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1. Execution A. Learn to play at the intermediate Level. B. Practice 15 minutes a day.
2. Application A. Going to practice for weeks one and two with the left hand only on the fretboard, builds up muscle memory.
B. Then Play with both hands
3. Evaluation: A. After the first week and second week, play 16 to 28 measures. B. putting the best Video on Form.
16-to-28-moonlight-sonata 1) Execution – I am a beginner on the cusp of becoming an intermediate player. 🙂 My goals this month are to work on transitioning between chords, strengthening bar chords, and continuing to address my performance anxiety. I plan to 1) practice for at least 30 minutes every day since I missed the first part of the month due to travel, 2) apply @Andrew’s advice from last month’s challenge concerning hesitation, and 3) continue to reframe the recordings for the challenge as a master class and try very hard not to think of it as performance.
2) Application – I wanted to be able to play Norwegian Wood for this challenge, but the stretch chords are just too much for my short fingers right now. Since I am wrapping up the Beginners Course, I settled on Fingerpicking & Strumming: Final Song from Module 6, Unit 3. This piece has a bar chord I have struggled with, partial bar chords, and the transition between fingerpicking and strumming is another area I need to work on.
3) Evaluation – Every few days, I will record myself and watch the video. I will try to be kind to myself when evaluating my progress. The final recording will be posted in this forum.
@jedart
Thank you for the comment for improving finger mobility, I’ll have to check them out!@lhamilton – Excellent progress, Linda! I’m looking forward to hearing your arrangement 🙂
@The_Bumble_Bard – It’s coming together very nicely, Rachael! Love the haunting feel/vibe.
@jedart – Timing is sounding good, Jed! Try not to rush the triplets at 47 seconds.
@malku2603 – Wow! Great job on the speed and feel, Akansha!Andrew and Rock Class 101 Family
As chucking is a real challenge for me, I plan on taking this opportunity to get more comfortable with add ing that backbeat to a song. Even though I have been able to “fake it” as a beginner, I really need to master this.
Execution: I will work on the Adding a Backbeat lesson every day for a week. Then I will work on the 12 Bar Blues lesson.
Application: I will incorporate chucking into the 12 Bar Blues
Evaluation: I will record and post my version of the 12 Bar Blues.
This is a really great challenge! It is encouraging us to explore concepts that we may not yet be comfortable with. I really like the prize as well!@Andrew, thank you so much! It always means so much when you give your stamp of approval to things and if you like it. 😊😅
I thought of a way to incorporate clawhammer into this song that I’m so excited about because it’s something I’ve wanted to try to do for a while. It may not be perfect because it’s the first instance of trying this but I’m still pretty excited about it. I just want to be part of the clawhammer crew this month. 😂
The idea came up when I stumbled across a video by James Hill playing clawhammer uke in almost the exact way I was contemplating trying to use the technique. It won’t be as epic as his but it’s still cool to try and it just happens to fit perfectly with that little ditty I tried to create.
So excited to see what everyone does this month!! 😊
This month’s challenge is super fun – an opportunity for creative and constructive auto-analysis at any and every level! Thanks RC101!
1) Execution
I consider myself an intermediate player aspiring/pushing to become a seasoned/proficient intermediate player by continuing to work on expression and feel, especially in fingerpicking, which to me is the most telling sign that someone is at that more advanced level.I’ve also always been mesmerized by how cool flamenco and Spanish style picking/strumming is. Separately, I find it really impressive when I see/hear people doing harmonics successfully. It both looks and sounds cool.
This is all to say that I am interested in learning a new picking technique – the triplet picking technique and then applying it to something like Malagueña for this month’s challenge. Malagueña brings all of feel, Spanish style playing, and harmonics (if I take that route on a couple of instances) into one beautiful and addicting composition.
My plan is to start off by studying through Taimane’s video or Matt’s lessons on the Triplet picking technique (EP011). I will practice daily until I feel I have mastered it – where it feels natural vs something I have to constantly think about executing. In parallel, I will review Rasgueado and Picado, and continue to practice nailing/polishing my harmonics (right now I am at a hit-or-miss situation with the latter 😂).
