Participate in the October 2025 Member Challenge – WIN $2,250 Kanile’a Uke

[Andrew]

@jbmills07 – Dude, that was awesome and great work on getting the strumming technique down! Really impressive playing! 👏

@jedart – Great playing and singing Jed! Rhythm/timing and feel were excellent! I agree with where you’re at: the polishing stage. Focus on cleaning up the chords where you hear a bit of string buzz.

You could also experiment with ways to make the harder chords easier. For example, in Chorus 2, where you have the two chords that share the same shape, try fretting only strings 1–3 (skipping the note on string 4) and target your strumming to hit just those strings.

Alternatively, you could fret the 4th string note with your thumb. Either approach works great and feels much easier than barring the top strings with your middle finger.

@malku2603 – You did amazing, I’m proud of you! Stepping out of your comfort zone to tackle these harder tunes is exactly how we grow as players and musicians. You nailed so many aspects of this song, from the licks to those slide-y chords. Really well done 👏

@mysticrick – Really impressive work keeping the beat steady while playing solo with no accompaniment, that’s not easy to do! I thought you nailed it! Great singing and playing overall. Bravo, Rick 👏

@joe150 – That was awesome, Joe! The only section that could use a little more attention is the very last lick, everything else sounded great! You did an excellent job getting all the rhythms, chords, and licks down. Super impressive!

Next, I’d focus on memorizing each section. Keep up the great work!

@robinboyd – Groove was spot on! I was tapping my foot along throughout the entire performance. Great playing and singing Robin!

@lynnzo – I’m glad you stepped out of your comfort zone, it was worth it! You played and sang it beautifully! Great feel throughout 🙂

@The_Bumble_Bard – You’ve got the first half of the intro down pretty well! Just gotta fine tune the second half of it. For the rest of the tune, you’ve got a great base established. Just take it bar-by-bar / section-by-section and you’ll be playing it smooth in no time!

@bibilele – You played it really well, Bianca! A little more practice and it’ll be as smooth as you want it to be. Honestly, it doesn’t sound like it’ll take much more work. Keep up the great work!

@nat-uke – Your voice has such a great tone, I really enjoyed your singing! Funny you mention that tricky chord in Chorus 2. I actually wrote some advice for Jed above on tackling it, and one thing I suggested was exactly what you did 🙂

As for your performance, it was excellent! Great groove throughout!

@nelsonlin2021 – I say this almost every challenge, but it’s truly incredible how fast you’ve progressed in your playing. This take was excellent! The only thing I noticed is that you lose your place a couple of times in a phrase, or there’s a brief hesitation where the tempo pauses for a split second. To smooth those out, try playing along with Sammy in the tab player. Once you can match him perfectly, switch back to playing solo without his track as a guide.

Keep up the great work, Nelson!

[Andrew]

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED THIS MONTH! WE HAD 29 MEMBERS JOIN IN! YOU GUYS ROCK!

This was not an easy challenge! There weren’t any beginner songs to choose from, every tune was geared toward seasoned intermediate players and up. So a big round of applause to everyone who participated this month 👏

Hope to see y’all in our November Challenge!

Here is a list of everyone who earned an entry for the giveaway. Please let me know if there are any discrepancies.

Note: The first ten entries are for our Spring Challenge winner. Entry 11 was a bonus entry awarded to @lhamilton.

—-

kanique
kanique
kanique
kanique
kanique
kanique
kanique
kanique
kanique
kanique
lhamilton
shmu88
shmu88
marianne
marianne
ccwuke
ccwuke
dianna
dianna
leb397
leb397
misterbones
misterbones
kanique
kanique
anyon1
anyon1
katazumiri
katazumiri
morrieuke1
morrieuke1
lhamilton
lhamilton
rgillof
rgillof
bolognakid
bolognakid
grannieannie
grannieannie
karenj
karenj
otzepeng
otzepeng
brettboy
brettboy
jbmills07
jbmills07
jedart
malku2603
mysticrick
mysticrick
joe150
joe150
robinboyd
robinboyd
lynnzo
lynnzo
The_Bumble_Bard
The_Bumble_Bard
bibilele
bibilele
nat-uke
nat-uke
nelsonlin2021
nelsonlin2021

• This reply was modified 1 week, 6 days ago by Andrew. Reason: Added Spring Winners to List

[bibilele]

Thank you for your kind words, @Andrew. It really was last-minute this time as you can hear. 😅 I nearly didn’t send a submission at all, but then I didn’t want to spoil my 5 years series (only 2 months to go). 🥳

[nat-uke]

@Andrew – Thank you 😊. (& I appreciate how you give thoughtful feedback to us all.)

[malku2603]

OMG!!! @Andrew I feel so happy!!!! 😁😁😁…..your feedback made my day ………it means a lot to hear so kind words from you…. its my biggest motivation to keep practising and trying harder…….@Andrew do you think I am ready to move to intermediate level challenges or shall I stick to beginner level ones for some more time?

[The_Bumble_Bard]

Thank you so much for the encouragement, Andrew! Your feedback is so helpful and you notice everything. It’s still one of my favorite parts of these challenges, reading all your feedback (not just to me, but to everyone) because it’s so insightful and fun to read through. I’ll keep working on this one. 😊

[nelsonlin2021]

Thank you so much, Andrew! 🙏 I really appreciate the kind words and thoughtful feedback. You’re absolutely right — I felt those little hesitations too. I’ll practice more with Sammy in the tab player to lock in the timing. Thanks again for always taking the time to guide us — it really means a lot! 🎶

[otzepeng]

Heyho,

November has broken ( …. you grey *beeeeep* of a month 🤭) and i wanted to thank you for your feedback. So, thanks @andrew: while practicing another tune i did returned a few times to “Aerials” and, without the recording-stress and within more practicetime i was able to minimize the issues you mentioned.
Thanks @leb397:I got a question. How many times you listened to my performance? ☺️
Thank you @jbmills07, i was also impressed by your recording. You think it was a “Frankenstein”? Then it was one, who came straight of a Beauty-OP and also pumped full with Botox 😅.
Finally thank you @the_Bumble_Bard, i always appreciate you friendly words and was deep `impressed by taking “Aerials” in such a short time … crazy 🤗!

Finally i must say: every entry was great. The tricky “Ironman”, to play and sing at “Bad moon rising”, and the Overlenght+Solo of “Nothing else matters” and, of course “Aerials”- all songs were real challenging and you got my deep respect for solving it sooo well!

See/hear you in the Novemberchallenge 🤙🏼

[lynnzo]

Wow! Thanks Andrew. I thought my singing might push you out of your comfort zone too.😂

[Andrew]

Thanks y’all 🙂

@malku2603 – My pleasure! Try a mix of both!

[leb397]

@otzepeng 🤔😆😆😆😆😆 what was i thinking!!! I did listen to it. As well as everyone else… still amazing at your speed and ability to play so fluidly. I caught your attention though ☺️🎶🎤 my apologies for confusing song with October’s difficult challenges 😅 you earned Andrew’s kudos 👏 👏👏👏

[Author]

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