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Thought I’d learn this on the banjolele just for fun. Sadly, my laptop microphone does even worse with this than with the ukulele. Granted my playing is less than stellar, but I swear in person you can hear the rolls, and triplets, and more sustain. So be it.
It’s a fun song to play – only problem is that the hardest part for me is the end, so I’m sweating all the way through in anticipation! And messing up along the way! Makes me smile, though. And for that I am grateful to all of you for these challenges. Especially the happy songs.I already submitted Yankee Doodle but also worked on 12th Street Rag and the Entertainer this month. Ended up spending more time on the Entertainer. It’s not polished, but working up to speed and improving it. I really enjoyed hearing others play Freight Train so I might work on that one the next couple weeks.
Good choice on a banjolele for this month’s theme @lildevil
I decided to tackle the 12th Street Rag this month – Spongebob, yay! 😀
I already got a lot more confident recording myself through these challenges. But still – when the end came up I started freaking that I might ruin a take that hadn’t been too bad thus far. You can actually hear the effort I put into not messing up, but still losing the flow during the final section over it… So be it. ^^;Thanks for the great tutorial @Christopher! I like how you explain all the chord progressions, although I have to pause a lot to take it in and think it through.
My main problem though was to switch from C to G7 smoothly – always feeling I had to switch between the two main shapes of proper left hand form to not lose the grip on my ukulele…So here is my submission! Have fun. 🙂
Here’s my submission for Yankee Doodle. Those tap harmonica at the end are tough, so I tried it a few times before getting it lol. Also working on the Entertainer.
This is my first time learning fingerstyle ukelele! Thanks Andrew! Great class! My daughter Isabel joined me.
I know it’s beyond my current level and I probably should take time to practice the basics more, but The Entertainer just sounds so fun that I couldn’t resist. So yeah, my second half of July was distracted to learning this… I know it’s not good, but I also want to leave a record here and look back after a few months or a year.
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Hi peeps. A busy month and wasn’t able to polish as much as I’d hoped, but as they say, gotta be in it to win it!So here’s my submission. I’ll see if I can sneak a quick updated version in if I can record one quickly:
Here is everyone on Page 10
morrieuke1 – Great Job! Technique and timing sounds awesome. Keep it up!
yugalup – sounds awesome! Practice making the melody sound and flow more soothly. The trick is not the pick up your finger until right when you play the next note. If you cut the note a little early it starts to make it sound a bit choppy. You got it got it though! Sounds like you’ll get that super quick!
cloud_cactus – Great Job! I noticed you are anchoring your pinky on the body of the use as you play. Thats probably just a style preference, but try to let you hand and fingers sit almost like a claw above the strings. I have tried to adapt that anchoring method before and it makes my playing a little harder than i think it needs to be. Like I said, probably just a style preference, but give that a shot and see how you like it. Awesome job!!
biancak – Great Job! I enjoyed listening to you play that. Your technique looks great so not much else for me to say!
bklynsoul – This sounds awesome! There was one little part at the end of the A section were the melody sounded a little choppy. Not a big deal at all, just listened out for that and try to keep that melody smooth through out. You have great tone!!
misskika -Awesome Job! Technique, tone, and timing sounds great!
timolnz – Great Job! Practice a bit on the slides in the melody, as well as the melody and chords higher up the neck. Everything gets harder for me up higher on the neck as well so I always have to be very careful how I play when I get way up there. I have pretty big hands, so 3 or 4 note chords way up high are super tricky but it can be done!! You sound awesome though so keep it up!
happyonuke – sounds great! Try practicing the flow of the piece a little more and get it all sounding smooth flowing in and out of each section. That just comes with practice, and since you know the piece now and how to play it, go back and focus on the flow. You sound great though!! Keep Rockin’!!
Here is everyone on Page 11
riley_ukulee – Great Job!! Only thing I have is to watch for that stubborn fret buzz! Especially when sliding up or down to a note. I still have that problem too, especially when recording. So, Just keep an eye on that. Keep killin’ it!
jensmcc_ – Sounds great!! I would watch the position and angle of your right hand and make sure you’re not tense or anything. You want your hand to feel very relaxed. Along with a slightly different angle, it will allow your fingers to pluck the strings in a more natural sounding way and less choppy. But that comes with practice so you got this!!!
henri0 – Sounds awesome!! Not much for me to say but keep killin’ it! \m/
nickyg – Awesome Job!! Technique on both hands look great! The only part i think could some slight improvement is that chord climb at 1:48. Just the rhythm hand mainly. Everything else sounds awesome. Keep on rockin’! \m/
aloooy – Sounds great! Great tone and timing. Watch out for that little fret buzz as you get higher on the neck. I struggle with that myself, so once you get up high, keep some focus on making sure your fingers play right in the middle of the frets!
