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Hi Rock Class 101 Community!
We are back with a VERY SPECIAL site member challenge #39! We’re teaming up with Kanile’a ‘Ukulele and Uke Republic to give away an AMAZING Kanile’a P-1 Pineapple Ukulele! This model is brand new for 2020 and retails at $1,370 USD.
I am beyond humbled to say that there has now been over 1,700+ members participating in our challenges! AMAZING! If you’ve sat on the sidelines, please join us for this month’s challenge! Challenges are a fun way to stay motivated and a great way to meet fellow ukulele players who are passionate about learning and becoming better players. 🙂 And I offer feedback on ALL submissions!
Please watch the video above and read instructions below carefully for details/instructions on this month’s challenge.
Pick 1 from the following 4 Rock Class 101 Classic Song Lessons:
1) “People Are Strange” by The Doors * – This fingerstyle arrangement transposes Morrison’s haunting blues voice onto the ukulele. In terms of difficulty, this piece falls smack dab in the middle, in that it’s ideal for the intermediate player. * Taught in its Entirety for FREE!
2) “Stairway To Heaven” by Led Zeppelin – An 8 minute opus compressed to just under 3. I tried to pull the best parts of the song and play them at least once throughout this arrangement.
3) “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson * – In this full band arrangement, you’ll learn a fingerstyle adaption that will strengthen your rhythmic playing ability. * Performing to the backing track is OPTIONAL.
4) “Careless Whisper” by George Michael * – Learn George Michael’s signature song! This fingerstyle arrangement is presented with a full band backing track, but can also be played as a solo ukulele piece. * Performing to the backing track is OPTIONAL.
** If you need assistance with how to record yourself check out our FREE course on recording audio/video and/or private message me and I will be happy to help you out. **
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GOALS FOR MEMBER CHALLENGE:
1. Beginner Level: Be able to play one of the lessons as shown by Andrew smoothly and in time. Do not worry about trying to play fast; slow and steady wins the race 🙂
Recommended Piece: “People Are Strange”
2. Intermediate to Advanced Level: Be able to play the lesson as shown by Andrew smoothly, in time, and at or close to the original piece’s tempo.
Recommended Piece: “Stairway To Heaven”, “Billie Jean”, OR “Careless Whisper”
3. Participation Goal: 75 Rock Class 101 Member Participant Videos/MP3 posted.
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GROUND RULES FOR PARTICIPATION:
1. Post your Youtube, Vimeo, or Soundcloud links of you playing 1 of the 4 Classic Song pieces anytime between Monday, June 1st till Tuesday, June 30th, 11:59pm EST.
The upload feature on the site only supports file sizes up to 5 MB. Members must host their own files. Creating an account is easy and free 🙂 Here are the links to create an account:
YouTube (For Video) – https://www.youtube.com/create_channel
SoundCloud (For Audio) – https://soundcloud.com/signin
2. Submit individually, as a reply, IN THIS POST.
3. Feel free to submit more than one video for the challenge, but additional videos will not count as extra entries into the raffle for the prize.
4. Have fun and don’t be intimidated by this challenge!!! Use this challenge to help you set goals and complete them by a deadline. You can also use this as an opportunity to chat with your fellow Rock Class 101 members and share tips or tricks on this challenge that you think are useful.
5. You must perform the entire piece to receive an entry into the prize raffle. Performance must be submitted by the deadline listed (in #1) above to gain an entry in the raffle, as well as, to receive feedback.
* Note: In my opinion, it is better to show progress versus perfection with these challenges. So if you are a beginner and can only play the first couple of measures. That is completely ok. If you play two more measures of the next challenge piece than you did the previous one, you are on track to getting better. This is what these challenges are about… you learning ukulele and getting better. Remember we are all here to support you no matter what your current playing level is.
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COMMON FAQs:
1) The prize and the challenge is open to the entire world!
2) Premium membership is NOT required to participate, but will make participation easier as it gains you complete access to the full video lessons, tabs, and the on-screen tab viewer.
3) Basic membership (free) is required to submit a reply on this forum post. You can sign up for Basic Membership HERE.
4) To post YouTube video links (in which they appear embedded on the forum), simply copy and past the video URL in its own line. For example:
YouTube URL
5) If you live in the Continental U.S., we will ship the giveaway ukulele to you for FREE! If you live outside of the Continental U.S., there will be a shipping fee ranging between $40 USD to $80 USD (as this ukulele is very expensive, shipping costs may exceed this amount. It will be shipped insured). This fee will be collected by Uke Republic. You are also responsible for any custom fees or duties.
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Giveaway Rules:
There will be 3 chances for you to win this ukulele:
First Chance: Participate in our April Challenge: Hawaiian Themed!
Second Chance: Participate in our May Challenge: Mixed Bag Themed!
Third Chance: Participate in our June Challenge: Classic Songs Themed!
