Participate in the June 2022 Member Challenge – WIN $6,000 Kanile’a Ukulele

[threepwoodjones]

I had high hopes for this one. I got married this month and the challenge was Here Comes the Bride, how perfect was that? Anyway, I’ve failed miserably. I can play it ok, but I’ve gotten extremely frustrated trying to record myself. I’m only posting because it’s the last day.

[tessiert]

I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER

Hi Everyone,

Sorry if this appears twice – there seemed a problem with the embed code on my first attempt.

Here’s my June submission – Hall of the Mountain King. I’m simultaneously amazed that I can play this at all and frustrated that I can only succeed without major error about one time in one hundred when playing at full speed :).

Happy Summer,

Trace

• This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by tessiert. Reason: Problem with embed code?
• This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by tessiert. Reason: Problem with embed code?

[sir_anzalot]

I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER

Hey everyone! This months song choice was unavoidable for me I guess 😀
Here is my take on The Bridal Chorus. I took the liberty to sprinkle in some changes for flourish here and there but it’s not much. Hope you’ll like it 🙂

I play this on my Kumu Concert which is the first Uke my now Fiancé gave me as a present a while ago now. It may not be my finest Instrument but it is my very cherished travel companion I take with me more or less everywhere I go.

[andrewvh]

I am a premium member

This is the best take I could get. I could have posted a couple of weeks ago because I have been able to improve since then. But I’m reasonably pleased with the result.

[ukealori]

I am a Premium Member

Great challenge for me, thanks 🙂

[yukalele]

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Well, I’ve had a bad month. Started off with Habana, but then I got Covid. Got over that and then burned my hand left badly, particularly the thumb, meaning I couldn’t hold the neck properly (see it in the video!).

Determined to win the big prize, so I’ve rushed through an entry for Hall of the Mountain King.

Thought I’d try both parts, so if you’re up for a laugh, look at this:

As usual, really great arrangements and brilliant entries. Thanks again RC101 !

[Andrew]

Here’s everyone on page 7 that I hadn’t left feedback for.

@karenj – Perfect performance! Well done 👏

@smudge – Well done! You have a great feel to your playing! It just sounds like you need a little more practice to smooth it out, but you’re almost there! Keep up the great work 🙂

@joannetala – Fantastic duet! Great playing!!

@gmflin8 – Wonderfully played! One technique I want you to work on is hammer-ons. It looks and sounds like you’re not connecting, in other words following through. You know how they say in baseball that when you hit the ball you don’t stop swinging. Same thing here.

The goal for this technique is three fold. One, to cut down on the work of the right hand (less picking). Two, to achieve a different timbre of the notes. Three, for the notes to ring out at the same volume as if picked.

The latter is what I want you to work on. Check out this lesson. It’ll cover the fundamentals. For H/O, make sure you’re coming down with enough force to get both notes to ring at an equal volume as if picked.

Also, watch out for bending at the first joint in the index finger for that A minor at 47 seconds. We always want to keep a nice curve in that joint.

@kidelozzi – Excellent playing! I noticed that you changed the rhythm of the last note in some bars (such as bars 6 and 8) to a half note. It sounds cool, but I would work towards changing it to a quarter note so the timing of each bar remains in 3/4. Because in Melody C, you take it back to playing in 3/4 and it can come across as confusing feels if part of the song has an extra beat and part doesn’t.

@dianna – Hmm, I’m not hearing a high-pitched ring. Could be that the camera isn’t picking it up.

For the stiffness, try to reposition your thumb so that it’s slightly above the middle of the neck as we recommend in this lesson. If you watch your performance, you’ll notice that it hangs over the neck throughout the piece. If you watch Steven’s take, you’ll see his thumb position mimics our recommendation. This should solve the hand issues you’re feeling and increased finger dexterity.

I wouldn’t worry too much about hand noises coming from the back of the neck, it’s just part of playing and you can hear it in many of my performances.

As far as your performance, I thought it was great! I’d work on bringing the timing of bars 19-23 up to tempo of the rest of the piece. And the same for Melody B.

@riley_ukulele – Excellent take! Sounds like the last Melody needs a little bit more practice but the rest of it was perfect!

@seoulkim – Wow! It’s extremely impressive to see you tackle such a difficult song so early in your playing career. I was especially impressed by your attention to detail with accents and dynamics. I’m really excited to continue to watch your progress. You’ve got a bright future ahead!

@ebetsimo – Bravo! Beautifully played!

[kpurdy]

I am a premium member.
I had fun learning this one and going further up the neck than I had been! My parents were Norwegian and I grew up hearing Peer Gynt in my home and my grandparents’. Thank you for the arrangement and for any feedback!
-Kirsten

[Andrew]

@threepwoodjones – That was a great take that was played with great feel! Try not to be so hard on yourself, we are always our worst critic. Recently, I did a million takes for “Blackbird” and the one that was used in the final performance, I sent to Stephen for feedback with a message saying “this sucks.” He was quick to point out that it did not and that I was too much in my head thinking negatively.

I notice that if I walk away from listening to it for a couple days, then come back and re-listen, I realize that he’s right and it was fine all along.

@tessiert – Excellent take, Trace! Bravo on the tempo! Keep up the good work 🙂

@sir_anzalot – Could have fooled me, the tone on that uke is phenomenal! Although the player has something to do with that too, LOL. It was beautifully played with great finesse. Now the pressure is on to play it at your wedding 😉

@andrewvh – Bravo! Knocked it outta the park this month! One of my favorite performances from you 🙂

@ukealori – Well played! Couple spots here and there that you can target your practice to smooth out, but it was great overall! Keep up the good work 🙂

@yukalele – Yikes! Sounds like you’ve had quite the month, but it looks like you’re on the mend 🙂

Playing sounds great, I would just slow down a little bit to make sure you land in the correct fret(s) each time.

@kpurdy – That’s so cool to hear! Bet this brings back some good memories 🙂

Playing was great! I would suggest practicing one melody at a time with a metronome. Go slow and work towards keeping it nice and steady.

[Andrew]

Friendly Reminder – The deadline for receiving feedback and an entry into the giveaway is tonight at 11:59 PM EST (check your local time zone).

[pysanky]

I am a Premium Member!

I chose Habenera as my song this month, it was quite challenging and there were parts that I struggled with. I didn’t get all of it memorized this month and I think that that would have made a big difference. Thanks for the opportunity and I look forward to reading the critique!

https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/JUvtWqVY9rC86vF89

[uku241]

I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER.

Andrew, I had asked you if this was okay that my son (DottieCtrain) and I submit this duet and have it count for both of our entries for this month. I had a hectic month so my son took the melody part.

Ignore the Outtakes later on – just had to keep a record of it for my own memory 🙂

Fun piece!

[dottiectrain]

this is my entry and my dad always makes me do these things so we can get the 6000$ ukulele

[biancak]

I am a premium member

Crazy busy month with lots of travels, got reunited with my uke on Tuesday only… 😬
So many good arrangements again, was difficult to choose!

[henri0]

March of the Toreadors

PREMIUM MEMBER

Recorded two takes this month. This is the one that had least mistakes. Ran out of time to get it much smoother. Had so much fun learning this and Habanera for June. Thanks all.

[Author]

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