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[jasdel]

I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER

Hello Rock Class! I chose the oh so beautiful Gymnopedie No. 1 for July. This was the best recording I could get after a month of practice, and way too many takes! Although the piece may be out of my league, I still enjoyed learning and playing it, and will continue to refine my performance. Thank you to Steven for the amazing arrangement! The new course is appreciated, Andrew, and I enjoyed everyone’s submissions! 🙂

[otzepeng]

I’m Premium member

Heyho Rockclass,

I finally managed to record something again (unfortunately I had to take a break in June).

We had a few rainy days on vacation, so I was able to take the time to play this.

The sound of Etude 29 was too beautiful to resist. Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite manage to play the pulloff from Bar 8 cleanly, so I picked the note.

My jaw drops when I listen to some of the entries here, especially the challenging pieces. I’m incredibly impressed by the performances of @shmu88, @marianne, @jasdel, @gi_gi_ & @katazumiri. Thank you for so much dedication and commitment. Of course, all the other participants also delivered fantastic performances – thank you all as well! 👏🏼

I also wish @brettboy a speedy recovery.💪🏼
I think back with horror to my bicycle accident three years ago, in which I broke my left wrist – especially what an enormous loss it was not to be able to play.

Now a few words to @andrew:

It’s simply amazing how the site has expanded in recent months. I’ve tried out the free tools and I think it’s fantastic to have everything conveniently located in one place and easy to use (I’ve already taken plenty of quizzes).

The new Pathways course is also excellent. What we’re all doing here—learning to play our instruments through songs — has been given a logical structure by the course, making it even easier to gradually acquire a variety of techniques and make progress. Chapeau! 🤙🏼

See/ hear You in August.

[gi_gi_]

@jody_hendrickson & @otzepeng Thank you so much for your kind words. I really appreciate them. I enjoyed both of your pieces as well. Very well played.

@otzepeng If I remember correctly you were the one to tell us about the Hollyland Lark mics. They’re amazing. Thanks for that tip. It’s so convenient and easier to use than an amp ☺️

[misterbones]

Malagueña has been on my backlog for a long time, so now was the perfect opportunity to learn it. I cheated and simplified the trickiest part a little, which left me with a piece without any particularly difficult part, but also no particularly easy part. In other words, it’s really difficult to get through the entire two minutes without slipping, and the slip happens in a different place each time. So here’s the least imperfect out of way too many imperfect takes. But on the one hand, it’s important to learn to play through one’s mistakes, as Andrew keeps repeating rightfully, and on the other hand, the focus here was less on technical perfection and more on expression. So I tried to vary the tempo a little throughout themes one and three, as taught in the lesson, to make it sound unique, and I tried to give theme two a different, contrasting sound, also as taught in the lesson. Here we go:

I also just caught up with the forum entries and really sorry to hear about Brett’s accident. Glad to learn about the opportunity for him to catch up in September with three entries and maintain perfect attendance (though it will be challenging to learn and record three pieces within one month, after not having played for almost two months, but if anyone can pull it off, it’s Brett).
Also like the idea about creating an open string/right hand only etude. There are so many right hand techniques that can be mixed and matched (strumming, picking, chucking, tremolo picking, palm muting, harmonics, tapping, knocking to name just a few), that with a clever open tuning it should be possible to come up with a half decent etude without fretting any notes with the left hand.

[leb397]

Oh no @brettboy! I am so sorry to hear. A worst nightmare. I’ll miss your entry. What were you working on? Nice of @andrew to give you a current bye. Wishing you speedy recovery and your job too, yikes. I bet you had fun in Paris until then.

Btw I broke my wrist years ago doing the hokey pokey on roller skates 😆 and , of course heard the snap. Worst was still having a child in diapers… ugh.

Once your fingers aren’t as swollen, hopefully you can figure a way to practice. I definitely feel for you. Especially your entry streak! You and The_bumble_bard breaking your streak. I have my fingers crossed so far. Always look forward to the “regulars” and the newbees entries.❤️👏

[leb397]

I started at the beginning of the Pathways course and worked my way through until I stumbled on the last song in beginner Classic rock strum riff. My “favorite “ chucking 😝 so that’s what I worked on. I’ll move on to next level till I stumble again. Nice variety of songs @andrew and they keep your interest.
Ps @karenj I like yours better ☺️
Louisa

So many great entries!

[otzepeng]

@misterbones: wonderful played 🤗. As you guess, i also think there are many options to create a etude with only open strings.

I remembered also this one from Choan Galves:

@gi_gi: Thx a lot. I immediately noticed the LarkM2 in your video ☺️, but I was wondering why the microphone wasn’t in the way in that position. Did you record with just one microphone or both? Regardless of whether it’s mono or stereo, it doesn’t affect the amazing sound of your beautiful Lout. 🤗

[gi_gi_]

@otzepeng Thanks about my new Lout uke. I had been eyeing it for years now. They’re hard to find. I can’t believe how much resonance it had. I love it. Yes I recorded with only one mic. I started with two but after listening back I decided I only needed one since I wasn’t singing into the second mic. I put it on the right side because it was getting in my way on the left side. I set it to ‘without noise cancelling’ (blue). I really didn’t know what I was doing. I just hit the button and played 😂😂😂 Those little mics are so easy to set up. Do you think I should’ve used both mics?

Great video on playing the uke with only the right hand 😂 I will try it.

• This reply was modified 1 day, 1 hour ago by gi_gi_.

