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Thank you @willymac, @rebeca, @lyndallk, @rickeymike, @morrieuke1- we had fun performing! 🙂
Here’s everyone on page 7 I hadn’t gotten to yet.
tim0721 – Overall, that was a fantastic performance! I think you aced the first half of it. Therefore, my suggestion would be to target your practice beginning on the last phrase of the first theme (starts at 1:10 in your performance). I remember that phrase – it’s a toughy, real finger frenzy!
I’m impressed that you tackled Evan’s version for the second theme, but what’s difficult about that is that it has so many four string chords PLUS some of the jumps are a bit ridiculous (like bar 43).
If you take a look at that measure in my version, I made it much easier by rewriting it to stay in the 7th position. So my suggestion would be to take a look at both versions and see if a few of the measures can be substituted with what I wrote to make it easier to play.
As you work on that, focus on getting each phrase to sustain. To me, that’s one of the focal points in theme 2.
funtime2018 – Well done! So I have one suggestion for you, which is to lighten up your right hand attack. If you pluck or strum with less force, it will produce a softer, sweeter tone.
I talked about this concept in this feedback video from a previous challenge (on “La Gitanita”).
andrewvh – That was a solid take, Andrew! Rhythm sounds great! For the solo, I’d take it phrase by phrase and play along with me and the band. That will help you stay locked in since you’ll have my play along acting as the guide.
Master one or two phrases, then play it without the uke on the track. Record yourself and listen back to make sure you’re locked in. If you’re not, repeat the play along practice.
alisefrenchyuky – I thought you did a great job! So I’d actually recommend the same advice I left for @funtime2018 in my previous post (above this). I talked about lightening up your right hand attack and linked a video that explains that concept. Def check it out 🙂
morrieuke1 – First off, awesome shirt! But seriously, I think this is the best performance I’ve heard from you! I think you aced the A melody – especially the triplet picking phrases. They sound perfect! You got the melody to pop over the harmony and kept the rhythm fluid.
Rubato was spot-on in this section. There’s one section in theme 1 that I would have changed. Listen to the first A to Dm (7-12 sec) phrase and contrast that to the second time (13-18). The latter gradually builds speed into it and declines, while the former sustained speed for too long over the Dm. Am I nitpicking your performance… you bet ya! But, the latter def does give it a more natural feel, so I’d duplicate that for both times thru.
For the second theme, I’d decrease the tempo and work on getting everything to sustain a little bit more. But the big thing is the tempo, I think if you drop it a bit it’ll create a nice contrast over the “action packed” sound of the other themes. And lastly, I really dig the slide lick you threw in there and the harmonics at the end. Nice touches!
taylor22jane – I loved it! You guys are so much fun to watch! And major props to your bro on the bass lines!
As far as critiques for your playing, I’d focus your practice on cleaning up the rhythm part. You want to work on getting the hits (strums, chucks, single notes) accurate and defined. Which you can totally do, because I hear it in the solo part, but as you know, it’s much harder to get it consistently clean while having to sing on top of it.
Speaking of the solo, you did a great job! There’s one lick I want you to work on, which is the A minor rake. I made a video for Nathalie earlier this month with some tips on it. Check it out, it will help you execute it better. Keep up the great work!
janett75 – I’m excited that you joined us for your first challenge! 🙂
Your playing has a beautiful tone to it. One tip, try adding a pull-off every time you have 1 to 0 on the E string (for the A melody). You did do this for the B Melody and it’s a really simple way to add a subtle texture to your playing and create contrast in the melody notes since the timbre is different with a P/O vs. plucked note.
mark1256 – Fantastic job, Mark! Your tempo is fine – honestly, this is a song that would still sound great even if it was played much slower than what you did. I do have one tip for you, which I put in this video (and here is the lesson I referenced):
Thanks so much for the feedback Andrew. Until a couple of weeks ago I was convinced I couldn’t master slides or pull offs or hammer-ons, so will definitely try that out more now.
Yay – two months in a row – must be all this extra spare time :/
Out in the North
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Andrew thanks so much for the feedback! I’m going to work on your suggestions and really try and perfect my performance.
Hi @joe150
Nice work, it’s easy to see that you have put a lot of effort into playing this piece.Some tips for recording: I think you are using your phone?!?
1. Make sure you remove the cover for recording, it often interferes with the microphone.
2. You already had volume up high as possible – good one!
3. Make sure your phone is laying SIDEWAYS so that the microphone is not blocked by whatever the phone is sitting/ standing on.
4. Have the phone at the uke BODY, not the neck, and with the microphone pointing towards you. And bring it closer for better pickup.I learnt all these little tips thanks to many poor quality recordings, interspersed with a lot of #%+*€##* in between takes 😀
Try it next time, and see if it improves your sound.
(I have added a picture so you can see what I mean)
Thanks Andrew. First let me say that I really appreciate the individual feedback and the effort you put into this. That video made me feel like you were in my living room giving me a private lesson. Awesome job!
I agree – I did feel like I was rushing it. The original is set at 120bpm, and I was trying to keep it as close to that as I could – and you can see it was a struggle for me – especially the slide/pull-off at the beginning of melody B.
I also don’t know why for this particular piece I chose the thumb-only approach – my preferred right-hand is usually using 4-fingers. I guess I have difficulty transitioning between strumming and picking, so using the thumb for both just made sense to me. Is there a lesson on how to get that strumming/picking down, or is it just a matter of practice, practice, practice?
@johnnyrotten – my pleasure! As for your question, it comes down to right hand form. Check out this lesson for placement and fingerpicking/strumming advice.
If you’re still having trouble, email me a video of you playing or post a new topic on the forum. Happy to take a look and make sure everything looks okay 🙂
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