Basic (free) members will receive 1 entry for each month they participate in, while Premium members will receive 2 entries. On July 4th at 12 PM EST, I will be live streaming on our YouTube channel, picking 1 member by random drawing that will WIN this AMAZING Kanile’a Ukulele! To qualify to win, you must submit your audio and/or video links of your playing by the deadline listed above.
Basic members can earn up to 3 entries for the prize.
Premium members can earn up to 6 entries for the prize. You must have an “active” premium membership at the time you submit your performance. Active membership means that your membership HAS NOT expired. This does not mean that you cannot cancel auto re-bills. If you sign up for monthly membership (valid for 30 days) on the 15th of June and cancel your membership the same day, then submit your performance on the 16th (the next day), you are still considered an “active” premium member. The same concept applies for annual membership or gift card membership (3 or 6 month membership).
YOU MUST WRITE “I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER” ON YOUR PERFORMANCE SUBMITTAL POST. Please write this phrase in its own line. For example:
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
I will only award 2 entries to premium members that write this line. It would be too time consuming to check if everyone who submits is a premium member. If you do not write this, you WILL NOT receive 2 entries.
Grand Prize:
1) $1,370 Grand Prize! Includes:
A) Kanile’a P-1 Pineapple Tenor Ukulele (Includes: a black hard foam case)
LISTEN TO THIS SWEET UKE BEING PLAYED!
UKULELE SPECS
Solid Select Straight Grain Koa body
Gloss Body, Silk Neck Finish
Solid Mahogany neck
Ebony fingerboard, bridge and head plate
Kanile`a Cobra headstock
Gold Kanile`a Open Geared Tuners
Ebony bridge pins
NuBone nut and saddle
White Mother-of-Pearl position markers
Kanile`a Pineapple K logo
UV cured finishOther Features: Includes a black hard foam case
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THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS!
Kanile’a: https://www.kanileaukulele.com/
Uke Republic: http://www.ukerepublic.com/
AND A SPECIAL THANKS TO YOU! Let’s crush this challenge!
Another beginner low-G tune. Just the excuse I need to buy another uke! Got any budget-friendly suggestions that can be tuned low-G? I already have a Kala KA-C.
Hey Johnny,
the easiest thing to do without buying another Uke is to go buy a Low G STRING for your existing ukulele!
That is what I did when I only had one instrument. Now I have 3 low G and 1 high G ukuleles.
I’m looking to sell a Kala Tenor with a low G…. *hint* LOL
-Mary JaneThis is awesome. I am going to try Billie Jean. My goal is just to get it right at about 40% speed.
– ShankarAll awesome songs but most are above my paygrade! lol, I will probably do “people Are Strange” but I also LOVE “Stairway to Heaven”. I started to learn a ukulele version of Stairway last year from Cynthia Lin which she did in 3 parts, but I never completed parts 2 & 3.
MaryJane, good advice, but to be clear, I’m not looking for reasons not to buy another uke. I’m too lazy to change a string every time I want to switch!
Great song choices Andrew!!!
“Careless Whisper” is a beautiful arrangement, but it will take me 400 weeks for me to get it worthy of submission.I am going for “People are Strange” but, as I have already learned it, this challenge will be for me to play in time and close to perfect, improving my style etc.
Yay.
@johnnyrotten “Ohana” Ukes are very good instruments at reasonable price too.
(I have just bought a second Ohana this week to add to my collection).
But really, take a look through what is available at Uke Republic, and check out the videos too for comparison (not perfect, but better than nothing).
I am sure you will see something worthy there.
(Or there is Mary Jane’s tenor with low G. 🙂 )@johnnyrotten, I found an inexpensive and gently used (already low g strung) Kala Pacific Walnut on Reverb a while back. It ended up being at a local music store so I saved on shipping too.
I have an Ortega tenor which really wasn’t very expensive (about £70) – which is my low G instrument.I bought it when I first started playing to allow access to low G tunes, but I’m playing it more and more now, so maybe time for an upgrade!!! It sounded better in the shop than more expensive instruments. When I put living water strings on it, it made a massive difference. It does the job, sounds nice and didn’t break the bank.
uhh, I really like people are strange.. the others not so much. would it be considered cheating if I did that one though I feel it may be easier for me than the others?
aww nevermind I saw Evans take on careless whisper and it’s got such a nice groove maybe I’ll give it a try! I’d like to know for future challenges though (: When I read classic I was thinking about classical pieces ^^
I think I’m going to go with Stairway To Heaven just because its such an iconic song and I don’t have a low g. Sadly, even though I like Careless Whisper I think its way out of my skill level…even though Pineapple Uke Blues was to…I don’t think ill have enough time to learn careless whisper up to speed. I’m so ready to win that uke! 🙂
@anirbaf – I don’t think it’s cheating. I do easy or hard songs as I feel like it. At this point, I’ve proven I can do harder songs, so I don’t feel like I have to demonstrate it every month. Plus, there is a big difference between how someone with a lot of experience plays an easy piece and how a beginner plays it.
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