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Hey Andrew, I’m still working on the proper right hand form. It is so difficult for me to bring my hand in the exact same position as you showed in the video. However, I guess my fingers are atleast less stretched out than before. But it doesn’t feel quite right. I can’t position my hand more parallel to the strings, because then I can’t pluck them anymore. But you said, bending the wrist is also wrong, so I’ll try to avoid that. I think I have to spend some more time to find that correct position. Any more tips?
For demonstration, I played the first half of Sound of Silence again.
Andrew
Thanks for the video – HAPPY to ditch the metronome though being forced to pay attention to counting was interesting. I can definitely play less “mechanically” but then I rubbed up against the player being really out of time so now my teacher has given me permission! 🙂
Jerry
@rpina61 – my pleasure!
@isabelm – you’re off to an awesome start and I love the video! I set up your account with premium for the next month. If you have time, please post a video by tomorrow performing the entire arrangement. That way you’ll get an entry for the giveaway uke 🙂
@turkgoose – sorry we missed you! Stephens leaving feedback for page 14, which will be posted today 🙂—-
Here is everyone on page 13.
jazzitup – Very tasteful changes, I really dig how it sounds on low G. Your playing is great! The only suggestion I have is to slow down the parts that are tricky, mostly the ones up the neck, and work towards cleaning them up. But overall, fantastic! I’m going to share this in our newsletter this week 🙂
brenna – Well done, Gianluca! Here are my thoughts for you.
suesbarn – Great job! When performing, we generally want our playing to match the interpretation of the original. And originally, this is a slow, melodic piece. Therefore, I’d recommend slowing the tempo down. Check out this lesson, as it talks in-detail about why this concept is important.
@gstriph – lol 🙂
@johanna2509 – much better! Here’s what I think is happening.Thank you Andrew.
You are a very special teacher!!
I changed the rhythm because it’s more natural to me and, simply, I can memorize the song faster.
You are able to take my limit and use it to improve and go forward.
Thank you so much!!Gianluca
Here is every complete entry on Page 14:
morrieuke1 – Very nicely done! Your technique is great, you have a great tone on the instrument, and your timing is solid! For a little extra challenge, try going back and adding dynamics. In the original, each phrase starts quietly, crescendos in the middle, and trails back off at the end in a mysterious way. You could incorporate this in your own way, and really try exaggerating it at first. Great work on this one! Thank you for taking part in this challenge!
miztaken – You sound very good on this one! You picked a very nice tempo and stuck with it! I find that with sections that I consistently struggle with, it’s best to isolate them and play them slowly until I can get them cleanly, then speed it up to just a bit faster than my ideal tempo. This way, they become easy spots instead of places in the song to tense up in. For you, this would be the chord transitions from 1:10 to 1:30, mostly. Aside from that and one or two other spots, you have the song down! Thank you for your entry!
wongbrown – You’ve got the idea, you are doing great, and playing the song slower is the way to go. Right now you are hesitating right before several chord transitions, and the slower pace would allow you to stay in time. As a performance, the listener usually wants to hear a steady flow rather than a faster performance with random pauses. I highly recommend playing this one about 3/4 of the speed you played it at with a metronome. The notes sound great, and the finger picking parts have a great flow to them! I think the hesitations are only where you transition into “strumming mode.” You are doing a great job, keep it up! Thank you for entering the challenge!
ultramom – You are off to a great start! I think more practice is the main thing to get the song to have a smooth flow. I noticed that sometimes when you are playing chords like at 1:25, you have quite an angle on your fretting hand wrist, and really on both wrists. I highly recommend practicing these chords with less bending in the wrist to avoid tensing up and causing wrist pain. Isolate the transitions to those chords and play slowly with a focus on posture! You’re doing well, and with more practice, you’ll be performance ready! Thank you for your entry!
