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Hi Rock Class 101 Community!
We’re back with a VERY SPECIAL site member challenge #81 AND for the 7th 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 6 years, our community came together and raised OVER $11,750 USD! Enough to donate 250 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 AMAZING Kanile’a Oha KO-2 Ukulele! This concert sized model is crafted with Hawaiian Koa wood and retails for $935 USD. It is a brand new model released in August of 2023!
I am beyond humbled to say that there has now been over 4,000+ 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 5 RC101 Lessons:
1) “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” * – A beautiful fingerstyle take on a beloved Christmas song.
* Taught in its entirety for FREE!
2) “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” – We’ve arranged this piece for a ukulele trio featuring bass and vocals. You’ll provide the musical backdrop for the singer before taking center stage for a captivating chord melody solo!
Note: If you choose this song, you MUST perform to the backing track. The backing track requires premium membership to download.
3) “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” – A playful take on a Christmas classic.
4) “Ma’oz Tzur” / “Rock of Ages” * – Learn to fingerpick and sing a beautiful Hanukkah song.
* Taught in its entirety for FREE!
Note #1: This song will sound best with Low G ukulele.
Note #2: If you choose this song, you MUST play and sing.
5) “Aura Lee” * – A beautiful melody that serves as a wonderful intro into fingerstyle playing.
* Taught in its entirety for FREE!
** 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: “Ma’oz Tzur” / “Rock of Ages” OR “Aura Lee”
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: “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” [INTERMEDIATE], “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” [ADVANCED], OR “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” [ADVANCED]
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 Friday, December 1st till Saturday, December 23rd, 11:59pm ET.
The upload feature on the site only supports photos. 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. 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 3 chances for you to win this ukulele:
First Chance: Participate in our October Challenge: RC101’s 10 Year Anniversary!
Second Chance: Participate in our November Challenge: Anime Songs!
Third Chance: Participate in our December Challenge.
Basic (free) members will receive 1 entry for each month they participate in, while Premium members will receive 2 entries. On Christmas Eve (December 24th at 12 PM ET), 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 3 entries for the prize.
Premium members can earn up to 6 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 November 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.
Grand Prize:
1) $935 Grand Prize! Includes:
A) Kanile’a KO-2 Concert Ukulele (Includes a padded case)
OUR 9 PREVIOUS KANILE’A WINNERS! WILL YOU BE NEXT?
LISTEN TO THIS SWEET UKE BEING PLAYED!
UKULELE SPECS
KO-2 Concert Ukulele
Solid Hawaiian Koa Front, Back, and Sides
Tortoise Binding on the Front and the Back
Pāua Abalone Rosette
Rosewood Fingerboard and Bridge
White Pearloid Logo and Position Marker Inlays
NuBone Nut and Saddle
Gloss FinishOther Features: Includes a padded case
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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!
Dear all, I am so happy that RC101 music school feels connected to The Ukulele Kids Club. This contributes to musical relief for children who are having such a hard time. I would like to contribute. And just donated $100. With warm and musical regards, Dirk.
The selections for December are getting me into the spirit. Love Matt’s Have yourself a Merry Christmas and the post Steven just did for this weeks lesson is perfect.
@andrew I think it’s perfect RC supports The Ukulele Club charity each year. Our chance to spread music to children.
Happy Holidays friends! 🎅🏻🎄❄️🕎Boom, babeh! First entry! 😅
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
I wanted to do another early take and, considering how tricky this one is and that I only started learning it yesterday, I am pretty pleased with it. The thumbnail is a random, okay painting of a Christmas ornament I did very recently. 😅 I didn’t want to be on camera today though so the rest of the video is just kinda blank. Hopefully the audio is tolerable if not quiet. I may still want to record another take getting this as perfect as possible since Matt created such a beautiful arrangement, I want to do it justice.