tric_o_tronic – Great Job!! One thing I would try is utilizing your ring finger on the picking hand. Try to use this method : Thumb -4th string, Index – 3rd string, Middle – 2nd string, Ring – 3rd string. That format works great for most arrangements, so give that a shot. I think you’ll do great with it!
nohabaity – Beautiful performance!! Not much for me to say. Keep it up!!
b_ukes_101 – Awesome Job and great playing! Try holding the uke higher up around your chest and use your arms to keep it steady as you play. When I first started years ago, I held it similar to how you are, but when I switched it was a pretty massive difference and made it so much more natural to play since it is such a small instrument. Sounds great!!
coffeemug – Great Job!! I would try playing either a little harder, or try to use a different part of your finger for the strumming bits. Sounds like your using your nail primarily which gives it a thinner sound. The very intro of this piece, you were using more of your finger tip which gave it a richer sound, and then the strumming portion sounded slightly thinner. So experiment with that and see what sounds best to you. Nothing wrong with the thinner sound at all, just another option! Keep it up!!
audreyrozowykwaitlucie – Awesome job!! I would alter you picking hand slightly. Your hand is sitting a bit flat against the strings, so try bringing it up and having your hand come from above the strings almost like a claw, and then let your fingers do the work from there. Try that and see how it feels!
Wow, we had 78 members participate this month! We absolutely crushed our participation goal, but most importantly, everyone did an awesome job and should feel super proud of their work this month!
So without further ado, the winner of our July Challenge is…
Congrats! We look forward to finding out which uke you pick from https://www.ukerepublic.com/. 🙂
Our August Challenge is LIVE: https://rockclass101.com/august-2020-challenge. We’ve got a BRAND NEW Theme for this month and we’re giving away a BRAND NEW Prize! Hope to see everyone in the new challenge!
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Here’s everyone on page 12.
@lildevil – It’s a shame that the mic records at such low quality, because your playing is quite lovely. That was an excellent performance, keep up the great work!
@cncamacho – I think you’re off to a great start with a good base established! At this point, I’d recommend focusing on 4 bar phrases at a time. Work on getting the timing steady with one phrase before tackling and connecting the next. Work through the song this way, and later you can focus on gradually increasing the tempo. Keep up the great work!
@santai – I thought you did an excellent job, Marvin! Try using form 2 for C to G7. The index finger should prevent any slippage of the neck.After listening through your performance, there’s only a couple things I’d suggest because overall, the rhythm and note/chord clarity is excellent. So I’d focus on the areas where there were little pauses going from one part to the next.
And take one section (at a time) and boost the tempo a little; I think you’re ready for that and it will be a good challenge for you. 🙂
@baileysr – Well done! So I wouldn’t call the overall sound “flat”, its more-so overly expressive, which happens when you pluck/strum too hard.Therefore, I’d suggest to lighten up your right hand picking attack. Lighter picking and strumming will produce a softer, sweeter tone. Check out this video that I made awhile back for another member that expanded on this concept.
@isabelm – Well done, bravo! My goal for you would be to get it fully memorized. Keep up the great work! 🙂
@artsytricia – So much fun to watch you guys play together! Keep playing with Isabel, she’s doing amazing, she’ll be able to help you too 🙂
@verity2003 – Well done! Moving forward, I’d increase the tempo by 5 or 10 BPM. That would be a good challenge for you 🙂
@qiuyan – Excellent playing! I don’t think it’s beyond your level, I think it’s the opposite – a perfect challenge for you. It sounded awesome! The only thing I want to point out is to watch out for bending at the first joint:For ex: the index at 16 seconds or the middle at 33 seconds. Keeping the fingers bent at the first joint increases dexterity and, 9 times out of 10, is vital for proper playing form.
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Unfortunately, both of you submitted past our deadline (11:59 pm EST). So I cannot give an entry for the giveaway. But I am happy to offer feedback 🙂
@tux4tgvf5 – Love the T-shirt and American theme, Tom! Your performance was perfect, next time I’ll just get you to do the performance for me LOL. And a cute ending, I enjoyed that too!
@goody2shoes – Well done, Joel! I think you have a great base established, but there are some questionable fingerings that you chose for some of the chords. So I’d recommend going back through the video to tutorial as it offers the best fingering recommendations to make this piece as easy to play as possible.
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