2) Application:
When those are down, I will start learning Evan’s version of Malagueña, taught by Andrew. As the month goes, I will make sure that I am playing it with expression and feel.3) Evaluation:
The end goal: by the end of the January, I am comfortable playing it with all these parameters, by memory.
I will keep evaluating my progress week by week.1. Execution: Basic fingerstyle arranging attempt of (part of) a song since last month.
Knowledge: Near zero. It’s a stab in the dark. Couldn’t find much info.
Tried and failed: Additional keyboard effects to get the orchestral feel of the original but ruined by noisy keys. Abandoned it.
Practice: Daily whenever I can.
Level: Overly ambitious beginner 😆
2. Application: Luckily I found an almost 20 chord version. Super! This may work and not be mission impossible. Haven’t gone through it with a microscope. Relied mostly on memory. Never ending changes made but have to leave as is due to my limitations.
3. Evaluation: Chord transitions are tripping me up, like the bothersome E chord 😖. Slides and a hammer on solved some inefficiencies, thanks to RC101. It’s like a lightbulb went off.
Routine: Record and repeat – hopefully come up with a passable tune before the deadline. Listening for arranging issues too.
Other maybe useful info: In art, I learned a reassuring concept. It’s not as important to have the colours (or as it applies here, notes?) be identical as it is to ensure they work relative to each other. Hasn’t necessarily worked yet.
Whatever the result, thanks for this challenge Andrew, as it motivated me to finish this.Tried and failed: Additional keyboard effects to get the orchestral feel of the original but ruined by noisy keys.
I also encountered this problem.
Does your keyboard have a record button? Look at the photo. Your button may look different, as long as it is somewhere.
I have such a button. When I record a keyboard I do the following:
1. I press the “record” button on the keyboard.
2. I press the “record” button on the smartphone.
3. I’m playing.
4. I finish recording on my smartphone.
5. I finish recording on the keyboard.
The video with a moving image and a terrible clatter of keys is ready.
Then I record another video, where the keyboard plays without me. The picture turns out boring, but the sound is without the clatter of keys.
Then in a video editor I make one video out of two. In the first video I turn off the sound, in the second video I remove the picture.
I would really like to simplify the process, but so far I haven’t come up with anything else.@katazumiri Thanks for your help! My keyboard does have a recording button but, unfortunately, it stopped working a long time ago.
Update: I’m working on slurs (hammer-ons, pull-offs). I’ve watched and played along with Matt’s lesson and with one of Andrew’s lessons. Below is a video of the Hammer-on, Pull-off Exercise from Andrew’s lesson.
Next, I’ll watch Andrew’s lesson on Fingerpicking Etude #24.
Jane
Hi everyone! So here is my progress on how harmonics is going! I’m actually pretty proud of myself . I have only gotten thru excerise 2 of artificial harmonics exercise but I figured out already the notes for amazing grace! This is jsut by ear all harmonics and playing my travel uke so . (Key of F) I grew up playing piano so I actually do know remember something about music. I haven’t looked at the music yet for your version but pretty cool I figured this out . What else is there to do when the power goes out right? It is back on now…Anyway hope you are all having fun with your challenges too! 😀
Here is my first “diary” entry showing my progress of learning “Stolen Moments” Oliver Nelson’s wonderful jazz piece.
I’m trying to get the chord shapes and … trying … for the feel. This was about a week ago. It’s getting better….. And the in between bits are moving along too.Hi Andrew, here is my plan:
1) Execution – I want to create a medley / mesh-uo of two songs that have the same chord progression and play it on the piano and on the ukulele and mix it together (obviously I cannot do both same time :-)). I want to do it in an improvisation style without having notes for it.
2) Application – I will practice and record the piano part first and record it with metronome so that piano and ukulele can be in sync later. Then I will practice to improvise with the ukulele to the piano part. I will need several iterations for it. What sounds better? Just strumming, playing the melody? I need to find out when trying.
3) Evaluation – Practice each day and make test recordings. Listen to it, improve. Do it again.
Best,
Andrea
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