mdugal – Great job! My only suggestion is to play slower: Some of the chord transitions are tricky, and you are hesitating a bit. Even if you are able to do them at your current speed some of the time, you will benefit by practicing slower and really getting accurate at every transition in time. Try using a metronome at 75 bpm at first. Awesome job, especially for your first challenge! Thank you for joining the challenge!
tiff27 – I really like your costume idea! So creative! You’re doing great on this one, and I like that you picked a comfortable tempo to play at! At 1:20, you are playing the strumming part twice as fast as the fingerpicked notes. Try strumming at half the speed you currently are to match the speed you’re fingerpicking at. You’re doing very well for reading it, too! If you have time to memorize at least a few of the tricky transitions, you’ll get a bit smoother as you go. Thank you for entering this challenge!
coffeemug – Excellent job! This is not an easy song, and there are a few tricky transitions: From measure 3 to 4, transitioning into the Gaddb9 is one of those spots that I would work up from a slower tempo with a metronome. Especially sense it happens a lot in the song, that is one spot I would play over and over until it feels natural. In measures 14 to 15, the transition into the Fm is another spot that I would isolate in the same way. Once you get those to feel more natural, you’re well on your way! Thank you for joining the challenge!
annegodfrey – I think you did a good job on a clear melodic line on this arrangement! As far as the smooth transitions and rhythm, I think you could achieve this by simply playing at 3/4 the speed you are currently at. Then if you had extra time, you could speed it up to the full tempo. Having a metronome or the slowed down version on the tab player can help you hear it at the slower speed as well. Do you ever try to play along with the tab player at 50% speed? I think this might be a great way to get the smooth sound you are after! Thank you for your entry!
turkgoose – I’m so sorry I somehow missed you the first time! You are doing an excellent job on The Sound of Silence. There are just a few tricky chord transitions that are holding you back slightly. The secret here is to spend 80% of your practice time isolating those transitions and really getting them to where they take much less effort than they currently do. This is a matter of muscle memory, and does take time to develop, but isolating those sections will definitely speed things up! Thank you for being part of the challenge, and thank you for resubmitting. Excellent job, you are doing amazingly for a beginner!
@brenna – my pleasure!
Hey Andrew,
I’m just getting back to the forum and seeing these feedback videos for page 12. Thank you so much for taking the time to go through my entry. It was really encouraging and insightful. I havent watched the feedback for Kanae yet but I definately will. I’m thinking about what your saying about the dynamic changes throughout the song, and I feel like I want to do more but I feel like I’m not familiar enough with the uke yet to experiment. I will be reviewing the video for Kanae and work on the dynamics. I’m really looking forward to November. Thanks again.Thanks Andrew for the feedback. 🙂 The filter is called Dance Party and is a standard filter in the editing section of YouTube.
It’s actually the first three notes of bar 10 and 12 that I found really hard, the mordent. The hammer (2nd) on is muting the the first and is not audible. Neither is the pull of (3rd note) Maybe because up high the frets are so close to each other. It helps a tiny bit if I touch the fretboard with only the top of my finger to not touch the frets.
Happy Halloween to you there. Do you say that? Or do you wish each other a creepy Halloween? It’s not part of our culture, we have the similar Saint Martin though in about two weeks, kids sing in front of your door for candy.
@cauer2 – my pleasure! Nov challenge will be released tomorrow 🙂
@jinajupiter – When you practice at a slower tempo, really focus on hammering or pulling off with enough strength to make those notes ring at the same volume as plucked notes. But I’d focus mostly on sustaining the phrases.Hello, I am a premium member. I have been out of commission for awhile due to surgery back in August. I have some nerve damage in my right arm/hand, so I am working hard to recover my dexterity and playing ability. That is why I need to slow this beautiful song down. Its been a great inspiration to keep trying!!
Thanks Stephen!
That darned Bb/G to F/G change… Matt did warn us!
And yes, I do need to repeat the passage slowly 100 more times. I keep doing the noob “but I can get it some times…” thing, and just not locking it into my memory at slow speed.
Back to basicsThanks again.
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