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suzums, no worries! I fixed it for you 🙂
All you have to do is paste the link in its own line, none of the button html things above needed. So for ex:
YOUTUBE LINK URL
My editing skills are non-existent, so wearing a Walking Dead shirt and putting on a filter was the fanciest I could manage. 😂
This month was especially challenging for me and this is the best I could muster. More than anything, I’ve been consistently inconsistent with my playing results. 😭 No matter how much I practiced, I just got deeper into my own head. 🙁
Anyway, Happy Halloween and 5th Anniversary (Birthday?) to RC101! It’s been about 4 months since I joined (6 months since I picked up my first uke) and the experience here has been priceless. Thank you for all you do, Andrew!
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
Hi Andrew,
What a great prize! This song was one of my requests! I’m still fine tuning it…haha! Thanks Andrew, Kelly
hotmilkjtea – That was a very good rendition! I liked the dynamics (volume swells), tempo changes, and you nailed the fingerpicking with a very subtle finesse! My only advice would be to get to each new chord shape just a bit faster to interrupt the flow just a little less, although you made each change flow very well! It works how you are playing it, but with having to stop less between each new shape, you could focus even more on the other musical elements! Very haunting, and thank you for joining the challenge!
gstriph – Very nice job on the fingerpicking patterns and fretting hand notes! You definitely paid attention to detail! To add to what you’re doing, try to hold each note out longer…leaving less space between each picked note. This will make each phrase sound smoother. Then you can add in volume swells to add emotion to the piece, and isolate where the chord shapes change (2-4 measures at a time). Practicing these transitions will also make it easier to play smoothly! Great work, keep it up!
brenna – Awesome! I can tell you practiced this a ton—your timing and feel was great! There seemed to be only one or two spots that gave you any challenge at all! The ending just needs a little bit more work: Make it sound emotional by really treating each note as a heartfelt journey. I would exaggerate slowing down on the last few notes before the harmonics instead of rushing through them. But this is a very minor detail…overall that was one of the best submissions so far! Keep them coming! Thanks for being a part of the challenge!
lyndallk – Wonderful! Was that really your first take?! I think the only thing to do to make this better is to practice the song a bit more…it seems like a few of the transitions caught you off guard, but that you knew each section really well! I enjoyed it! Thank you for your entry!
hondamom – You nailed it! It’s very hard to get all of the transitions in time, but you managed to do them very well! I enjoyed the dynamics as well! There was a little bit of fret buzz on one of the transitions, so a tiny bit of work on transitioning seemlessly might add to it, but it’s a super slight detail, and it’s super hard to get the transitions in time at all, and you did it great! Thank you for participating!
mycb3tm3n – I’m so sorry to hear about your Ukulele! It sounded fine even having been stepped on! Wonderful playing…it’s hard to believe you’re only 11! My only advice would be to play a bit lighter on some of the melody notes with your right hand. They sing better with just a tiny bit less attack. Way to go on picking the harder song, you did VERY well! You have a very bright Ukulele future ahead of you 🙂
andracass – Very good under the time constraint! The chord transitions are the hardest part for almost everyone, and it sounds like a bit of work on that and the finger picking pattern would smooth out the rest of it! Thank you for participating!
arbuscula – Nicely done! You played great, the finger-picking was on point, and there was only one slight hesitation going into the last section (where the chord is strummed). It worked well even with the slight pause (sounded intentional)! 0:16 seconds in, I would just be careful with the angle you have on the fretting hand wrist in this section, as playing for an extended time with the wrist bent this way can cause wrist pain. Instead, try to play it in a way that allows you to keep a straighter wrist. However, it was only on this section, so it’s probably fine, just worth noting so you don’t injure yourself in the future! 🙂 Great playing!
coffeeemug – Great playing! The transitions are tough, for sure! Looping is the right idea, it just takes lots of practice and patience! Have you tried smaller loops (two measures at a time right with the tricky spot in the middle of the two measures)? If so, then you’re doing it right…just practice slowly enough to get it in time at the slow tempo, and work up to full speed. On your fingerpicking hand, have you tried curving your fingers in a “C” shape as you play? It might help just a bit. Thanks for submitting this, and you did great!
mycaptain – Your playing sounds great! It sounds to me like one of your strings are out of tune on the recording! If you do a video (if you haven’t already…), make sure to tune to make it sound even better! Then it’s just a matter of working on a couple of those tough transitions between sections (mentioned to others above). Great job! Thanks for participating!
annefgodfrey – You’re doing great! I love the skull mask! A very creepy, but nice touch! I hope your husband is feeling even better than before! You sound like you are working through the sections and getting more comfortable with each section as you go! On your finger picking hand, try making smaller motions with the fingertips to have more control, and pick over the sound hole to get a slightly louder sound with less effort! Thank you for participating in spite of such a busy and hectic month! 🙂
WOW! @kanae926 !!!
