- This topic has 258 replies, 51 voices, and was last updated 2 years, 2 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
I am a premium member.
Wow this was a fun challenge and I enjoyed seeing the large variety of things everyone was working on. The challenge I chose was ‘clawhammer’. Starting from zero on this technique. I used the RC clawhammer course to understand the technique. For the song, I preferred to learn ‘Wildwood Flower’. It has many verses that just repeat, so I just did one run through. I enjoyed clawhammer and the song so much, I ended up buying a banjolele. 🙂 It just arrived last night, so I added a “take” of the same song with banjolele so you can hear the difference. There was some chatter about GP – I love that program and it is what I used to create the tab that I learned the song from. I created the tab using GP, but the arrangement is from Matt Stead. I just tabbed out the handwritten notes he had in his video. I attached an image of the GP arrangement in the post.
I think my next banjolele song will be Cripple Creek (from RC101). This instrument is just such a happy sound.
-Natalie
@nat-uke Thank you, and hello to a fellow banjolele newbie! The first take of your song was pretty, but I thought the second one with the banjolele really let the clawhammer style ring out. The new banjolele sounds great, and I’m glad to hear it has an arm guard! Thanks for sharing the music. I’m looking forward to continuing working on the clawhammer technique, so this will help!
Here’s everyone on page 11:
@gi_gi_ – I enjoyed your rendition of Summertime! You have a great voice, and your chords are lining up great with some nice triplet strums thrown in for good measure. One tiny vocal thing on this out of the whole song: at 0:29 when You say “Ea-sy,” The first syllable is a melody note that isn’t in the chord. It sounds like you are singing a B when the note could either be a Bb…or even a G (when I sing this song I sing a G in that spot). However, the B seems to work there since you didn’t strum the Bb note in the chord very loudly at that moment. Whether you choose to change that note or not, this was an excellent version of Summertime all around! Keep singing and playing, you sound awesome!
@lyndallk – It is really cool seeing your progress on this one! On Your early video, you were getting the shapes down, but it’s really come along now that you have the rhythm in there! Those chords really move around a lot on the A melody and that makes it hard to keep the swing feel with that much motion. However, you are playing it well! I think a little more work on transitions between a few of the harder spaced out chords will allow those sections to become a bit more legato as you are able to hold each one out slightly longer before shifting to the next chord. You’re doing a fantastic job, keep it up!
@lhamilton – Wow, what an undertaking to transpose, arrange and perform for this challenge! The result is great. Your clarity and dynamics give this piece a beautiful and haunting vibe. Very nicely done all around!
@jedart – Summertime has come along quite well! Your singing has gotten more confident, and you are very solid on the ukulele part! Purple Haze definitely sounds like it’s come a long way as well! I like that you are adding the embellishments of the trills and slides. It definitely fits the style! Just a bit more work and you’ll be able to keep the timing throughout. I think you’re ready to play this along with a down-tempo backing track. Keep up the great work!
@ccwuke – Very nice work! You’ve made a lot of improvement from the first video to the 2nd, and the most notable improvement was the timing and feel. You have a much more consistent tempo now, and you are playing the Imperial March section with the correct rhythm. Way to go, that arrangement is not easy! Nice job on this!
@henri0 – You are off to a great start! It sounds like you are very close on this part, and I hope you figure out the technology part to have both sections. I’m sure there are YouTube tutorials that you can help with what program to use to line the videos up and how to do that. On my computer, I’ve used Davinci Resolve, iMovie, and a few other programs. I’ve recently learned how to do this on my phone using a free app called CapCut as well. I wish you luck with this, the tech side of things takes practice just as the ukulele playing does. Keep up the great work!
@misterbones – Fantastic claw hammer playing! You are very consistent with this technique, especially on the video you shared. It’s great to hear you add singing into the mix as well. It sounds like this has been a breakthrough month for you. Congratulations on a job well done!
@leb397 – Very nice job on this one. The hardest part of “chucking” is definitley muting the strings with the left hand while strumming with the right with a bit of weight behind the strums. You’re doing a great job, the strumming takes time to develop a comfortable feel for, and you are on the right path. Keep it up!
@mark1256 – What a great challenge! To be able to transpose, use your finger instead of a capo, and to work on dynamics/emotion all on the same song. You have come a long way on this one, and it was very nice to see your progress with no capo compared to with the capo. Great work, and great choice of challenges!
@anyon1 – Very nice work on the clawhammer technique! It’s not easy to do, nor is it easy on your arm. Your observations are great: it takes a lot of wisdom to recognize that you are trying to play faster than you are ready for and how that tendency holds you back. I teach this all the time, but still fall prey to trying to rush the process sometimes. As soon as you realize it and start playing slower, you really develop muscle memory, and you are able to catch every mistake before it’s ingrained in your muscle memory as well! Keep up the great work!@nat-uke I’m so glad you played Wildwood Flower. I had mentioned it in a post earlier, such a great clawhammer song. Nicely played on both instruments.
