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One more thing I really want to work on this challenge is to play without hinge-ing from the elbow. I want to play from the wrist as all the seasoned players do. If I don’t pay attention I start to hinge from the elbow automatically 🙂
All great plans people… I’m currently in a bit of a funk. I’ll spend time this afternoon looking through courses and lessons. Nothing seems to jump out, my music is all over the place right now 😕🙃 life….
Ok decided to pick some Blues
Tackling EP017 working on major triads, lots of bluesy slides/hammer-onsI’ll work on getting through lesson and memorizing the piece. Using my low G tenor
Practice as much as my fingers will take with all the slides 😬
Real challenge will be to record final take with the backing track. My technical ability hasn’t been great pairing everything so THAT is as much of a challenge. And last but not least… get me out of this winter, post holiday cloud. Ps if I change my mind… I’ll let you know by 15th. Louisa
EXECUTION
I’ll be working on the Claw Hammer technique on a ukulele. In general, I am a moderate intermediate player, but I’ve tried Claw Hammer briefly in the past and got nowhere.
My goal is to be able to play a basic piece, very slowly. I would like to target the Claw Hammer Etude on this site.
I hope to accomplish this by taking Christopher’s course – aiming at the beginning of lesson 4 where he teaches the Etude.
I aim to practice at least once a day for 15 mins, working my way through the course.APPLICATION
My goal is to be able to play the Etude, but I will try to play other songs using this technique, if I can at least do it.EVALUATION
Monitoring the practice schedule is most important for me. Also, I tend to drift into playing what I already know rather than focus on the next step!
Pacing the course so I reach module 4 is also important.
Ultimately, success would be being able to play the right hand smoothly, albeit slowly on any chord. If I can play the Etude that would be great.@leb397 nothing like playing the Blues to quell the blues….something u can put your heart into….I find the uke allows for a little quiet “me” time…..like good medicine or a type of therapy….even when I don’t play to the level I would like….sometimes especially then….Good-luck!….Parrothead Blues….looks like a challenging one!
Happy New Year!
Execution: My goal is to learn Canon in D (RC101 tutorial) to be able to play it smoothly, incorporate some ‘expression’ and ideally memorise it. This is a song that I have always aspired to learn but felt that it was above my ability level particularly to play at speed. This month’s challenge seems like a good opportunity to give it a try!
Application: First 2-3 weeks I aim to learn (and ideally memorise) each of the 8 melody sections (some are much trickier than others), and then work on the transitions between them. Once the piece is reasonably fluid, revisit the RC101 Classical technique course to think about how I can incorporate some dynamics/expression as well as listening to other versions from violin to piano. However, my priority will be to learn the song and play it smoothly at a reasonable speed.
Evaluation: I will record myself on a regular basis to listen to my progress and determine the areas I need to improve upon and use the tab player to work on increasing my speed. If all goes to plan then I will post the finished piece (or progress towards it) on RC101 at the end of the month.
@dianna you are so right. It does calm the mind and I have a quiet corner to practice. Appreciate the encouragement. Brighter days always follow. 🌞🤗☺️. Thinking of the words to “Here comes the sun”
This month I’m going to take advantage of the harmonics course provided by RC101. I’m new to this technique and have been wanting to learn this technique properly for a while. I aim to work through all exercises and etude provided in the learning modules no later than the third week of the month and this should provide a good foundation for me to tackle the capstone piece. I will evaluate my progress and performance at end of each week and post questions if I’m stuck. The goal is to post my performance of the capstone piece and if time allows, the stretch goal would be to get started on learning Mr Sandman.
Update 1:
I’m halfway through Module 3 of the Definitive Beginner’s Guide.
I can play part A of “The Path of the Wind” fluently at a slow pace, part B is still challenging.
I added “Happy Birthday” to my goals because there are two birthdays important to me in January. The first one was on the 2nd and I made a recording for that person – imperfect and very slow, but here it is 😀
Happy New Year, everyone!
Execution:Not sure if this is a legit musical goal, but…. I’ve been dealing with a much reduced ability to play due to lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) that I developed after practicing a lot more last summer/fall. So my goal is to watch Matt and Andrew’s (and any others I find) videos on left hand/arm position and work on a more relaxed left hand, stronger wrist, and a lot less hand/finger tension (no more death grips!).
Application: I will work on this using the lovely piece La Gitanita. I chose this because I love it and also because the most challenging technical parts are in the right hand, and the left hand work is fairly simple (no bar chords or stretches!). Will try to develop a habit of “just enough and no more” pressure when fretting.
Evaluation: I will make recordings throughout to check for tension or other weirdnesses in my left arm and hand and monitor pain levels as feedback. Hopefully I will be able to post a more or less finished performance at the end of the month.
Can’t wait to be able to get back to participating in all the monthly challenges!
Hello,
For this month’s challenge I am working on the clawhammer technique. I’ve worked on it in the past a bit, but never consistently enough to learn it.
I have a little gem banjolele I would like to be able to play clawhammer on. In the future, I want to learn how arrange the song “Jambalaya (on the Bayou)” by Hank Williams in clawhammer for the banjolele. I think I’ll be well on my way with this challenge.
Execution:
I am working on the clawhammer technique using the book “The Wonderful World of Clawhammer Ukulele” by Christopher Davis-Shannon, who also teaches here on Rockclass101.I will work through the techniques with each accompanying exercise for the melody note, bum ditty, chord scale, and double thumb.
My current level is I am starting over from the beginning to make sure I learn it correctly and spend enough time at each section to really understand each part of the technique.
My long term goal is to learn the fundamentals proficiently to be able to apply them to songs in the future and develop the skill.
My goal for this challenge is to be able to play the “A Tisket A Tasket” the end of each technique section in part one of the book through the double thumb section.
My practice schedule is to practice 5 times a week.
Application:
I will apply what I learn in the clawhammer technique to the “A Tisket A Tasket” song exercises at the end of each section in part One of the book through double thumb.Evaluation:
The first week I spent learning the how to strike the melody notes in the claw shape. I learned the rhythm of the bum ditty pattern, and the c major scale.Week two I will learn how to add the brush stroke into the bum ditty pattern. I will learn “A Tisket A Tasket” with the bum ditty rhythm.
Week three I will work on the double thumb technique. I will learn “A Tisket A Tasket” with double thumb.
Week four I will continue working on the techniques I have learned.
To evaluate I will record the “A Tisket A Tasket” song exercise for the melody note, bum ditty, and double thumb.
Best,
Megan@leb397 – I hear you. The dark days of winter can be so hard to get through, and I so look forward to the days getting longer. Glad you found something to work on this month, and even a little bit each day will make you feel as if you’ve accomplished something. (I invested in a light visor this year, but haven’t had it long enough to see if it makes a difference. It’s not become a habit yet, so it would help if I could remember to use it every morning!)
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