That was awesome – I cannot believe you picked up your first uke 6 months ago!
Have you played other instruments at all?
I am going to be watching your progress 🙂Thanks for your feedback Stephen – just to be clear – it was my first recording. I had practiced it!! Good grief!
But I’ve practiced more and plan to post it again on the tenor ukulele in the next couple of days.
Cheers
LyndallThanks for the comments, Stephen. I’m sure I’m one of many who will continue to work on that first transition well after the challenge is over.
Thanks for the kind words, @miztaken! It doesn’t always feel like I’m making progress, but I’m definitely learning a lot from RC101.
Ukulele is my first string instrument and the only other instrument I’ve ever played was nearly 30 years ago between the ages of 8-10. Playing the accordion was highly unpopular at the time, so I quit after two years. lol It was so huge and heavy that neither my mom or I could carry it very well anyway. 😂 I always got a reminder how my parents could have bought a small car with the payments they’d continued to make on my accordian for years after I quit. 😝
Combine that with me being in choir all throughout high school, reading musical notation isn’t new to me. Although I can’t read highly complex music, I remember the basics to understand what’s on this site.
-Kanni
I’m a premium member.
What software are you guys using? Tried with webcam first, but video and audio got unsynched (the video in hummingbird speed and audio going at normal pace)
Submitted clip is done with my phone, but the recording is upside down (but video and sound is in sync at least). The format would be fitting for the Stranger Things theme.how long until the fingertips on my left hand stops hurting? Or am I using to much force?
Here is everyone on page 10 🙂
hzhuodie, great job! Your playing was very clean! What I’d work on moving forward is to gradually increase the tempo. Start with one chord at a time; so for example, the first chord, Cm, is played over 8 bars. Play along with a metronome or the on-screen tab viewer and gradually increase the tempo by 5 BPM. Repeat this with the other two chords and when you get to a BPM that is 10 to 20 faster than you’re currently at, try to play the entire tune at that speed. I’d also encourage you to practice transitions. Keep up the great work!
hzhuodie, very well played! Super glad you joined us for the challenge 🙂 Your playing has a great feel and I really dug the dramatic hit and sustain of the return to the C minor chord. Hope you join us again next month!
kayleighb, loved the video effects! Your performance was very very good! I can tell that you put a lot of work into it 🙂 here’s my suggestion for that tricky transition from chord one to two: I want you to push yourself in that section, i.e. Move faster.
Here’s a good analogy, imagine you are at the gym and you can lift 10 lbs, but that’s your limit. Do 15.
So lock in with your eye on the 4th fret, string 2, and get your pinky there quickly. Then work on adding the other fingers to form the chord. But the big takeaway is to push yourself to move faster. Even if it sound not clean and you miss notes, get used to moving quicker. Let me know if all this makes sense.
cmab81, Great job, bravo! Here is a video with feedback for you and here are the 2 lessons I referenced to check out: Understanding Rhythmic Notation & La Gitanita (for Picado technique)
awesomestrings, great job, bro! Here is a video with some feedback for you 🙂
crazihippichic, that was really good! Your notes ring clear and have a great tone. I’d keep working to increase the tempo, but it sounds like you are practicing correctly. Remember that speed comes in time. Keep up the great work!
curlyuke, that was a great performance! I’d target your practice to focus on two areas: The transitions and correcting one area in regards to form. On the first chord, we use our pinky to play the 6th fret, and on the second chord, we use our middle finger to play the second fret. If you watch your performance, you will see that you play these notes with the first joint of the finger bent inward. We always want to keep it curved at the joint, so we can play the note with the fingertip. So watch out for bending inward. Other than that, keep up the great work!
Hi Everyone!
Here’s my entry for this month’s challenge. I’m playing St. Infirmary. Struggled a bit with moving up and down the fret while playing the notes clearly. Definitely needs more work to smooth out some transitions.
Is this the correct way to post an entry? This is my first time trying and I am confused!
October entry.
I am a premium member
the youtube link is:springer1, I moved it to the main post for our challenge. Submittals will always be on the main post page: https://rockclass101.com/win-1800-kanilea-first-chance
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