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I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
I had plenty to learn from this “beginner” song! Yankee Doodle has helped me get better at: 1. memorizing music (still hard for me); 2. Double stops and various right hand techniques; 3. Rhythm & timing; (I’m not up to “speed” on the tempo yet)
4. Learn/practice harmonics and chord “tapping” which are both difficult.
I’m sure there is more… 🤩
My video has two parts- the first I play YD on my Koaloha Opio Concert Uke, and second on my Kala Tenor guitar (4 steel strings, tuned DGBE)
In the takes I chose, I did the harmonics better on the ukulele, and chord “tapping” came out better on the steel strings. I also did two simultaneous recordings- on iPad with mic, and iPhone. I added a little chorus and delay for fun. -Mary JaneHere’s everyone on page 6:
mark1256 – You’re sounding fairly good on this one. There’s something going on rhythmically in Melody B to spend a bit more time on. It sounds like you are playing less of the repetitious pattern at the beginning of this section than is written. When I try to count to four while staying in time, the patterns don’t quite line up. Look closely at how many times each part happens, and mark the tabs with a hi-lighter on a note to help you keep track of how many to play. You’re doing a great job, with a little more work on this section, you’ll be playing it super well!
lisadmh – Wonderful job on this one! I like your relaxed version the best, just keep building up speed slowly and you’ll have it up to tempo in no time, although it sounds wonderful at this speed as well! Great job!
johanna2509 – Fantastic job! You’ve got a great grasp on the harmonics, slides, and details of the song! My only suggestion is to work on starting the strums a slight bit earlier when they happen. This way the main part of the strum will be right in time (ending on the beat) rather than ending after the beat. It’s causing just a slight slow-down in these few parts. Other than that, you’ve got it! P.S. Is there a way to record your ukulele a tiny bit louder? Keep up the great work.
katazumiri – Very nicely done! Your timing is wonderful on this! It seems like everything was great, now it’s time to build a little bit of speed and to try playing the notes in a smoother way with less emphasis on each pluck. Then it’s just getting the accuracy on the slapped harmonic at the end without hitting the ukulele too hard. You’re doing a wonderful job, keep it up!
apblondie – That cow sounded so hangry! You played this one great in spite of the distractions! Well played, just a little bit more work on the slapped harmonic at the end and working out a few hesitations on the section right before it and you’ve got it! Great job, and thank you for sharing a day in the life of feeding cows! 🙂
surfnrz – Great job on this, you really kept the tempo solid throughout! Just a little more work on the very end, and you’ve got a wonderful version…complete with the hand flutter at the end. A very nice touch. Keep up the great playing!
lisa-k – You’re off to a great start! This is a very challenging song with lots of tricky spots, and you have most of them worked out. A little bit more work on the end and you’ll have a very nice version! The section from 0:53 to 0:58 is deceptively tricky, you have to make sure not to rush those rests! You’re doing a great job, and you’re super close! Keep it up!
surrealflea – You’re doing a wonderful job so far! Here are a few things to consider as you continue to work on this one: on Theme 1, try isolating the measures with chord shapes that are causing you to hesitate at the moment and work through each one several times on its own to get more comfortable with these shapes. On Theme 2, those slaps are hard to work into the timing of the song, and there’s a reason Andrew is playing them with his thumb rather than moving his whole hand as far as you are. Try working on this technique so that the slaps don’t cause you to get out of time as you play through this. You might even want to leave the slaps out at first. Keep going, you’re getting close!
planetfink – I love that cigar box ukulele! You’re doing a fantastic job on this arrangement! Now that you’ve got the notes down, add the rest of the slaps in melody 2 back in. Then you’ve got it! Keep up the great playing!
740674 – You’re off to a wonderful start! I recommend playing the song slower with a solid and steady pulse. Have you tried playing this a bit slower with a metronome? Keep it up, the notes sound great!
debb1985 – You’re doing a great job so far! I think what might help with the timing is to start Melody A a bit slower so that you can play the whole song at the same steady pulse…just a bit slower than the tempo you ended up at. This will allow you time to get to tricky notes as well as give the whole song a bit of consistency and flow. Great work, keep it up!
@funtime2018 – Well done! The only thing I’d suggest is 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.
@brabbit – I thought your timing was excellent! That was very well played overall. For the harmonic chord hit at the end, I’d substitute it out for a single note tapped harmonic of the A string at the 12th fret. You can learn how to do that in this course. Work on single note tapped harmonics before tackling chords.
@maryjanew – fantastic, well played! There’s really not much to critique; if I have to be very nitpicky… sometimes there’s a micro hesitation when you move from one double stop phrase to the next (up and down the neck). So just work on getting that to flow a bit smoother, but I can tell that what you’re doing is working! So keep doing what you’re doing! Sounds awesome overall!
@dryossi – that was so good! The only suggestion I have is to listen back to your performance for the areas where the tempo slows down a bit. This tends to be a phrase where the chord transitions, or the rhythm, becomes pretty tricky. So I would target those areas in your practice. But overall it was excellent, keep up the great work!
@willymac – Bravo! I was extremely impressed with how well you did with the timing. I think I hear your foot tapping along. I can’t stress enough how much that helps at keeping the rhythm consistent (tip for those of you reading this feedback).I was also impressed with the sound of the accented strums – which is a big part of this arrangement. Those nails really do sound great, how do you like them?
The only thing that stood out to me, that I want to point out to you, is the first two bars of the song. That phrase that gets repeats twice, try to swing it a little more. How you played it sounds a bit too straight to my ear.
Thanks Stephen,
I reviewed it following the music and I see what is happening. I think I play it fine when I follow the tab but when I am playing from memory, I tend to skip some notes. I’ll keep working on it
Mark1256@Andrew Thanks. I was indeed tapping my foot. I usually put a carpet fragment down to dampen the sound but I couldn’t find it this morning.
I love the nails. I use a classical guitar artificial nail (RicoNails) with nail glue, they’re a little thicker then fashion nails so they last longer and give a more musical tone then fashion nails.
I’ll work on the first part. That song was really challenging.
I’m very close to being ready to record Malaqueña. I can’t do it fast and smooth yet, but everyday I get just a little closer (although I’ve been saying that for two months 🙂
Thank you Andrew. In your feedback the video you suggested I review ‘producing a sweet, soft tone’ you mention another video that talks to playing to match what the song is about. There isn’t a link to it. Could you direct me to it?
@willymac – Nice! Check these out. They are what Dave Kear uses and ohhh my, you’re in for a treat if you haven’t heard him play.
@joe150 – This is your best performance I’ve heard to date! Bravo, Joe! So if you watch your video back, notice how the last 2/3rd’s is played from memory and the first part has you looking at the sheet music. Notice how smoothly you play from memory. That’s the goal and so my only critique is for you to get the first part down without reference. Keep up the great work!
@funtime2018 – I think it’s this one. The idea is to match your feel to what the song is – so in that video I play “Dream a Little Dream of Me”, which has a soft, gentle and loving feel – which is the feel that you want to mimic on the uke 🙂
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