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Hi Rock Class 101 Community!
We’re back with a VERY SPECIAL site member challenge #69 AND for the 6th year in a row, we’re teaming up with The Ukulele Kids Club. They are a charity that is doing amazing things! Their mission is to harness the healing power of music by supporting music therapy programs and gifting ukuleles to hospital-based music therapy programs so that children in need can be sent home with the gift of music for life.
Over the last 5 years, our community came together and raised OVER $9,500 USD! Enough to donate 190 ukuleles to children in need. This year, we’re doing it again! Here’s how it will work:
I will be donating $7 for each entry that comes in this month, up to $500. So that means, our participation goal for this month is 72 members.
I also want to go a step further and ask that if you have the means available to please make a donation. Any amount helps, but our community is LARGER and STRONGER than the previous years and I believe we can help bring a smile to A LOT of kids! Our donation goal for this year is to raise $2,000 USD for the charity! That would be enough money to purchase 40 ukuleles at $50 a piece. If you do donate, please let me know. When you submit your audio or video performance, please leave a message saying that you did. 🙂 Or, if you wish to remain anonymous, please email me.
You can donate directly on their site: https://theukc.org/donations/. This donation page supports U.S. Hospitals. If you live in Canada, U.K., Japan, Mexico, France, Dominican Republic, or Taiwan please contact them for further instructions on how to donate to a specific region: [email protected].
Here is a short video which dives deeper into some of the great work The Ukulele Kids Club is doing 🙂
We’re teaming up with Kanile’a ‘Ukulele and Uke Republic to give away an INCREDIBLE Kanile’a 2021 Platinum Ukulele! This tenor sized model is crafted with Master Grade Koa wood and retails for $6,000 USD.
I am beyond humbled to say that there has now been over 3,700+ members participating in our challenges! AMAZING! If you’ve sat on the sidelines, please join us for this month’s challenge! Challenges are a fun way to stay motivated and a great way to meet fellow ukulele players who are passionate about learning and becoming better players. And I offer feedback on ALL submissions! 🙂
Please watch the video above and read instructions below carefully for details/instructions on this month’s challenge.
Pick 1 from the following 6 RC101 Lessons:
1) “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” * – A beautiful fingerstyle take on a classic Christmas carol.
* Taught in its entirety for FREE!
2) “Waltz of the Flowers” from The Nutcracker * – Learn an excerpt covering some of Tchaikovsky’s most beloved melodies.
* Taught in its entirety for FREE!
3) “March” & “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” from The Nutcracker * – A cheerful mini-medley that’s perfect for the seasoned intermediate fingerstyle player.
* Taught in its entirety for FREE!
Note: Requires Low G ukulele.
4) “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey * – Learn to strum and sing a Christmas classic!
* Taught in its entirety for FREE!
Note: If you choose this song, you MUST sing and strum. Performing to the backing track is OPTIONAL. You can use High or Low G ukulele to perform this song.
5) “I Have a Little Dreidel” * – A Hanukkah classic, this tune features two melodies set to an upbeat tempo.
* Taught in its entirety for FREE!
6) “Chopsticks” – The iconic piano duet arranged for solo ukulele!
** If you need assistance with how to record yourself check out our FREE course on recording audio/video and/or private message me and I will be happy to help you out. **
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GOALS FOR MEMBER CHALLENGE:
1. Beginner Level: Be able to play one of the lessons as shown by Andrew smoothly and in time. Don’t worry about trying to play fast; slow and steady wins the race 🙂
Recommended Piece: “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”, “All I Want for Christmas is You”, OR “Chopsticks”
2. Intermediate to Advanced Level: Be able to play the lesson as shown by Andrew smoothly, in time, and at/or close to the original piece’s tempo.
Recommended Piece: “Waltz of the Flowers” [ADVANCED], “March” & “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” [INTERMEDIATE], OR “I Have a Little Dreidel” [INTERMEDIATE]
3. Participation Goal: 72 Rock Class 101 Member Participant Videos/MP3 posted.
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GROUND RULES FOR PARTICIPATION:
1. Post your Youtube, Vimeo, or Soundcloud links of you playing 1 of the 6 RC101 pieces anytime between Thursday, December 1st till Friday, December 23rd, 11:59pm EST.
The upload feature on the site does not support audio or video. Members must host their own files. Creating an account is easy and free 🙂 Here are the links to create an account:
YouTube (For Video) – https://www.youtube.com/create_channel
SoundCloud (For Audio) – https://soundcloud.com/signin
2. Submit individually, as a reply, IN THIS POST.
3. Feel free to submit more than one video for the challenge, but additional videos will not count as extra entries into the raffle for the prize.
4. Have fun and don’t be intimidated by this challenge!!! Use this challenge to help you set goals and complete them by a deadline. You can also use this as an opportunity to chat with your fellow Rock Class 101 members and share tips or tricks on this challenge that you think are useful.
5. You must perform the entire piece to receive an entry into the prize raffle. Your performance must be submitted by the deadline listed (in #1) above to gain an entry in the raffle, as well as, to receive feedback.
