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@planetfink – Beautiful playing and wow, congrats on the new uke! The only critiques I can offer is to lighten your thumb attack a touch to soften the strum sound and listen back for chords that didn’t sustain/ring clear. Target those, for ex. G5 (0235) was a bit buzzy on some hits.
@Gaby – That was impressive for learning so fast! I think with a little more practice, you could clean up some of the buzzy notes. But overall, well done! I like the little change you through in before the last melody too. 🙂
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I really like this song (and the movie!). I’m still working on it to make it more fluid and I figured that I’d make my entry and get some feedback – thanks in advance.
Jerry
Thanks, Andrew. The “new” uke is the Kamaka I got in February. But it still is my new uke. The recording is from two months ago but I still struggle with strumming lighter with my thumb. I keep working on it.
@andrew
Thank you! I know it isn’t the cleanest version yet, but i will try to get there 🙂I thought I’d get this one out of the way early because I already sort of knew it, but I also wanted to fix a few things from my previous entry of this song in one of the challenges.
Last time I entered this piece in a challenge, I had not yet got premium membership, so I had to work out the second half on my own. At the time, Andrew correctly noted that I was missing half a measure. With access to the tabs, etc., that one was easy to fix. I also wanted to nail the timing of this a bit better than last time as Andrew has been picking on that a bit over the last few months. Specifically, the length of time to do the scratchy bits really threw me. I made sure that I noted the length of each one (because the second is longer than the first) and I played along with the tab viewer a bit. The final video was just me counting it out in my head, so it’s not perfect. I even had some fluctuation in speed in the other bits, but at least I’m aware of it, I suppose.
Also, the pull-offs are not as clean as I would like in this take, but I was managing them okay in practice.
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The Force may not be quite as strong as I’d like but this life-long Star Wars fan was not going to pass up the opportunity to learn this medley!
gstriph – Well done! Okay so the thing that you want to work on is sustain. But here’s the thing, when I listen back, I hear you sustain some sections and then I hear you struggle with others. And I think the struggle is what you mean by saying, ‘I want to get it more fluid.’
So if you listen to the walk up phrase at 41 to 45 seconds, it sustains nicely, but if you contrast that to the next phrases (up to a minute), it’s a bit choppy.
Check out this video below, it gives my recommendations on developing sustain. While you’re working on this, also focus on note clarity in the chords.
robinboyd – So your comment about the “scratchy” part, aka the vamp on the E minor chord that happens in the intro and breakdown, that’s not really set to a specific rhythm, it’s more of “play to feel”. And this is something that the composers of the theme do a lot, watch this video – about a minute into it they talk about it:
I went back and watched your first take, here it is for those who want to check it out:
There’s a big difference in the subtleties. Accented chord hits are more distinct as opposed to the fingerpicking volume. The plucked chords have more clarity and a sharper punch to them. Tempo and fluidity is up. And that scratchy part has a much better feel. What I’d work on is to continue to boost tempo. But you should be proud of your progress, it’s quite impressive.
deadbuggy – Ohh, your variations on the main theme make it sound Irish Jig like. Really cool!
I think your focus should be on the Imperial Theme. I’d slow the tempo down and leave your changes out for the time being. Break it into sections and use the tab player to play along with Matt. He kept it really steady in this section. Focus on the hard technique areas, like the anchored chords that incorporate slides.
BTW – Love the setting for your video 🙂
Deadbuggy, fun take! Lol, an Irish jig to the start wars theme. I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but it’s true. I love it.
Thanks, Andrew and thanks to Matt for this super fun arrangement. That section of the Imperial March is a bear for me…I feel like someone cut off my fingers with a light saber. But I’ll keep at it! May the Force Be With You!!!
Here is my submission! Recording this was very exciting because 1) I love Stranger Things and this arrangement was
totally tubular ;); 2) I bought this uke today and I already love it <3
Can´t say I´m 100% satisfied with the recording but my hand was getting tired and my neighbour put music too loud, so this is my final product!
P.s. Can´t wait for the Bohemian Rhapsody tutorial!@robinboyd – Yep, I must have pasted the wrong link.
@laurasil – That was an excellent performance! The only things that I noticed are so minor that they really are just nitpicky. But, that’s what I do LOL. You should see how I overanalyze my own playing 🙂
There was a minor pause before the plucked chords at 34 seconds. And the tapped heartbeat that happens after that, I’d speed the tempo up a little bit more to match the pace of the rest of the piece.
BTW, what uke did you get?
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