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Hi Rock Class 101 Community!
We are back with site member challenge #4! Please watch the video above and read instructions below carefully for details/instructions on this month’s challenge.
Pick one from the following 2 Rock Class 101 Beginner Themed Genre Lessons:
1) Our First Song – An intro to fingerpicking and simple strumming.
2) Aura Lee – Same Melody as Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender”.
** If you need assistance with how to record yourself check out our FREE course on recording audio/video and/or private message me and I will be happy to help you out. **
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GOALS FOR MEMBER CHALLENGE:
1. Beginner Level: Be able to play one of the lessons as shown by Andrew smoothly and in time. Do not worry about trying to play fast, slow and steady wins the race 🙂
Recommended Piece: Our First Song
2. Seasoned Beginner to Advanced Level: Be able to play the lesson as shown by Andrew smoothly, in time, and at or close to the original piece’s tempo.
Recommended Piece: Aura Lee
3. Participation Goal: 50 Rock Class 101 Member Participant Videos/MP3 posted.
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GROUND RULES FOR PARTICIPATION:
1. Post your Youtube, Vimeo, or Soundcloud links of you playing one of the 2 beginner pieces anytime between Saturday, July 1st till Monday, July 31st, 11:59pm EST.
2. Submit individually, as a reply, IN THIS POST.
3. Feel free to submit more than one video for the challenge, but additional videos will not count as extra entries into the raffle for the prize.
4. Have fun and don’t be intimidated by this challenge!!! Use this challenge to help you set goals and complete them by a deadline. You can also use this as an opportunity to chat with your fellow Rock Class 101 members and share tips or tricks on this challenge that you think are useful.
5. You must perform the entire piece to receive an entry into the prize raffle.
* Note: In my opinion, it is better to show progress versus perfection with these challenges. So if you are a beginner and can only play the first couple of measures. That is completely ok. If you play two more measures of the next challenge piece than you did the previous one, you are on track to getting better. This is what these challenges are about… you learning ukulele and getting better. Remember we are all here to support you no matter what your current playing level is.
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COMMON FAQs:
1) The prize and the challenge is open to the entire world!
2) Premium membership is NOT required to participate, but will make participation easier as it gains you complete access to the full video lessons, tabs, and the on-screen tab viewer.
3) Basic membership (free) is required to submit a reply on this forum post. You can sign up for Basic Membership HERE.
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Giveaway Rules:
There will be 1 winner, selected by random drawing on August 1, 2017. To qualify to win, you must submit your audio and/or video links of your playing by the deadline listed above.
Grand Prize:
1) Uke Republic Package: Kala KA-15S Mahogany Soprano Ukulele (Ukulele Only) (Retail: $55 USD)
Watch and hear this sweet uke!
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THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR!
Uke Republic: http://www.ukerepublic.com/
Let’s crush this challenge!
Hi Andrew. I have been eagerly awaiting the new challenge (it is now 8:15pm in the UK). I’m looking forward to going back to basics on this one and starting to learn the correct technique – had to wing it a little on Spongebob as it was my first uke song! Thank you (and Uke Republic) for putting these challenges on. Kay
What a great challenge for us beginners. Not to figure out how to record a video and post it. Learning the songs will help too…..
Love seeing entries this early in the month 🙂
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jakeypoo – excellent playing and great timing! Keep up the good work 🙂
ookulee – good job! How did you approach practicing this piece? I would recommend to play with a metronome or the on-screen tab viewer. I would also recommend to count along while you play, this will help tremendously in developing great timing.
Start out working on a small section of the piece at a time (2 or 4 bars), before trying to tackle everything. Also, if you’re new to counting and timing practice in general, check out our lesson on understanding rhythmic notation.
yoavlan – great job on the timing! I would recommend to memorize the piece, this way you can focus on how you’re playing it, i.e. developing feeling. Try to add subtle dynamics to your performance, such as vibrato. A little goes a long way with dynamics. Keep up the good work!
Hi Andrew, it looks like this challenge is exactly what I need…back to the basics. I think I was rushing things a bit.
Anyway I have a question about Aura Lee. Is there any way to get that second last note to keep ringing a bit while we transition to the final chord? It sounds a bit “chopped” to me.
Maybe form the chord after the G, then play F on the 3rd string 5th fret, hold for the beat then strum?Looking forward to watching your performance James! And yes, your best bet is the 5th fret, string 3.
Hello Andrew,
Here is my performance of “Our First Song.”
I recently bought my ukulele for $60 on Amazon last week and I fell in love with it. I have a 11 year old brother who currently plays the cello and also has a love for music. I hope to win this ukulele so that he and I could play duets together!
Please comment if you find any improvements that I could make on my playing!
Sincerely,
JamesGreat playing James! I’d be happy to give you feedback 🙂 First, I would remove the vibrato from the riff. I think it flows better with straight fingerpicking. Also, watch out with pulling the third string down on those chords. It will cause the chord to go sharp. So we always want to keep the strings straight when fretting notes to create chords.
In our beginner’s course, there’s an introductory lesson on strumming. This would be a good reference for you, as I noticed your strumming hand seems to be quite rigid. The lesson teaches you a couple of approaches for strumming and this will help to soften up the tone you produce.
Your timing is excellent and you’re doing extremely well, keep up the great work 🙂
Excellent playing Phil! So your post brings up a good point. I’ve received a few emails from more advanced members stating they were going to sit this month’s challenge out because it is beginner themed.
Now this brings up an interesting thought on my end. Yes, this month’s songs are easy, but the challenge for an intermediate and advanced player lies in how you perform the piece.
The hardest part of playing is: The feel, achieving clarity in every note, and timing. All three of these aspects you nailed in your performance Phil 🙂 So, I would like to see everyone who’s an Intermediate to Advanced player participate in this month’s challenge with these three criteria as your goal.
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