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@ukule_lise that was great playing and great singing – bravo! Happy Holidays!
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I had to go for the classic Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer for this month. I do still want to work on Last Christmas but oof…that’ll take a bit to get down. Like, maybe if I start now, it will be ready for Christmas next year 🙂 Still, I love this arrangement and it is so much fun to play!
Oh, and I made a donation as well!
@bethany_guardiani: Bethany, really nice job! Beautiful uke and I love your light-up earrings!
Jane
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Hi everyone!
This is my contribution for the December challenge. I loved practicing ‘My favorite things’- thank you for the great tabs!!!
Have a nice Christmas everyone, stay healthy and keep playing the uke 😉Best,
MarlieReally enjoying listening to what everyone has done! Also, a big thank you to Andrew for promoting the Ukulele Kids Club Charity and inspiring me to make a donation – I had not heard of this charity before and love what they are doing.
@Andrew – thanks so much for your great feedback. I totally get what you mean and I appreciate it!
@robinboyd Most definitely interested in a video like that. Thx.
Here’s everyone on page 6:
ukandrea – Great job Andrea! I think you’ve done really well with this one. There are a lot of measures to learn and it is quite a challenging piece to play. Your artificial harmonics are ringing out really well but one tip to help keep the rhythm flowing a bit more smoothly for that section is to move your right hand away from the sound hole towards where the body meets the neck. If you play the whole instrumental section in that area then your hand will be in the correct position for playing the harmonics so you can play them a bit quicker. Keep up the great work 😊
jbmills07 – Excellently done! You use of rubato, especially towards the end of the intro was great and your sense of rhythm all the way through is excellent. At one point your cats were even wagging their tails in time! Your technique of thumb strumming and fingerpicking sounds really well balanced too. Great work!
ukandoit – Brilliant work! You played some of those tricky chord voicings really well. The whole thing sounded really smooth and flowed wonderfully. I like your right-hand technique too. It gives a really cool percussive sound to your playing in places. One tip to really emphasise that waltz feel would be to try and accent beat 1 of each measure a little more. Great work overall though! 😊
rickeymike – LOVED the video editing and all the effects! Made it so much more than just a ukulele performance 😊 I like how well you pick out the melody notes so clearly while playing those filler notes that bit quieter. Just be careful with that Em chord in the intro. It sounds like you’re playing the C string at the third fret instead of the fourth fret.
clempek – Great work! That sounded really good. Great fingerpicking technique and good steady rhythm throughout. One tip to add a bit more expression would be to try and play the intro with a little more rubato. Keep up the great work though!
terryfallon3 – Well done for challenging yourself with a difficult piece. I had a go at this one and some of those chord voicings are pretty tricky. However, don’t always feel the need to push yourself. Sometimes learning a simpler piece but then playing it really well and making it your own can be more rewarding than playing harder pieces.
Thank you so much for your generous donation too! 😊gstriph – Good job Jerry, the melody comes through loud and clear in your performance. Your thumb strums sound really good too. Perhaps a little more rubato in that intro? Just be careful of the timing on the first two bars of the intro. If you listen to Matt’s version then listen to yours again, you’ll hear the difference. Great work overall though!
karenj – I think that sounded really good Karen. If that’s you playing tensed up and frozen, I’d love to hear you when you’re not recording! Seriously, you can’t tell at all from your performance. It flowed really nicely and sounded great and I loved your little addition at the end 😊 Just lovely!
dividedsky – Wonderful stuff! Great use of rubato in the intro and great playing throughout. Good steady rhythm and really clear melody. You clearly really enjoyed playing that one too 😊 Great work!
dennisdickens – Great work! Love your thumb only technique. It sounded really good. I liked the addition of those strums between the intro and the verse too.
nelsonlin2021 – Congratulations on entering your first challenge. I suspect it will be the first of many! I think that sounded really good. Keep it up 😊
strlee – Wow! 6 years old! I think we have the next ukulele superstar in the making! Wonderful performance and I really liked the swing feel. It really elevated the performance and made it unique. Keep up the amazing work!
lynnzo – Good job! Some of the melody notes don’t quite come through due to playing in low g but I really liked the bass line walk-up you added between the intro and verse, as well as that cool little lick at the end! 😊
As for recording stage fright I still haven’t really found the answer other than just to do more of it! The more you play in front of camera the more you start to ignore that it’s there. Try to record yourself practicing in between monthly challenges – not for any reason other than to get used to doing it. Also make sure you are playing in a comfortable place and a comfortable position. Then set the camera up there. Don’t try to set the camera up first and force yourself to fit on screen.
