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@Andrew – Thanks Andrew, it’s still a work in progress. I started videoing my practice even when using the tab scroller. That was the best take so far, but I’ve added that piece to my “meditative etudes” to keep it in my practice sessions.
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This is my first time recording myself playing, having fooled around with the uke since COVID had me working from home, never playing any stringed instrument before that. Thanks for the motivation to practice!
I played Merry-Go-Round of Life, which is definitely the most difficult finger style arrangement I’ve tried, but Howl’s Moving Castle is my daughter’s favorite Studio Ghibli movie so I had to give it a go. Still needs a lot of work.
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As I was away for much November (without a ukulele, and yes I had withdrawal symptoms!) I only had ~ 10 days, which thankfully included a weekend, to work on Steven’s beautiful arrangement of ‘Always with me’. I only got it up to 80% speed and there is clearly much room for improvement, especially the hammer-ons and pull-offs got lost in many places.
However, on a positive I feel that being able to play this song through in the time frame I had available is a personal achievement, this time last year it would have likely taken me the whole month to get to the same performance level – thanks RC101!!. Though I am not familiar with the Studio Ghibli movies the songs are amazing; I plan to keep working on this arrangement and hope in time to progress on to Howl’s Moving Castle.
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I have only watched one Studio Ghibli movie in my life (I know, I definitely have some catching up to do! 😇 ) and didn’t know any of the songs, but after listening to all of the arrangements I definitely fell in love with all of the soundtrack! My favourite one was “Merry-Go-Round Of Life”, and although it was definitely way too difficult for me I still wanted to give it a try. It is far from perfect, but was such a great workout for my fretting hand haha 😄
Thanks for listening! Rafaela 🙂
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I worked on Always With Me this month, beautifully arranged by Steven…..It sounds like such a simple little tune…..but that is deceiving…..quite a challenge!….especially verse 2. I used a scene from the anime “Spirited Away” as a background (and yes, maybe a bit of a visual distraction!). It took about a minute to get the background……but, it took a significant amount of time to get a reasonable recording….So excuse all the cringe-worthy parts.🤪. Thanks for the challenge……Also, kudos to everyone for their posts……impressive work. I love sharing in this journey with everyone and witnessing everyone’s growth.
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Hey,
For this monthly challenge I chose Alway with Me, Steven’s version is so beautiful… but after a month I can say it: I’m not yet ready for level 2 music ^^sorry for the massacre, I did my best, I promise
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As we celebrate Thanksgiving and thankfulness, I am thankful for this beautiful instrument, wonderful community, and fantastically helpful instruction. Thank you Andrew and crew for all of your hard work.
I chose Path of the Wind for this challenge.
My son has seen the movie and enjoyed hearing me play it. Thank you! And happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!
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Hi everyone long time no see. Been super busy lately as I bought my first home this year but it’s a fixer upper so still a work in process. I know nothing about anime is that an adult cartoon? But fun to learn something new. I’ve been playing this all month but this is the take I could get 😄 I know it can be better . Anyway excited to play some Christmas songs now!
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I could repeat all the challenging issues with Always With Me, that others posted and I shared all of them. I chose this piece because I just fell in love with it (thanks Steven & Andrew) but probably above my level. I was shocked I memorized it but if I lost any spec of concentration, I had to start again 🙂 This was take 50 (maybe 30) but my fingers were giving out.
(just spent 3 hours trying to convert to mp4 and upload – arrrgh!)
Great job to all the entries, so many amazing musicians 🙂@firebladetim – Wow Tim! I’m just blown away that you can play THAT well in such a short amount of time. Whatever you’re doing, keep it up, it’s working!
@akukes73 – Amazing playing for only 10 days Ash! Def a testament to your progress as a musician 🙂As you continue to practice this piece, I’d focus on the areas where legato wasn’t as evident. Practice a little bit slower and try to create as much sustain from one note/chord to the next. Keep up the great work!
@rafaela – You did such an awesome job capturing the mood and feel of this magical piece. I loved it, keep up the great work!
@dianna – Ohh, I like the background animation! And your music matches it perfectly 🙂Great performance! Only thing I’d recommend as you continue practicing is to work on one section a day. Go slow and focus on smoothing out all transitions while emphasizing sustain. Excellent job this month!
@clempek – I disagree, I’d say you can def tackle this level of tunes. Your performance was awesome! I have a couple tips to share. First tip, don’t forget to tune before recording. Your C string was a fair bit off.Second, as you continue practicing, try one section at a time, but at a slower tempo. Focus on keeping it steady throughout. Overall, I was really impressed this month. Bravo!
@leslieb – Bravo Leslie! A stellar performance, I can def see why your son enjoyed hearing it 🙂My only advice would be to focus on keeping the tempo a bit more steady in the B Melody and to double check the timing in the last couple bars of that section. Keep up the great work!
@kelsey91 – Welcome back Kelsey! Congrats on your home! I thought you did a fantastic job on all 3 melodies. Great feel and pacing throughout. Well done 👏
@leb397 – That was awesome, Louisa! I can def tell you worked hard on it because it shows! Fantastic performance! As you continue practicing, work on one section at a time. Try playing with Steven in the tab player. Focus on keeping timing steady throughout. And congrats on memorizing it, that’s no small feat!@Andrew, thank-you…….I seem to get to a certain point each month in my practice at which point I have to post, though I don’t really consider myself truly performance ready. It’s a good time to review where I am at, get some pointers from you…..but then each piece could benefit from a minimum of at least another month’s worth of practice, if not more. Still, as I move onto the next month’s challenge, I do sense that what I have gained from previous challenges, I can apply to the next challenge. Maybe, I should take on pieces that I know I can prepare to be performance ready in a month……I don’t know, I rarely feel ready to post…..I usually feel it could be so much better and that I have taken on way more than I can chew.
@leb397…..I’m not very technical, but what are u using to record? If you use your phone or an iPad…..these short videos can be uploaded straight into u-tube…..which only takes a minute or two and there is no need for pre-conversion, Maybe someone with better technical skills than I have can help you……..but 3 hrs…..I can understand your frustration!
Also, I agree with you on memorization….sometimes it causes more issues for me if I am not totally focused.
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