* Note: In my opinion, it is better to show progress versus perfection with these challenges. So if you are a beginner and can only play the first couple of measures. That is completely ok. If you play two more measures of the next challenge piece than you did the previous one, you are on track to getting better. This is what these challenges are about… you learning ukulele and getting better. Remember we are all here to support you no matter what your current playing level is.
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COMMON FAQs:
1) The prize and the challenge is open to the entire world!
2) Premium membership is NOT required to participate, but will make participation easier as it gains you complete access to the full video lessons, tabs, and the on-screen tab viewer.
3) Basic membership (free) is required to submit a reply on this forum post. You can sign up for Basic Membership HERE.
4) To post YouTube video links (in which they appear embedded on the forum), simply copy and past the video URL in its own line. For example:
YouTube URL
5) If you live in the Continental U.S., we will ship the giveaway ukulele to you for FREE! If you live outside of the Continental U.S., there will be a shipping fee ranging between $40 USD to $80 USD (as this ukulele is very expensive, shipping costs may exceed this amount. It will be shipped insured). This fee will be collected by Uke Republic. You are also responsible for any custom fees or duties.
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Giveaway Rules:
There will be 6 chances for you to win this ukulele:
SPRING CHALLENGES:
First Chance: Participate in our April Challenge: Classical Songs!
Second Chance: Participate in our May Challenge: Beatles Songs!
Third Chance: Participate in our June Challenge: A Night at the Opera!
FALL CHALLENGES:
Fourth Chance: Participate in our October Challenge: Halloween Themed!
Fifth Chance: Participate in our November Challenge: Video Game Songs!
Sixth Chance: Participate in our December Challenge: Holiday Songs!
Basic (free) members will receive 1 entry for each month they participate in, while Premium members will receive 2 entries.
On July 4th at 12pm EST, I went live on our YouTube channel to pick 1 member by random drawing that was AWARDED 10 EXTRA ENTRIES. The lucky winner was @brettboy. This event marked the end of our Spring Challenges (April, May, June).
We took a break for July, August, and September. But now we’re back and you’ll have 3 more chances to win in our Fall Challenges (October, November, December).
On Christmas Eve (December 24th at 12 PM EST), I will be live streaming on our YouTube channel, picking 1 member by random drawing that will WIN this AMAZING Kanile’a Ukulele!
To qualify to win, you must submit your audio and/or video links of your playing by the deadline listed above.
Basic members can earn up to 6 entries for the prize.
Premium members can earn up to 12 entries for the prize.
You must have an “active” premium membership at the time you submit your performance. Active membership means that your membership HAS NOT expired. This does not mean that you cannot cancel auto re-bills. If you sign up for monthly membership (valid for 30 days) on the 15th of December and cancel your membership the same day, then submit your performance on the 16th (the next day), you are still considered an “active” premium member. The same concept applies for annual membership or gift card membership (3 or 6 month membership).
YOU MUST WRITE “I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER” ON YOUR PERFORMANCE SUBMITTAL POST. Please write this phrase in its own line. For example:
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
I will only award 2 entries to premium members that write this line. It would be too time consuming to check if everyone who submits is a premium member. If you do not write this, you WILL NOT receive 2 entries.
PRIZE COLLECTION & PAST WINNERS: The winner of this year’s Kanile’a will have until March 1st, 2023 to claim and collect their prize. If they do not, another winner will be selected by random drawing on March 2nd, 2023. Previous Kanile’a winners are more than welcome to participate, but will not receive an entry for the prize.
Grand Prize:
1) $6,000 Grand Prize! Includes:
A) 2021 Kanile’a Platinum Model Ukulele (Includes: a hard case by Stagg)
OUR 6 PREVIOUS KANILE’A WINNERS! WILL YOU BE NEXT?
LISTEN TO THIS SWEET UKE BEING PLAYED!
LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW THIS UKULELE WAS CRAFTED
UKULELE SPECS
Kanile’a Original, TRU-Relief Tenor Body
Master Grade Front, Back, and Sides
TRU Bracing V3
Mass Reduction Interior
Magnetic Back Access Panel
Ebony Radiused Fingerboard, Ebony Bridge, and Ebony Head Plate
Platinum Crown Slotted Headstock
Gotoh Stealth Gold Tuners with Kanile’a Knobs
Ebony Bridge Pins
NuBone Nut and Saddle
Gloss Body, Silk Neck Finish
Ebony Side Position Markers
Curly Koa Headplate Inlay
Curly Koa Leaf Position Markers Inlay on Fingerboard in Koa
Curly Koa Leaf Inlay on the Bridge
Koa Leaf Sound Hole with Curly Maple Trim
Koa Leaf Side Sound Port with Maple Trim
Curly Maple Front and Back Binding
Curly Maple Fretboard Binding
Curly Maple Head-Stock Binding
Curly Maple Back Strip
Curly Maple Tail Strip
Curly Maple Bevel
Curly Maple Heel Cap
Worth Clear Strings with Wound Low GOther Features: Includes a hard case by Stagg
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THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS!
