Participate in the September 2019 Member Challenge – Next Level Strumming!

[nerdjenni]

Alright, I gave it my best shot. I’m a newbie and went for the Strumming class challenge (1 exercise from each lesson). Listening to it over again though, I realize that the “claw” sound is not really coming through. It doesn’t sound all that different from a regular strum. I’ve watched the instructional video several times, but not sure how to make the strings sound more separated?

[holly1]

Ok, so yes, I already submitted the rhythm piece officially, but I’ve been working so hard to get Five Foot Two posted as well. This was a real stretch for me, literally! My pinky barely reaches even on this old Harmony Ukulele. But with a LOT of practice I think it doesn’t sound too bad. So here it is, just a little extra song from me… (oh and excuse the poor excuse for a strap, ha, I was crocheting one, but never get back to it. How horrible would it be if I drilled a strap button on the bottom of this 1950’s ukulele?)

Ha, this video shows me that A.) I need a haircut, and B.) I need to rake the crunchy leaves off my deck that the dog was trying to crunch as I played.

[gaberdude]

Thanks as always, @Andrew, for the nice feedback!

[nthibode]

Here is Five Foot Two Eyes of Blue from this five-foot-one, eyes-of-brown girl. That was a fun course! I especially liked how short the lesson videos were so that they could be viewed/practiced in one sitting. Now I just need to find some songs to apply the techniques to. Nice strumming everyone!

• This reply was modified 4 years ago by nthibode.

[Andrew]

nerdjenni – Well done! Each technique and exercise sounds great! So let’s talk about the claw. The reason it’s not sounding as it should, is because your hand is not spread open, whereas your fingers should have a gap which is an equal distance apart (fingers: 1-4, thumb is optional to use). Go back and re-watch the lesson, notice how when he strums through the exercises, he spreads his hand open for the claw stroke, and then his fingers come back together for the regular strum.

nthibode – Way to go, Nathalie! The only thing that stood out to me was the little bit of hesitation in the chord changes at the beginning of the triplets section. But that’s being really nitpicky, brilliant performance! Keep up the great work 🙂

[santai]

First of all: Thanks so much for your feedback on my last submissions, Andrew and Stephen! Even the tiniest bits are extremely helpful. It keeps me motivated and really helps me to improve on my playing. I always hear you, for example, when I do a barre chord: “Straighten your finger!” 😀

For this month I decided to learn the percussive strumming technique. I love to observe how these kind of techniques day by day gradually make their way from my brain to my hand and finally leave some capacity to concentrate on other things again.
With this exercise I feel, I could still improve on cleaner chord changes.

I’m already anticipating the drawing of the winner of the Honu Ukulele. Just since this August I suddenly feel very drawn to turtles – their friendly and wise serenity… So I couldn’t believe my eyes when you put up this Ukulele as a prize!

Keep up the great work everybody! So many great submissions already. 🙂

[Andrew]

santai – Awesome job! Here is my feedback for you 🙂

[lisadmh]

Ah, I’m stiff again. Fair. Thank you for reminding me, Andrew. I will try!

[nthibode]

Ah yes I see what you’re saying; thanks for the feedback Andrew!

[becky7777]

Nthibode- LOVE the giant ruler in the background for 5’2! 😁👍

[becky7777]

Holly- Would have private messaged this to you so sorry if i’m stepping on anyones toes here in the forum. Your dad’s ukulele sounds great. I wouldn’t think adding a button would be a huge deal. Stew Mac has some great buttons btw. I got an ebony one to match the ebony on my uke. I think they had some aged button finishes to match yellowed whites etc, and other pretty exotic woods if you want to get fancy with it. (It’s not something you ever really see though since mine’s black it’s not really showy, so did I need it? Not at ALL. But knowing it’s there is fun.)

If it were me, i’d call someplace like Elderly Instruments who restores all those things to get their opinion for peace of mind. (I haven’t dealt with elderly btw, but i’m impressed by their instrument restoration videos. Since they restore and sell, they’re the only people I can think of offhand that would know if a hole there would matter in a uke.)

[santai]

Thank you Andrew!
I know that the basics tend to get fuzzy again, when I concentrate on something else too much – and there is so much to concentrate on! ^^;
I will definitely put some more work just on chord changes. The sooner I tidy this up, the better!

[nthibode]

Thanks @becky7777! It was a crafty project for me a few years back and now serves as our family’s growth chart — updated every year on the kids’ birthdays. Seemed like an appropriate background for the song 😉

[cyukug]

The pursuit of speed had been making me tense and often screw the details, so I’m working with a slower speed now. This one is the best shot that I can get, still stuck sometimes though. Definitely need some advice.

Thanks to Andrew and Christopher for the very interesting course.

• This reply was modified 4 years ago by cyukug.

[Andrew]

cyukug – That was awesome! Here is my feedback. We’ll playback your performance and offer advice on What to work on and How to work on it 🙂

[Author]

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