I’m sure others will have tips too but I hope that helps a little.Here’s everyone on page 7:
robinl – Great work! Lovely use of rubato in the intro and the whole thing sounded wonderful. I like the swing feel you gave it too 😊
kpurdy – I think this is coming along really nicely. Memorising takes time but it definitely helps in the long run so stick with it. I think you’re nearly there with this one – just a little more practice and you’ll have it down. One tip when playing this piece is to try and play those non-melody filler notes a little more gently so they are not as loud. This will help isolate the melody and elevate your performance.
Thank you so much for your generous donation too 😊mademoiselleannette – Great job! A really confident and relaxed performance. Your playing sounded great – I really enjoyed it 😊
robinboyd – Amazing stuff! This was a really accomplished performance, as always. Your fingerpicking/strumming technique looks so natural and relaxed and those harmonics were popping! I think a video documenting your learning process would be really interesting and definitely very useful for other members. Great idea 😊
xavierrahfael – Really good job Rahfael. There is a lot to learn in this piece and you have done well to memorise it. I think this is a very difficult piece to play standing up whilst supporting the ukulele, especially those harmonics. Have you though of playing with a strap? Just to make things easier for you! Oh, and I loved the MJ hat flip – super cool! 😊
zongozongo – I think this is coming along nicely, especially given the limited practice time. Well done for challenging yourself with the optional intro and outro too. There’s nothing wrong with what you’re doing. It’s just a matter of practice. Great work!
seoulkim – Really good job! The rhythm in this arrangement can be quite tricky in places but your sense of rhythm and timing throughout is really good so well done for that. One tip to help that instrumental section flow a bit more smoothly is to move your right hand away from the sound hole towards where the body meets the neck. If you play the whole instrumental section in that area then your hand will be in the correct position for playing the harmonics so you can play them without those slight pauses. Keep up the great work though! 😊
ajk101 – Good job! I think it sounded great on baritone and well done for re-arranging it so those open G string melody notes weren’t lost. One tip to help elevate your performance is to try and play those non-melody filler notes a little more gently so they are not quite as loud. This will help isolate the melody a bit more. Looking forward to seeing your full video submissions in the future! 😊
evapaju – I think that sounded lovely! Playing and singing at the same time is a unique skill all in itself and I take my hat off to anyone that can do it! There’s nothing wrong with transposing a piece to make it suit your vocal range either. I imagine this was due to the fact you were recording yourself but I thought you could perhaps slow it down just a little to give it a bit more of a laid back, jazzy vibe. Great work though! 😊
johanna2509 – Yes, we all know how frustrating it is to be able to play a piece all the way through and then fall apart under the pressure of recording! I think that sounded great overall though and those harmonics in the instrumental section sounded incredible – great technique!
ukule_lise – Lovely performance! I wouldn’t say it needed a lot more practice at all. There are some very tricky chords in that bridge section and I could see you concentrating a little more on a couple of those difficult transitions but you made them and the whole thing sounded wonderful, especially your beautiful voice! Keep up the great work 😊
@ajk101 – Thank you so much for the donation! Please send me an email with the amount so I can update our tally 🙂
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Well, December is such a rush – and cut short by 8 days because of Andrew’s deadline!
Nevertheless, after practicing all day, I’ve finally got a submission of “What are you Doing”. Great arrangement by Rebecca. First time I’ve attempted to sing in public for, well, a long time. I’m now looking for a choir to join… any suggestions?
Loved all the options this month, but only got as far as the first verse on Last Christmas (great version Steven, but I just cant get those harmonics).
Thanks @Rickeymike, @gi_gi_, and @Steven. I’ll try to get my act together and do a documentary video next time I participate.
Thank you @Steven for feedback, totally agree with it! Also thank you for Tarrega´s Etude in E-minor arrangement from November Challenge, I´m still playing it nearly every day. Merry Christmas!
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