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Hi Everyone,
Here is my song for the Feb. challenge. I’m playing Greensleeves. I found that it was difficult to figure what the best fingering would be when learning to play the song with the sheet music. I also wanted to add chords but wasn’t sure when and what chords to play. So, here it is, without any chords.
Very cool Ukuleleloo. I had the same idea to add some chords to the song i played, but wasn’t sure what and when and didn’t have enough time time to work on that.
nthibode – Wonderful job! Very well played, lyrical, and great technique! The only thing I would say is that the notes on the low G string should be played a little bit louder in comparison so they can be heard. I hope you are having fun playing Bourrée! Have you tried playing using the picado technique rather than with the thumb? Thank you for entering the challenge!
stinyuke – Both parts sound great! I love that you look at the camera at the end on both videos in unison! I liked that you used the index and middle finger to pluck the melody. Your left hand on the melody looks like there’s a bend in your wrist in a way that might lead to injury after long playing sessions, while your left hand position looks great on the harmony video. Try to keep that form even when playing the melody. Great job again! Thanks for your submission.
edward – You played this with a very even tempo, and played it very well! There’s one tiny thing that you missed: The key signature ( b symbol between the treble clef and the time signature) is noting that every B in the piece is actually a “B flat”. This means to play the first fret on the A string rather than the 2nd fret. It’s really easy to overlook, but it lets me know that you were reading and not using tabs…and you are doing great on the reading! Review this lesson in the course. Then try playing the whole melody as smoothly as possible, leaving almost no gaps between the notes. Great work! Thanks for being part of the challenge!
mannyortiz31 – Sounds good, but unfortunately, this challenge was only for the single note melody from the reading course. If you have questions about the rules, please message Andrew. Thanks!
mariainct – Congrats on the new strap! I love that you posted this with the metronome. It’s nice to be able to measure your improvements in timing against a click track. You are doing well, it just takes time to get better at playing right with the tempo. You seem to play ahead of the beat most of the time, so I would recommend trying to play behind the beat on purpose to see if you can do it, then get to where you can split the difference to play right with the clicks. The notes sound great, and I can tell that you understand the rhythm. Thank you for joining the challenge!
hotmilktea – Very well played! I love how smooth and lyrical you are playing this. The rhythm is spot on. Great use of picado as well. I’m glad you enjoyed working on this song! Thank you for your entry!
rickeymike – The intro cracked me up…did you really try to play it backwards? I also like your one syllable verbalization of “B flat.” You are starting to get the hang of reading, and now you can go back and use the fingers to pluck! I would recommend on focusing on only one part of it each time you play: focus more on the rhythm one time, more on what fingers you are plucking with on the next play through. Keep it up! Thanks for entering all of these challenges!
tif_tif – Great job! I like that you incorporated the picado technique! You are well on your way, and did great on this challenge! I think you chopped the first note off on editing this video, but I’m certain you played it well, too 🙂 Thanks for your submission.
ukukelley1 – You played this one very well! That rhythm is not simple, but you got it right as well as the notes! My only recommendation would be to use alternating index and middle fingers when you have several notes on one string to play smoothly and lyrically. Thank you for joining the challenge!
Thanks a lot for the feedback Stephen! Yeah my left hand really feels a bit sore after playing for a long time so I will pay attention to proper left hand form.
Thanks for the feedback, Stephen! I will keep that in mind to play the low G notes louder. I am slowly but surely working on Bourrée, and yes, learning the picado technique. A fun challenge!
Stephen, thanks. And yes, I read it backwards so I wouldn’t get used to reading it forward and start memorizing as an unwanted consequence….best method I could come up with without having flash cards. Ha.
I found this out early when I unconsciously memorized AABCCBAG…LOL.Oh, and the one syllable verbalization of Bflat is the reason I’m going to have a lot of trouble with this month’s voice challenge. I seem to need a syllable with each note in order to “sing & play” at the same time. ha.
karenj – something tells me you’re going to like this week’s lesson. 😉 Sorry to hear about your finger, so no worries with using thumb. Performance sounds great, the one area that you want to work on is practicing with the metronome. For example, when you go from bar 4 to 5, the first note comes in on beat 2. So you were late in this section.
