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- This topic has 6 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 6 months ago by nerdjenni.
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September 6, 2019 at 4:44 pm #30255nerdjenniParticipant
Hello – I’m an American living in Zurich. I bought a ukulele many many moons ago and was keeping it with the idea of teaching my future kids one day. Well, when that future kid turned three years old earlier this year, I went down into the storage unit to bring out the ukulele. But instead of teaching her, I fell in love with the instrument myself.
Now I’m playing it most evenings after work, and I’m super excited about slowly getting better. After attempting to learn off of random Youtube videos, I found this site. The lessons and tabs are great, and I love how you bring other teachers in. I especially love that kid, Evan. He is AMAZING!
September 6, 2019 at 7:48 pm #30260miztakenParticipantHi @nerdjenni
Welcome to RC101!
Maybe your daughter will watch you and fall in love with the uke too.
It is such a joyful instrument, and this place is really supportive and sooooo much to learn.
(Always: Thanks Andrew, you do such an awesome job for US!).September 7, 2019 at 11:28 am #30262AndrewKeymasterWelcome, @nerdjenni! That’s awesome that you fell in love with it! And super happy you found us 🙂
September 7, 2019 at 4:00 pm #30267nerdjenniParticipantHi @Andrew, you do a great job with the site. Quick question for you – I am working through the Level 1 songs now. I am new to uke but have some music fundamentals (piano and violin as a kid, lifelong casual campfire song guitar player). With decent consistent practice (let’s say 3 hours week), how long Would you guess it takes to go from level 1 to be able to do level 4 songs? Obviously I know everyone is different and depends on how effective I am at practicing, but I would love a sense of what to expect. Are we talking months, years?
September 7, 2019 at 5:49 pm #30271AndrewKeymasterI’d say years is a realistic response. Because it’s not only about being able to play the harder songs (technique, understanding rhythm/timing, etc), but also how you play them. I.E., feeling, dynamics, timbre… Which is what we talked about in this lesson and this one.
To get there, it’s a mix of 2 factors (and this is IMO). Talent and commitment. I taught 1 on 1 and group lessons for 11 years, teaching hundreds of people, ages 5-75+. Talent means someone is naturally gifted. Things come easier to those people, but if they don’t have commitment (dedication to practice), then I’ve seen folks that music didn’t come naturally to surpass the talented ones that didn’t practice.
It also comes down to how and what you are practicing. That’s why I wrote Learning Paths. It teaches you how to create a structured and efficient practice schedule.
September 7, 2019 at 8:27 pm #30278miztakenParticipantOMG! Thank you for that honest answer Andrew!!!
I have been playing for four years now (3 years strum, no formal lessons), 1 year RC101 with 4 months music teacher as well, 0-6 hours practice per day (those long ones just mean I am having so much fun that I just can’t stop 😁).
And with the 12 months of RC101 – I STILL feel like a beginner because there is so much to learn.
Thank goodness I love it, so the future years of learning will not be wasted.September 8, 2019 at 3:34 pm #30546nerdjenniParticipantThanks both! I just read and watched the content on Learning Paths and how to practice. Super helpful! I downloaded your spreadsheet and created my own practice agenda. I think it is going to make a big difference!
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