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Hi Rock Class 101 Community!
We’re back with a VERY SPECIAL site member challenge #93 AND for the 8th 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 past 7 years, our community has come together to raise over $14,000 USD! Your generous support allowed us to donate 280 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 KTR Ukulele! This tenor sized model is crafted with Hawaiian Koa wood and retails for $3,100 USD. It is a brand new model released in February of 2024!
I am beyond humbled to say that there has now been over 4,500+ 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) “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” – Learn to strum and sing a jazzy take on this Christmas classic. This piece is ideal for advanced players ready to tackle a challenging arrangement with complex chord work.
Note: If you choose this song, you MUST play and sing. Performing with the bass backing track is OPTIONAL.
2) “O Come, All Ye Faithful” * – A beautiful fingerstyle rendition of a classic Christmas carol.
* Taught in its entirety for FREE!
3) “Feliz Navidad” – A fun take on a Christmas classic!
Note: This song requires Low G ukulele.
4) “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” – Rock out with the band in this classic Christmas tune!
Note: If you choose this song, you MUST perform with the backing track. The backing track requires premium membership to download.
5) “Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah” * – This traditional Hanukkah song can be played at a quick or slow tempo. Both sound equally great!
* Taught in its entirety for FREE!
Note: This song requires Low G ukulele.
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: “O Come, All Ye Faithful” 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: “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” [ADVANCED], “Feliz Navidad” [INTERMEDIATE], “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” [ADVANCED], “Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah” [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 Sunday, December 1st till Friday, December 20th, 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:
ALL ENTRIES SUBMITTED IN THE SPRING CHALLENGE (APRIL, MAY, JUNE) WILL COUNT TOWARDS THE FALL PRIZE. IN ADDITION TO THOSE ENTIRES, THERE WILL BE 3 CHANCES FOR YOU TO WIN THIS UKULELE:
First Chance: Participate in our October Challenge: Halloween Songs!
Second Chance: Participate in our November Challenge: Fingerpicking Etudes!
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), a video announcing the winner will premiere our YouTube channel. One winner will be selected by random drawing to 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 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.
Grand Prize:
1) $3,100 Grand Prize! Includes:
A) Kanile’a KTR Tenor Ukulele (New Model for 2024)
OUR 10 PREVIOUS KANILE’A WINNERS! WILL YOU BE NEXT?
LISTEN TO THIS SWEET UKE BEING PLAYED!
UKULELE SPECS
Tenor Scale
Solid Hawaiian Koa Front, Back, and Sides
Kirinite Rosette
Black Front Binding
TRU-Relief with TRU-Reduction
Phoenix Slotted Headstock
Ebony Fingerboard, Bridge and Headplate
Kirinite Thin Diamond Position Markers and Logo
Graphite Infused Black TUSQ Nut and Saddle
UV Cured High Gloss Body
UV Cured Silk Neck
Gotoh Stealth Tuners Black
Kanile’a Exclusive Radiused Back
Kanile’a Exclusive Ebony Bridge Pins
Kanile’a Exclusive TRU-R Bracing System
Made in HawaiiOther Features: Includes a premium Kanile’a carrying 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!
Great selection @andrew! Also a super opportunity to support the Ukulele Kids Club. Happy holidays and strumming friends.
PS short month for entries…PREMIUM MEMBER
A beautifully elegant rendition of O Come O Ye Faithful. Thanks @Matt and happy holidays everyone.
The Ukulele Kids Club is a wonderful charity. I have donated $20 @Andrew
Wow, Marianne! What a beautiful performance to kick off our December challenge. And TY so much for your generosity! It’s truly appreciated 🙂
@marianne – beautiful performance!
Great way to start off the challenge
With this entry! You’ve obviously learned this song before, or you may just be that good to learn it in a couple days! 🥰 This is my song choice as well but I will be traveling and I wanted to bring a low G Uke along. Matt’s arrangement is in high G. It looks like you did a low G version…. Correct? Or you are playing a baritone which is low D?
@andrew – it looks pretty simple to make the alterations, right???
-MJMJ, Marianne’s playing it on baritone. It’s pretty easy to adapt to bari or low G. All you have to do is move the open 4th string notes to the 3rd fret on string 2.
@andrew -awesome! That’s what I thought. BTW I have a recurring donation set in the middle of December for UKC! $50. I love that organization! I’m leaving on my cruise on 12/5 so I will try to post from the ship when in Australia.
