scoot your left hand thumb a little bit down the neck, so that it is slightly above the middle, instead of hanging over. Check out form 2 for a better look at this.
strizaldo – bravo, well done! The only suggestion I have is the same as I left for Marni above. Keep up the great work!
benjamin – you are doing so much better with timing, I am proud of you! For the next challenge, I want you to choose an easier song. You have a habit of choosing the most difficult ones, which is totally fine; but for the next one, I want you to pick an easier one and continue focusing on timing, but also focus on clarity of the notes. In other words, getting each note and chord to ring crystal clear. Keep up the great work!
incywincy – here is a video with some tips for you.
springer1 – cool idea to start with that intro 🙂 I think you’re doing an excellent job, I can definitely tell that you’ve put a ton of work into it, as well as your playing in general. Form, tone, and feel are awesome. Keep up the great work!
lynettejd – Very nice! Sustain sounds lovely. The only suggestion I have is to revisit that section you stumbled a little on. Keep up the great work!
lisamcc – I loved it! Vocals, brisk tempo WITH clean playing and great timing! Wow – especially since it was barre chord heavy. And to top it off, that sweater 🙂 I must hear you sing more!
gstriph – Well done, Jerry! So couple things I noticed:
1) it looks like you were reading the music. Try to memorize the piece, this way you can focus on how you are playing it – which was the topic of this lesson.
2) in a previous feedback post (page 17), I left a video titled “thumb attack”. Check that video out, it talks about subtle and strong ways to strum. Changing the attack creates dynamics, which simply means changes in volume. This helps to create more emotion in our playing.
3) last little thing, I heard a few notes buzz. This usually happens if we lift up prematurely. So keep an eye out for that.But overall really good job this month, keep up the excellent work! And thank you for your donation, you rock!
wongbrown – Beautiful playing and great tone! I definitely wouldn’t agree that it needs lots of improvement. I thought it was one of the best ones I’ve heard from you! Your form is looking great too, I believe we’ve talked about that in the past. The only thing that stood out to me was the little pause in the middle, no big deal. Keep rocking, it sounds like you’ve been practicing, Sheila 🙂
felixpitterling – Dude, congrats again on winning! I should be swinging by UR to drop off the Kanile’a for Mike to ship this coming week. I meant to do it last week, but things got a little crazy trying to get the Reading Course ready for a release on Friday.
So onto your performance, awesome job! The one big thing I would work on is timing. Break it down section by section, use a metronome or play along to the on-screen tab viewer, and follow the steps in our practice guide. Tackling chunks at a time is the most efficient way to improve timing, as well as, learning songs quickly.
timstacks – Tim, that was awesome! I can definitely tell that you put a lot of work into it. I’m going to shoot a little video for you with one tip, but here is a copy and paste of feedback I left the other day for extra help on barre chords:There are generally two reasons that a barre chord does not ring out properly:
1) finger strength – not enough is applied.
2) form – incorrectly applied.We dive into both of these areas (in complete detail) in our Beginners Course lesson on Barre Chords. Review that lesson and see if you can apply these tips to help clean up the chords.
Here’s everyone on page 5:
mikeramsey2 – Great Job on this one! You have the notes and the rhythm down great, there’s just a few spots where you are hesitating slightly. Play through those spots a few times more, then try playing the whole song with a metronome to check that you are staying in time. Thank you for taking part in the challenge!
brenna – Merry Christmas! I enjoyed the 3 kings in front of you! Awesome right hand technique on this one! There are just a few chord shapes on the left hand to practice transitioning into and out of smoothly, and you will sound flawless! The only other work to add to that is practicing the hammer-ons and pull-offs a bit more for more clarity. Sometimes lower action (string height) on the Ukulele can help with this as well. Great work, Thank you for entering the challenge!
sprinting yogini – Wonderful job! On Melody B, measure 10 is a bit tricky because of the Em shape. I would recommend practicing just Melody B slowly with a metronome to force you to get to the Em on time. Other than that, you’ve got it! Thank you for being part of this challenge!
peropata – Your timing is great, and you really seem to know the rhythm and all of the notes! There were two slight things: One chord that was slightly off on the 2nd half of the repeat of Melody A…but you got it correct the first time, so this seems to just be a performance-specific mistake that you most likely wouldn’t miss again. Then at measure 16, you are holding out the second beat slightly too long, although this really just creates a dramatic effect. If you want to play it perfectly in time, I would recommend playing the measures around that one (14-17) with a metronome to perfect the timing. Great work on this!
Topic: Strap button question
I got a concert ukulele that has two strap buttons. One on the neck and one on the bottom.
Will it hurt the concert if I take the button off the neck and put it on the bottom of my soprano?
Meaning will it matter if there’s a hole in it? Also can I just leave the hole or should I fill it with some wood glue or something after I take it off? (Or find another screw and put it in there?)
I really want to attach a proper strap to my soprano it makes a world of difference since I can’t hold it properly with my issues.
