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robinboyd, absolutely brilliant, Robin! The only tip I can offer you is for the last hit, the tapped harmonic. Try to hit it using just your index finger at an angle. Jump towards the end of that lesson video, and there should be a demonstration and explanation of how I do it. A light, quick touch goes a long way with harmonics.
So I just shot a video for wongbrown, towards the end of that video I cover the tapped harmonic, so definitely check out that video below.
kanae926, great job Kanni! Here is a short video with a few tips for you.
andracass, well done MT! So I am hearing a pattern with your playing, MT. In that you have a great base established, but it lacks fluidity. So I want you to change how you practice for the next challenge.
I want you to work on a 4 bar section at a time, master that – and it doesn’t matter at what tempo (slow or fast), but try to keep it steady. Then repeat with the next four bars, then piece those eight together. And continue throughout the remainder of the tune.
This should help to get the piece to flow better, because you are targeting your practicing to accomplish that.
vidafntn, way to go, Vida! That Performance oozed feeling! I wouldn’t worry too much about the finger noise, that’s something that every acoustic guitar player deals with. And since baritone is so closely related, it comes with the territory.
promisingartist, great job! I dig the changes that you threw in there! One tip, some of the notes were played with staccato, I would instead suggest to sustain those notes; which should give it a more flowing sound.
strizaldo, very well done! The only tip I have for you is the same that I offered in the video above for Kanni, which talked about thumb placement. Take a look at that video and give that suggestion a shot and let me know if it makes a difference for you.
suesbarn, great job on Yankee! I would suggest to slow the tempo down a touch, as I think it sounds prettier at a slower pace. But, that’s my opinion and the interpretation of the music is always up to the performer.
The other tune sounds great as well! I would suggest to focus on cleaning up some of the buzzy notes and working towards getting it to flow a little more smoothly. Check out the advice I left about for andracass.
Oh and your comment on “all I see are mistakes”, I’m the same way – remember, we are our worst critic. The best advice I ever heard was from my friend with 50 years playing experience, he said “just play and have fun!” 🙂
wongbrown, great job Sheila! So a couple times I heard an F chord instead of an A, for the first hit of the song. So double-check that you are playing the correct chord there. And I made a short video with another tip for you.
mheiden, wow! Big difference, it has an excellent flow now. Great work with practicing!!
The other tune is sounding good! I think if you apply the same practice work ethic as you did the other one, you’ll definitely get it where you want it to be. One tip, a few times when fretting chords, I noticed you pulled the string down. This will cause the note to go sharp and sound slightly out-of-tune. So when you are fretting notes or chords, try to keep the string straight (no bending).
Also, for the next video, if you can please try to get a more direct shot. That way I can see your form better 🙂
Thanks Andrew. I admit I watched the video for the concept, but by the time I got to the end of the song I was relying solely on the tab and forgot about the actual technique. I’ll work on that diagonal placement of the index finger to get the chime going.
By the way, I was wondering if you think I should slow it down a bit too. I think I’m actually playing it very slightly faster than Suesbarn, and you suggested that she slow it down. I admit that I deliberately pushed the pace a bit with this one as a challenge to myself.
Here is my entry! I know I had LOTS of mistakes. I will keep working on it though! I would of done Yankee Doodle but I didn’t have the concert ukulele for it. Thanks so much for these challenges! They help me get motivated, and that helps me out a lot! 🙂
Robin, up to you. Your performance is your interpretation of the music 🙂 I’d experiment with diff tempos and pick the one you like the most.
Thanks Andrew. Yes, I’m going to keep practicing ATB to get it to flow and be smoother. I’ll figure something for the video. I’m using my phone, but I’ll adjust things to get a better angle. Thx!
jlbross, great job, Jennifer! It seems that technique is hard for a lot of folks, but it’s one that is super cool and totally worth working on. I ripped it off of EVH 🙂 And who knows who he ripped it off, lol! Check out the 2nd video I posted above for help with that technique.
And the only thing I would suggest to practice a bit more is the timing in the 2nd section. But, overall well done!
marni11, beautiful playing! And btw, that’s a neat strap! So with this tune, I think it’s one that works well when you sustain the notes/chords into each other. Which is what you did for a lot of the tune 🙂 But, some parts where a bit too staccato-y. So what I would work on is playing the entire tune with sustain in mind. So if you scroll up, I posted a video yesterday (the 2nd video on this page- for Sheila) talking about sustaining notes in Yankee Doodle. The same concept would apply for this tune.
Let me know if all this makes sense or if you have questions. But, again awesome job!
Thanks, Andrew!
So…DILEMMA. I have always had this problem where I don’t know how to hold the ukulele properly. I promise, I read that module more than once in the Beginner’s Course (lol). To explain – I use Form 2 on my left hand because Form 1 feels super awkward and unbalanced (as in, some chords and fretting positions may be easier to play on Form 1, but the neck falls while I try to transition from Form 2 to 1, taking the rest of the ukulele with it). I don’t know how to hold it up unless I’m using Form 2 and I haven’t figured out how YOUR ukulele seems to defy gravity. So in order not to pause, I have been avoiding using Form 1 (*cringe* I know, shame on me).
BUT since you gave me that feedback, I have been practicing Form 1 and it is getting a bit more comfortable. I’ve also been working on my fluidity in the piece and I *think* it’s improving. I’ll post another video in the next couple of days to show you my progress on both points. 🙂
Thanks for the feedback, Andrew. It is extremely useful for me to rectify my old habit and progress along. Really appreciated you took time to make the video. I will work on it./Sheila
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