The sounds great on the baritone, I’m taking my koaloha Opio concert uke on the trip.@Andrew — this is NOT my entry, just practice.
I wanted try this song on the Baritone with the Tenor Octave strings. It will sound very pretty on this instrument but I’ll have to do my official entry on a concert uke.
🥰MJ
Hey everyone! 🎄✨
December is here, and so is my entry for this month’s challenge! I’ve chosen a classic to get into the holiday spirit: O Come, All Ye Faithful. It’s not perfect yet—still need to practice it more—but I tweaked it a little to incorporate open strings, and I’m loving how it sounds on the ukulele.
Also, shoutout to Marianne for that great baritone rendition! 🎶 Next year, I’ll finally have my first baritone ukulele, and your video has me so excited to try it out as soon as it’s in my hands!
I’m also planning to tackle Evan’s arrangement of this piece soon, but I know that will be a big challenge. Wish me luck! 🤞
Hope it brings some festive cheer your way! Happy holidays to all! 🎁✨
(Proud premium member checking in 😉)
@maryjanew – Sounding awesome already MJ!
@emiliano – A beautiful adaptation Emiliano! Well done and played!@emiliano
Sounds great Emiliano! Did you have a backing track? Your uke sounds great plugged in also!I also picked O Come, All Ye Faithful. @emiliano, your take was so dang beautiful, but gull dang it, I was going to do something really similar! 😂😉 You’re just so quick ‘n’ skillful! I already have my version done, I just have to record it. I actually think it’s pretty crazy how alike what we came up with is but I think I have a couple of different “turns” and also I think that the repeating notes between the melody are on different strings. Maybe you’d be able to tell more. I’m sorry I’m bad at describing the technical terms for those things… Nonetheless, a very, very beautiful take! And please don’t take that the wrong way, I just think it’s funny and crazy. You’re a great uke player! 😊💚🎀🎄
@marianne, gorgeous as always! You always play so majestically and with such feeling. 😊💚
@maryjanew, really lovely already so far!! 😊🎄🎀💚🦃🎩🎂🥐🥧❄️🥔🎈 You get extra emojis !Hoping to share my take later today!! Off to a very lovely early start this month!! 😊
thanks @Andrew, @maryjanew, @Emiliano and @The_Bumble_Bard! 😊
@maryjanew, sorry did not get the notification in time! but as Andrew said, an easy adaptation. Let me know if you have any questions relating to a specific measure! your start is lovely! look forward to hearing the whole thing.
@emiliano, funny I also practiced it as a build up whereby round one is as written and round 2 introduces the chords as arpeggio, etc. Just did not have time to record the double version. Your take sounds lovely! Excited to hear it on the baritone when you have it.
@The_Bumble_Bard, look forward to your take!I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
Okay, here is my take on O Come, All Ye Faithful! I actually did get to record it today. I am pretty happy with the “bones” of it, as completely based on Matt’s lovely arrangement, but I think I was rushing through this version because I was nervous and also don’t have it perfectly memorized so I kept forgetting what to do next, lol. @Marianne, I had the exact same thought! Starting with Matt’s OG arrangment, then moving into the modified version I came up with. I still would love to hear your altered version; I’m sure everyone would. 😊
@emiliano, I’ll have to listen to your take again and compare it to mine because now I’m curious how similar they actually are, lol. I feel like there are some definite overlaps. 😂I’m going to get a bit emotional / sappy for a minute though, since it’s the holidays, lol. I just want to say that I love this community of people and knowing all y’all and seeing all your incredible music is so inspiring and has brought so much joy to my life over the last couple of years. Such incredible students who really are all musicians in their own right – so creative, talented, encouraging, kind. And anyone I’ve interacted with here, some who I’ve gotten to talk with quite a bit, I would count as friends, but everyone here is lovely.
And to the teachers here: An absolutely brilliant, kind, encouraging, and inspiring lot. We owe this community, and all this great music, to y’all. Also, you’re hilarious. That’s why I keep coming back for more. 😂
Thank you all so much for all you share and Happy Holidays to all! 😊❤️
I will make a donation to the Ukulele Kids Club, but itsa gonna be “secret.” So there. 😉
Okay, here’s my entry:
Oh, and I might come back later if I have time, once I’ve smoothed it out, for another take, but we’ll see how things go. 😂
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