In reply to: Choosing a new tenor ukulele
I have a few Ukulele’s and they are all tenor; I’ve bought them all online. I have found that I can choose the wood and sound from videos (alot of videos though). The part that I found more challenging is the feel of the neck. I definitely have grown into the ukes I have, but still gravitate to one in particular because of how it feels to hold it. So if you are able to see anything live to understand your preferences, that would help. Even if you can’t see the ones you are considering…you can get an idea of the specifics you like then ask…weather it’s Mike or Mim- I’m sure they are all helpful. Good Luck!
Well I was looking on amazon and found a Kimise concert ukulele that comes set up supposedly with a special bridge, smooth frets, possibly free strings for life (gotta be a shipping and handling catch there!), low action and a few accessories for $39.99 as a black friday deal of the day? week?… It had good reviews so I used the $25 dollar gift certificate I had been saving and just went for it. Merry Christmas to me lol. I think the concert size will still allow me to hold the uke semi comfortably..
I still want to know what this is called, but soon i’ll hopefully have some more frets I won’t need to worry about smashing the string down in the right spot. I will also maybe gather up the courage to put that Aquilla Soprano Low G set on my current uke. I’m so afraid i’m going to put them on wrong…
jakeypoo, you did so well, I loved it! You’ve got a really great feel on the instrument and I see how much you practice on Instagram, it really pays off! One thing I want to point out that you did really well on is the timing and Rhythm work. This song can be a toughie with so much going on, so major props there.
I sent you a video with feedback on fixing a couple things with your left hand form. How is that going? 2 additional areas I want to point out:
1) try to bring your thumb down a little bit, more so towards slightly above the middle of the neck. Check out this lesson for suggestion on placement.
2) The Am chord at 2:20, notice how your pinky finger is quite crooked, try and get it a little bit more straight and on the fingertip. Also sometimes, like at 3:25, on the D chord, your first joints (on multiple fingers) is curved inwards. Try to keep them curved outwards.
rickkhan, I thought you did really well and I love seeing you vibe to the music – it’s clear to see you can feel it! 🙂
So there’s really only one big thing we need to touch on, which is that your performance had a swung feel to it. This is a composition that should be played straight.
Now as I said already, you have a great feel to your playing, but your focus moving forward should be on correcting the feel. I’d encourage you to play along with the on-screen tab viewer, and focus on one theme at a time. Notice the difference in feels.
If you have time, I’d love to hear a re-submission. Even if it’s only one theme. Let me know if you have any questions.
brenna, such a wonderful performance! I actually shared this in our email newsletter the other week 🙂
I really love the tone your nails provide; sharp, crisp, very beautiful! You have a really great feel in your playing. I only have one suggestion: You played the “B” melody at a slower tempo, which is totally cool – I like the contrast in tempos. Try to smooth the ritardando in the two bars preceding melody B. And the same for increasing the tempo in the two bars before returning to Melody A. This will help to make the tempo change sound a little smoother.
poopsies, awesome job and wow, you’ve got some speed! Unfortunately, the video was black – all we have is the audio.
Again, major props on the speed and your timing was excellent! Now this is my opinion, because how you perform is always up to you, but I would suggest to slow the tempo down a notch, as I feel it would give the music more room to breathe. But overall, great job and keep up work the great work!
hafeez3115, bravo! I am continually impressed by your performances, truly fantastic job! The only thing I want to point out, and I think I’ve mentioned it before to you, is thumb placement of the left hand. Try and bring it down a little bit so it’s not hanging over the edge of the neck. Check out this lesson for suggestion on placement.
kmelton, that was an awesome performance Kevin. It’s been fun watching your performances over the last half year, I can hear a lot of improvement! It’s super awesome! Your dedication is paying off 🙂
So I noticed you were sitting in a classical guitar position. If you watch the video back, notice how this position doesn’t allow you to stabilize the uke as well as the position we recommend to sit with, which uses your right forearm to help keep the uke stable. You’ll notice in your video that it has a bit of a micro movement, kind of like it bobs up and down slightly as you play. I think it would be easier for you to perform if you try our recommended holding position. Let me know your thoughts.
planetfink, so good! I’m glad you joined us this month and I’ll be featuring your performance in our newsletter email tomorrow 🙂
Friendly reminder, you forgot to write “I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER”. For anyone else that is reading this, if you are a premium member, don’t forget to add that to your performance so you get two entries into the giveaway.
You have a great feel on the instrument, I really enjoyed your performance! A couple things I want to point out:
1) try to bring your left hand thumb down a notch. Check out this lesson for suggestion on placement.
2) watch through your performance and take note of your right hand picking. Sometimes you’ve got picado going, which is awesome! But sometimes you revert back to using just the index finger. Try and be cognitive as you play throughout it and focus on using picado.
3) as you continue to practice, play along with the on-screen tab viewer. This will help you tighten up some of the timing and fix a few incorrect rhythms (nothing super bad!).
But again, really great job!