[The_Bumble_Bard]

Hello ukulele friends!! 😁

I managed to get an entry together this month! I explain more in the video, but I picked Aura Lee because it’s my 4 year ukuversary from when I joined Rock Class 101 (I think a couple weeks ago, but still) and that was the first song I learned when I joined here! 🙂

I look forward to going back and listening to all the, no doubt, incredible entries this month! Thank you to this amazing community and all the incredible work that @Andrew and co. have done to make this site better and better every year! Lorve you all!! 😁🥰

• This reply was modified 22 hours, 3 minutes ago by The_Bumble_Bard.

[grannieannie]

@The_Bumble_Bard: Of course we’re going to watch your video, and your tears show just how much music and this community mean to you. I’m glad you were able to squeeze in an entry this month and that this song gave you tangible evidence of how you’ve improved in the last four years.

To everyone else: Well done! When I start to feel stuck, as if I’m not making any progress, I sit down and listen to your entries and walk away inspired. Thanks to everyone who entered and thanks especially to Andrew and crew for making this happen.

[gi_gi_]

@the_bumble_bard So good to see and hear from you. Glad you could do it.

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@otzepeng, very gorgeous playing on Etude No. 29! Quite lovely! 🙂

@misterbones, so amazing! I have always loved that tune and you absolutely nailed it as usual! Oh wow!! That triplet picking though!! That is crazy good!!! (I’m writing this as I’m listening!) Your entries keep getting more and more impressive! Well played, friend! 🙂

@shmu88 (I may have to go back and correct your name because for some reason I always spelled it wrong, lol), your Georgia on My Mind is so lovely! That inspired me to get the piano version but I want to learn the uke version, too! Really lovely and soulful! 🙂

@leb397, thank you so much, I absolutely love that tune you picked, if that’s the one I’m thinking of! I have good memories attached to it, but I can’t explain why here, lol! It was just happy moments in my life that coincided with that tune coming out. But very beautifully played! To this day, still can’t chuck, LOL! Maybe some day! Lovely work, friend! 🥰

@grannieannie, very beautiful playing on your entry! I’m the exact opposite and only play high G! My electric uke that I won from here is low G, but I don’t play that as often because it is very heavy, frankly! It’s cool, though, I’ve been meaning to revisit that. Anyway, very lovely performance!

Thank you so much for your kind words about my video! That really means a lot! This community does mean so much to me and always will have a place in my heart, even during life’s chaos. The last couple of years in my personal life just have been very intense. Things are stable right now, but just chaotic for reasons too awkward even for me to describe here, lol. But thank you, I do love this community a lot! 🥰

@gi_gi_ Thank you so much, my friend! Your support has always meant so much to me. 🥰 I kept trying to reply to your email, but then the chaos of the situation actually managed to increase and change constantly, so I didn’t know how to articulate it until things became clearer. They seem to be becoming clearer now. I’ll have to tell you about it a little later. My “romantic life” is basically the plot of Twilight, with slightly fewer vampires. LOLOLOlol, sigh. 😂 That’s the most I can publicly say.

As for your entry, absolutely gorgeous playing, friend! I wanted to pick that one, but since I did both my entries today, I just didn’t have time to do it justice like you did! Such beautiful feeling behind your playing. Is that going to potentially be a UU Open Mic performance in August? 😂

…

I’m really sad I can’t reply to everyone, but I’ve got other stuff to do tonight, including working my second job! Good times!! I have to go back and listen to @Marianne ‘s and I’ll just say in advance that I know it’s amazing! Also, I know everyone else’s are, too! Y’alls are the best!

Oh yeah, here is the second entry I did to “make up” for missing last month (again, just in my heart, not an actually counted entry). It’s Etude No. 13, and while I managed to learn / record that AND Aura Lee tonight and they’re both beginner tunes, for some reason I really struggled with the rhythm of this tune. When it’s ongoing 8th notes but with different, distinct patterns, I sometimes struggle with that for some reason (I think it’s because I know it’s suppose to be one, continuous “flow” of notes, but I’m thinking of the pattern changing simultaneously). Beautiful tune, though!

I hope you all get hashtag blessed!! 🥰

P.S. Not sure why, this video is crushingly quiet, while the other one’s sound was normal! Sorry about that, lol! 🤔

[rw1950merritt]

I am a premium member.
This is the piece that enabled me to discover rock class. I was searching for an ukulele tab piece of it and found yours.
It’s still a little ragged now, but you should have heard how frightening it was back then. Thanks for all the great arrangements.

[otzepeng]

@The_Bumble_Bard: Thank you so much. Your first clip was soo emotional that i shared a little tear with you …. I send you warm fourth-anniversary-hugs. 🤗

The Performance of Etude no.13 was also lovely. 🤙🏼

@gi_gi_: The new UKE is gorgeous, congrats for this ( …. still dreaming of a Bird or Singer 🫠)
You definitly need at least one mic 🤭 but it’s fun and worth to play around with different settings.
Mostly I hang one inside my Uke (beware of scratches by the magnet and stick some kind of floor on it) and the other is in front of me.
So I can catch up the whole in-and-outside-sound.

There is also a little app from hollyland, where you can set up each mic seperatly and do some other settings.

Finally i also use the “Dolby-App”. A little tool to normalize, louden up or equalize the recording, it automatically doubles the soundtrack. I recommend it. 👍🏼

Greetings, Markus

[gi_gi_]

@otzepeng Hi Markus, thanks so much. I love it too. I can’t believe I have it. The way I was able to get it is because they allow you to pay as little as $100 a month until it’s paid off. You can choose if you pay more or less. I just couldn’t refuse that offer 😂 It is offered at checkout.

@the_bumble_bard Yes I think I might try to play it at the Open Mic 😂 Congrats on 4 yrs here. Great community indeed 🥰

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