[Andrew]

@shmu88 – Bravo, Sam! You nailed the vibe/feel! Only thing I’d say is keep working on the tricky transitions in bars 8 and 9. Keep up the great work!

[Andrew]

Great questions! Let’s knock them out.

1) You have to compare the chord tones against the parent major scale. So if you have:

A C E G

Compare it to the A Major Scale:

A B C# D E F# G#

You can determine it’s:

A (1) C (b3) E (5) G (b7)

A minor 7

—-

Chord qualities and harmonization can be derived from the minor scale. We didn’t cover that in the course.

—-

2) Each scale contains 7 chords that are built by thirds. When you determine the quality of the chords using the method above, for major you end up with (using C Major as an example):

This is better explained in our songwriting course (ebook – page 2).

Some songs stay diatonic to the key – meaning they never venture beyond the 7 notes/chords. Some songs do not.

3) This is a hard one to answer as there are different approaches you can use. A good place to start is to figure out the chord progression to determine the key.

4) Yes! I’d start with learning intervals (distance between 2 notes). For example, a minor 2nd is the Jaws theme. If you can associate sounds to something familiar, that’s a great first step to memorizing and recognizing tones.

A lot of these questions you asked can be further explained. I’d recommend taking a Skype lesson with Stephen. He can help you understand these concepts better by demonstrating and breaking them down in real time.

[Andrew]

I’d target my practice to bring those areas up to speed. But if you hit the performance deadline and need to play the entire song, choose a slower tempo to keep everything steady.

[Andrew]

Welcome, Izzy! I’m glad you found us 🙂

Check out this course. It’ll be a good intro to fingerstyle playing. And def join the challenge! BTW if you ever need help on the lessons, don’t hesitate to ask!

[Andrew]

@johanna2509 – Beautifully played, Johanna!

@lbilkie – Hard to say what the issue is without playing your Lanikai. I’ve actually never played one, so I’m not sure on neck size/action. Is there a local music store that could look at it and maybe do a setup if needed?

[Andrew]

A buddy of mine plays a guitar made out of CF. I always thought they were cool and your uke sounds and looks awesome!

[Andrew]

The first one. Tune the string up until it says A on your tuner 🙂

[Andrew]

@henri0 – Brilliant playing! I’ll be sure to send it to Stephen. He’s gonna love it 🙂

[Andrew]

Yes, you’ll have access to every course and every lesson.

I’d recommend starting with the Beginner’s Course. If you’re familiar with some of the concepts it covers, you can skip over those lessons. Either way, it’s always great to review the fundamentals of playing.

[Andrew]

Welcome, @angelsian! I’m glad you found us 🙂

For our lessons, the best place to start is here. Learning Paths helps you create a practice plan tailored towards your interests, while also showing you where to start and ideas on what to work on. If you ever need help on the lessons, don’t hesitate to ask!

[Andrew]

@ukandrea – Sounds great, Andrea! As you continue to practice, I want you to focus on timing and playing to a click. And def post a follow up closer to the end of the month 🙂

[Andrew]

We did it! We crushed the Spring Challenges!

201 members participated in our last 3 challenges and I have been blown away by everyone’s performances! Thanks to each and everyone of you who participated.

We are going live at 12 PM EST (check your local time zone) on July 4th to announce the winner of the $1,400 Kanile’a Baritone Ukulele AND the custom painted uke from our May Challenge! The live stream link is below:

—-

Here is everyone who participated this month. Please let me know if there are any discrepancies.

mark1256
mark1256
robinboyd
robinboyd
misterbones
misterbones
sebi75
sebi75
lisadmh
lisadmh
lyndallk
lyndallk
lisa-k
lisa-k
dennisdickens
dennisdickens
nthibode
nthibode
stianukulele
stianukulele
johanna2509
johanna2509
barbecueblack
barbecueblack
morrieuke1
morrieuke1
bethany_guardiani
bethany_guardiani
brettboy
brettboy
biancak
biancak
shmu88
shmu88
qiuyan
qiuyan
andrewvh
andrewvh
debb1985
debb1985
june2020
june2020
ccwuke
ccwuke
bomarkt
bomarkt
wongbrown
wongbrown
robinl
gstriph
gstriph
laurakarr12
laurakarr12
mademoiselleannette
katazumiri
ldarrow
ldarrow
lbilkie
lbilkie
marianne
marianne
lhamilton
lhamilton
ukandrea
ukandrea
richard_siegert
isabelm
isabelm
chiaracasella
chiaracasella
ukulelee
ukulelee
terryfallon3
terryfallon3
givingtree89
givingtree89
joelnal
joelnal
themccoys
themccoys
joe150
joe150
riley_ukulele
riley_ukulele
bibilele
bibilele
sarahd
sarahd
seoulkim
seoulkim
brithor
brithor
concan
concan
cheun133
acornjasper
acornjasper
lisamcc
lisamcc
iyers408
iyers408
karenj
karenj
mac1984
mac1984
timolnz
timolnz
emiliano
emiliano
sylus9
kelsey91
john316
john316

—-

P.S. Stephen will post feedback for folks on page 8 soon 🙂

[Andrew]

@john316 – I’ll be posting the entry list shortly for June. But I’ve got you down for 6 entries total 🙂

[Andrew]

Hey Brett! The JH arr. is super cool. So I’d skip learning a song you already know how to play in one form.

You’re right, the 2 new ones would be easy for you. If you choose one, I’d go for Wipe Out. It’ll be more challenging with that rhythm breakdown in the middle and the sheer speed of the piece.

If time is your biggest concern, I’d brush up on Aloha.

But my vote is Wipe Out. I think it’s the most fun choice. But can you trust me? I’m biased and it’s my arr LOL

[Andrew]

@lisamcc – no worries, I fixed it 🙂

[Author]

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