@janaq1 love your choice! Nice job.
@mysticrick well done and congrats on 1st entry. I like Freight Train.
@joe150 that is a beautiful uke! Congratulations again and keep it up!@mysticrick just FYI if you want to mention an entry make sure you put their user name with @ in front @mysticrick 😉 😀 see the uke group in March…
@stephen thank you for encouraging words. I’ll keep practicing because I love playing it. 😊🎶
Here is my final of Misirlou. Still have that clicking sound and so I am far from mastering the tremolo technique. I will continue to practice using Matt’s previous suggestions. Thanks Matt. Outstanding job done by everyone this month. Many impressive performances!
Thanks, @Stephen! I’ve really enjoyed this challenge. As I age and gradually lose friends and relatives, this particular piece of music has increased meaning for me.
Linda
I am a premium member.
Here’s my end of the month check-in. Got a little crazy with traveling for work the last few weeks so I haven’t been able to dedicate as much time as I’d hoped to this song. I’ve been working on better control and consistency with my strumming, while at the same time keeping in tempo. Started using a metronome through an earbud too. Here’s my latest of 12th Street Rag. I’ve been playing it on different ukes (tenor-sized Banjolele and a few different concert sized ukes).
I’ve been playing it at 150bpm, still working toward 175, while keeping in form. As you can see from the video, there’s still quite a bit of room for improvement. One thing I’m noticing from the playback is that I am drifting back and forth between the swing rhythm and a regular 4/4, so something else to keep in mind while practicing.
@Stephen Thanks so much for the good pointers. I can honestly say I haven’t put two and two together yet in regards to melody notes, etc. so I appreciate the conversation. I don’t play the Bb until the outro. I think I was playing a G but either way I should match my voice to what I play 😂 I’m laughing because I should know that already. Thanks for helping me be aware of this. What key do you like to sing Summertime in?
@The_bumble_bard Hello my friend, thanks alot. Yes I just loved your video along with your playing. It was wonderful….. As far as my singing journey it is hilarious. I’ve dealt with losing my voice and going hoarse almost all my life. About 7 years ago I figured that if I learn to sing maybe it could help me. I have to constantly work on breath support in all areas like speech, working out, singing, whatever….I also warm up my voice daily with a straw in about 8 minutes 🙂 The interlubes are my friend 😂 You tube is great if you don’t give up. It took about 5 years to figure out what a true warmup is and which exercises are for me. Besides, I’ve had a few lessons with different Teachers I’ve found online/YT. You learn something from each one but in the end you must learn your own instrument/body and how you respond to diff techniques. It’s all trial and error and not giving up 😂 I don’t do well with the critical type Teachers who have nothing good to say at all. It’s a very vulnerable thing to do. After a while you realize you aren’t singing for other people per say. I’m happy with what I’ve learned thus far and it encourages me to continue since there’s so much to learn like singing the note you’re playing on the uke 😂🤣😂🤣 lol
You have started a clawhammer revolution. It’s been a blast to enjoy seeing so many pick it up. It looks so difficult.
Hello to everybody,
I try to give a short feedback on this months challenge:
1) I didn’t have enough time because it took me very long to decide what I wanted to do – so I’m still in practice mode (as you can see from the video)
2) My goal was to passionate what I recognized early, so I got a little frustrated what didn’t help with my progress.
3) The overall speed of my chosen piece is way to high for my playing.
All in all it was frustrating and I haven’t reached my goal BUT I will keep on learning this piece as I really love it.
Please be kind with your feedback. I know this wasn’t my best month.
Best wishes,
RiciAlso hope to learn Matt’s piece with campanella and other pieces. I also meant to say that this month’s challenge has been really useful in terms of planning goals and importantly execution – thanks RC101!
@gi_gi_ For me it helps to pick out the melody on an instrument to make sure I’m singing the notes I’m intending, but I’m an instrumentalist first and a singer second. If you aren’t playing the Bb note in that Gm chord, then it’s just a cool version of the song and you’ve kind of made it your own by doing that (implying a G Major chord instead). As far as what key I sing it in, I rarely do…so I just tried transposing it a bit to see what I preferred…and E minor seems like a good fit for my voice. When I’m accompanying others, I often play it in A minor. Thanks for asking, that was a fun exploration for me. Cheers!
Please do not include me in the drawing.
This is my final submission. My ultimate (revised) goal was to play Ashokan Farewell I the key of D without the use of a capo and have it sound as good as my capo version.
My tab was in C and I transposed it to D.
I think I’m getting close but still prefer the capo result.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.