I previously left advice (on page seven), talking about how it’s good to tap your foot alongside the metronome. Give that a shot as you practice. The click is our best friend for staying in time.
gardn_gnome – great job, Kim! Timing and note clarity sounds fantastic. Very well done! Give the picado technique a shot, that’s the next step I would work on for you.
sprintingyogini – bummer to hear about the mic issues, I hope you get it figured out for the next video. 🙂 so brilliant job overall, it’s pretty clear to hear that you put a lot of practice in. So only a couple things stood out to me:
1) I’d recommend moving your right hand back a little bit, so you are not picking over the fretboard. Here are two positions for placement we recommend.
2) Your timing was super solid overall. Just a couple areas you want to focus on, primarily the breaks. For example, bar 12 – the first hit should last for three beats, and you came in early (25 sec in video).
robinboyd – hey Robin, glad you found a little time to participate. No worries on the changes, it sounded good overall! So when you were counting, sometimes you slow down a little bit. Try to count and tap alongside a metronome. The click never deviates, so it will help keep you steady.
wongbrown – perfect on the melody, spot-on timing! Super well done 🙂 for the harmony, your chord form looks great in the left hand. That’s the big thing, so great job there. So what you need to work on is just simplifying it. Practice just one chord to the next, instead of trying to tackle everything. Since you have the form down, focus on note clarity.
andracass – great job, MT! What I would focus on is timing. I want you to work on 4 or 8 bars at a time. Focus on keeping the timing steady as you play along to the metronome.
benjamin – way to go, ben! Love that you read it. 🙂 So my advice to you would actually be the same as the advice I left right above for, andracass. Keep up the great work!
Thank you very much, Andrew. I’ll work on practicing one chord to the next as advised. Cheers, Sheila
@Stephen, thank you for your feedback!
I am looking forward to your announcement but I am not sure when it is. could you help? 🙂Thanks.
We had 38 members participate this month! And I’ve got to give a BIG props to each of you. Learning to read standard notation is not easy, it takes a lot of determination and practice. So a big round of applause to each of you 🙂
So without further ado, the winner of this month challenge is:
Our March Challenge is LIVE and theme is IRISH SONGS. Hope to see all of you in the new challenge: https://rockclass101.com/march-2019-challenge.
Last but not least, I’ve left the last of the feedback below.
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augustbrz – great job and that’s so cool that you teach kids. I taught private lessons for many years and really miss it 🙂 First off, love that you read it. What I would work on next is using the Picado technique and playing alongside the metronome, just to smooth your timing out a little bit more.
awiealissa – awesome job, your goal is the big take away from this month’s challenge, which is learning to read music. So major props there! Where I would focus your practice on is timing, specifically the long sustains. For example, bar 4 is a whole note. You cut that short and came in with bar five early. A great way to not rush the long sustains is to count, either out loud or in your head, right when you hit the note (1 2 3 4).
annefgodfrey – wow, way to go! I’m super impressed with you, reading the music and getting the hardest tune down in a month, amazing! With a little more practice, you’ll have that last section smooth. Keep up the great work!
bklynsoul – love it, wonderfully done! Timing is great and for those reading this feedback; she played with a metronome that has a different chime for beat one. This is what I suggest to use, because you always know where you are. And if you fall behind or speed up, you’ll be able to tell.
becky7777 – fantastic job on the timing. Love seeing you guys play alongside a click. And a really great save for the ending! Sliding into that note gave resolution, and honestly, no one would be able to tell you messed up if you didn’t call it out.
ukuleleloo – great job! Timing sounds good; a couple times you hesitated, but it seems like a memorizing issue, not timing problem. So I’d say, just review those little sections.
And check out this post, because another member asked about how to combine the melody and chords for Greensleeves and I laid it out for him there 🙂
Congrats @brettboy! Enjoy the new uke!!
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