Okay, here ’tis:
The pauses are just ’cause of rubato, not because I forgot what the next part was, obviously. 😅
Ha! And I forgot about me having a complete spasm at the beginning. Please disregard that. 😂
I shall donate to the UKC charity a little later. Thank you so much! 😊🎄❤️🎀❤️🎄💚
Edit: I also just wanted to say how incredibly grateful I am to Rock Class 101, the instructors and all the wonderful students here, both groups being so talented, amazing, kind, and generous. Thank you for making this year so special to me in so many ways and for setting such a beautiful example of what a truly supportive community looks like. I have so much love for y’all, even though I may never get to meet you. So yes, thank you. ❤️
@The_Bumble_Bard – That’s incredible for one day of learning/practice, Rachael! Very beautifully played.
I really appreciate the kind words. I’m really glad you are part of our community 🙂
P.S. When you are ready to make the donation, please email me the amount so I can update our tally. TY for supporting a great charity!
@The_bumble_bard congrats 1st out of the gate. It’s such a lovely arrangement by Matt. You sound just like me when I started last week. You picked it up quickly. I mentioned to @Anndrew that RC is such a big part of my day. I agree we have a special group here. You’re a big part too. Happy holidays 🎄🕎🎅
@Andrew, thank you so much! Your encouragement really means a lot to me. I hope I can smooth it out even more and get a better sounding recording hopefully. 😅
Thank you so much for that! That seriously means a lot that you say that. 😊
I shall let you know when I donate, mayhaps tonight! 😊🎀🎄💚❤️
@leb397, thank you so much, my friend! I know, I absolutely love when Matt does arrangements like that, that involve very rubato-y interpretations. He’s so brilliant at that and with creating very beautiful chord progressions and things. I agree with that so much. Knowing people even through this site has been one of the most special creative experiences I’ve had and honestly I feel brought out musical abilities I never thought I could have, and helped achieve goals I may not have reached otherwise, like being able to create my own arrangements and things that I do for fun. That’s just so special to me, sorry to go on, but that truly is so special and I’m so grateful for that. You’re a big part of what makes this group special, too, with how encouraging you are to others. So yes, thank you. Happy Holidays to you, too! 😅❤️💚🎄🎀I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
I didn’t want a Christmas song this time, so I went with the classic Aura Lee. FINALLY, a song that didn’t take me the entire month to learn – haha. Will be out of town quite a bit with some medical procedures for my hubby coming up, so I was happy to be able to learn and record this one before we left. I looked up all the lyrics for this one and am working on singing/playing together for it. I only recorded my playing here – no vocals (you’re welcome?? haha) :-D.
Love the music therapy for kids (or patients in general) program! It’s tougher to focus on your problems when you are learning an instrument or a song.
-Natalie
@nat-uke – Beautifully played, Natalie. I hope everything goes well with your husband’s treatments. ❤️
Way to go @The_Bumble_Bard….and your painting is beautiful and festive. @nat-uke that was absolutely lovely and I agree with you whole-heartedly learning an instrument, playing a song is powerful and therapeutic. @Andrew and team…….Wow! You have created all this…..an impressive ukulele repertoire and from that an amazing supportive community has grown……That’s good therapy!
@nat-uke, that was so lovely! Beautifully played indeed! That was the first song I learned after joining RC101 and the one with which I ended up winning the electric uke, so that one will be special to me probs forevs. Agreed with @Andrew that I hope your hub’s procedures go well! 😊💕
@dianna, haha, thank you! So dumb trying to be the first to post when arguably it’s probably better to wait until I had it more refined, but I still find it funny to try sometimes. 😅😂 And thank you about the painting! I’ve done more drawing than painting but my family has started having “painting parties” so I’ve done a bit more painting now. I did one of a balloon last summer that I was pretty happy with, but I somehow lost the picture I took of it. 😅 Thank you though! 😊Thanks very much @andrew ! 🥰
Thanks much @dianna 🥰 – what a great group of folks here!
Thanks @The_Bumble_Bard – I can understand why the Aura Lee song would always be special to you for sure. 🎸 I have recently started recording myself for fun when I first start learning a song. As I progress, I think – “yuck, not getting too far with this!”, but then when I go back and watch an early days recording I can readjust my perspective and see hey ya, much better, there is progress! It’s a great motivator for me to use to compare myself on a song. 📈
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