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Here is my February entry – I am sticking with all the beginner recommendations so I did Into the Maze. Such a lovely melody! I really enjoyed learning it even though my execution still leaves something to be desired. One of these days my hand dexterity will improve. I get a little more comfortable as I go along, but there are still some muted strings here and there and places where I don’t land super cleanly when I transition. I may record again another day, but for today, I’ve done so many takes that my hand is utterly exhausted lol.bibilele – You are doing a great job on this one! You have the notes, chords, and rhythms down. For performing, sometimes it helps me to breathe along and even sing along with the song. This reminds me to take breaths, which helps to lessen performance anxiety. Playing wise, for effect you can strum the chords with Fermatas over them slower to add to the emotion of the piece. Keep up the great work!
biancak – You have a very nice flow and feel on this song. At 0:42 seconds, you may want to play this a bit more to practice a natural ritardando that is gradual but even to match how well you flow on the rest of the song, but otherwise, that was a flawless performance. Very well done!
malku2603 – Very nicely done! You have a good sound, and know the notes and the rhythms very well. There is one spot where you are adding a note: On measure 3 of the piece, it sounds like you are hitting an extra note on the A string after strumming the chord. Double check that rhythm, and you’ve got it down. You are doing a great job!
ccwuke – This one is tricky, and you are off to a great start! On measures 4-6, there is so much complexity in just those measures: the slide in measure 5 (4/5) is not quite as quick: each note is an 8th note with the slide happening after truly playing the 4th fret note. After getting that rhythm, then listen to the way Matt accents the melody. Certain notes being played a bit louder helps strengthen the feel. Keep it up, you’re off to a great start!
akukes73 – You are off to a great start! Before speeding it up, I recommend playing it at a slow enough tempo to get the flow and the hand shifts in time smoothly. As far as hands staying close to the neck, I think you are doing a great job. Some of this just comes naturally with time as you play more, where your hands figure out how to be just close enough to not get in the way. Practicing scales and chord shapes regularly may help a bit as well. You’re doing a very good job, keep it up!
morrieuke1 – Very nice job on this one! Your playing is very clean on this one. Keep up the great work!
clempek – Excellent job, and congratulations on your first challenge entry! You have the notes and rhythms now, so here’s some performance tips: to get the piece to flow smoothly, try breathing with the song and possibly even humming along with the melody. The pauses should feel more natural when you do this, and slowing down gradually for certain spots is easier when you connect your breathing to it. Keep going, you’re doing great!
robinl – Great work getting all of the notes with a good feel and sense of the rhythm. Now you can exaggerate the dynamics to add more of an emotional depth to what you are playing. Try starting the phrases quietly, gradually plucking louder in the middle of the phrases, and coming back down in volume at the end of the phrase. It already sounds wonderful as it is, but it’s worth trying.
ukandrea – Wow! I love that you added piano in there, too! The playing was great! I would recommend making the melody a bit louder on this…especially on the B melody. Keep up the great work!
aloooy – Excellent job on this! Your tone, rhythm, and clean execution were all great! Way to go on picking the road less traveled song wise and performing it well!
cncamacho – You are off to a great start. A little bit more work on the shifts in measures 6-8 and you’ve got it. Then just keep working on making the sections as legato as possible. Keep going, your doing a very good job!
misterbones – Very nicely played! You had a good sense of the groove and played very cleanly. Keep up the great playing!
katazumiri – I love that you added the bass ukulele in there. Great job, and I like that you played it at a speed you are comfortable at. Now you are ready to bring the speed up. Awesome job on this one!
patparr – You are playing the notes very cleanly, and you have the general idea of the rhythm. You tend to rush just a tiny bit towards the ends of phrases on certain sections, so I recommend playing the song a bit slower with a metronome to work on locking in with the tempo. You’re almost there, just a bit more work and you’ll have the groove down solid.
bethany_guardiani – You kept a very good feel/sense of timing througout and played the notes very well. Try to figure out which sections give you the most shifting issues and muted strings, and isolate those parts until you can hit them with accuracy 4x in a row. This will give you more confidence on the full play throughs that you will be able to comfortably get through those sections smoothly. You’re doing great, keep it up!
Hi guys!
Here’s my entry with Into the Maze.
I really loved this beautiful tune from the second I heard it! Andrew is such a talented composer.Hi Everyone,
I chose Gymnopédie No.1 and played it on my Baritone because I don’t have a low G ukulele (yet…hehe).
I love watching everyone’s submissions and have learned a lot.
~Jane
Here is my song for the Challenge I have make few mistakes and if I have time I will make a video playing
@Stephen haha yes when I am too focused because the measure is difficult for me I stop breathing, but I did not know that it felt so much
thanks for the advice
This is my video of practicing Into The Maze still need work the sound from the phone sounds weird help me to improvise Andrew some tips maybe needed
Thank you so much @stephen for your valuable feedback 😊😊. That is extremely motivating😀 😄😄.
Actually, I intended to do the flick strum in the third measure of into the maze, but it is not happening as expected and sounds like an extra note 🙁🙁.
Can you please give some tips on how to improve on the flick strum in the third measure?😊😊
Thank you Stephen,
here is my updated version:
I hope to be able to play your super arrangement of “I See Fire” one day.
(in case this message should pop up several times, sorry in advance, but I just got error messages when hitting submit and I can’t see my post).
@Stephen, thank you for the review.
I had the “gap” because when I practiced and moved up to the higher frets (using the pointing finger for fret 7 again) I often pulled the A string sideways, sometimes sliding down sideways from the neck completely… so I focused on not doing that and that spoilt what could have been a nice ritardando at the end of the Melody B… 🙁
Any tips what to practice apart from scales up and down?@Stephen thanks for the encouraging and constructive feedback. I think I am always trying to speed up and probably before I ought to – the entry was at about 80%, I’ve now gone back and tried it at 70% and it does sound better and more fluid. Will keep on working at it – thanks again!
@malku2603 – Check out this explanation, it covers the technique of the strum. You want to work on doing the strum and “flick” in unison.
@biancak – Try practicing that section but at a much slower tempo. Keep the tempo steady (no rit.). When you’re comfortable with the jumps, boost the tempo and then try adding the rit.
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