Kanile’a: https://www.kanileaukulele.com/
Uke Republic: http://www.ukerepublic.com/
AND A SPECIAL THANKS TO YOU! Let’s crush this challenge!
Thank you for promoting the Ukulele Kids Club again. German folks (others welcome as well of course): I you donate to the Ukulele Kids Club and enter “Germany” in the comment of the payment, children in Dortmund hospital will benefit from your gift. The music therapist regularly gives me feedback how happy the kids are.
Bringing you in a little bit of Christmas mood for tomorrow’s new session:
I learned it without a tutorial last year, so please forgive all my mistakes.(That’s of course no challenge entry yet – but I promise already now, I won’t be singing…)
Best wishes,
AndreaPREMIUM MEMBER, $100 to the UKC.
Thank you, Andrew, for an amazing year of music. I’ve played pop, classical, movie theme music and your original compositions on just about every uke I own — and even my electric guitar! You and your team are so incredibly talented; ’tis a pleasure to learn from you all. Happy holidays to you and everyone here!
@deadbuggy – Thank you so much for your generous donation, Sara! And wow, your performance was 🔥🔥🔥
I also really appreciate the kind words! We’re humbled to be a part of your musical journey 🙂
Amazing performance @deadbuggy
To reiterate deadbuggy’s words. I would also like to thank Andrew and Co for an amazing year of music!
Now I don’t know what other resources are available thoughout the Internet but if I were to pick a website to progress in my ukulele journey it’ll always be Rockclass101.
The courses can easily help one progress rapidly, though I chose to go at my own pace as I’m also simultaneously learning the Violin. But really, thanks for all the love and effort you guys put into these courses and weekly song lessons/monthly live etc. This community deserves to keep growing!
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
@ukandrea, that was so dang good! I love that the uke has a hat! 😅
@deadbuggy, that was so, so good! I am in actual awe, madam!I wanted to try to tackle one of them Nutcrackers but that may be more of a “Christmas in July” experience for me. 😅 They’re pretty daunting.
Instead I tried God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen–also daunting, but possible–and thought I would share an especially imperfect take. I will still work on it and try to perfect it (and hopefully can post an update later) but here’s where it is right now. Sorry that it’s an oppressively quiet recording. I scored a new mic on Cyber Monday, so hopefully that’ll help with that, lol.
Just to clarify, I said, “oh shoot” midway through the video and “eesh” at the end. Didn’t want that to be misconstrued…
I know I have brought this up often, but I’m so, so, SO grateful for the people of this community and especially for the instructors here who are so gracious, inspiring, and helpful. Joining here has completely transformed my view of playing ukulele and taken my abilities from playing basic chords to playing flippin’ Lacrimosa (at an okay level 😂) in a relatively short time. I’ve learned so much, and will be forever grateful to the people here.
Happy Holidays to all y’all! 🎄🎀💚❤️🎄🎀💚
@The_Bumble_Bard – Beautifully played and I like the fingerpicked variation you added 🙂
My only suggestion is to slow the tempo as you continue to practice. That will make it much easier to focus on transitions and keeping it steady.
And TY so much for the kind words! I really appreciate it!
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER.
I made a donation to the uke kids club.I’m mostly a ukulele strummer (sort of guitar substitute) and I love RC101 for getting me to read music and try all sorts of things. You do a great job.
I’m leaving on a “working” vacation shortly so I chose Chopsticks so I’d have time. So here’s what I have and happy holidays to all.
Jerry
The fact that Chopsticks was included as an option for this challenge amuses me too much. 😅 A ubiquitous tune on pianos, maybe soon it’ll be uke-biquitous. Good jorb on that, @gstriph! 😊
@Andrew, thank you so much for that kind feedback! And thank you for saying you liked the variation. I am more used to randomly adding fingerpicking to songs than making difficult chord changes, so hopefully if I slow down, like you said, and get that part right the rest will fall into place. Thank you kindly! 😊I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER.
Hello,
it’s my participation for the monthly challenge. I’m not comfortable to play with the thumb, so this song it’s a good exercice for me.It’s the last chalenge, for this year. SO i I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the rock class team. I started the uku 2 years ago, it’s my first instrument and I don’t think I would have persevered as much without you.
And thanks the members, I do not post much on the forums but I enjoy reading / listening to your posts and I particularly appreciate the benevolence that reigns there.Passez des bonnes fêtes !
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER.
And I made a donation to the ukulele kids club, great cause!
Here is my entry for this month, merry christmas to all, see you on the 24th!
Sam
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
Everyone is off to a great start! @the_bumble_bard, love that you are showing your progress and shared the “goofs” we all try so hard to hide and STILL it was good. It’s a hard piece and think @andrew should list it as advanced (ha ha).
I chose God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and got a head start in November with LOTs of practice. Memorizing this was probably the hardest I’ve done and strumming with thumb may seem easy but to make is sound decent … it wasn’t. Anyway – kudos to the song choices for December and thank you @Matt for this arrangement and I might even work on @Steven “Nutcracker” arrangement if I get time. 🙂
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